House Committee Passes Labor-HHS-Education Spending Bill

On June 24, the House Appropriations Committee approved, 30-21, the FY2016 Labor-Health and Human Services (HHS)-Education spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee cleared the legislation on June 17 (see The Source, 6/19/15).

According to the committee report, the legislation would provide $154.5 billion in discretionary funding, $3.7 billion below FY2015 and $14.6 billion below President Obama’s request.

The legislation includes a total of $71.302 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services. This amount represents an increase of $298.464 million above the FY2015 level, but is $3.944 billion below the administration’s request.

Within the $211.3 million allocated for the Injury Prevention and Control Program is $92.3 million to be given to programs that seek “to prevent premature death and disability and to reduce human suffering and medical costs caused by [intentional] injury and violence,” including by domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault (p. 47).

The measure would encourage continued collaboration between the Administration for Children and Families and Health Resources and Services Administration on the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (p. 33) and would provide $46 million for safe motherhood and infant health initiatives (p. 41). The bill also would encourage programs that expand efforts to guarantee skilled support for breastfeeding between hospitals and community health settings (p. 106).

In addition, the committee cites its awareness of the “recent news coverage highlighting studies about mammography screening for breast cancer that questions the use and validity of screening for discovering cancers.” The committee notes that “[g]iven the current controversies over screenings and the need to validate new screening technologies versus existing technologies, it is clear that a new, comprehensive study of these issues is warranted” and encourages NCI [National Cancer Institute] to support research to address these issues and to hopefully provide women and physicians with a clearer, more informed picture of how breast cancer imaging should be considered as part of the overall women’s health care environment and urges the secretary not to implement changes to the breast cancer screening recommendations until this research is completed.” (p. 58).

The bill would fund substance abuse treatment programs at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The measure includes $8.724 million for opioid treatment programs and activities, $15.931 million to treat pregnant and postpartum women, and $29.605 million for programs targeted to children and families (p. 84).

The Department of Labor would be funded at $11.882 billion, $63.366 million below FY2015 and $1.298 billion below the president’s request.

The Department of Education would receive $64.224 billion, $2.912 million below FY2015 and $6.523 billion below the president’s request.

The committee adopted, by voice vote, an amendment by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA) to designate $750,000 in funding within the Children and Families Services programs account to be used for a child poverty study.

The following chart details funding for programs important to women and their families.

*Amount does not include funding for grants.