Congress passes final FY 2019 appropriations package

Congress last night approved legislation providing discretionary funding for certain federal programs for fiscal year 2019, preventing a shutdown of those programs tonight when their current funding expires. The president is expected to sign the bill. While Congress has already approved discretionary funding for the departments of Health and Human Services, Defense and Labor for FY 2019, the new package includes $550 million in Department of Agriculture funding for a rural broadband pilot grant/loan program targeting areas lacking broadband service and $63 million for rural telemedicine grants and other activities to help rural communities combat the opioid crisis. Among other health care-related provisions, the package includes $468 million for Department of Justice anti-opioid grant programs and $5.8 billion for the Indian Health Service.