Congress is considering an FY2019 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS). The LHHS bill is the largest ($1.0 trillion in FY2018) of the 12 annual appropriations bills, when accounting for both mandatory and discretionary funding. Most recently, on September 13, a conference report (H.Rept. 115-952) was filed on H.R. 6157, containing a full-year appropriations act for LHHS (Division B) and the Department of Defense (Division A), as well as a continuing resolution (through December 7) for the remaining annual appropriations acts. If this bill becomes 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 LHHS bill provides the 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 conference report (H.Rept. 115-952) was filed on September 13 and includes explanatory text addressing the implementation of the agreement and how funds are to be allocated. The report also contains 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. (Conferees on the bill were named in the House on September 4 and in the Senate on September 6.) Although the original House version of the bill had only included appropriations for the Department of Defense, the bill was amended on the Senate floor to also contain LHHS appropriations. The Senate adopted 31 amendments to the LHHS division of the bill in the course of its consideration, and passed the amended version of the bill on August 23, by a vote of 85-7.

Earlier Committee Action

The House and Senate appropriations committees have each reported their respective versions of the FY2019 LHHS bill (H.R. 6470 and S. 3158). H.R. 6470 did not receive floor consideration in the House. The text of S. 3158 was substantially similar to the LHHS division that was incorporated into H.R. 6157 for the purposes of initial Senate floor consideration.

The House Appropriations Committee's LHHS subcommittee approved its draft bill on June 15. The full committee markup was held on July 11, and the bill was ordered to be reported that same day (30-22). The bill was subsequently reported to the House on July 23 (H.R. 6470). The committee report (H.Rept. 115-862) includes a detailed funding table.

The Senate Appropriations Committee's LHHS subcommittee approved its draft bill on June 26. The full committee markup was held on June 28. The committee approved the bill (30-1) and reported the bill that same day (S. 3158). The committee report (S.Rept. 115-289) includes a detailed funding table.

Funding Levels

Table 1 compares proposed FY2019 LHHS discretionary appropriations to FY2018 enacted amounts. All the amounts in this table are drawn from Congressional Budget Office estimates and represent current-year budget authority subject to discretionary spending limits. The table displays regular appropriations as well as a funding total that includes the upward adjustments to the spending limits that are allowed under the Budget Control Act ("adjusted appropriations"). (In the case of the LHHS bill, these adjustments may occur for "Program Integrity" and "Emergency Requirements" funding.)

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

Table 1. FY2018 Enacted and FY2019 Proposed LHHS Discretionary Appropriations

Current-Year Discretionary Budget Authority Subject to Spending Limits

(in billions of dollars)

 

FY2018
Enacted

FY2019 House Cmte.
(H.R. 6470)

FY2019 Senate Cmte.
(S. 3158)

FY2019
Senate-Passed
(H.R. 6157)

FY2019 Conference Report
(H.Rept. 115-952)

Regular Appropriations

177.100

177.105

179.289

179.289

178.076

Adjustments:

 

 

 

 

 

Program Integrity

1.896

1.897

1.897

1.897

1.897

Emergency Requirements

3.987

0.000

0.000

0.000

0.000

Adjusted Appropriations

182.983

179.002

181.186

181.186

179.973

Source: Table prepared by CRS based on Congressional Budget Office estimates.

Notes: Regular appropriations reflect current-year discretionary budget authority subject to spending limits. Adjusted appropriations include discretionary funds for which special rules apply with regard to the spending limits, including certain funds for program integrity activities and (where applicable) provided as emergency requirements. Amounts in this table do not include funds provided under certain authorities in the 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255) that are exempt from discretionary spending limits ($996 million for FY2018 enacted and $711 million for the FY2019 bills).

Additional Resources

For more information on the status of FY2019 appropriations as a whole, 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.

Table 2. Selected CRS LHHS Appropriations Contacts

Department or Agency

Name

Phone

Email

Labor

David Bradley

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Health and Human Services

Karen Lynch

[author name scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Education

[author name scrubbed]

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]

Social Security Administration

William Morton

[phone number scrubbed]

[email address scrubbed]