Florida Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart (R) announced that he secured funding after a House committee approved the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill.
“I am proud to have successfully secured critical funding that directly benefits families in Collier and Miami-Dade counties.” Rep. Díaz-Balart said.
The LHHS bill will allocate funding to increase support in local clinics, expand advanced cancer screening technology, and bolster medical research at Florida International University, among other initiatives.
“This funding will support Community Health Centers, expand Alcee Hastings Advanced Cancer screenings, advance groundbreaking research at Florida International University, and support pediatric care by funding graduate medical education,” Díaz-Balart stated in a press conference. “This legislation ensures families have access to life-saving treatments and prepares the next generation of healthcare providers.”
At his press conference, Díaz-Balart announced that the funds would primarily boost and maintain the quality of healthcare in underserved communities across Miami-Dade and Collier counties. He also allocated $100 million to the Make America Healthy Again initiative, which allows the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to invest in prevention programs for rural communities, telehealth resources for chronic care, and nutrition services.
The funds for South Florida also serve another purpose: officials will use the allocated aid to raise $60 million for charter schools, maintain funding for Magnet schools, and provide financial support for students, all to improve the quality of education in South Florida.
Finally, the funds will be used on a greater scale to provide resources to mental health and substance abuse programs, “providing increased funding for youth and young adult suicide prevention, mental health treatment, and substance abuse prevention and treatment services,” and to strengthen U.S. national security and border protections by allotting “$48 billion in funding to support biomedical research, a necessary counter to China’s growing threat in basic science research.”
