Status of FY2022 Labor, Health and Human
August 18, 2021
Services, and Education Appropriations:
Karen E. Lynch
In Brief
Specialist in Social Policy

This report provides a brief summary of the status of FY2022 appropriations for the Departments
Jessica Tollestrup
of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) as of
Specialist in Social Policy
August 18, 2021. It also provides background on the scope of the LHHS bill generally and the

budgetary context for congressional decisionmaking, including the submission of the FY2022
President’s budget request, budget enforcement in the absence of statutory discretionary spending

limits, and the supplemental appropriations provided as part of the legislative response to the
COVID-19 pandemic.
With regard to House action on full-year appropriations, FY2022 LHHS appropriations were passed by the House on initial
consideration (219-208) on July 29, 2021 (Division A, H.R. 4502). Previously, on July 15, 2021, the House Appropriations
Committee voted (33-25) to report the LHHS bill; the measure was subsequently reported to the House on July 19 (H.R.
4502; H.Rept. 117-96). The committee reported its initial suballocations for all 12 appropriations bills, including LHHS, on
July 1 (H.Rept. 117-78).
Senate action on the LHHS bill has not yet occurred during the FY2022 cycle.

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Status of FY2022 LHHS Appropriations: In Brief

n July 29, 2021, FY2022 LHHS appropriations were passed by the House on initial
consideration (219-208) as Division A of H.R. 4502. Previously, on July 15, 2021, the
O House Appropriations Committee voted (33-25) to report the FY2022 appropriations bil
for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
(LHHS); the measure was subsequently reported to the House on July 19 (H.R. 4502; H.Rept.
117-96). Senate action on the LHHS bil has not yet occurred during the FY2022 cycle.
This report provides a brief summary of the status of LHHS appropriations during the FY2022
cycle, including relevant congressional actions and a top-line comparison of discretionary funding
enacted in FY2021, versus relevant FY2022 legislative proposals as of August 18, 2021. It also
provides background on the scope of the bil and the context for congressional decisionmaking.
Congressional clients may consult the LHHS experts list in CRS Report R42638, Appropriations:
CRS Experts, for information on which analysts to contact at the Congressional Research Service
(CRS) with questions on specific agencies and programs funded in the LHHS bil .
Scope of the LHHS Bill
The LHHS bil is the largest ($1.2 tril ion in FY2021) of the 12 annual appropriations bil s when
accounting for both mandatory and discretionary funding.1 It provides annual y appropriated
budget authority for the following federal departments and agencies:
 the Department of Labor (DOL);
 most agencies at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), except
for the Food and Drug Administration (funded through the Agriculture
appropriations bil ), the Indian Health Service (funded through the Interior-
Environment appropriations bil ), and the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry (funded through the Interior-Environment appropriations bil );
 the Department of Education (ED); and
 more than a dozen related agencies (RAs), including the Social Security
Administration (SSA), the Corporation for National and Community Service, the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Railroad Retirement
Board.
In general, mandatory funding represents just over 80% of the total LHHS bil , supporting
annual y appropriated entitlements such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Discretionary funds, which account for less than 20% of total funds in the bil , tend to be the
focus of congressional debate during the appropriations process.2 This is because the
appropriations process general y has little control over the amount of mandatory funding provided
for appropriated entitlements; rather, the authorizing statute controls the program parameters

1 See CRS Report R46859, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2021 Appropriations. T he
discretionary funding provided in the LHHS appropriations act is both provided and controlled by that act. T he
mandatory funding provided in the LHHS act is controlled by provisions in authorizing law. For defini tions of these
and other budget terms, see U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), A Glossary of T erms Used in the Federal
Budget Process, GAO-05-734SP, September 1, 2005, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-734SP. (T erms of interest
may include budget authority, appropriated entitlement, direct spending, discretionary, entitlement authority, and
mandatory.)
2 For an illustrative discussion of the distribution of funds among the different titles of the bill, and between
discretionary and mandatory spending, see the summary of FY2021 LHHS appropriations in CRS Report R46859,
Labor, Health and Hum an Services, and Education: FY2021 Appropriations, pp. 12-14.
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Status of FY2022 LHHS Appropriations: In Brief

