News from the Hill: July 26, 2024
The House Appropriations Committee stuck to its markup schedule under new Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and completed work on all twelve annual Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills, including the Labor-HHS-Education (L-HHS) measure. However, passing bills that feature deep funding cuts and polarizing policy riders has proved difficult on the House floor. Ultimately, the House decided to adjourn early for the August recess, advancing plans to pass (or attempt to pass) variety FY 2025 spending bills before the break.
The House L-HHS measure provides a $15 million increase for the IDeA Program and preserves the CTSA line item while providing level-funding. Through report language and similar mechanisms, the House also continues to demonstrate strong support for the full spectrum of medical research. Unfortunately, the House bill also advances a recent proposal from the majority on the Energy & Commerce Committee to “reorganize” the NIH by consolidating the 27 Institutes into 15 new Institutes, folding in ARPA-H and reducing funding by $1 billion, and eliminating the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The Senate is unlikely to support these proposals, which have already drawn a strong rebuke from the stakeholder community.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has continued its emerging work to mark up all twelve annual FY 2025 spending bills. The Senate has taken a differing approach from the House, opting instead for measures that invest in federal programs, providing supplemental emergency appropriations beyond budget caps to further support key programs, and conducting its work in a bipartisan fashion. The Senate has now marked up eight annual spending bills and is set to consider its L-HHS and Defense bills (along with two other outstanding measures) on August 1st.
When Congress reconvenes in September, lawmakers will need to continue to address FY 2025 appropriations while also passing a Continuing Resolution to keep the federal government open and operating past the October 1st start of the fiscal year. This action is likely to be time consuming and possibly divisive but should also buy Congress time to finalize FY 2025 appropriations during the Lame Duck Session following the November elections.
By: Dane Christiansen, Washington Representative