House Continues Work on FY2007 Spending Bills
This week, the House approved the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and the District of Columbia spending bill (H.R. 5576). The House Appropriations Committee approved the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and Department of Defense spending bills. A House subcommittee approved the Science, State, Justice, Commerce and Related Agencies spending bill.
Floor Action
Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and the District of Columbia
On June 14, the House approved, 406-22, the Transportation, Treasury, Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and the District of Columbia spending bill (H.R. 5576). The House Appropriations Committee approved the bill on June 6 (see The Source, 6/9/06).
The bill would allocate $67.882 billion in discretionary spending for FY2007, a $3.7 billion increase over FY2006 and $269.320 million more than the administration’s request.
Among the adopted amendments were:
Rep. Nadler withdrew an amendment to increase funding for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program by $10 million.
Report Language
The House Appropriations Committee report accompanying the bill included language detailing a number of programs affecting women and their families. Although report language is not binding, federal agencies give careful consideration to such language as it indicates programs or initiatives that are particularly important for appropriators.
Department of Transportation
As requested by President Bush, $841,000 in level funding would be provided for the Minority Business Resource Center. The center “provides assistance in obtaining short-term working capital and bonding for disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses.” The center also “enables qualified businesses to obtain loans at prime interest rates for transportation-related projects.” In addition, minority business outreach would be level-funded at $2.97 million, an amount equal to the administration’s request.
Occupant Protection Incentive Grants would receive $25 million, $250,000 more than FY2006 and an amount equal to the administration’s request.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Homeless programs would receive $1.535 billion, $209.39 million more than FY2006 and an amount equal to the budget request.
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness would receive $2 million in FY2007, $218,000 more than FY2006 and an amount equal to President Bush’s request.
The Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program would receive $300.1 million, an increase of $13.99 million over FY2006 and an amount equal to the administration’s request.
Section 8 housing vouchers would be funded at $14.436 billion, $487.342 million more than FY2006 and an amount identical to the administration’s request.
Fair housing programs would receive $44.55 million, $990,000 less than FY2006 and an amount equal to the budget request.
Lead Hazard Reduction would be funded at $114.84 million, $35.64 million less than FY2006 and at the level requested by the administration. The allocation would include $91.674 million for lead abatement grant assistance to states, local governments, and Native American tribes, and $8.712 million for the Healthy Homes Initiative, which conducts outreach-related activities.
The Downpayment Assistance Initiative would be funded at $24.75 million, $250,000 less than FY2006 and $75.25 million less than the administration’s request.
The committee would not provide a separate account for housing counseling activities, but instead would set aside $41.58 million within the HOME Investments Partnership Program. The Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation would receive $119.79 million in FY2007, $2.97 million more than FY2006 and an amount identical to the administration’s request.
The committee said it “agrees with the administration’s proposal to shift the Youthbuild program to the Department of Labor,” saying that the move “will allow for better management of the program and is more aligned with the objectives of that department.”
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) would receive $26.928 million, $289,000 more than FY2006 and $3.619 million more than the budget request. The committee noted its concern over the ONDCP’s “programmatic priorities as reflected in its 2007 budget request.” In particular, the committee was concerned with the proposal to move the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program to the Department of Justice and ONDCP’s resistance to “focusing its programs to fighting the alarming rise in domestic methamphetamine production, trafficking, and abuse.”
The bill would provide level funding of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign at $100 million.
District of Columbia
The committee would provide $40.8 million for D.C. school improvement, $1.2 million more than FY2006 and an amount identical to the administration’s request. The committee said it is “very concerned about the dismal state of the District’s public schools.” It noted that the Department of Education has classified D.C. schools as “high risk” for failing to completely account for their use of federal funds. The committee “strongly urged the District of Columbia Public Schools to take action this year to restore confidence in the school system before federal action becomes necessary.”
Under the bill, D.C. Courts would receive $219.629 million, $2.906 million more than FY2006 and $23 million more than the budget request. Included in the appropriation is $73.929 million for capital improvements to courthouse facilities. The total would include funding for the Family Court, which handles all cases in the District pertaining to child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, adoption, and foster care.
Marriage Development Accounts, funded at $2.97 million in FY2006, would not receive funding in FY2007 consistent with the administration’s request.
Committee Action
Department of Defense
On June 13, the House Appropriations committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2007 Department of Defense spending bill (H.R. 5631). The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense approved the bill on June 6 (see The Source, 6/9/06).
