Apr 16 President Proposes Major Reductions in Key Children’s Programs

Apr 16h in Bold Voices by

(April 16, 2026)

Each year, similar to the state budget process, the federal budget passes through a multi-step process before Congress votes and the President signs it into law. One of the first steps in the appropriations process is when the President’s budget proposal is presented to Congress. This budget proposal signals priorities to Congress and serves as a Presidential “wish list” and outlines the administration’s overall funding priorities for federal agencies and programs for the upcoming fiscal year, which traditionally starts on October 1.

On April 3, President Trump shared his Fiscal Year (FY27) Budget Proposal. His proposal included cuts to many domestic programs, including some within Allies for Children’s policy priorities, as well as historic increases in defense spending.

Proposed Cuts to WIC

Under this proposal, WIC would receive $200 million less than in fiscal year 2026, and there would be deep cuts to the fruit and vegetable benefit, with reductions of as much as 75 percent for some participants.

The President’s budget also fails to address the need for permanent flexible service authorization. Waivers allowing for WIC virtual certification options will expire as soon as September 30 of this year, creating new barriers to WIC for many families. Advocates are asking appropriators to advance the MODERN WIC Act/21st Century WIC Act. This bipartisan legislation creates permanent flexible services in WIC to allow for virtual certifications, while ensuring participants provide all of the documentation to prove eligibility and are still seen in-person by a health care provider.

You can urge your members of Congress to support flexible WIC services, full program funding, and full benefits in FY27 here. Advocacy helped defeat proposed cuts to WIC in fiscal year 2026, so remember that your voice matters!

Education

Similar to last year’s proposed budget, which was mostly rejected by Congress, the Trump Administration proposes significant consolidation and elimination to numerous education programs. Overall, the budget proposes $76.5 billion for education related programs – an almost 3 percent decrease over last year’s enacted amounts.

Both Perkins Career and Technical Education and Title 1, which provides funding to support lower income students, were proposed to be level funded. The Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), Part B has a proposed increase of $1.167 billion – however this increase mostly comes from consolidating funding from other education programs.

The proposal unveils a suggested “Make Education Great Again (MEGA)” program – which consolidates 17 programs, worth $6.5 billion, into a $2 billion block grant. The list of consolidations includes 21st Century Learning Communities – which support Out-of-School Time programming, rural education, Education for Homeless Children and Youth, and Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants. Additionally on the chopping block are programs for English Language Learners and migrants, Community Schools, and teacher professional development programs. You can read more about the specific consolidations and cuts here.

It is important to note that for the majority of schools in Pennsylvania, federal funding equates to about 3% of their total funding. However, most of the programs delivered through the Dept of Education are aimed at our most vulnerable children and youth. Allies for Children encourages you to contact your Senator and Representative and ask them to reject consolidation and reductions in funding.

Other Reductions that Impact Children and Families

The proposal would also:

  • Eliminate Preschool Development Block Grants, which is the only federal funding stream for improving state-level early childhood systems. The program allows states to apply for funding to improve coordination among existing early childhood programs such as child care, Head Start, state prekindergarten, and home-visiting programs. Take action to support programs like Head Start here.
  • Cut National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is the nation’s medical research agency, by $5 billion.
  • Eliminate the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and programs designed to track and improve care, safety, and affordability for LGBTQ youth and people of color.
  • Significantly cut funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, which functions as a part of the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to support research to help improve the quality of health care in the US.
  • Steeply cut Office of Inspector General funding. This office helps hold federal agencies accountable and protect taxpayers from waste and fraud.
  • Dismantle many behavioral health programs, including for those that struggle with mental health and substance use disorders.
  • Cut Center for Disease Control Funding by $2.5 billion. State and local public health agencies rely on this funding for preventative services.
  • Eliminate Community Services Block Grants, which work to alleviate poverty by providing funds to states toward direct support to the most low-income people.
Another Reconciliation on the Horizon

The proposal also calls on Congress to use reconciliation to enact a large part of the requested defense funding. Congressional leaders have also been pushing for additional action under a new reconciliation bill. Budget reconciliation is a special budget process in which Congress can move tax, spending, and debt limit legislation quickly through both chambers with a simple majority vote. Through this process, Congressional committees are given a set of instructions which contain a ceiling or a floor for the committees to achieve cuts or to reduce the deficit for mandatory programs – meaning federal programs that do not go through the annual appropriations process. This is the process through which HR 1, or the One Big Beautiful Bill, which contains cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act, was passed last summer. Congress and the President have stated that they want to use this vehicle to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). However, there is a risk that additional policies cutting domestic programs like Medicaid and SNAP could be added to this bill, as there are limited opportunities for Congress to pass their legislative priorities.

Learn more about the reconciliation process here. Share your thoughts and stories related to another reconciliation bill here.

Allies for Children will stay updated as the FY27 appropriations process moves forward in Congress please sign up for our newsletter to make sure you receive our blogs and opportunities for advocacy.

Cristina Codario, Allies for Children Policy Director
Jamie Baxter, Allies for Children Executive Director