AUCD Legislative News In Brief

AUCD Legislative News Special Report
President's FY 2014 L-HHS-ED Budget Request

Prepared by AUCD Legislative Affairs Staff 

President Obama released his FY 2014 budget request on Wednesday, April 10.  Overall, the President's budget would cancel the sequestration cuts going forward through targeted spending cuts and increased revenues and put the deficit on a downward path over the long term. 

AUCD is pleased to report that the President's budget provides funding for most of the AUCD network core programs at the FY 2012 level and that the NICHD is provided an increase. Below is a table comparing the FY 2014 request to FY 2012 appropriations level. The numbers are taken directly from the President's "Budgets In Brief," a summary of the funding requests for programs within the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, and Labor.  The amounts shown in the budget documents do not reflect the approximately 5.2% reduction as required by the sequester.  The budget briefs linked here note that the FY 2013 figures represent the annualized funding levels provided by the CR through March 27, before the sequester took effect.  Presumably, this is because the federal agencies still are not absolutely certain about the final program cuts resulting from sequestration.

It is also important to note that, for the first time, the DD Act programs are moved from ACF (Administration on Children and Families) to the ACL (Administration for Community Living).  Therefore, while these programs appear to be "zeroed out" in some of the President's budget documents they have just been moved to the new section under ACL.

*The President's Budget proposed to consolidate several Education Department programs, including the Postsecondary Program for Students with ID (TPSID) into the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education, and the Supported Employment State Grant into Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants. For more information, see the Department of Education Section

Department of Health and Human Services

Administration on Community Living

DD Act Programs

The new Administration on Community Living (ACL) within HHS would receive $2.1 billion, a $56 million decrease when compared to the amount that the programs that now make up the ACL received in FY 2012. The University Centers for Excellence (UCEDD) are level-funded at FY 2012 levels ($39 million).  State Developmental Disabilities Councils, Protection & Advocacy systems, and Projects of National Significance also receive level funding at FY 2012 levels.  The program that takes the largest hit within ACL is the Senior Community Service Employment Program (-68 million).

The final FY 2013 funding level for the UCEDDs (assuming an approximately 5.2% cut) would amount to an approximately $2 million cut to $37 million.  Therefore, AUCD is pleased that the President's Budget does not use FY 2013 as the baseline in this request.

Respite/Caregiving

The Lifespan Respite Care Act is level-funded at $2.5 million.  The National Family Caregivers Program within the Older American's Act is also level-funded at $154 million. Unfortunately, the Family to Family Health Information Centers appear to receive no funding under the President's FY 2014 budget.

Administration on Children and Families

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment

State Grants and Community-based prevention programs of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) are all level-funded at FY 2012 levels.  Here is the break-out of the CAPTA funds:

Health Resources and Services Administration

LEND/MHCB

The President's request funds the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) at $9.04 billion, $841 million over FY 2012 level. It provides $47.7 million for the Autism and other Developmental Disabilities initiative authorized under the Combating Autism Act, level funded from FY 2012.  Approximately $28.4 million of the $47.7 million is provided to fund the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program. The Maternal and Child Health Block Grant is also level funded at $639 million.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

The President's budget requests funding for CDC at $11.3 billion, a $71 million increase over FY 2012.  Trust Health Fund. The proposed funding for the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) specifically is $141.9. This is a slight increase from the FY 2012 enacted level of $141.792 million; however, the President's budget proposes a reduction of $67.148 million in core funding and $74.644 million from the Prevention and Public Health Fund, similar to the President's FY 2013 proposed budget.

The Budget does not propose consolidating the center's budget lines.  The President's budget proposals in 2011 and 2012 called for the consolidation of NCBDDD budget from 20 budget lines to 4 budget lines.  These proposals were not adopted by Congress and OMB has opted not to renew this proposal in the 2014 budget.  However, the President's budget has renamed the three major funding lines within NCBDDD. The new funding lines include:   Child Health and Development; Health and Development for People with Disabilities; and Public Health Approach to Blood Disorders. Additionally, the budget proposes a $6.7 million transfer of the Paralysis Resource Center (Christopher Reeve) to the Administration for Community Living (ACL).

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

The request includes a $471 million increase for NIH for a total budget request of $31.331 billion. According to the budget, the funding level "reflects the Administration's priority to invest in innovative biomedical and behavioral research that advances medical science while spurring economic growth." Funding for the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), which funds the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Centers (IDDRC), has a significant increase of $20 million. Most of the institutes receive an increase except for the National Institute of Mental Health, which appears to receives $20 million cut in the President's request, of which a portion is transferred to behavioral research priorities.    

The budget request would continue to support the newly established National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). Within NCATS, the Budget proposes $50 million, an additional $40 million over FY 2012, for the Cures Acceleration Network (CAN), intended to speed the translation and application of discoveries that have shown signs of success at the laboratory level but have not advanced far enough to attract significant investments from the private sector.

The budget continues to support efforts to recruit and advance the careers of people traditionally underrepresented in biomedical and biobehavioral research. These efforts include $776 million to support the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards program, which supports the inclusion of underrepresented individuals in the scientific workforce, and creating a new program to provide under-resourced institutions with opportunities to provide mentorship and resources to undergraduate students interested in biomedical research.

Department of Education

Preschool

The 2014 request includes new $1.3 billion to launch a 10-year, $75 billion mandatory investment in the "Preschool for All" program, which would support State efforts to provide access to high-quality preschool for all 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families. The program would award Federal funds as an incentive for States to provide universal access to preschool, which includes the following: (1) high staff qualifications, including a bachelor of arts degree for teachers; (2) professional development for teachers and staff; (3) low staff-child ratios and small class sizes; (4) a full-day program; (5) developmentally appropriate, evidence-based curricula and learning environments that are aligned with State early learning standards; (6) employee salaries that are comparable to K-12 teaching staff; (7) on-going program evaluation to ensure continuous improvement; and (8) on-site comprehensive services for children. Participating States would be required to contribute non-Federal matching funds, with a reduced match in exchange for serving additional children from middle class families if States reach benchmarks related to the percentage of children from low- and moderate-income families served. AUCD and other advocates are still reviewing the details of the proposal.