The bill would provide $427.4 billion in funding for FY2007, including $50 billion to support continuing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The funding level is $19.1 billion above FY2006 and $4 billion below President Bush’s request.
Overseas humanitarian, disaster, and civic aid would be funded at $63.204 million, $2.273 million over FY2006 and an amount equal to the administration’s request.
The bill also would provide level funding of $1 million to the Women in Military Service for America Memorial Foundation.
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
On June 13, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by voice vote, the FY2007 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies approved, 9-7, the bill on June 7 (see The Source, 6/9/06).
The measure would provide $141.93 billion in FY2007, an $842 million increase above FY2006 and $4.136 billion more than the administration’s request.
Among the adopted amendments were:
Report Language
The House Appropriations Committee report accompanying the bill includes language detailing a number of programs affecting women and their families. Although report language is not binding, federal agencies give careful consideration to such language as it indicates programs or initiatives that are particularly important for appropriators.
Department of Labor
The Department of Labor Women’s Bureau would receive $9 million in FY2007, $666,000 less than FY2006 and $348,000 less than the administration’s request. The committee “recommends that the Department’s strategic plan for the Women’s Bureau include a future use of the Women Work program as part of its overall Women’s Bureau activities. The committee notes however, that the Women Work program has been funded for years without an authorization and appears to have no specific performance measures. It is only fair that funding in the future should be contingent upon the submission and enactment of authorizing legislation for this program, as is required for all others.”
Dislocated workers assistance would receive $1.476 billion in FY2007, $120.839 million less than FY2006 and $361.482 million above the budget request.
The committee would provide $1.465 billion for the Job Corps program, $8.74 billion more than FY2006 and $64 million above the administration’s request. According to the report, “The mission of Job Corps is to attract eligible young adults, teach them the skills they need to become employable and independent, and place them in meaningful jobs or further education. Participation in the program is open to economically disadvantaged young people in the 16 to 24 age range who are unemployed and out of school.”
The Community College Initiative would be level-funded at $125 million, $25 million less than the administration’s request. Although the committee is “not in agreement with a separate request for $150 million to the Community College Initiative, it is not opposed to the use of community colleges for workforce training per se…The committee does not agree with a shift in approach to worker training at this time but instead directs that the Department [of Labor] may use up to $125 million of funds made available to the National Reserve for competitive grants to community colleges for dislocated worker training.”
The prisoner re-entry initiative would be eliminated. The FY2006 funding was $19.642 million, equal to the administration’s request. The committee “recommends no further funding for the Prisoner Re-entry Initiative until Congress has reauthorized the program and has established authorized program levels.”
The bill would include the administration’s request of $12.363 million for the Bureau of International Labor Affairs, a $60.153 million decrease below the FY2006 level.
Department of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA):HRSA programs would receive $7.113 billion in FY2007, $524.307 million more than FY2006 and $778.816 million more than the administration’s request.
Community health centers would receive $1.988 billion in FY2007, $205.692 million more than FY2006 and $25.139 million more than the administration’s request. The committee report states, “These funds support programs which include community health centers, migrant health centers, health care for the homeless, and public housing health service grants. In providing this significant increase to the community health centers program, the Committee intends that funding will be used to support the development of over 300 new or expanded medical capacity sites.”
Recognizing the importance of information technology (IT), the committee urged HRSA “to ensure that health centers have adequate resources to establish and expand health IT systems in order to further enhance the delivery of cost-effective, quality health care services.”
The bill would provide $700 million for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant, $7 million more than FY2006 and the amount requested by President Bush. Of the $700 million, the committee would set aside $112.648 million for projects of special regional and national significance (SPRANS) that would be used for neurodevelopmental programs designed to “improve the health status of infants, children, and adolescents with or at risk for neurodevelopmental and related disabilities and their families.” The committee also provides $3 million within SPRANS to “continue screening newborns for heritable diseases.”
The Healthy Start infant mortality initiative would receive level funding of $101.518 million in FY2007, a level equal to the administration’s request.
The measure would provide $10 million for universal newborn hearing screening, $199,000 more than FY2006. Under the administration’s budget request, this program would not have been funded.
As requested by President Bush, the measure would not provide funding for the National Cord Blood Inventory program. Last year, Congress allocated $3.96 million for the program.
