House panel approves Labor-HHS funding bill

The House Appropriations Committee last night voted 28-22 to approve legislation that would provide $156 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2018, $5 billion less than in FY 2017. According to a committee summary, the bill would provide $77.6 billion for HHS, $542 million less than last year but $14.5 billion more than the president’s budget request. It would increase funding for the National Institutes of Health by $1.1 billion, and reduce funding by $398 million for the Health Resources and Services Administration, $306 million for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, $219 million for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, $198 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and $24 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The bill also would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board from enforcing its interpretation regarding “micro unions” in a 2011 case involving Specialty Healthcare, which changed the criteria for assessing appropriate bargaining units. AHA opposed the board’s decision.