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Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Labor, HHS and State and Foreign Ops Spending Bills

On September 7, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed the FY2018 Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS), and Education (S. 1771) and the FY2018 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (S. 1780) spending bills. The Senate Subcommittees on Labor, HHS, Education, and Related Agencies and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs approved their respective measures on September 6.

Labor, HHS, and Education

According to the committee summary, the measure provides a total of $164.1 billion in discretionary funding, $3 billion above FY2017 and $27.5 billion above the administration’s FY2018 request.

The measure provides $12 billion for the Department of Labor, $61.5 million below FY2017.

The Department of Health and Human Services would receive a total of $79.4 billion in discretionary funding, $1.7 billion above FY2017. The measure includes $36.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health ($2 billion above FY2017), $5 million for a new Maternal and Child Depression program, $2.9 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, $9.3 billion for Head Start, $21 million for victims of trafficking, and $25 million for sexual risk avoidance. 

The Department of Education would receive $68.3 billion in discretionary funding, $29 million above FY2017. This amount includes $15.5 billion for Title I Grants to local education agencies (LEAs).

Program/Agency

FY2017

President’s FY2018 Request

House

Senate

 

Department of Labor

Dislocated Workers’ Assistance

$1.242 billion

 

$732.485 million

$1.146 billion

$1.242 billion

Women’s Bureau

$12.53 million

$2.925 million

$11.466 million

$12.53 million

International Labor Affairs

$86.125 million

$18.5 million

$26.5 million

$86.125 million

Department of Health and Human Services

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)

$6.461 billion

$5.816 billion

$6.092 billion

$6.466 billion

Community Health Centers

$1.491 billion

$1.489 billion

$1.491 billion

$1.491 billion

Maternal and Child Health Bureau

$863.617 billion

$795.29 billion

$848.617 billion

$848.617 billion

Maternal and Child Health Block Grant

$641.7 million

$666.987 million

$641.7 million

$641.7 million

Heritable Disorders

$13.883 million

$0

$13.883 million

$13.883 million

Universal Newborn Hearing Screening

$17.818 million

$0

$17.818 million

$17.818 million

Healthy Start

$103.5 million

$128.303 million

$103.5 million

$103.5 million

Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act

$2.319 billion

$2.26 billion

$2.319 billion

$2.319 billion

Ryan White Part D – Children, Youth, Women, and Families Programs

$75.088 million

$75.088 million

$75.088 million

$75.088 million

Family Planning

$286.479 million

$286.479 million

$0

$286.479 million

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (overall)

$7.255 billion

$6.031 billion

$7.057 billion

$7.175 billion

Global Health

$435.121 million

$350 million

$435.121 million

$433.621 million

HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB Prevention

$1.117 billion

$934 million

$1.117 billion

$1.117 billion

National Institutes of Health (overall)

$34.084 billion

$26.604 billion

$35.184 billion

$36.084 billion

National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

$288.312 million

$214.723 million

$293.583 million

$297.784 million

Administration for Children and Families (overall)

$33.975 billion

$28.147 billion

$33.86 billion

$34.443 billion

Child Support Enforcement

$4.277 billion

$4.361 billion

$4.361 billion

$4.361 billion

Refugee and Entrant Assistance (aid to victims of trafficking)

$18.755 million

$18.719 million

$18.755 million

$20.755 million

Child Care Development Block Grant

$2.856 billion

$2.761 billion

$2.86 billion

$2.856 billion

Child and Families Services Program

$11.294 billion

$10.204 billion

$11.182 billion

$11.284 billion

Head Start

$9.253 billion

$9.168 billion

$9.275 billion

$9.253 billion

Family Violence/Battered Women’s Shelters

$151 million

$151 million

$151 million

$156 million

National Domestic Hotline

$8.25 million

$8.25 million

$8.75 million

$8.25 million

Promoting Safe and Stable Families (overall)

$384.765 million

$404.651 million

$384.765 million

$384.765 million

Office of the Secretary – General Departmental Management

$525.457 million

$361.966 million

$350.346 million

$535.457 million

Sexual Risk Avoidance

$15 million

$10 million

$20 million

$25 million

Teen Pregnancy Prevention Community Grants

$101 million

$0

$0

$101 million

Office of Minority Health

$56.67 million

$56.562 million

$45.25 million

$56.670 million

Office on Women’s Health

$32.14 million

$32.14 million

$25.712 million

$32.140 million

Minority HIV/AIDS

$53.9 million

$0

$0

$53.9 million

Office for Civil Rights

$38.798 million

$32.53 million

$38.798 million

$38.798 million

Department of Education

Title I Grants to LEAs

$15.46 billion

$15.881 billion

$15.46 billion

$15.46 billion

 

