Hearing of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee - Fiscal Year 2016 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Bill
Hearing
Mr. Chairman, thank you for yielding. I want to congratulate you and Ranking Member
DeLauro, as well as staff on both sides, for bringing forward the Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations
bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
Funded at $153 billion, this bill supports proven and effective programs covering everything
from workplace safety, to rural health care, to early childhood education. I'm proud this
legislation strikes an appropriate balance by focusing on programs that support public health,
biomedical research, and education while taking a targeted, thoughtful approach to reducing
nonessential or inefficient programs. There are also a number of legislative provisions included
to rein in the out-of-control regulations that hurt our economy and job growth, and that have
impeded the rights of Americans across the country.
We are all aware of the important role the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), and the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) play in keeping our country healthy. This bill funds CDC at over $7 billion,
which includes additional funding to allow state, local, and tribal public health departments to
expand the prevention and awareness to reduce the burden of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes
in their local communities; to allow CDC to modernize state and regional labs to work with
states to combat antibiotic resistance; and to combat prescription drug overdose.
This committee understands the scourge of the drug abuse that is claiming lives across the
country and illustrates our commitment to fighting it by increasing funding levels for SAMHSA.
Funding for opiate and heroin abuse treatment programs is increased by $13 million over Fiscal
Year 2015 enacted levels along with a $16 million increase over the President's request for drug
courts. Finally, within HHS, I'm pleased that this bill funds the National Institutes of Health at
$31.2 billion, which constitutes a $1.1 billion increase over last year's enacted level and is $100
million above the President's request.
The legislation also provides ample support for important education initiatives. Special
Education state grants, which help local school districts ease the financial burden of providing
specialized educational services, are funded at $12 billion. GEAR UP and TRIO, programs that
help disadvantaged students prepare for and complete college, received a 7 percent funding
increase in the bill. Finally, Head Start is funded at $8.8 billion with a special focus on early
Head Start for the most vulnerable children.
I thank the subcommittee chairman for his hard work, and I support this legislation. I urge the
subcommittee to promptly report this bill to the full Committee. Thank you, and I yield back.
Source