Senate appropriators release FY 2020 Labor-HHS-Education funding bill

Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt, R-Mo., today released a draft fiscal year 2020 appropriations bill for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies. According to a committee summary, the draft bill would provide $93.4 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Health and Human Services, an increase of $2.9 billion over FY 2019. Specific increases include $3 billion more in discretionary funding for the National Institutes of Health; $70 million more to combat the opioid epidemic; $305 million more for mental health programs, including $50 million more for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics; and $15 million more for Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education. The bill also provides $276 million for Hospital Preparedness Program grants and $312 million for rural health programs, among other proposals.