Status of FY2019 LHHS Appropriations

The appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) is the largest (estimated at $1.1 trillion in FY2019) of the 12 annual appropriations bills, when accounting for both mandatory and discretionary funding. As of September 26, the House and the Senate have each adopted the conference report (H.Rept. 115-952) accompanying H.R. 6157. The agreement contains full-year appropriations for LHHS (Division B) and the Department of Defense (Division A), as well as continuing appropriations (through December 7) for the remaining annual appropriations acts. The bill has been sent to the President for his signature. If H.R. 6157 is signed into law by the start of the fiscal year, it would be the first instance since the FY1997 appropriations cycle that full-year LHHS appropriations were enacted on or before October 1.

Scope of the Bill

The LHHSOn Friday, September 28, the President signed into law H.R. 6157 (P.L. 115-245), which contains full-year FY2019 appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) in Division B. This is the first occasion since the FY1997 appropriations cycle that full-year LHHS appropriations have been enacted on or before the start of the fiscal year (October 1). In addition to providing full-year appropriations for LHHS, P.L. 115-245 also provides full-year appropriations for the Department of Defense (Division A) and continuing appropriations (through December 7) for the annual appropriations measures that have not yet had full-year appropriations enacted (Division C).

Scope of the Bill

The LHHS appropriations bill is the largest (estimated at $1.1 trillion in FY2019) of the 12 annual appropriations bills, when accounting for both mandatory and discretionary funding. The bill provides annually appropriated budget authority for the programs, activities, and administration of the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (except for the Food and Drug Administration, the Indian Health Service, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, which are funded in other bills), the Department of Education (ED), and more than a dozen related agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA).

The LHHS bill is typically the largest single source of nondefense discretionary funding for the federal government; and discretionary appropriations generally account for about 19% of the total budget authority in the bill. Mandatory funding generally represents about 81% of the total budget authority in the LHHS bill, supporting annually appropriated entitlements such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income. Discretionary spending programs tend to receive the most attention during the appropriations process because this process controls amounts provided to these programs; the authorizing process generally controls amounts needed for mandatory spending programs.

FY2019 Congressional Action on LHHS

The House adopted the conference reportfinal version of the LHHS bill was negotiated by the House and the Senate via a conference committee. The House adopted the conference report to H.R. 6157 (H.Rept. 115-952) on September 26, by a vote of 361-61. This followed Senate adoption on September 18, by a vote of 93-7. The conference report was originally filed on September 13. It contains explanatory text addressing the implementation of the agreement and how funds are to be allocated, along with a detailed funding table for LHHS programs and activities.

Previously, the House and Senate had agreed to resolve differences with regard to H.R. 6157 via a conference committee, naming conferees on September 4 (House) and September 6 (Senate). Although the original House version of the bill hadAlthough the original House version of H.R. 6157 only included appropriations for the Department of Defense, the bill was amended on the Senate floor to also contain LHHS funding. The Senate also adopted 31 amendments to the LHHS division of the bill in the course of its initial consideration, and passed the amended version of the bill on August 23, by a vote of 85-7.

Earlier Committee Action

Earlier in the process, the House and Senate appropriations committees each reported a version of the FY2019 LHHS bill (H.R. 6470 and S. 3158).

The House Appropriations Committee held its LHHS subcommittee markup on June 15 and its full committee markup on July 11. The bill was ordered to be reported at the committee markup (30-22) and was subsequently reported to the House on July 23 (H.R. 6470). The committee report (H.Rept. 115-862) includes a detailed funding table. H.R. 6470 did not receive floor consideration in the House.

The Senate Appropriations Committee held its LHHS subcommittee markup on June 26 and its full committee markup on June 28. The committee approved the bill at the markup (30-1) and reported the bill to the Senate on the same day (S. 3158). The committee report (S.Rept. 115-289) includes a detailed funding table. Although S. 3158 did not receive Senate floor consideration, the text of this bill was substantially similar to the LHHS division that was incorporated into H.R. 6157 for purposes of initial Senate floor consideration.

Funding Levels

Table 1 compares proposed FY2019 LHHS discretionary appropriations to FY2018 enacted amounts. All amounts in this table reflect current-year budget authority subject to discretionary spending limits. The table displays regular appropriations as well as a total that includes certain upward adjustments to the spending limits that are allowed under the Budget Control Act (adjusted appropriations).

Relative to FY2018, discretionary LHHS appropriations (excluding funds provided as an emergency requirement) would behave been relatively flat under the FY2019 House committee bill (+$5 million). The FY2019 bills considered in the Senate, meanwhile, would increasehave increased regular discretionary LHHS appropriations by roughly $2 billion (+1.2%). The conference report would provide about a enacted appropriations law increases this funding by about $1 billion (+0.6%) increase.

Additional Resources

For more information on the status of FY2019 appropriations, see the CRS Appropriations Status Table. CRS reports addressing key funding questions for the programs and agencies funded by the LHHS appropriations bill are available on the CRS website.