Topics on this page: Summary of Activities that Continue | Summary of Activities that will Not Continue | Summary of Contingency Staffing Plan
Summary of Activities that Continue
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will continue only those activities that are legally authorized to proceed and that are necessary to protect human life, safeguard government property, or support the continuation of funded programs. HRSA will continue to oversee activities funded through mandatory funding, advance appropriations, prior year carryover balances, and user fees. Subject to the availability of funds, HRSA will continue to oversee certain direct health services and other activities with carryover balances, such as the Health Centers, Ryan White HIV/AIDS program - Parts A and B and Ending the HIV Epidemic, Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education, Family to Family Health Information Systems, and the National Health Service Corps. All activities related to imminent threats to the safety of human life or protection of property would continue including support of the Organs Procurement Transplantation Network and the Hansens Disease program. Additionally, HRSA will continue to oversee the Organs Procurement Transplantation Network and National Practitioner Databank using existing user fee balances.
Summary of Activities That will Not Continue
HRSA will suspend or significantly curtail activities that are not legally authorized to continue in the absence of enacted funding. With the exception of actions required to support funded or excepted activities or to ensure an orderly phase down of operations, the following activities will not continue:
Limited staff to support annual funded programs. Drafting, clearance, and posting of FY 2026 Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs), as well as the review and processing of grant applications for discretionary funded programs, will be delayed or suspended. Routine engagement with grantees, partners, and advisory bodies for non-funded programs will be paused. External communications and responses to public inquiries related to non-funded programs will be significantly reduced or suspended. Legal, policy, and operational support related to certain litigation matters will be limited, except as required to support funded or excepted activities or to protect the interests of the Federal Government.
Summary of Contingency Staffing Plan
In the event of a lapse of appropriation, 825 (45%) of HRSA staff will be furloughed. The remaining 1001 (55%) of the HRSA staff will be retained, the majority of whom are funded. Specifically, 808 (44%) are exempt (their activities or position are already funded or otherwise exempted) and 193 (11%) are excepted (their duties are necessary for the safety of human life, the protection of property, or are necessarily implied by the continuation of funded activities.
Exempt Staff:
A total of 808 (44%) HRSA staff will be exempt. The staff will support the programs and activities funded through mandatory funding, carryover funding, or user fees during a lapse in appropriations. Approximately 772 staff will continue to oversee programs and activities that are funded through carryover funding, mandatory funding, or user fees which include: Ryan White Parts A & B; President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief; Ending HIV Epidemic; National Practitioner Databank; Health Center Federal Tort Claims Act Program; Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program; Health Centers Program, Teaching Health Centers GME, National Health Service Corps, Nurse Corps, Medical Student Education, and Provider Relief Fund activities and Family to Family Health Information Systems. There will also be 36 staff paid from a full-year mandatory and discretionary appropriations to support the following programs: Jackie Walorski Maternal and Child Home Visiting Program and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act Program- Primary Care Training and Enhancement.
Excepted Staff:
A total of 193 (11%) HRSA staff are considered excepted and can legally continue their activities in the absence of appropriations. These staff fall into three categories; 1) those whose work is necessary for the safety of human life, 2) those whose work is necessary for the protection of property, and 3) those whose work is "necessarily implied" from the authorized continuation of other activities. Excepted HRSA staff will continue to perform vital tasks related to imminent threats to human life, including providing patient care for individuals with Hansen's disease and lifesaving access to organ transplants and monitoring through the Organ Transplantation Program.
Additionally, staff will also be considered excepted and continue to work if their duties are necessary to ensure the ongoing support and operations of funded activities, or if they are needed for the orderly phase down and suspension of non-funded activities. These HRSA staff will continue to provide the necessary operational support to ensure the centers and offices can continue authorized and funded activities, including providing administrative and financial support, grants monitoring and processing, and IT Help Desk and Desktop support. HRSA will retain only the minimum number of staff necessary to conduct the orderly suspension and phase down of non-funded activities in accordance with OMB Circular A-11.
HRSA has 57 Public Health Service Commissioned Corps Officers who will continue working under this exception.