WASHINGTON WIRE
July 10, 2009
Issue 207
House Subcommittee Passes FY 2010 Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Bill
Lawmakers Spar over Pay-fors for Healthcare Reform
Obama Will Nominate Francis Collins NIH Chief
Top Story
House Subcommittee Passes FY 2010 Labor-HHS-Ed Appropriations Bill
The Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations Subcommittee approved by voice vote a FY 2010 spending bill on Friday, July 10. The draft spending bill, worth a total of $730.5 billion, includes $160.7 billion in discretionary spending, which is $52 million less than President Obama's request and $5.6 billion more than appropriated in FY 2009. The high price tag on the bill is already drawing Republican ire, even before the full committee marks up the bill next week.
The bill allocates $64.7 billion for the Department of Education - $7.8 million less than requested. If the bill is enacted, HHS would receive a $6 billion increase from last year, to reach a total of $73.7 billion. The draft bill gives the Department of Labor $13.3 billion, an $845 million increase from 2009 and about $23 million less than requested.
The draft designates just under $31 billion for the National Institutes of Health, but does not set the targets for the amount of dollars the NIH should spend on specific disease research. The draft also maintains current funding for Title I grants at $14.5 billion.
Health Care News
Lawmakers Spar over Pay-fors For Healthcare Reform
The Senate Finance Committee has yet to release a healthcare reform bill, as it is bogged down in negotiations over how to pay for expanding coverage. Meanwhile, the Senate HELP Committee is slowly marking up its portion of the legislation, and the House Committees of jurisdiction are preparing final bills after releasing a Tri-Committee discussion draft last month.
A series of sticking points have emerged over the overhaul's massive price tag, not the least of which is how and if to increase taxes to help pay for the expansion. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, appears bent on garnering the support of Republican Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, and has been holding meetings with Republicans to try to find a bi-partisan solution. As negotiations continue, however, the Senate comes closer to missing the August Recess target for having a bill on the floor.
For their part, the three House Committees of jurisdiction are wrestling with similar cost issues, but are expected to release a final bill as early as Friday evening.
It is unclear how Congress might harness the widely reported deal between the Administration and the hospital industry that would result in hospitals raising $155 billion in savings over 10 years.
Obama Will Nominate Francis Collins NIH Chief
President Barack Obama will tap Francis Collins, a geneticist that helped lead the Human Genome Project, to head the National Institutes of Health. Collins resigned from the National Human Genome Research Institute in May of last year. This year he founded and worked as the President of the Biologos Foundation.
Upcoming Events
Hearings
Monday, July 13
Health Care Overhaul
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
2 p.m., location TBA
Thursday, July 16
Health Care Competition
Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance Subcommittee
10 a.m., 253 Russell
Friday, July 17
Fiscal 2010 Appropriations: Labor-HHS-Education
House Appropriations Committee
9 a.m., 2359 Rayburn
For More Information
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