Ryan White: The Ryan White Care Act would receive a $70 million increase over the FY2006 funding level, for a total of $2.108 billion, $25 million less than the administration’s request. According to a committee press release, the bill would include $63 million for a new testing initiative at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Part D of the Ryan White CARE Act, which provides funding for programs for children, youth, women, and families, would be level-funded at $71.794 million, an amount identical to the administration’s request. According to the committee report, “HIV-infected children, youth and women and affected family members have multiple, com¬plex medical, economic and social service needs which often require more intensive care coordination, intensive case management, child and respite care, and direct service delivery to engage and maintain adolescents and mothers in care. Funds support innovative and unique strategies and models to organize, arrange for, and deliver comprehensive services through integration into ongoing systems of care.”
Family Planning: Title X, the nation’s family planning program, would be level-funded at $283.103 million as requested by President Bush. The report includes language “making it clear that these funds shall not be expended for abortions, that all pregnancy counseling shall be nondirective, and that these funds shall not be used to promote public opposition to or support of any legislative proposal or candidate for public office.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): The measure would allocate $6.073 billion for the CDC in FY2007, a $247.482 million increase over FY2006 and $239.616 more than the administration’s request.
The committee is “aware that chlamydia is the most frequently reported disease in the United States and is the number one cause of infertility in the country. From 1987 through 2004 the reported rate of chlamydial infection in women increased from 78.5 cases to 485 cases per 100,000. There are an estimated 3 million new infections each year. The nation spends an estimated $2.4 billion in direct and indirect costs for chlamydial infections each year. The committee is aware that where it has been established, CDC’s infertility prevention program has reduced chlamydia rates by 66 percent and decreased treatment costs by over 80 percent. The committee encourages CDC to expand the infertility screening program.”
The committee is also “aware that progress in controlling syphilis has been substantial as a result of focused efforts in targeted populations. The committee recognizes the urgency of controlling syphilis because of the impact of this STD [sexually transmitted disease] on the spread of HIV infection and on infant health. The committee is concerned that syphilis demonstrates the continuance of racial disparities in health and recommends CDC provide resources to expand the syphilis control program.”
The report states that “despite widespread condom social marketing for the last 20 years, 40,000 new HIV infections are reported every year and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are at unprecedented levels…To address these problems, the committee urges the CDC to: (1) promote evidence-based medical school curriculum guidelines for sexual health that will promote risk avoidance and non-condom-related risk reduction; and (2) harness the ever-growing power of the Internet to develop innovative and attractive strategies in a manner that promotes risk avoidance and non-condom-related risk reduction that will efficiently educate the public about their STI risks.”
Chronic disease prevention and health promotion would receive $846.744 million in FY2007, $8.08 million over FY2006 and $28.017 million more than the administration’s request. Within that amount, $53 million would be provided for heart disease and stroke, $307.536 million for cancer prevention and control, $41.477 million for nutrition and health promotion, and $44.009 million for safe motherhood and infant health.
The committee “recognizes that the national breast and cervical cancer early detection program (NBCCEDP) administered by the CDC is an indispensable program in helping underserved women gain access to screening programs for early detection of breast and cervical cancers. The NBCCEDP has served over 2.5 million women; provided 5.8 million screening examinations, including more than 2.8 million mammograms; and diagnosed more than 22,000 breast cancers, 76,000 precancerous cervical lesions, and 1,500 cervical cancers.”
According to the report, the committee is “encouraged by the progress that has been made by CDC, in coordination with the Office of Women’s Health, to initiate a national education campaign on gynecologic cancers, working with qualified nonprofit private sector entities. The committee strongly urges the continuation and expansion of this program, given that early detection can mean the difference between a 25 percent five-year survival rate and an 80 percent five-year survival rate for women diagnosed with a gynecologic cancer. The committee also encourages CDC to conduct an examination of the coordination of HHS’ current activities to educate women on gynecologic cancers.”
The report states that the committee “continues to be interested in pulmonary hypertension (PH), a rare, progressive and fatal disease that predominantly affects women, regardless of age or race. PH causes deadly deterioration of the heart and lungs and is a secondary condition in many other serious disorders such as scleroderma and lupus. Because early detection of PH is critical to a patient’s survival and quality of life, the committee continues to encourage CDC to work in partnership with the pulmonary hypertension community to foster greater awareness of the disease.”
The bill would provide $117.722 million for birth defects and developmental disabilities, which is $7.04 million less than FY2006 and $7.241 million more than the administration’s request.
The committee is “encouraged with the progress made in preventing neural tube defects, but notes that recent research shows only 40 percent of women of child-bearing age consume enough folic acid daily. The committee has provided the same funding level for fiscal year 2007 as was pro¬vided in fiscal year 2006 to enhance the national education campaign to increase the number of women taking folic acid daily.”
