Summary of 2016 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill

The 2016 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill is an affront to women, families, and all hard-working Americans.  It would walk back federal efforts to improve schools and help teachers; undermine public health; and place Americans’ financial security at risk. Finally, the bill attacks women’s health by eliminating Title X family planning, slashing Teen Pregnancy Prevention, and allowing employers to deny coverage of any health services to which they have a moral objection.

2015 enacted level:                            $156.8 billion

2016 Request:                                     $167.7 billion

2016 Omnibus:                                    $153.1 billion

*These figures do not include emergency funding for Ebola enacted in FY2015.

The Chairman’s mark would eliminate dozens of federal programs, agencies, and grant opportunities, including:

• Title X Family Planning, which received $286 million in FY2015.  There is also a new rider to prohibit funding for Title X programs.  The mark also cuts Teen Pregnancy Prevention by 81% from the FY2015 level and requires half of funding to be allocated to abstinence-only education.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which received $364 million in FY2015.
• CDC Community Prevention Grants, which received $80 million in FY2015.
• 27 education programs that received more than $2 billion in 2015 are eliminated, including
  • School Improvement Grants, which received $506 million in FY2015.
  • Preschool Development Grants, which received $250 million in FY2015.
  • Investing in Innovation, which received $120 million in FY2015.
  • Striving Readers, which received $160 million in FY2015.
  • Math and Science Partnerships, which received $153 million in FY2015.
  • Teacher Incentive Fund, which received $230 million in FY2015.

The Chairman’s mark attacks the Affordable Care Act on multiple fronts, including:

• Prohibiting use of funds to implement, administer, enforce, or further any provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
• Prohibiting funding for ACA navigators.

• Cutting $650 million from CMS Program Management Account, intended to block funding to support the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace.

• Rescinding $6.8 billion in unobligated balances from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CNMI), funding that was intended to test payment and service delivery models to reduce program expenditures.  CBO projects this rescission to cost taxpayers $37 billion over the next decade.
• Rescinding $100 million from Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
• Rescinding $18 million from ACA’s Consumer Operated and Oriented Plans (CO-OP)
• Rescinding $15 million from the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB)
• Terminating and rescinding funds from a HHS infrastructure and information technology account.

The Chairman’s mark includes dozens of policy riders, including:

• Prohibiting use of any funds in the bill from being used to “implement, administer, enforce, or further” provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  In addition, the mark rescinds approximately $6.9 billion in direct appropriations from the ACA that have not been obligated.
• Reducing the H-2B visa industries’ obligation to test the U.S. labor market before hiring foreign workers.
• Prohibiting funding for a “fiduciary responsibility” rule ensuring that financial advisers provide advice in the best interests of their clients, rather than advice that is lucrative for the adviser.
• Blocking $10.10 minimum wage for some federal contractors.
• Prohibiting enforcement of an Executive Order designed to block federal contractors with significant labor law violations from receiving federal contracts.
• Blocking release or implementation of the most recent edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
• Blocking the Department of Education’s College Ratings System.
• Entire text of Health Care Conscience Rights Act (H.R. 940), which would allow an employer and health plan to refuse coverage of any service to which they have a religious or moral objection.  It would also permit providers to refuse care and coverage of abortion – even in life-endangering situations.

Funding levels of other key programs:

• $31.2 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is $1.1 billion more than the 2015 enacted level and $100 million more than the President’s request. 
• $7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is $140 million more than the FY2015 level and equal to the President’s budget request.
• $3.6 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA), which is $23 million more than the FY2015 enacted level and $23 million less than the President’s budget request.
• $3.3 billion for CMS Program Management, which is $650 million less than the FY2015 enacted level and $920 million less than the President’s request.  This cuts is intended to block funding to support the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Marketplace.
• $2.3 billion for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programs, which is equal to the FY2015 enacted level.
• $2.4 billion for Child Care and Development Block Grants, which is equal to the FY2015 level and $370 million less than the President’s budget request.
• $20 million for Teen Pregnancy Prevention, which his $88 million less than the FY2015 level and $92 million less than the President’s request.  In addition, the mark requires that half of the funds must be allocated to abstinence-only programs.
• $105 million for CDC Tobacco Prevention, which is $111 million less than the FY2015 enacted level.
• $821 million for Seniors’ Nutrition programs, which is $6 million more than the FY2015 enacted level and $54 million less than the President’s budget request.
• $3.4 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is $25 million less than the FY2015 enacted level and the President’s budget request.
• $8.8 billion for Head Start, which is $192 million more than the FY2015 enacted level and $1.3 billion less than the President’s budget request.
• Pell Grant discretionary appropriations are cut by $370 million, which will cause a shortfall of $634 million in FY2017, resulting in a signification reduction of maximum grants or changes in eligibility.
• $14.4 billion for Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, which is equal to the FY2015 enacted level and $1 billion less than the President’s budget request.
• $12 billion for Special Education state grants (IDEA), which is $502 million more than the FY2015 enacted level and $327 million more than the President’s budget request.
• $1.3 billion for Impact Aid, which is $10 million more than the FY2015 enacted level and the President’s budget request.
• $1.7 billion for Improving Teacher Quality State Grants, which is $668 million less than the 2015 level and the President’s budget request.
• $2.6 billion for WIA Training and Employment Formula Grant program, which is equal to the FY2015 enacted level and $86 million less than the President’s budget request.
• $1.6 billion for worker protection agencies at the Department of Labor, which is $36 million less than the FY2015 enacted level and $192 million less than the President’s budget request.
• $445 million as an advance appropriation for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which is equal to the advance funding provided in FY2015.  The bill does not include $40 million for Television Interconnection as requested by the President’s budget.
• $818 million for Unaccompanied Minor Children, which is $130 million less than the FY2015 funding level and the President’s budget request.
• $688 million for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which is $367 million less than the FY2015 enacted level and $497 million less than the President’s budget request.