Summary of FY 2018 Labor-HHS-Eduation Appropriations bill - Committee mark

The 2018 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations bill is an affront to women, families, and all hard-working Americans. It would harm schools and eliminate support for teachers; dramatically cut job training opportunities; and undermine public health. Finally, the bill attacks women’s health by eliminating Title X family planning and Teen Pregnancy Prevention, and removing the ability of millions of women to choose Planned Parenthood as their preferred health care provider.

2017 enacted level: $161.025 billion

2018 Request: $136.573 billion

2018 Mark: $156.042 billion

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

• Title X Family Planning, which received $286 million in FY2017.  There is also a rider to prohibit funding for Title X programs.  The mark also eliminates funding for Teen Pregnancy Prevention, which was funded at $108 million in 2017.  Additionally, the bill provides $20 million for abstinence-only programs, which is an increase of $5 million over the 2017 level.
• 11 education programs, totaling $2.5 billion are eliminated, including:
  • Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants, which received $2.1 billion in FY2017
  • Comprehensive Literacy Development Grants, which received $190 million in FY2017;
  • Arts in Education, which received $27 million in FY 2017;
  • Education Innovation and Research, which received $100 million in FY2017;
  • Child Care Access Means Parents in School, which received $15.1 million in FY2017;
  • Teacher Quality Partnerships, which received $43 million in FY2017.

• Apprenticeship Grants, which received $95 million in FY2017.
• Employment Service Grants to States, which received $671.4 million in FY2017.
• Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative (Office of the Secretary), which received $53.9 million in FY2017.
• Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health, which received $35 million in FY2017.
• State Health Insurance Program (SHIP), which received $47 million in FY2017.

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 $524 million from CMS Program Management, intended to block funding to support the ACA Marketplace.

• Rescinding $15 million from the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB)

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. 
• Blocking implementation of a “fiduciary responsibility” rule. The rule ensures that financial advisers provide advice in the best interests of their clients, rather than advice that is lucrative for the adviser.
• Prohibiting funds to enforce the NLRB’s Joint Employer standard, which ensures that workers can bargain with parent companies that control the terms and conditions of employment.
• The entire text of the Conscience Protection Act, which would threaten a woman’s access to care, including in life-endangering emergencies.

Funding levels of other key programs:

• $35.2 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is $1.1 billion more than the FY2017 enacted level and $8.6 billion above the President’s budget request.
• $7.0 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is $163 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $3.5 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Agency (SAMHSA), which is $306 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
  • Includes $500 million for Comprehensive Opioid Response State Grants, as provided in the 21st Century Cures Act.
• $3.5 billion for CMS Program Management, which is $524 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.  This cut is intended to block funding to support the ACA Marketplace; it would also harm Medicare by cutting hundreds of millions of dollars from the administrative budget for traditional Medicare services.
• $300 million for Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) research activities, which is $24 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $2.3 billion for Ryan White HIV/AIDS Programs, which is equal to the FY2017 enacted level.
• $2.8 billion for Child Care and Development Block Grants, which is $4 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $9.3 billion for Head Start, which is $22 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $498 million for Unaccompanied Minor Children, which is $450 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $155 million for CDC Tobacco Prevention, which is $50 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $838 million for Seniors’ Nutrition programs, which is the same as the FY2017 enacted level.
• $3.4 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which is the same as the FY2017 enacted level.
• The Chairman’s mark rescinds $3.3 billion from the Pell Grant program.
• $15.5 billion for Title I Grants to School Districts, which is the same as the FY2017 level.  The bill does not include funding for “public school choice” or private school vouchers.
• $12.2 billion for Special Education Part B State Grants (IDEA), which is $200 million more than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $1.3 billion for Impact Aid, which is $5 million more than both the FY2017 enacted level.
• The Chairman’s mark rescinds $200 million from Dislocated Worker job training, which was provided as an advance in the FY2017 Omnibus.
• $2.6 billion for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Grants to States, which is $86 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $300 million for the Senior Community Service Employment Program, which is $100 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $1.7 billion for Job Corps, which is $16 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $1.5 billion for worker protection agencies at the Department of Labor (Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Mine Safety and Health Administration, Office of Federal Contractor Compliance, and others), which is $59 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $445 million as an advance appropriation for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which is equal to the advance funding provided in FY2017. The bill provides no funds for Interconnection, which received $50 million in FY2017.
• $249 million for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which is $25 million less than the FY2017 enacted level.
• $1 billion for the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), which is the same as the FY2017 enacted level.
• $12.4 billion for the Social Security Administration’s operating budget, which is the same as the FY2017 enacted level. Funding for program integrity activities is reduced by $84 million.