Special Education

The overall funding request for Special Education is $12.7 billion. The president has requested level funding for Part B state and local grants ($11.6 billion), Preschool grants ($372.6 million), and Part C Early Intervention grants ($462.7 million, a $20 million increase). According the budget summary, the $20 million increase proposed for Part C would raise the average State allocation by approximately $325,000, enabling States to provide high quality early intervention services to approximately 360,000 infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, and would permit the Department to award incentive grants to States to facilitate a seamless system of services for children with disabilities from birth up to age 5.

Special Education National Activities (Part D) are decreased by $1.4 million, with Technical Assistance and Dissemination ($46.8 million), Parent Training and Information Centers ($28.9 million), and Technology and Media ($29.6 million) level funded. State Personnel Development Grants would receive a $1.1 million increase to cover 40 new and continuation awards to take their total to $45 million, but Personnel Preparation grants are decreased by $2.9 million brining their total down to $85.8 million.

Institute for Education Sciences

The President's request includes a $10 million increase over the 2012 level to provide support for programs of research on families of children with disabilities within the Institutes of Education Sciences.  This research includes technology for special education; developmental outcomes and school readiness of infants, toddlers, and young children with disabilities; educational outcomes in core subject areas for children with disabilities; and social and behavioral outcomes. The IES Special Education Studies and Evaluation program is funded at the FY 12 level of $11.4 million.

Higher Education Act

The President once again has proposed elimination and consolidation of several education programs, including the Model Transition Program for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID). The President has proposed replacing this program with increased funding for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). The FIPSE includes 11 million for the TPSID, effectively level funding the program. The request also includes $247.2 million for new First in the World Awards under the FIPSE, a grant program to apply the lessons learned in the Investing in Innovation (i3) K-12 program to postsecondary education. According to the budget request, the program would include priority for projects designed to improve college access for "high-need secondary school students".

PROMISE Demo

The president is not requesting funds for the PROMISE (Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI) program, but instead redistributing FY 2012 unobligated funds from VR State Grants to support PROMISE grants through September 2013. The FY2014 request also includes language to allow the Secretary to use similarly unobligated FY 2014 VR funds to support activities like PROMISE. The goal of this program is to improve outcomes of children who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), including completion of postsecondary education and employment, as well as to improve family or household outcomes through improved services and support for the families of SSI recipients, such as education and job training for parents.

Vocational Rehabilitation

The President's $3.3 billion request for Vocational Rehabilitation State Grants includes a $180 million increase but proposes to streamline and eliminate some programs under this request, including the Supported Employment State Grants. According to the budget request, the Supported Employment grant program would be eliminated as part of its "goal to eliminate separate funding authorities for smaller VR-related programs under the Rehabilitation Act in order to reduce duplication of effort and administrative costs." Presumably, State VR agencies would be expected to continue to provide supported employment. To lessen the potential impact of these eliminations, the Administration states that it is "proposing language that would ensure that no State's FY 2014 allocation under the VR program would be less than the total amount allocated to a State under the distribution formulas for the VR State grants program and the Supported Employment State Grants program for fiscal year 2013."

In other programs, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research request includes a $1.2 million increase for employment research activities under a "new regulatory framework" that NIDRR plans to have in place by 2014, for a total request of $110 million. The State Assistive Technology request has a $2 million decrease, eliminating the alternative financing program to reflect the latest AT Act authorization, in which Congress eliminated the program but required states to provide financing services. AT programs would now be funded at $30.8 million.

Department of Labor

The president's budget for the Department of Labor requests $12.1 billion in discretionary funding. The request includes a $100 million increase for the Workforce Innovation Fund, including $10 million for disconnected youth, $20 million for the Pay for Success projects, and $50 million for veterans. The request also includes a $3.4 million increase to the Wage and Hour Division for enforcement activities, $5.8 million so the WHD can develop a new data-driven case management system to better target its investigations, and $1.1 million to bolster the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to support affirmative action requirements in hiring people with disabilities.

Office of Disability Employment Policy

The President has requested $42.4 million for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), a $3.5 million increase that is offset by a reduction in the Disability Employment Initiative funding for American Job Centers.

Related Agencies

National Service/CNCS

The proposed budget for the Corporation for National and Community Service provides no funds for the Disability Placement or Disability Inclusion Grants. Instead, CNCS is authorized by law to set aside 2% of program dollars to fund disability outreach and inclusion.

Conclusion

Traditionally, the House and Senate Budget Committees would use the President's budget request as a starting point for House and Senate budget resolutions. Given that both the House and Senate have already passed budget resolutions, the next step is instead for the two chambers to create a Concurrent Budget Resolution that lays a blueprint for spending for FY 2014. However, the political distance between the two budget resolutions makes this unlikely; and it is still unclear how much weight the President's budget will be given in the negotiations. If the two chambers do not reach an agreement on a concurrent resolution by May 15, the 12 appropriations subcommittees can start writing appropriations bills using the Budget Control Act topline. AUCD will continue to advocate for the highest possible funding for programs that promote disability research, education, and service.

For more policy news, follow Kim and Rachel on Twitter at @kmusheno and @racheljpat

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

For copies of this and previous issues of Legislative News In Brief please visit the Public Policy Page of the AUCD website: http://www.aucd.org/template/page.cfm?id=164