President Sends FY2016 Budget to Congress

On February 2, President Obama submitted to Congress his FY2016 budget. Released shortly after his State of the Union address, the budget provides the details of the president’s spending priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

The budget provides $4 trillion in overall spending for FY2016, which begins on October 1. The proposed budget increases spending by $38 billion for defense and $33 billion for nondefense spending, exceeding the spending caps established in the Bipartisan Budget Act (P.L. 113-67).

In December, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill (P.L. 113-235) that funds most of the federal government through FY2015 (see FY2015 Appropriations Summary). Congress extended funding for the Department of Homeland Security through February 27.

The charts below summarize funding levels for various programs important to women and their families. The administration also outlines several priorities for women and girls in its fact sheet: “Supporting Women and Working Families.”

Department of Agriculture

The budget proposes $156 billion in overall spending in FY2016 for the Department of Agriculture. This amount includes $131 billion in mandatory spending and $25 billion in discretionary spending. The administration’s request totaled $152 billion in overall spending in FY2015.

*Includes $60 million for breastfeeding peer counseling and other related activities.

Defense

The Department of Defense budget proposes a $534.3 billion base budget in FY2016. In addition, the request would allocate $50.9 billion in overseas contingency operations (OCO), bringing the overall request to $585.2 billion. The president requested $560.4 billion in FY2015, which included $496.1 billion in base funding and $64.3 billion in OCO.

Department of Education

The administration’s request includes $70.7 billion in discretionary funds for the Department of Education. This amount represents a $3.6 billion increase over FY2015. The budget also proposes $1.3 billion for the Preschool for All program and $750 million for Preschool Development grants.

Department of Health and Human Services

The administration’s FY2016 request for the Department of Health and Human Services provides $1.093 trillion in overall funding. This amount is $44.755 billion over the request for FY2015 and includes $83.795 billion in discretionary funding.

*The budget proposes to consolidate funding for Ryan White Part D into Part C. “The consolidated Part C program will emphasize care across all vulnerable populations, genders, and ages, thus assuring services for women, infants, children, and youth throughout the program.”

**Includes $30 million allocated for Ebola response programs from the Continuing Appropriations Resolution (P.L. 113-164).

***The total for Promoting Safe and Stable Families includes funding for abstinence education and the Personal Responsibility Education Program.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

The administration’s request includes $49.3 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This amount is $3.963 billion over FY2015.

Department of Justice

The president requested $28.654 billion in discretionary funds for FY2016. This amount is $2.427 billion over FY2015 and includes $21 million for a new VAWA 20/20 initiative. According to the budget summary, VAWA 20/20 will “focus on evidence-based intervention and documenting and evaluating results.” It includes $15 million to improve law enforcement and prosecutorial responses to sexual assault and $6 million to implement a domestic violence firearms lethality initiative.

An additional $14 million was requested for the Violence on College Campuses program. The summary notes that “[t]he additional funding will be used to expand victim safety and offender accountability on college campuses and to support implementation of recommendations made by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.”

The total also includes $5 million for a new Tribal Jurisdiction program, which was authorized in the VAWA Reauthorization Act (P.L. 113-4), $41 million for the Community Teams to Reduce the Sexual Assault Kit Backlog program, and $2 million for the Girls in the Justice System competitive grant program.

Department of Labor

President Obama requested $49.8 billion in overall spending for FY2016. This amount is $700 million over FY2015 and includes $13.2 billion and $36.6 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding, respectively.

*“Although this program is intended to address a critical need, these needs will be addressed more efficiently and effectively through the new Apprenticeship Grants program [$100 million in FY2016] and other department and administration efforts aimed at expanding registered apprenticeship opportunities, including to underrepresented populations like women.”

Department of State

The administration proposes $50.3 billion for the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in FY2016. This amount includes $7 billion for overseas contingency operations and is an increase over the $49.26 billion enacted in FY2015.

The total includes $250 million for the Let Girls Learn initiative. The summary notes that the program “will improve access to quality education and healthcare, and help address violence and other barriers to education that adolescent girls face.”

Department of Veterans Affairs

The administration requests $168.8 billion in overall funding for FY2016, which includes $70.2 billion and $95.3 billion in discretionary and mandatory funds, respectively. This amount is $5.2 billion over FY2015 and includes funding for gender-specific care for women veterans.

The summary notes that “VA is anticipating and preparing not only for the increase in the number of women veterans, but also for the accompanying complexity and longevity of treatment needs they will bring with them.”

Other Agencies

In addition to the departments listed above, the budget request includes funding for several independent federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Commission on Civil Rights, and the Legal Services Corporation.