The House Appropriations Committee has passed a fiscal 1999 spending bill for education, labor, and health and human services that emphasizes different spending priorities than the Clinton administration’s budget proposal.
The U.S. Department of Education spent up to $38 million last year to pay civil rights staffers who remained on administrative leave while the agency tried to lay them off.
The U.S. Capitol is seen on Jan. 22, 2026, in Washington. Another federal shutdown that could affect education looms if senators don't pass a funding bill by this weekend.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Washington.