(e.g., eligibility rules, benefit levels) that entitle certain recipients to payments. Consequently, the
focus of this report general y is on the discretionary spending that has been or would be provided
for LHHS programs and activities under various laws and proposals.
Even though discretionary appropriations represent a relatively smal share of the entire LHHS
bil , the bil is typical y the largest single source of nondefense discretionary funding for the
federal government. (The Department of Defense bil is the largest single source of discretionary
funding overal .)
Calculating Total LHHS Budget Authority
Budget authority is the amount of money a federal agency is legal y authorized to commit or spend. Appropriations
bil s may include budget authority that becomes available in the current fiscal year, in future fiscal years, or some
combination. Amounts that become available in future fiscal years are typical y referred to as advance
appropriations.
The amount of LHHS budget authority can be tabulated in various ways. The total amount of budget authority
provided in an appropriations bil (i.e., total in the bil ) would be calculated regardless of the year in which the
funding becomes available.3 In some cases, however, such as the 302(b) subal ocations (discussed later), the total is
calculated based on current-year appropriations (i.e., the amount of budget authority available for obligation in a given
fiscal year), which is calculated regardless of the year in which it was first appropriated.4 Additional y, budgetary
totals may or may not include Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scorekeeping and other adjustments to reflect
budget enforcement conventions and special instructions of Congress.5
Context for FY2022
Under the congressional budget process, congressional consideration of annual appropriations
traditional y is preceded by the submission of the President’s budget request and the adoption of
the congressional budget resolution. However, the FY2022 cycle has been affected by a number
of timing and budgetary issues related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the presidential
transition, and a lack of statutory discretionary spending limits for the first time in a decade.
Background related to these issues is provided below.
COVID-19 Pandemic Supplemental Appropriations for FY2020 and
FY2021
Subsequent to the enactment of annual FY2020 LHHS appropriations and the submission of the
President’s FY2021 budget, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities across the
world and throughout the United States elicited a legislative response from Congress and the
President. In the first months of the pandemic, four FY2020 supplemental appropriations were
part of this legislative response:6

