Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2017 Appropriations

Summary

This report provides an overview of actions taken by Congress and the President to provide FY2017 appropriations for accounts funded by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill. This bill provides funding for all accounts funded through the annual appropriations process at the Departments of Labor (DOL) and Education (ED). It provides annual appropriations for most agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), with certain exceptions (e.g., the Food and Drug Administration is funded via the Agriculture bill). The LHHS bill also provides funds for more than a dozen related agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA).

As of the date of this report, FY2017 annual appropriations for LHHS have not been enacted into law. The House and Senate appropriations committees have reported their respective versions of the LHHS bill to their parent chambers, but neither of these bills has received floor consideration.

FY2017 Continuing Resolution: Temporary funding for LHHS has been provided by a continuing resolution (CR) that was enacted on September 29, 2016 (H.R. 5325, Division C; P.L. 114-223). With limited exceptions, the CR generally funds discretionary LHHS programs through December 9, 2016, at FY2016 levels minus a reduction of about one-half of one percent (-0.496%).

FY2017 House LHHS Action: The House Appropriations Committee’s version of the FY2017 LHHS appropriations bill was ordered reported by the full committee on July 14, 2016, by a vote of 31-19, and reported to the House on July 22, 2016 (H.R. 5926). This bill would provide $170.2 billion in discretionary LHHS funds, the same amount as FY2016. This amount is 1.3% less than the FY2017 President’s request. In addition, the House committee bill would provide an estimated $760.6 billion in mandatory funding, for a combined total of $930.9 billion for LHHS as a whole. The distribution of discretionary funding is as follows:

DOL: $11.8 billion, 2.8% less than FY2016.

HHS: $77.2 billion, 2.3% more than FY2016.

ED: $67.0 billion, 1.6% less than FY2016.

Related Agencies: $14.2 billion, 2.5% less than FY2016.

FY2017 Senate LHHS Action: The Senate Appropriations Committee reported its version of the FY2017 LHHS appropriations bill on June 9, 2016 (S. 3040) by a vote of 29-1. This bill would provide $171.6 billion in discretionary LHHS funds. This is 0.8% more than FY2016, and 0.5% less than the FY2017 President’s request. In addition, the Senate committee bill would provide an estimated $760.6 billion in mandatory funding, for a combined total of $932.2 billion for LHHS as a whole. The distribution of discretionary funding is as follows:

DOL: $12.0 billion, 1.1% less than FY2016.

HHS: $76.8 billion, 1.9% more than FY2016.

ED: $67.8 billion, 0.3% less than FY2016.

Related Agencies: $14.9 billion, 1.8% more than FY2016.

FY2017 President’s Budget Request: On February 9, 2016, the Obama Administration released the FY2017 President’s budget. The President requested $172.5 billion in discretionary funding for accounts funded by the LHHS bill, which is an increase of 1.3% from FY2016 levels. In addition, the President requested $760.6 billion in annually appropriated mandatory funding, for a total of $933.1 billion for the LHHS bill as a whole. The distribution of discretionary funding is as follows:

DOL: $12.8 billion, 5.2% more than FY2016.

HHS: $74.7 billion, 0.9% less than FY2016.

ED: $69.4 billion, 2.0% more than FY2016.

Related Agencies: $15.6 billion, 6.4% more than FY2016.