House Subcommittee Passes
HHS Spending Bill
June 20, 2003 - The House
Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Subcommittee June 19
approved its FY 2004 spending bill. The bill includes $138.04
billion in discretionary funding, an increase of $3.68 billion
(2.7 percent) over the current year's level.
The bill includes $27.664 billion for National Institutes
of Health (NIH), which is described in a subcommittee press
release as "an increase of more than 7 percent because
of one-time costs in FY03." The subcommittee has identified
these "one-time costs" to include funds for biodefense
laboratory construction, other intramural and extramural facilities
construction, campus security and anthrax vaccine procurement.
However, the total NIH budget increases by $682 million (2.5
percent) over FY 2003. This is equal to the President's FY
2004 request. All NIH institutes and centers are funded at
the Administration's requested levels.
Funding for the CDC is $4.601 billion, an increase of $107
million (2.4 percent). This includes $382 million (a $23 million
increase) to enhance CDC's resources for preventing and controlling
infectious disease threats, such as SARS, West Nile Virus,
and Monkeypox.
The subcommittee bill provides $391.2 million for the Title
VII and VIII health professions programs, a $30 million (7.1
percent) decrease below the FY 2003 level. This is $282.1
million more than the President's request for these programs.
Within Title VII, the subcommittee proposes a decrease for
all programs, except for geriatrics programs, which are increased
by $4 million (15 percent) to $32 million and allied health,
which are frozen at $11.9 million. The Title VIII nursing
programs receive level funding of $112.8 million.
The House subcommittee also allocates the same funding as
last year for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
(AHRQ) at $303.7 million, with all funding to be provided
in transfers from other agencies.
The bill includes $171.1 million for the National Health
Service Corps, the same amount as in this year. Children's
graduate medical education is funded at $305 million, an increase
of $14.9 million (5.1 percent). Community Access Program funding
is also frozen at this year's level of $104.3 million.
For homeland security activities under the Public Health
and Social Services Emergency Fund, the bill includes $1.777
billion, a decrease of $110 million (5.8 percent). This includes
$518 million for hospital preparedness and $27.9 million for
bioterrorism curriculum development through the Health Resources
and Services Administration.
For the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation
Research within the Department of Education, the bill includes
$110 million, an increase of $715,000 (0.65 percent).
The full House Appropriations Subcommittee is tentatively
set to consider the bill June 25. The Senate Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations Subcommittee is scheduled to consider its bill
June 25, with full committee action the following day.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Erica Froyd, Director, Public Health and Research Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
efroyd@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Jonathan Fishburn, Director, Research, Education and Veterans' Legislative Affairs
AAMC Office of Governmental Relations
jfishburn@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
Get Washington Highlights
in your Inbox!
| 