3 Such figures include advance appropriations provided in the bill for future fiscal years, but do not include advance
appropriations provided in prior years’ appropriations bills that become available in the current year.
4 Such figures exclude advance appropriations for future years, but include advance appropriations from prior years that
become available in the given fiscal year.
5 For more information on scorekeeping, see CRS Report 98-560, Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget
Process. See also a discussion of key scorekeeping guidelines included in the joint explanatory statement
accompanying the conference report to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 ( H.Rept. 105-217, pp. 1007-1014).
6 Other divisions of the acts that provided supplemental LHHS appropriations contained authorization provisions that in
some cases relate to LHHS programs and activities—for instance, provisions providing a 6.2% increase to the federal
matching assistance percentage for Medicaid and certain other programs in FFCRA, and provisions modifying student
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 Title III, Division A, of the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response
Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-123), enacted on March 6,
2020, provided approximately $6.4 bil ion in supplemental LHHS funds7;
 Title V, Division A, of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA,
P.L. 116-127), enacted on March 18, 2020, provided $1.25 bil ion in
supplemental LHHS funds;
 Title VIII, Division B, of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
Act (CARES Act, P.L. 116-136), enacted on March 27, 2020, provided $172.1
bil ion in supplemental LHHS funds; and
 Title I, Division B, of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care
Enhancement Act (PPPHCEA, P.L. 116-139), enacted on April 24, 2020,
provided $100 bil ion in supplemental LHHS funds.
In total, FY2020 supplemental appropriations increased regular FY2020 LHHS enacted funding
by about 143%. The bulk of the supplemental funding (89%) was directed at HHS. Supplemental
HHS funds totaled $248 bil ion and represented a 261% increase over the agency’s FY2020
regular appropriations funding level. ED received the next largest increase via supplemental
funds (43%), whereas the DOL and RA titles received the smal est increases relative to their
initial FY2020 enacted levels (5% and 3%, respectively).
Al of these additional funds were designated as an emergency requirement and thus were
effectively exempted from otherwise applicable budget enforcement requirements, such as the
discretionary spending limits.8 (See “FY2022 Discretionary Spending Levels and Appropriations
Al ocations” for a further explanation of this issue.)
While annual appropriations for FY2021 were under discussion during the summer and fal of
2020, Congress and President Trump considered whether any additional COVID-19 response
funding should be enacted.9 Ultimately, the same law (P.L. 116-260) that provided regular annual
LHHS appropriations for FY2021 in Division H also provided FY2021 supplemental
discretionary appropriations in Division M. This law, which was enacted on December 27, 2020,
provided a total of $154.9 bil ion in supplemental LHHS funds, al of which were designated as
an emergency requirement (Title III, Division M). This funding was split roughly equal y
between HHS (48%) and ED (53%). (None was enacted for DOL or RA.) The ED supplemental
funding budgetary increase of $82 bil ion was 112% of its FY2021 regular appropriations. HHS
regular appropriations were increased by 75% (+$73 bil ion).10
The FY2020 and FY2021 supplemental funding was in many cases provided to LHHS accounts
and activities that also received annual appropriations. Although this funding was general y for

loan subsidy costs in the CARES Act. For further info rmation on the LHHS appropriations provided by these COVID-
19 supplementals, see CRS Report R46353, COVID-19: Overview of FY2020 LHHS Supplem ental Appropriations.
7 Of the amount shown for P.L. 116-123, $300 million (appropriated to the Public Health and Social Services
Emergency Fund at HHS) was contingent upon future HHS actions.
8 For further information, see CRS Report R45778, Exceptions to the Budget Control Act’s Discretionary Spending
Lim its.
9 Prior to the enactment of full-year FY2021 LHHS funding, COVID-19-related LHHS provisions were proposed in
several different appropriations measures for FY2021, including the House-passed full-year LHHS bill (Division E,
H.R. 7617), a supplemental appropriations package (Division A, H.R. 925), and the FY2021 continuing resolution
(Division A, P.L. 116-159). While in some cases the budgetary effects of the COVID-19-related provisions were
designated as an emergency requirement, this was not the case universally.
10 For further information, see CRS Report R46775, Overview of COVID-19 LHHS Supplemental Appropriations:
FY2020 and FY2021.
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Status of FY2022 LHHS Appropriations: In Brief