The committee commended the CDC activities in the area of child maltreatment and encouraged the agency to “develop a network of consortia that will address research and training, as well as the dissemination of best practices and prevention efforts, on the harms of child abuse and neglect.”
The committee would allocate $312 million for global health, $1.251 million below FY2006 and $69.103 million below the budget request. Of that, $121.952 million would be provided for global HIV/AIDS programs, $692,000 less than FY2006 and an amount equal to the administration’s request.
National Institutes of Health (NIH): The NIH would receive $28.25 billion in FY2007, $99.306 million less than FY2006 and $100 million less than the administration’s request.
The report states, “Today, in the United States, one woman will be diagnosed with a gynecological cancer every seven minutes. That is almost 200 per day and 80,000 in a given year. Furthermore, almost 30,000 women die from a gynecological cancer each year…The committee encourages the NCI [National Cancer Institutes] to give priority to gynecological cancers under its Nanotechnology Plan, its Oncology Biomarker Qualifications Initiative, and its Cancer Genomics Atlas Project.”
The committee “remains concerned that as the population ages, cardiovascular disease will reach pandemic proportions, and that women will continue to be affected at high rates. Therefore, the committee encourages the institute to place a high priority on health disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular disease in women by increasing resources to stimulate, strengthen, and intensify its investment in basic, clinical, translational, and trans-institute cardiovascular research through all available mechanisms.”
According to the report, “Given the typical increase in weight throughout adulthood, evidence suggests that reducing the obesity epidemic will require significant attention to preventing progressive weight gain starting in early adulthood…The committee encourages the NHLBI [National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute] to develop and test innovative, practical cost-effective ways for preventing weight gain in young adults to reduce heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.”
The committee is “pleased that the NIDDK [National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases] is formulating an action plan for digestive diseases through the National Commission on Digestive Diseases and that irritable bowel syndrome or IBS will be included.”
According to the report, “Research on interstitial cystitis (IC) is still in its infancy and while there has been important progress in this area in the last decade, there is still very little known about the etiology and pathogenesis of the disease. The committee encour¬ages NIDDK to place emphasis on IC-specific funding in order to focus on the basic science of IC and to attract and sustain research in the field. The committee is concerned about the lack of clarity surrounding the definition of IC…While the committee recognizes that this is a complex challenge, NIDDK is encouraged to develop a research definition of IC to clarify the investigative questions and ensure that the research results are comparable and therefore, more meaningful…The committee is also encouraged by NIDDK’s efforts to elevate awareness of IC among providers and encourages NIDDK to work more closely with the interstitial cystitis patient community and CDC to utilize its resources and expertise effectively.”
The committee is “very disappointed to see the proposed elimination of funding for the National Children’s Study is mentioned only in passing…The lack of discussion related to this significant termination, which has enjoyed bipartisan support in the House of Representatives, highlights a serious shortcoming in the justification materials…As a result, the committee has included bill language directing NICHD [National Institute of Child Health and Human Development] to dedicate $69 million from within funds provided to continue the National Children’s Study…for fiscal year 2007.”
The committee “encourages NICHD to compare optimal best practices for planned vaginal birth, measuring a broad range of physical and mental health outcomes appropriate to the sample size, including breastfeeding, attachment and other dimensions of the mother-baby relationship, secondary fertility, and the process and outcomes of subsequent pregnancies; and to support translational research to identify effective ways to bring best vaginal birth practices for healthy low-risk mothers into practice.”
According to the report, the committee “commends NICHD, for its commitment to reducing the incidence of premature birth and its consequences through its long-standing support of the maternal fetal medicine unit, and neonatal research network, as well as the new genomics and proteomics network for premature birth research.”
The committee also “applauds NICHD efforts in addressing stillbirth, a major public health issue with morbidity equal to that of all infant deaths.”
The committee encourages the National Institute on Aging “to support research that will…lead to better prediction for prevention and treatment of bone diseases such as osteoporosis, osteogenesis imperfecta, bone loss due to kidney disease, and heart attacks due to hardening of the arteries.”
According to the report, the committee is “aware that despite numerous important research advances, few new therapies are available to patients with lupus…Advances in the identification of lupus susceptibility genes and biomarkers make it imperative that a sustained effort be made to translate these research advances into clinically relevant treatments.”
