Alabama’s federal lawmakers celebrated the U.S. House passing all but one of the remaining 2026 appropriations bills yesterday.
The House voted Tuesday to pass the package of five appropriations bills, which were sent to the president’s desk to be signed soon after.
The package, which includes more than $200 million in local funding earmarks for Alabama, ends the partial government shutdown that began Saturday and opens an additional 10-day window for Congress to negotiate an agreement on U.S. Department of Homeland Security funding.
U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama, spoke in favor of the package on the House floor, urging representatives to vote in favor of the funding measures.
“Unfortunately, funding these bills is not an optional thing. It’s a part of our constitutional requirement, and we must act on our commitment to the American people,” Aderholt said. “The path forward in this legislation reflects President Trump’s negotiations and direction to avoid a long-term partial shutdown and keep the government operating without further disruptions.”
U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, who was among the 21 House Democrats who voted in favor of the package, released a statement Tuesday, emphasizing her commitment to stronger guidelines for Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s activities in the 2026 DHS appropriations bill.
“After the horrifying and deadly events in Minnesota, Americans across the political spectrum agree that ICE under the Trump Administration has gone too far and needs serious reform,” Sewell said in a written statement.
The representative argued that the bills will allow Democrats to have more time to advocate for reforms they want to see implemented at ICE, while funding the salaries of federal workers in other agencies.
“This bill gives Democrats greater time and leverage to negotiate with Republicans on a set of guardrails to curb ICE’s reckless conduct while keeping other services up and running that are essential to the safety and well-being of the American people,” she continued.
“To be clear, this bill does not increase ICE’s budget by a single penny. It does, however, keep air-traffic controllers and TSA agents on the job and disaster assistance flowing to communities in need. The package also includes our bill to expand access to cancer screenings and $5.5 million that I secured for local projects in our district,” the representative added.
The package includes the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act, which would create a pathway for Medicare to cover emerging Multi-Cancer Early Detection, or MCED, tests once they have received FDA approval.
Both Aderholt and Sewell have also highlighted the package’s gains for health and biomedical research funding, which include a $400 million increase in the National Institutes of Health’s budget.
Jane Adams, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network’s government relations director for Alabama, expressed support for Sewell’s MCED legislation’s inclusion in the appropriations package.
Adams also gave thanks to Aderholt and Britt for their role in advocating for increases in NIH funding.
“UAB, Auburn, ASU, all do cancer research,” Adams said. “We’re developing this research and technology, and we, you know, want to make sure that Congress is funding it so there can be more research done in the state.”
“I am proud to have championed the Labor-HHS bill that balances the need for responsible fiscal stewardship while maintaining key investments in biomedical research, schools, and public health,” Aderholt said in a statement released following the vote.
“Investments in this bill are directed to where they matter most: into lifesaving biomedical research and resilient medical supply chains, classrooms and training that prepare the next generation for success, and rural hospitals and primary care to end the chronic disease epidemic,” the representative continued.
U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, R-Alabama, and U.S. Senator Katie Britt, R-Alabama, also shared support for the bill’s passage in the House over social media.
“I was proud to support it, and I will be even prouder to see these necessary investments coming to our communities,” Rogers wrote of the local earmarks secured by the bill.
“Glad to see the House pass the Senate’s five-bill package and send it to President Trump’s desk!” Britt wrote. “Alabama is stronger, safer, and more secure because of this funding. I’m honored to have used my role on the Appropriations Committee to deliver the resources, security, and opportunities our communities deserve.”
Britt voted in favor of the package last Friday in the Senate and was present in the Oval Office, alongside Aderholt, as the funding measures were signed into law.
The funding package’s passage sets the stage for federal lawmakers to resume negotiations surrounding DHS funding, in which plans for ICE have become a major sticking point for bipartisan compromises.
Sewell released a statement last week pledging to vote against the current version of the DHS funding bill and urged Senate Democrats to do the same.
U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Alabama, meanwhile, has strongly condemned negotiations with Democrats aimed at reaching a compromise on regulating federal immigration enforcement activities.
The senator voted against advancing the package last week, writing on social media that the decision to punt a vote on DHS “would have set the stage to give Democrats their woke wish-list of so-called ICE ‘reforms.’”
“Democrats have been DEMANDING that Republicans make major concessions when it comes to how our ICE officers do their jobs,” Tuberville wrote. “Republicans control the White House, Senate, and House. Why are we giving an INCH to Democrats???”
Following Tuesday’s vote, Aderholt told NBC News that it will be “very difficult” to secure a bipartisan deal on DHS funding by the February 13 deadline.
“I would expect—and I’m hearing that there could be just another, we kick the can down the road a little bit longer until those differences can be worked out… at least, probably, March 1,” he said.
