House Appropriations Committee releases draft Labor-HHS funding bill

The House Appropriations Committee today released draft legislation that would provide $153 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and related agencies in fiscal year 2016, $3.7 billion less than this year. According to a committee summary, the legislation would rescind prior-year mandatory funds and prohibit new discretionary funding to implement the Affordable Care Act, and prohibit funds for the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight and Navigators programs. The bill would provide $71.3 billion for HHS programs, an increase of $298 million from FY 2015; and more than $6 billion for the Health Resources and Services Administration, including $265 million for the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Program and $102 million for the Healthy Start program, both the same as this year. Other funding levels include $7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a $140 million increase; $31.2 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a $1.1 billion increase; and $3.6 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a $23 million increase. The Subcommittee on Labor, HHS and Education is scheduled to mark up the legislation tomorrow.