By ArentFox Schiff –
On February 3, President Trump signed a $1.2 trillion funding package into law just hours after the House passed the Senate’s amended version of the FY2026 appropriations package, H.R. 7148, ending a brief partial government shutdown that began in the early hours of January 31.
The package funds the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through September and includes $1.5 billion for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), a research funding agency within HHS that invests in breakthrough technologies to transform health care beyond what traditional research or commercial pathways can deliver. The funding decision came the same week ARPA-H laid off at least 15 employees, highlighting internal restructuring even as the agency received funding for the remainder of the fiscal year.