The report states that the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) “works in collaboration with the institutes and centers of NIH to promote and foster efforts to address gaps in knowledge related to women’s health through the enhancement and expansion of funded research and/or the initiation of new investigative studies. The ORWH is responsible for ensuring the inclusion of women in clinical research funded by NIH, including the development of a computerized tracking system and the implementation of guidelines on such inclusion. This Office is also involved in promoting programs to increase the number of women in biomedical science careers, and in the development of women’s health and sex and gender factors in biology as a focus of medical/scientific research.”
The committee is “pleased with “the increased focus on IBS [irritable bowel syndrome] at ORWH and encourages the office to continue expanding research on this prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorder.”
In regard to multi-institute research, the committee states, “There is an urgent need to expand the develop¬ment pipeline with more microbicide candidate products, particularly those that target HIV in new ways. In addition to candidates that may arise from basic research efforts, the best possibilities may be found within pharmaceutical companies where there are, today, dozens of potential compounds already developed as therapeutics that could move into clinical development as microbicides if made available. As outlined in the ‘NIH Roadmap,’ NIH has mechanisms in place to encourage partnerships among researchers in” academia, government and the private sector. The committee encourages the leadership at NIH to support the microbicide field by encouraging the pharmaceutical industry to allow its drug candidates to be developed as microbicides. In recent years, the International Partnership for Microbicides has entered into innovative agreements with leading pharmaceutical companies to test and de¬velop leading AIDS drugs as microbicides. More partnerships like these between the pharmaceutical industry and the non-profit com¬munity will be critical.”
The committee “notes with alarm that being female, married and poor are often the most significant risk factors for acquiring HIV. Once developed, microbicides will be a critical element of a comprehensive response to HIV/AIDS that takes into account the unequal impact of the epi¬demic on women. The committee encourages greater emphasis on microbicide research and development at NIH. The committee has long advocated that NIH establish a dedicated microbicide unit with clearly identified leadership, funding and staffing to accel¬erate and coordinate NIH-supported microbicide research. Greater leadership and coordination on this issue is especially critical given that a microbicide-specific clinical trial network is under active review for approval.”
According to the report, the committee “appreciates the report the Surgeon General submitted on bone health in October 2004. In the report, the Surgeon General calls for a national action plan for bone health. To accomplish this, the committee encourages NIH to convene a national summit and develop a National Action Plan for Bone Health and Osteoporosis.”
The report states that the committee “applauds NIH’s continued commitment to Rett syndrome research, a genetically-based neurological disorder seen almost exclusively in females, which is estimated to occur in approximately one in ten thousand female births.”
The committee “notes that in 2001 the Institute of Medicine released a report that stressed the importance of gender as a basic variable that needs to be considered in all areas of biomedical research. Recent findings have demonstrated that significant differences between men and women exist in health and disease. One of the fields where such differences are most pronounced is neuroscience. The committee encourages each of the fifteen institutes involved in the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint to analyze carefully its entire NIH Neuroscience Blueprint research portfolio to ensure gender is included as a variable when appropriate, and to require that all reported results include gender specific analysis. The committee requests a written report from the Director that includes information on the progress of these efforts at all fifteen of the NIH Neuroscience Blueprint institutes prior to the fiscal year 2008 hearings.”
According to the report, “Since fiscal year 1998, Congress has highlighted the need for research on the prevalence, causes and treatment of vulvodynia, a painful and often debilitating disorder of the female reproductive system. The committee is pleased that some progress has been made since that time. For example, NICHD has supported a major study of the prevalence of this disorder. The committee calls upon the Director [of the National Institutes of Health] to build upon these initial successes by coordinating through the Office of Women’s Health Research an expanded and collaborative extramural and intramural research effort into the causes of and treatments for vulvodynia. This expanded effort should involve ORWH, NICHD, NINDS and other relevant ICs [National Institutes of Health institutes and centers] as well as the NIH Pain Consortium and should emphasize etiology and multi-center therapeutic trials.”
In addition, the committee is “concerned that many women with vulvodynia remain undiagnosed. To address this shortcoming, the committee encourages NIH to include information about vulvodynia on its website and that it work with relevant groups to implement a na¬tional education program for primary care health professionals, patients and the general public on vulvodynia and its symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options. The committee encourages the director to include experts on vulvodynia and related chronic pain and female reproductive system conditions on peer review panels. Finally, the committee encourages NICHD to reissue its request for applications in this area and to fund high quality applications.”
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): SAMHSA would receive $3.217 billion in FY2007, $11.371 million more than FY2006 and $82.934 million more than the budget request.
Center for Mental Health Services: The bill would provide $868.285 million in FY2007 for mental health services, a $5.84 million increase above FY2006 and $41.002 million above the administration’s request.
