Today, hear from ASTHO'S Jeffrey Ekoma as he details the fast-moving FY27 appropriations process and the implications for state and territorial health agencies.
In this episode: what happens after Hill Day wraps, and what’s next for public health funding. We talk with ASTHO Senior Director for Government Affairs, Jeffrey Ekoma, about the fast-moving FY27 appropriations process and what it means for state and territorial health agencies. From early signals in the House and Senate to the anticipated release of the president’s budget, Ekoma walks through the key milestones shaping the months ahead. He also unpacks recent oversight hearings, including insights from NIH and acting CDC leadership, and what they reveal about priorities like grants management and funding timelines.
JOHN SHEEHAN:
This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, March 20, 2026. I'm John Sheehan with news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
Today on the View from Washington, D.C., an update from Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO's senior director for government affairs, about what he's been watching now that Hill Day has wrapped and what's on the horizon for public health funding, in particular, developments around the FY27 appropriations process.
Jeffrey Ekoma, welcome back to the show.
JEFFREY EKOMA:
Thank you. It's a pleasure to be back.
SHEEHAN:
So, Jeffrey, we last spoke right before this year's Hill Day. Now that it's over, what is top of mind for you going forward?
EKOMA:
Yes, our sights are on the FY27 appropriation process, while FY26 has not fully been squared away yet. With the pending partial government shutdown that is impacting the agencies under the Department of Homeland Security, there has been some movement for FY27. Now, much of that movement has happened in the House, where there could still be a subcommittee markup of the LHHS bill the week of June 5, with potentially a full committee markup of that bill the following week on June 9. Now, on the Senate side of the Capitol, things seem to be trending in a direction where there possibly will be a markup of bills, maybe the bills are, sort of, put on the Senate floor sometime in July, but things seem to, sort of, be on target there. There's lots of movement happening with FY27 that we are heavily engaged in right now.
SHEEHAN:
And another thing that's probably in flux, or at least uncertain, is the President's FY27 budget. Any updates there?
EKOMA:
Yeah, we are patiently awaiting the arrival of the president's budget. We've sort of been in flux the last couple of weeks, and when it possibly will arrive on Capitol Hill, we're hearing it could be as early as next week. It might leak a little bit into April, so we're really waiting for that. As a friendly reminder, Congress has the power to accept, reject, or modify the president's budget, which nonetheless is a proposal from the administration to Congress. What will presumably follow the release of the budget is there will be hearings on Capitol Hill from cabinet secretaries that talk to different parts of the budget that pertain to them, and within those hearings we'll be paying really close attention to what's being said, what are the priorities for the administration, and it's something that we'll be paying attention to very closely.
SHEEHAN:
Speaking of hearings, the Director of the NIH, who is also the Acting Director of the CDC, recently completed an oversight hearing. Any takeaways from that?
EKOMA:
Yeah, Dr. Bhattacharya was on the Hill this past Tuesday before the House Appropriations subcommittee on LHHS, and the hearing was focused on oversight of NIH. Now, while the hearing was not focused on sort of his current tenure as the acting director of CDC, it does offer a glimpse into the things that have been priorities for him, including grants management or grants administration. Within the hearing, Dr. Bhattacharya told the committee that the agency would spend all appropriated grant funds within the fiscal year. So, we're continuing to pay really close attention to the grants that are within his purview at CDC and are working with our members to identify grants that have not gone out the door or those that may be potentially delayed, and will continue to relay them to partners all across the administration and also on the Hill. So, we remain incredibly optimistic that grants out of CDC will continue to go out the door as scheduled.
SHEEHAN:
Are there any other upcoming milestones or events that you've got your eye on?
EKOMA:
So, in addition to the appropriations process, in addition to budget hearings, we're also paying really close attention to the potential for nominations for key positions within HHS, particularly CDC Director, the Surgeon General, her nomination, there's still lots of activity happening there, so we're tracking that really closely. We're also tracking sort of the leadership within CDC. We were made aware that many of the folks that were in acting positions at CDC have now been declared to be permanent in their position, which is great news. So, those are the things that we're sort of paying close attention to next couple of weeks, and as we sort of get out of the appropriations process, we're really looking at what are the priorities for committees for the latter part of this year before we get into sort of August recess and members of Congress really in campaign mode getting ready for midterm elections.
SHEEHAN:
Yeah, Jeffrey Ekoma, thanks for the update.
EKOMA:
Thank you so much, and appreciate everything.
SHEEHAN:
Jeffrey Ekoma is ASTHO's senior director for government affairs.
For more than 80 years, ASTHO has championed public health and supported the work of state and territorial health agencies across the nation. Stay ahead of the curve on emerging health policy trends and legislative developments at both the state and federal levels and subscribe to ASTHO's Legislative Alerts and get timely updates delivered directly to your inbox. The link is in the show notes.
The Public Health - Hope Equity Resilience and Opportunity, PH-HERO, initiative supports state and territorial health agencies in addressing workforce burnout, moral injury, and retention challenges grounded in trauma-informed and equity-focused approaches. PH-HERO offers curated resources to protect, support, and strengthen the public health workforce. Discover evidence-based tools, expert guidance, and research to help build resilient, thriving teams. Learn more through the link in the show notes.
This has been another View from Washington, D.C. on Public Health Review Morning Edition. I'm John Sheehan for the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
