Disability Policy News In Brief

Policy News In Brief Special Report: House and Senate Committee Funding for Disability Programs in the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor

Last week both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved spending bills for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education for fiscal year 2016 that begins on October 1.  Both bills stay within the caps provided by the Budget Control Act of 2011; $153 billion for non-defense discretionary spending.  The House bill passed 30-21 after hours of debate during which Democrats bitterly criticized funding levels for domestic discretionary accounts and saw a series of their amendments defeated. The Senate committee passed its bill along party line votes (16-14) on Thursday.  It was clear during the committee markup that Democrats and Republicans strongly disagree on the priorities of the spending proposal but both Republicans and Democrats are unhappy with the low funding allocation.  Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), Chairman of the Labor-HHS Subcommittee, noted that the size of the allocation he received required hard choices.  His Democratic counterpart, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), while complimentary of Chairman Blunt's work, asserted that a larger budget agreement must be reached and that "this bill will never become law." 

Both bills are $3.7 billion below fiscal 2015 enacted levels and $14.6 billion below President Barack Obama's budget request. Both bills contain significant increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The House bill provides $1 billion increase to NIH while the Senate provides an historic $2 billion increase.  With the hard discretionary cap in place, the results were almost across the board cuts to many disability programs, including the DD Act programs.  AUCD sent a letter to Senate Committee leaders expressing profound disappointment with the cuts to DD Act programs.

Below is a summary of the House and Senate Committee bills highlighting some of the programs within the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education that assist people with disabilities and families.  The table compares the House and Senate Committee recommendations with the final appropriations for Fiscal Year 2015 and the President's Budget request.  The final column compares the House and Senate bills only to show the cuts provided in the Senate bill compared to the House bill.  The Appropriations House and Senate also have committee summaries.

*$9.5 million would be taken from TA and Dissemination to be used for this purpose

Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health

The Senate bill would increase spending for the NIH by $2 billion above FY 2015. This is the largest increase since its doubling ended in 2003. The House bill would increase NIH by $1 billion.  Some of the priorities for the increase outlined in the Senate report include Precision medicine, Alzheimer's research, BRAIN initiative, and antibiotic resistance.

NICHD, which funds the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (IDDRC) would also benefit from the NIH increases with a $19 million increase in the House bill and a $58 million increase in the Senate bill.  The Senate bill also specifically supports additional funding within NICHD for the IDDRC network.

Administration for Community Living

The Senate Committee bill cuts- all three DD Act network programs, a move that was unexpected.  The University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs) programs are cut by $2 million over FY 2015 to $35.7 million.  Protection and Advocacy programs are also cut by $2 million; DD Councils are cut by $3 million.  The House Committee recommended level funded for all three programs.   On the positive side, the report language in the Committee reports of both the House and Senate are very supportive of the UCEDD program.  Projects of National Significance (PNS) would be close to level funding in both bills.

Health Resources and Services Administration

The Senate bill provides level-funding for the Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities line item that includes the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND).  AUCD is also pleased to report that the House Committee is recommending a $2 million increase for the LEND programs --to $30 million - for FY 2016. The Committee includes report language specifying that the increase should be used to establish LEND programs in states that currently do not have one.  Unfortunately, the overall funding for the "Autism and Developmental Disabilities" line item is level-funded at $47 million.  The line item supports the existing 43 LEND training programs, 10 developmental-behavioral pediatrics training programs, 10 state systems grants, 5 autism intervention research networks, 2 resource centers, and 14 research grants.  AUCD will continue to advocate for an increase to $52 million for the overall line item so that no HRSA efforts will be reduced. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The House and Senate maintain and slightly increase funding for the CDC National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) with the House providing with the House bill providing $133.5 million and the Senate bill providing $132 million, which is still an almost $1 million increase over FY 2015.

Education and Employment
Special Education (IDEA) programs are increased in the House bill but take a big hit in the Senate bill.  The House would increase Part B State Grants by $500 million while the Senate proposes cutting this program by $692 million.  Almost every other program under IDEA would receive cuts under the Senate bill while the House maintains current funding for early childhood and Part D support programs (see the table above).

Significantly, the Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) maintains funding in both bills; however, the Senate bill would cut the program by $1 million.  The President's budget proposed a $2 million increase for this program.

The Vocational Rehabilitation program is maintained in both bills with strong report language supporting the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA): however, the Senate bill proposed to completely eliminate (consolidate) the $27 million Supported Employment State Grant program while the House bill would maintain level-funding for this important program.

Conclusion

The next step is for these bills to be brought to their respective floors for debate and passage. Republican leadership continues to state their wish to pass all 12 spending bills before the August recess, although many acknowledge that this would be difficult with so few legislative days and with so much controversy within these bills. Some in Republican leadership are joining their Democratic colleagues urging for budget talks fix to the sequester and lift the spending caps. The hope is that an agreement can be reached and a showdown over government shutdowns averted. Stay tuned for further updates in future issues of In Brief.

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For definitions of terms used in In Brief, please see AUCD's Glossary of Legislative Terms