2019

Home ▶ Washington Letter ▶ 2019 ▶ House Passes Spending Bill With $2 Billion Funding Increase
House Passes Spending Bill With $2 Billion Funding Increase

This week, the full House of Representatives passed its fiscal year (FY) 2020 health research and services spending bill, known as the Labor-HHS bill, as part of an omnibus spending package. The bill, which passed on a mainly partisan vote of 226 – 203, includes a proposed $2 billion funding increase for the NIH and a $921 million proposed funding increase for the CDC. In another success, the bill includes $10 million in new funding for CDC’s global tuberculosis (TB) program, and additionally a $10 million increase for CDC’s domestic TB program.

The House-passed FY2020 bill includes the following proposed funding levels for programs that the ATS monitors:

  • $2 billion funding increase for the NIH, for a proposed FY2020 level of $41.1 billion.
  • $921 million funding increase for the CDC, for a proposed FY2020 level of $8.3 billion.
  • $10 million funding increase for CDC’s domestic TB program, for a proposed FY2020 funding level of $152.3 million.
  • $10 million in new funding for CDC’s global TB program.
  • $40 million funding increase for CDC’s tobacco control program, for a proposed level of $250 million.
  • $5 million funding increase for CDC’s asthma program, for a proposed FY2020 funding level of $34 million.
  • $10 million funding increase for the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) for a proposed FY2020 level of $346 million.
  • $5 million funding increase for CDC’s Health Impacts of Climate Change program, for a proposed FY2020 level of $15 million.

The next step for the FY2020 health spending bill, and the funding increases for NIH and CDC programs, is for the Senate Labor-HHS subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), to move its version of the bill through subcommittee and full committee. Sen. Blunt is supportive of a funding increase for NIH in FY2020. However, before either of the bills progress, House and Senate leaders must reach a budget agreement with the president to lift austere overall budget caps. If a budget agreement cannot be reached, the funding increases in the House bill may not move forward.

Last Reviewed: June 2019