Summary of FY2014 Senate Appropriations Bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education

July 15, 2013

 

Appropriations

On July 11, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed, 16-14, its Fiscal Year 2014 Labor HHS, Education Appropriations bill. The Labor HHS bill would provide $164.3 billion in discretionary spending for the departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and Education, $7.8 billion more than the pre-sequester FY2013 level and $42.5 billion more than what the House Appropriations panel has allocated for its Labor HHS bill.   The table below shows the Senate Committee's recommendations compared to the President's budget, FY 2013 final appropriations after sequestration cuts, and FY 2012 for programs within or followed closely by the AUCD network.

HHS Program	FY 2012	FY 2013 final	President's FY 14 Budget	Senate FY14 Committee
University Centers for Excellence	38,792	36,602	38,792	38,792
DD Councils	74,774	70,555	74,774	74,774
Protection and Advocacy	40,865	38,559	40,865	40,866
Projects of National Significance	8,317	7,882	8,317	9,317
Autism and other DD	47,142	44,652	47,142	47,142
LEND	27,974	26,498	26,498	26,498*
NIH	30,860.0	29,151	30,860.0	30,954.9
NICHD	1,320	1,245	1,319.0	1,330.5
NCBDDD	137,287	130,143	142.0	141,944

*The Committee directs HRSA provide "no less than the FY 2013 level."

 

Following is the report language related to the UCEDDs:  "The Committee recommendation includes $38,792,000 for University Centers for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDDs).  The UCEDD program supports a network of 67 university-based centers that conduct research, provide interdisciplinary education, and develop model services for children and adults with disabilities.  The centers serve as the major vehicle to translate disability-related research into community practice and to train the next cohort of future professionals who will provide services and supports to an increasingly diverse population of people with disabilities." 

Under the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) the following report language appears under the line item for Autism and Other Developmental Disorders: "The Committee provides $47,142,00 for the Autism and Other Developmental Disorders initiative.  The program supports surveillance, early detection, education, and intervention activities on autism and other developmental disorders, as authorized in the Combating Autism Act of 2006.   The Committee directs HRSA to fund research on evidence-based practices for interventions for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities, for development of guidelines for those interventions, and for information dissemination at no less than fiscal year 2013 levels. The Committee directs that HRSA provide no less than the fiscal year 2013 level for the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) programs to maintain their capacity to train professionals to diagnose, treat, and provide interventions to individuals with autism spectrum disorders.  "

For the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Senate bill includes $30,954,976,000 (an increase of $307 million), of which $1,330,459,000 is included for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).  According to the Committee report, this increase includes $40 million for the new Brain Research through Application of Innovating Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Inititiative.

Other Highlights of the Bill

The Senate bill provides $11.7 billion, an increase of $125 million, under IDEA for Part B Grants to States for educating students with disabilities. The bill also includes $463 million, an increase of $21 million, to support statewide systems of coordinated and early intervention services for children with disabilities 2 years old and younger, as well as their families; and nearly $70 million, an increase of $20 million, to support research on how people with disabilities learn and how best to meet their educational needs.

The Senate Committee recommendation includes a new $1,000,0000 for a competitive grant or contract for the purpose of providing generally available technical assistance to local government and nonprofit transportation providers.  This assistance should focus on the most cost-effective ways to provide transportation assistance to all persons of any age with disabilities.  The activities should be limited to onsite technical assistance, establishment of a technical assistance web site, a toll free hotline and preparation of technical material.  In addition, because of rising fuel prices, such technical assistance should include expanding the use of accessible, fuel-efficient taxi service for persons with disabilities and those receiving dialysis. 

The bill would fully fund President Obama's request of $5.2 billion for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to carry out the health care law, $3.9 billion over the FY13 level. It bill also would provide $1 billion to the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

The House Labor HHS subcommittee has still not officially set a date for consideration of their bill. Senator Mikulski stated at the markup that she would like to see the Labor HHS bill come to the Senate floor, something that has not occurred since FY07. However, funding for FY14 is not likely to be resolved until a larger deal is struck between the House and Senate on a top line spending level.

For more highlights, see the Committee's summary of the bill and a Summary Table that includes programs within the Departments of Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies.