[OYAN] House Committee Supports IMLS Funding

Wed Sep 10 14:10:47 PDT 2025

Please pardon the cross-posting. Hi, folks. I'm sharing the latest update related to the situation with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). See the email below from Wendy Cornelisen, State Librarian. For those who are new to the listserv or situation, many Library Support services and programs (ex: OSLIS, statewide databases, Answerland) plus 6.7 FTE of staff are funded by federal tax dollars that all state libraries receive through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). In an executive order and as part of his proposed federal fiscal year 2026 budget, the IMLS and LSTA were identified for elimination by the president. Despite that, the Senate and now the House have included IMLS / LSTA funding in their draft budgets as part of the current federal budget process. The State Library of Oregon updates page<https://www.oregon.gov/library/Pages/Updates.aspx> provides more background information. As a reminder, Ready to Read funds for public libraries come from the state's General Fund so are not affected by the IMLS / LSTA situation. - Thanks, Jen (Jen Maurer, School Library Consultant, Library Support and Development Services, State Library of Oregon, jennifer.maurer at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:jennifer.maurer at slo.oregon.gov>)

From: ola at memberclicks-mail.net <ola at memberclicks-mail.net> On Behalf Of Wendy Cornelisen
Sent: Wednesday, September 10, 2025 1:55 PM
To: MAURER Jennifer * SLO <jennifer.maurer at slo.oregon.gov>
Subject: [oasl-all] House committee supports IMLS funding

As shared last week, the House Appropriations Committee met on Tuesday, September 9, to consider the Federal Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Act. The measure was approved by the full Appropriations Committee, which remains the same as what LHHS subcommittee put forward last week:

  *   IMLS is appropriated $291.8M for federal fiscal year 2026.
  *   Grants to States is allotted $180,400,000, an increase of $400,000 from the current FFY2025 funding.

There are cuts to education in this bill, America250 is prioritized (with a callout to libraries), and the elimination of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is included. This is one of the three agencies listed in the AGs' lawsuit that included IMLS<https://clearinghouse.net/case/46344/>.

In terms of IMLS, the forecast continues to look encouraging. The fact that the House and Senate appropriation numbers for IMLS match is another good sign. The next step is for the Senate and House to reconcile their respective budget bills and then the bill goes to the President for signature.

For more on the House Appropriations and LHHS actions, check out:

  *   Press Release [appropriations.house.gov]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/committee-approves-fy26-labor-health-and-human-services-education-and-related__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!I3eW9mGmpjeD5QrHNTD63IiTQEOoKVcz4RJOykDbFXVXQGQ0VCDftQ701USwZVg8xOzjvxunAUAPkpWLBD0mPIGwhNKqpA$> from House Appropriations on LHHS Appropriations Act
  *   Key Takeaways and Bill Summary [appropriations.house.gov]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-appropriations.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/fy26-labor-health-and-human-services-education-and-related-agencies-full-committee-summary.pdf__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!I3eW9mGmpjeD5QrHNTD63IiTQEOoKVcz4RJOykDbFXVXQGQ0VCDftQ701USwZVg8xOzjvxunAUAPkpWLBD0mPIFV-7_X4A$>
  *   Full bill markup [docs.house.gov]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20250909/118593/BILLS-119-FC-AP-FY2026-AP00-FY26LHHSFullCommitteeMark.pdf__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!I3eW9mGmpjeD5QrHNTD63IiTQEOoKVcz4RJOykDbFXVXQGQ0VCDftQ701USwZVg8xOzjvxunAUAPkpWLBD0mPIF4zzxckg$> (without amendments, though none seem to impact IMLS - amendments are listed on Press Release)
  *   Committee Report [docs.house.gov]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/AP00/20250909/118593/HMKP-119-AP00-20250909-SD002.pdf__;!!KKphUJtCzQ!I3eW9mGmpjeD5QrHNTD63IiTQEOoKVcz4RJOykDbFXVXQGQ0VCDftQ701USwZVg8xOzjvxunAUAPkpWLBD0mPIF41FpZMg$> (snip is of from p. 272 of the Committee Report pdf):

[This screenshot from p. 272 of the House Appropriations Committee report shows that the committee recommends $291,800,000 for the IMLS budget for federal fiscal year 2026, which is $3 million less than the current allocation. That includes $180,400,000 for the LSTA Grants to States Program, which is $400,000 more than the current allocation.]

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
Thanks,
Wendy

Wendy Cornelisen (she, her, hers)
State Librarian
State Library of Oregon
wendy.cornelisen at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:wendy.cornelisen at slo.oregon.gov>
Office: 503-378-4367| Mobile 971-375-3992
www.oregon.gov/library<http://www.oregon.gov/library>
[Title: State Library of Oregon]

From: CORNELISEN Wendy * SLO
Sent: Tuesday, September 2, 2025 5:33 PM
To: Jennifer Keyser via Libs-Or <libs-or at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:libs-or at omls.oregon.gov>>; Jen Maurer <oasl-all at ola.memberclicks.net<mailto:oasl-all at ola.memberclicks.net>>
Cc: Academic Library Directors announcement list (al-directors at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:al-directors at omls.oregon.gov>) <al-directors at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:al-directors at omls.oregon.gov>>; HANNING Darci C * SLO via TL-Directors <tl-directors at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:tl-directors at omls.oregon.gov>>; Public Library Directors announcement list (pl-directors at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:pl-directors at omls.oregon.gov>) <pl-directors at omls.oregon.gov<mailto:pl-directors at omls.oregon.gov>>
Subject: House subcommittee supports IMLS funding

Thanks to everyone who was able to connect with your member of Congress over the past few months!

After the long summer recess, the House is back in session today, with the federal fiscal year (FFY) 2026 budget high on the priority list. This includes making specific funding decisions for federal agencies, including the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

Yesterday House Appropriations released the FFY 2026 bill that includes the budget recommendation for the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee (LHHS). The bill matches what is included in the Senate bill for IMLS<https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/fy26_lhhs_bill_text.pdf>, that is, nearly level-funding for IMLS, and for the LSTA Grants to States program.

Today, the House Subcommittee passed this bill. This isn't the end of the process, but this is promising news: the Senate and the House bills currently align on the amount included for IMLS in the federal 2026 budget. Both the full House and Senate must pass the funding bill, which then goes to reconciliation to account for any differences.

These are the funds that, if allocated, would be spent by the State Library starting in July 2026, for state fiscal year 2027.

I'll keep sharing updates as I learn more. Please let me know if there are any questions in the meantime!

Thanks,
Wendy
Wendy Cornelisen (she, her, hers)
State Librarian
State Library of Oregon
wendy.cornelisen at slo.oregon.gov<mailto:wendy.cornelisen at slo.oregon.gov>
Office: 503-378-4367| Mobile 971-375-3992
www.oregon.gov/library<http://www.oregon.gov/library>
[Title: State Library of Oregon]
________________________________
Oregon Library Association * PO Box 3067, La Grande, Oregon 97850, United States
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