The Mental Health block grant would be level-funded at $406.843 million as requested by President Bush.
The committee “remains deeply concerned that suicide is the third leading cause of death for adolescents…and recommends that within the funding provided, programs that address youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies, including the youth suicide resource center, be funded in fiscal year 2007 at no less than the amounts allocated in fiscal year 2006.”
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment: The measure would provide $2.077 billion for substance abuse treatment programs in FY2007. This allocation is $3.155 million more than FY2006 and $26.725 million more than the administration’s request.
The substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant (SAPT) would receive $1.834 billion, $75.409 million above FY2006 and the administration’s request. Of that amount, $79.200 million would be provided through the evaluation set-aside as requested. According to the committee report, “The SAPT block grant provides funds to states to support alcohol and drug abuse prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation services.”
The committee “expresses its strong support for the SAPT block grant, an effective and efficient funding stream that is directed to every state and territory. The block grant is the foundation of our publicly funded substance abuse prevention and treatment system and serves our most vulnerable citizens, including pregnant and parenting women, those with HIV/AIDS and others. As a result, the committee remains concerned with any action that could erode, weaken, or in any way disrupt this vital funding mechanism.”
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): As requested by the administration, the bill would provide level funding of $318.695 million for AHRQ in FY2007.
The committee is “concerned about the prevalence of undiagnosed and untreated mental illness among older Americans…While effective treatments for these conditions are available, there is an urgent need to translate advancements from biomedical and behavioral research to clinical practice. The committee urges AHRQ to support evidence-based research projects focused on the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness in the geriatric population, and to disseminate evidence-based reports to physicians and other health care professionals.”
The report states that the committee is “aware that heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death among women. The committee requests that AHRQ, no later than September 20, 2007, prepare and submit to the committee a report on the quality of and access to care for women with heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. The report should contain recommendations for eliminating disparities and improving the treatment of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in women.”
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS):
The committee is “aware that heart disease, stroke and other car¬diovascular disease are the leading cause of death among women and is concerned that women are less likely than men to receive treatments for cardiovascular disease, perhaps due to lack of awareness and the presence of different symptoms in women than in men. The committee also recognizes that certain diagnostic tests for cardiovascular disease may be less accurate in women than men. Therefore, the committee urges the Center for Beneficiary Choices of CMS to develop and distribute to female Medicare beneficiaries, physicians, and other appropriate health care professionals, education materials relating to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular disease in women.”
Administration for Children and Families
Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): Under the bill, the CCDBG would be level-funded at $2.062 billion in FY2007 as requested by President Bush.
Social Services Block Grant: As requested by the administration, the Social Services Block Grant also would be level-funded at $1.7 billion in FY2007.
Child Support Enforcement: The measure would allocate $4.076 billion for payments to states for child support enforcement and family support programs. This amount is $3.332 million less than FY2006 and equal to the administration’s request.
International Trafficking: Under the Refugee and Entrant assistance account, a program to aid victims of trafficking would be level-funded at $9.816 million in FY2007, $5 million less than President Bush’s request.
According to the report, “The committee supports efforts to ensure that child trafficking victims do not remain trapped in life-threatening situations out of fear of being interrogated by law enforcement authorities. The committee supports efforts of the Department [of Health and Human Services]…to independently certify children as child trafficking victims eligible for benefits and services and encourages the Department [of Health and Human Services] to facilitate the provision of guardians ad litem for child trafficking victims to ensure their access to emergency benefits and services until their ultimate placement in foster care.”
Child and Family Services Programs: Head Start would receive $90 million less than FY2006, bringing the total to $6.788 billion. This amount is $2.8 million more than the administration’s request.
Consolidated runaway and homeless youth programs would be level-funded at $87.837 million in FY2007, an amount equal to the administration’s request.
As requested by President Bush, the bill would provide level funding of $42.43 million in FY2007 for child abuse and neglect treatment and prevention activities.
Programs to increase abandoned infant assistance would be level-funded at $11.835 million in FY2007, as requested by the administration. The bill would provide level funding of $286.753 million for child welfare services in FY2007, equal to the administration’s request.
Adoption: The measure would provide level funding of $26.848 million for adoption opportunities and $12.674 million for adoption awareness programs; both funding levels are equal to the administration’s request. For adoption incentives, the bill would provide $17.82 million, an amount equal to FY2006, $11.834 million less than President Bush’s request.