Special Education grants for Infants and Families

$458.556 million

$457.684 million

$458.556 million

$458.556 million

Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS)

$15.134 million

$0

$0

$15.134 million

Office for Civil Rights

$108.5 million

$106.797 million

$108.5 million

$117 million

The bill would include $5 million for a new initiative to support clinical training of sexual assault nurse examiners to administer medical forensic exams and treatment to victims of sexual assault, and an additional $5 million for CDC’s Rape Prevention and Education program. The legislation also would allocate $5 million for a new Screening and Treatment for Maternal Depression program within HRSA, as authorized by the 21st Century CURES Act (P.L. 114-255), and $19.931 million to continue a pilot program to provide substance abuse treatment for pregnant and postpartum women.

State and Foreign Operations

On September 7, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2018 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs spending bill (S. 1780), as amended. The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee approved the bill on September 6.

According to the committee summary, the bill would allocate $51.35 billion in overall spending for programs at the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This amount is $1.9 billion below FY2017, $10.7 billion above the president’s FY2018 budget request, and $3.8 billion over the House version of the bill (see The Source, 7/21/17). It includes $51.2 billion in discretionary funding, $20.8 billion of which is for overseas contingency operations; funding for USAID would be allocated at $1.35 billion.

Global health programs would receive $8.71 billion in FY2018. The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) would receive $5.67 billion, while HIV/AIDS initiatives at USAID would receive $330 million. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria would receive $1.35 billion, and $829.5 million would be allocated for maternal and child health programs. As amended, family planning and reproductive health programs would receive $585 million. Nutrition programs would receive $125 million in FY2018.

The bill would provide $19 million for a program to assist women and girls at risk from extremism and $3.11 billion for Migration and Refugee Assistance programs. The legislation also would allocate funding for programs to address the needs of victims of famine and other natural and manmade disasters. The bill “promotes U.N. peacekeeping reforms and restricts assistance for units involved in sexual exploitation and abuse.” As amended, the measure would provide $37.5 million for the U.N. Population Fund.

Also as amended, the bill would repeal the Mexico City Policy, which prohibits foreign assistance to foreign nongovernmental organizations that promote or perform abortions. However, the Tiahrt, Helms, and Kemp-Kasten Amendments, which prohibit funding for abortions, would be preserved.

Program/Agency

FY2017

President’s FY2018 Request

House

Senate

 

Department of State

Diplomatic and Consular Affairs (does not include OCO)

$6.147 billion

$5.284 billion

$5.449 billion

$5.605 billion

International Peacekeeping

$552.904 million

$268.886 million

$529.909 million

$779.761 million

Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

$12.5 million

$13.882 million

$13.822 million

$12.5 million

USAID (does not include OCO)

$1.205 billion

$1.046 billion

$1.134 billion

$1.19 billion

Bilateral Economic Assistance

Migration and Refugee Assistance

$912.802 million

$715.241 million

$877.802 million

$1.443 billion

Global Health and Child Survival (State and USAID)

$8.725 billion

$6.481 billion

$8.321 billion

$8.590 billion

President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)

$5.67 billion

$4.975 billion

$5.67 billion

$5.67 billion

Maternal and Child Health

$814.5 million

$749.6 million

 

$814.5 million

$829.5 million

Vulnerable Children

$23 million

$0

$23 million

$23 million

Family Planning/Reproductive Health

$523.95 million

$0

$461 million

$544 million

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria

$137.5 billion

$1.125 billion

$1.35 billion

$1.35 billion

HIV/AIDS-USAID

$330 million

$0

$330 million

$330 million

Microbicides

$45 million

$0

$45 million

$45 million

International Organizations and Programs

U.N. Children’s Fund

$137.5 million

Not specified

$132.5 million

$137.5 million[i]

U.N. Women (formerly UNIFEM)

$8.5 million

$0

$0

$8.5 million

U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA)

$32.5 million

$0

$0

$37.5 million

[i] Includes $5 million for combatting female genital mutilation programs. 

The bill includes funding within International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement for programs to increase the recruitment, training, and retention of women in law enforcement and the judiciary and to train Afghan security personnel to prevent and address gender-based violence, human trafficking, and other challenges facing women and girls. In addition, the measure would provide $50 million to increase women’s political participation and $11 million to combat child marriage.