House panel approves draft Labor-HHS funding bill

The House Appropriations Committee yesterday released draft legislation that would provide $156 billion in discretionary funding for the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education in fiscal year 2018, $5 billion less than in FY 2017. According to a committee summary, the draft bill would provide $77.6 billion for HHS, $542 million less than last year but $14.5 billion more than the president’s budget request. The proposal would increase funding for the National Institutes of Health by $1.1 billion and reduce funding by $398 million for the Health Resources and Services Administration, $306 million for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, $219 million for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, $198 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and $24 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The Labor-HHS subcommittee late today approved the draft bill. The legislation may need to change significantly to gain bipartisan support in the Senate.