Federal Appropriations for Breastfeeding

Each year funding is allocated to a variety of federally funded programs that include breastfeeding support through the federal appropriations process. Appropriations for breastfeeding have helped build and strengthen critical programs and initiatives to improve maternity care practices, increase access to peer & professional support, ensure continuity of breastfeeding care, increase support for breastfeeding employees, and address disparities in breastfeeding rates. Funding relevant to the breastfeeding field are primarily included in the Labor-HHS and Agriculture appropriations bills.

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Historic Funding Levels for the Hospitals Promoting Breastfeeding Program

FY25: CR from FY2024
FY24: $9.75M
FY23: $9.75M
FY22: $9.75M
FY21: $9.5M
FY20: $9M
FY19: $8M

FY18: $8M
FY17: $8M
FY16: $8M
FY15: $8M
FY14: 8M
FY13: $2.5M
FY12: $7M

FY26 Appropriations: Current Status and What it Means for the Lactation Field

Program Funding

Agency Funding

Additional Resources

The Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) federal budget process is underway. View the Congressional Research Service Appropriations Status Table to access the appropriations bills and status.

A detailed analysis of the funded provisions in the FY26 President's Budget and FY26 appropriations bills are included in the following charts. The appropriations bills and associated reports also include a variety of unfunded or one-time directives, which are shared in USBC blog posts.

The FY26 analysis is based on historical agency and departmental structures and does not account for the ongoing, yet-to-be-finalized reorganization of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Program Funding

	Connection to Infant Feeding	*FY2024 Carryover[1]*	FY2026 President's Budget	FY2026 House Bill	FY2026 Senate Bill	FY2026 Enacted
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Hospitals Promoting Breastfeeding	Funding for this program comes from the Prevention and Public Health Fund to support breastfeeding families in maternity care settings, communities, and workplaces.	$9.75M	$0	$0	$9.75M	-
Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health	The REACH program works to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities through local, culturally appropriate programs, including breastfeeding support programs.	$68.95M	$0	$0	$64.95M	-
Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country	The GHWIC program includes increased breastfeeding as a long-term goal.	$24M	$0[2]	$30M	$24M	-
Safe Motherhood and Infant Health	Breastfeeding is included in the Perinatal Quality Collaboratives and Substance Abuse During Pregnancy programs within the SMIH program.	$110.5M	$0	$110.5M	$113.5M	-
National Early Child Care Collaboratives	Through the NECCC program, CDC funds, trains, and assists in obesity prevention efforts in early childhood education (ECE) settings based on the Spectrum of Opportunities guiding framework which outlines how states can embed obesity prevention standards to ensure healthy eating, breastfeeding support, and physical activity.	$5M	$0	$0	$5M	-
Health Resources and Service Administration
Maternal and Child Health Block Grant	Breastfeeding is included in the MCH Block Grant National Performance Measures.	$603.58M	$767.3M	$603.58M	$603.58M	-
Healthy Start	The Healthy Start program implements community-based interventions to improve the health of mothers and children, including breastfeeding education.	$145M	$0	$0	$145M	-
Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies	RMOMS supports grants to improve access to and continuity of maternal and obstetrics care in rural communities by increasing the delivery of and access to preconception, pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postpartum services, including breastfeeding support.	$12M	$12M	$14M	$13M	-
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Pregnant and Postpartum Women Substance Use Disorder	Support for breastfeeding and lactation are included in some resources produced through this program.	$38.9M	$0[3]	$38.9M	$38.9M	-
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program	The WIC program provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk.	$7B	$7.69B	$7.69B	$8.2B	$8.2B
WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program	WIC peer counselors are mothers in the community with personal breastfeeding experience who are trained to give information and support to new moms.	$90M	$90M	$90M	$90M	$90M
Indian Health Service
Public Health Nursing (PHN) program	Public health nursing is the integration of nursing practice and public health practice applied to the prevention of disease and the promotion of health. The PHN Program works to decrease childhood obesity and prevent diabetes, including by supporting Baby Friendly re-designation, providing patient education, assessment and referral services and supporting online training on lactation for PHN staff.	$112M	$115.9M	$0	$115.9M	-

[1] Because Congress passed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (H.R. 1968) to fund the government through September 30, 2025, no funds were specifically allocated for FY 2025. Instead, FY 2024 allocations were carried over via the continuing resolution. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) subsequently passed by Congress may alter the FY2024 carryover allocations, however, the USBC has yet to analyze H.R. 1 to determine its impact on the field.

[2] Zero is assumed because although this line item does not appear in any executive branch budget documents, this program is part of the National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, which the President’s Budget seeks to eliminate.

[3] HHS has proposed the combination of multiple agencies, including the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), among others, into a new, unified entity called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). Under this reorganization plan no funding allocated specifically to SAMHSA.

Agency Funding

Federal Agency/Division	FY2024 Carryover[1]	FY2026 President's Budget	FY2026 House Bill	FY2026 Senate Bill	FY2026 Enacted
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	$9.2B	$4.1B	$6.02B	$9.1B	-
Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity	$58.42M	$0[2]	$0	$58.42M	-
Health Resources and Services Administration	$16.3B	$0[3]	$7.4B	$1.9B	-
Maternal and Child Health Bureau	$1.2B	$897M[4]	$9.8B	$1.1B	-
U.S. Department of Labor	$13.7B	$9B	$9.58B	$16.1B	-
Wage and Hour Division	$260M	$235M	$235M	$260M	-
Women's Bureau	$23M	$0[5]	$0	$23M	-
Office on Women's Health	$44.1M	$30M	$30M	$42.1M	-

[2] This agency is housed within the National Center for Chronic Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion, which the President’s Budget seeks to eliminate.

[3] HHS has proposed the combination of multiple agencies, including the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), among others, into a new, unified entity called the Administration for a Healthy America (AHA). Under this reorganization plan no funding allocated specifically to HRSA.

[4] The HHS Budget “includes $897 million in discretionary budget authority to support maternal and child health

programs formerly managed by HRSA.”

[5] The DOL Budget proposes elimination of the Women’s Bureau.

Additional Resources

To learn more about Fiscal Year 2025 view the below blog posts:

July 2024: "FY25 Appropriations: Current Status and Implications for Breastfeeding"
August 2024: "FY25 Appropriations: Status Update and What it Means for Breastfeeding"

Find additional appropriations updates in the following editions of the Staying Abreast: Weekly Wire newsletter:

April 2024:
- "Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Requests"
- "Coalition Letter Calling for Increased Funding for Breastfeeding in Fiscal Year 2025 Delivered to Policymakers"
May 2024: "Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations Update"
June 2024: "FY25 Sign-On Letter Urging Congress to Invest in Breastfeeding Delivered to Policymakers"
July 2024: "FY25 Sign-On Letter Urging Congress to Invest in Breastfeeding Delivered to Policymakers"
October 2024: "Federal Budget Update"

Learn more about the federal budget process.

General Appropriations Resources

Appropriations 101 Webinar

Learn about the federal appropriations process, which focuses on how funding decisions impact human milk feeding. Although the majority of federal funding for breastfeeding is included in the Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill, lactation is woven into a variety of federal programs that we should expand our investments in. Watch now to see how you can contribute in the process.