Mentoring Children of Prisoners: As requested by the administration, the Mentoring Children of Prisoners program would receive $40 million in FY2007, $9.493 million less than FY2006.
Promoting Safe and Stable Families: The bill would provide $345 million for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program in FY2007, equal to the administration’s request, and an increase of $40 million over FY2006.
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA): The National Domestic Violence Hotline would be level-funded in FY2007 at $2.97 million, an amount equal to the administration’s request. In addition, battered women’s shelters would receive level funding of $124.731 million as requested by the administration.
Abstinence-only Education: The bill would provide $108.9 million in level funding for the abstinence education program in FY2007. This amount is $27.765 million less than the administration’s request.
Administration on Aging: The Administration on Aging’s National Family Caregiver Support program would be level-funded at $156.167 million in FY2007, $1.98 million more than President Bush’s request.
Office of the Secretary
The committee is “concerned that there continues to be a lack of awareness among health care providers that cardiovascular disease is the leading killer of women in the United States. The committee encourages the secretary [of Health and Human Services] to conduct an education and awareness campaign for physicians and other health professionals relating to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases in women.”
Public Health Service’s Office on Women’s Health: The Office on Women’s Health would be level-funded at $28.265 million in FY2007, $104,000 less than the administration’s request.
Public Health Service’s Office of Minority Health: As requested by the administration, the bill would provide $46.775 million for the Office of Minority Health, $9.719 million less than the FY2006 level. The report states that the “OMH [Office of Minority Health] works with the Public Health Service agencies and other agencies of the Department [of Health and Human Services] in a leadership and policy development role to establish goals and coordinate other activities…regarding disease prevention, health promotion, service delivery, and research relating to disadvantaged and minority individuals; concludes interagency agreements to stimulate and undertake innovative projects; supports research, demonstration, and evaluations of projects; and coordinates efforts to promote minority health programs and policies in the voluntary and corporate sectors.”
Minority HIV/AIDS: As requested by President Bush, the measure would provide level funding of $51.891 million for minority HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment activities.
Adolescent Family Life: The Adolescent Family Life program would receive level funding at $30.277 million in FY2007, $95,000 less than the administration’s request.
Embryo Adoption Awareness Campaign: The bill would eliminate funding for this program. In FY2006, it received $1.98 million, an amount equal to President Bush’s FY2007 request.
The bill continues a policy “prohibiting the use of Title X funds unless the applicant for the award certifies to the secretary [of health and human services] that it encourages family participation in the decision of minors to seek family planning services and that it provides counseling to minors on how to resist attempts to coerce minors into engaging in sexual activities.”
The report language restates a prohibition on the use of funds to: carry out a needle distribution program; to provide abortion services; and to enforce any federal, state, or local law or regulation if it “discriminates against individual or institutional health care entities if they do not provide, pay for, or refer for abortions.”
Department of Education
No Child Left Behind: Grants to local educational agencies under the No Child Left Behind Act (P.L. 107-110) would receive $12.713 billion in FY2007, the same funding provided in FY2006 and requested by the administration.
William F. Goodling Even Start Family Literacy Program: The measure would provide $70 million for the Even Start program in FY2007, a $29 million decrease below the FY2006 level. Under the administration’s budget request, the program would not have been funded.
Reading First and Early Reading First: The bill would level-fund the Reading First program at $1.029 billion in FY2007 as requested by the administration. In addition, the Early Reading First program would be level-funded at $103.118 million, also equal to the administration’s request.
Teacher Quality: Under the bill, $1.302 billion would be provided to states to improve teacher quality in FY2007. This amount represents a decrease of $150.439 million from FY2006 and the budget request. The bill would provide level funding for the Troops-to-Teachers and Transition to Teaching programs, which assist eligible members of the armed forces and mid-career professionals to obtain certification as teachers. As requested by the administration, these programs would be funded at $14.645 million and $44.484 million, respectively. In addition, the Math and Science Partnerships would be funded at $225 million in FY2007, a $42.84 million increase over FY2006 and the administration’s request.
21st Century Community Learning Centers: As requested by the administration, the bill would provide level funding of $981.166 million in FY2007 for 21st Century Community Learning Centers.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): Total spending for special education would be $11.753 billion in FY2007, a $100 million increase over FY2006, and $55.511 million more than the budget request.
Education for Homeless Children and Youth: Under the bill, level funding of $61.871 million would be provided for education for homeless children and youth, equal to the administration’s request.
Vocational Education: The measure would level-fund vocational education at $1.296 billion in FY2007. Under the administration’s budget request, the program would not have been funded.
