House Approves HHS Spending
Bill
July 11, 2003 - The House of Representatives July
10 approved its version of FY 2004 Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education and Related Agencies appropriations
bill (H.R.
2660) by a vote of 215-208. House Republicans were pushing
for early passage of the Labor-HHS bill, the largest of the
domestic spending bills, to show they can move the appropriations
bills under the tight spending limit imposed by the budget
resolution approved in April. Several Democratic amendments
threatened unsuccessfully to stall the bill. Additionally,
an amendment offered by Rep. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) that would
have prohibited the NIH from funding four specific grants
related to sexual health research was narrowly defeated 210-212,
with one Member voting present.
The House July 9 approved the rule for debate on the bill
by voice vote. The bill provides $138 billion in discretionary
spending for FY 2004, an increase of $3.4 billion (2.7 percent)
over the current year. The bill provides the following:
- National Institutes of Health - $27.664 billion (+2.5
percent);
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - $4.601
billion (+2.4 percent);
- Title VII health professions education - $278.4 million
(-9.7 percent);
- VIII nursing education - $112.8 million (no increase);
- National Health Service Corps - $171.1 million (no
increase);
- Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - $303.7
million (no increase);
- children's hospital graduate medical education - $305
million (+ 5.1 percent); and
- Community Access Program - $104.3 million (no increase).
Through the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research Funding, the
AAMC has activated a Web-based fax campaign to push for additional
federal support for NIH. The AAMC also joined a Coalition
for Health Funding letter to Congress asking for an additional
$6 billion above what was proposed by the Appropriations Committees
to support the Public Health Service agencies.
Information:
Dave Moore, Senior Associate Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
dbmoore@aamc.org
(202) 828-0525
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