The committee “believes that funding provided for this program should be dedicated to activities that ensure secondary and postsecondary students are prepared with the requisite skills and knowledge to succeed in today’s globally competitive economy. The committee urges states to utilize the accountability data collected under the program as a means to monitor success in achieving this goal.”
Adult Education: In FY2006, funding for adult education would be level-funded at $579.552 million, an amount equal to the administration’s request.
Pell Grants: The bill would provide $13.009 billion for Pell Grants in FY2007, $36.23 million less than FY2006 and $349.287 million above the budget request. The maximum Pell Grant would be $4,150, $100 more than FY2006 and the amount requested by President Bush.
Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS):Funding for the CCAMPIS program would be level-funded at $15.81 million as requested by the administration.
Office for Civil Rights: The measure would provide $92.866 million in FY2007 for the Office for Civil Rights to enforce laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, and age in all programs and institutions funded by the Department of Education. This funding level is $2.255 million more than FY2006 and equal to the budget request.
The report states, “The committee supports the tremendous strides made possible through title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, but is concerned about any possible unintended consequences from its enforcement. The committee has heard complaints that some schools have chosen to eliminate teams as a mechanism to gain title IX compliance. The committee requests the Department [of Education] to report by February 1, 2007 on its activities to educate school administrators on the full scope of compliance strategies and its efforts to clarify that compliance does not require the elimination of teams or limitation of male participants in athletic programs.”
Subcommittee Action
Science, State, Justice, Commerce and Related Agencies
On June 14, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Science, Justice, Commerce and Related Agencies approved, by voice vote, the FY2007 Science, State, Justice, Commerce and Related Agencies spending bill (as-yet-unnumbered). Additional details will be available when the full committee considers the bill on June 20.
According to a subcommittee press release, the measure would allocate $59.84 billion, $2.63 billion more than FY2006 and $14 million more than the administration’s request.
Department of Justice
The Department of Justice would receive $22.1 billion in FY2007, a $724 million increase over FY2006 and $1 billion more than the administration’s request.
Violence Against Women Act: Programs under the Violence Against Women Act would receive $390.1 million in FY2007, $3.4 million more than FY2006 and $21.2 million more than President’s Bush request.
STOP Grants to prevent and end domestic violence would receive $172 million, $21.5 million more than FY2006 and $16.3 million over the administration’s request. Of that amount, $2.5 million would be allocated to the National Institute of Justice.
Rural domestic violence assistance grants would be funded at $39 million in FY2007, $200,000 below FY2006 and $200,000 above the administration’s request.
Grants to reduce violent crimes against women on college campuses would receive level funding of $9.1 million, $100,000 more than the administration’s request.
Civil assistance for victims of domestic violence would be funded at $42 million, $2.8 million above FY2006 and $3.8 million less than President Bush’s request.
Programs to enhance protection for older and disabled women from domestic violence would be level-funded at $4.5 million and $7.2 million, respectively.
The Safe Haven project would receive level funding of $13.9 million, $100,000 more than administration’s request.
Court-appointed special advocates would remain level-funded at $11.9 million, $100,000 more than administration’s request.
Judicial personnel training would be level-funded at $2.3 million, an amount identical to the administration’s request.
Under the bill, and consistent with the administration’s request, funds for televised testimony would be eliminated. In FY2006, the program received $1 million.
A database to track stalking would receive level funding of $3 million, $100,000 more than the administration’s request.
According to Chair Frank Wolf’s (R-VA) opening statement, the FBI would receive $6.04 billion “to improve counterterrorism and counterintelligence activities, while continuing to flight crimes such as child exploitation, human trafficking and gang violence.”
Funding also would be allocated to “fight the national epidemic of methamphetamine abuse,” including $367 million for Justice Assistance Grants to help support local drug task forces and $99 million in grants “to combat meth,” $40 million for drug courts, and a $15 million increase for the Drug Enforcement Agency to fight international trafficking.
State and Local Law Enforcement Assistance: The Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grants program would receive $558 million in FY2007. Under the administration’s request, this program would not have been funded.
The measure would provide $176 million for state and local crime laboratories to reduce and eventually eliminate backlogs of DNA casework samples, $432,000 less than the administration’s request.
The State Department
Under the bill, the State Department would be funded at $9.7 billion in FY2007, a $230 million increase over FY2006 and $386.3 million less than the administration’s request.
Independent Agencies
The bill would provide $643 million for the Small Business Administration.
Finally, the measure would allocate $6 billion for the National Science Foundation.