COVID-19-related response efforts, some of these efforts could include expanding basic
infrastructure and capacity that would otherwise have been unfunded (or funded through annual
appropriations had the supplemental funding not been available). As FY2022 LHHS
appropriations are being considered in the coming months, Congress and President Biden wil
need to consider the extent to which any further funding supporting COVID-19 pandemic
response wil be enacted as regular appropriations subject to the spending limits, or as an
emergency requirement. They also wil need to decide whether any program investments or
expansions funded via previously enacted COVID-19 supplemental appropriations should be
sustained.
Timing of the FY2022 President’s Budget Submission
The President’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year is due to be submitted to Congress by
the first Monday in February. However, the FY2022 budget was submitted during a year in which
a presidential transition occurred (on January 20, 2021). Recent Presidents have not submitted
detailed budget proposals until April or May of their first year in office, although each has
advised Congress regarding the general contours of their economic and budgetary policies in
special messages submitted to Congress prior to that submission.11 This delay al ows time to
prepare a proposal that reflects the priorities of the new administration.
On April 9, President Biden submitted to Congress an outline of his discretionary funding
priorities for FY2022.12 This preliminary document provided early highlights for numerous policy
areas, including several funded in the LHHS bil . The full budget request was submitted on May
28, almost four months after its due date.13 As a result, the start of annual appropriations
decisionmaking for FY2022 also was delayed to al ow time for Congress to consider this request.
FY2022 Discretionary Spending Levels and Appropriations
Allocations
For the decade prior to FY2022, the framework for discretionary spending budget enforcement
under the congressional budget process involved both statutory and procedural elements. Those
statutory elements included limits on defense and nondefense discretionary spending established
by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25). LHHS appropriations are classified as
nondefense spending, and the bil has the largest share of such spending compared to the other
annual appropriations bil s.
The procedural elements of budget enforcement are primarily associated with the budget
resolution. This provides a limit on total discretionary spending available to the appropriations
committees (commonly referred to as a 302(a) allocation) and limits on spending under the
jurisdiction of each appropriations subcommittee (302(b) suballocations). Certain spending is
effectively exempt from these limits (commonly referred to as adjustments to those limits). In
recent years, adjustments that have been applied to LHHS appropriations are for emergency
requirements, to accommodate new budget authority for specified program integrity initiatives at
HHS (health care fraud and abuse control) and the SSA (continuing disability reviews and

11 See CRS Insight IN11655, Budget Submission After a Presidential Transition: Contextualizing the Biden
Administration’s FY2022 Request.
12 Office of Management and Budget (OMB), The President’s FY2022 Discretionary Request, April 9, 2021,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fy-2022-discretionary-request/.
13 See https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/.
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Status of FY2022 LHHS Appropriations: In Brief

redeterminations), and for DOL to fund reemployment services and eligibility assessments
conducted by the states related to unemployment compensation.14
Under current law, the statutory limits on discretionary spending expire at the end of FY2021.
This general y means that, absent the imposition of new statutory limits, discretionary budget
enforcement for FY2022 wil occur via procedural means only. As the FY2022 appropriations
cycle progresses, however, Congress may consider whether to re-impose statutory caps, and if so,
at what levels and for what number of fiscal years. Absent statutory caps, the amount of FY2022
discretionary spending—in total and for LHHS—wil stil need to be determined. In addition,
Congress wil need to determine to what degree any discretionary spending for FY2022 wil be
effectively exempt from budget enforcement, whether statutory or procedural.
The Senate passed (50-49) its version of the FY2022 budget resolution (S.Con.Res. 14) on
August 11, 2021. The accompanying Senate print (S.Prt. 117-16) included a proposed al ocation
to the Senate Appropriations Committee.15 As of the date of this report, there has been no House
action on S.Con.Res. 14.
General y, after the budget resolution has been approved by both chambers, the next step in the
appropriations process is for each of the appropriations committees to adopt subal ocations from
the total amount al ocated to them. These 302(b) subal ocations provide a limit on current-year
(in this case, FY2022) appropriations within each subcommittee’s jurisdiction and incorporate
any applicable scorekeeping adjustments made by CBO. Because S.Con.Res. 14 has not yet been
finalized, it does not provide a basis for these subal ocations.
However, earlier this year the House provided for budget enforcement in the absence of a budget
resolution by adopting H.Res. 467 on June 14, 2021.16 This resolution provided for 302(a)
al ocations to the House Appropriations Committee at a specified level, provided limits on
advance appropriations,17 and al owed adjustments to those al ocations for emergency
requirements, health care fraud and abuse control, and continuing disability reviews and
redeterminations (as wel as other purposes that do not apply to LHHS).18 Pursuant to this
resolution, the Chair of the House Budget Committee, Representative Yarmuth, published in the
Congressional Record the House Appropriations Committee al ocations on June 24.19 The House
Appropriations Committee reported their initial 302(b) subal ocations for al 12 subcommittees
on July 1 (H.Rept. 117-78).20 The discretionary budget authority subal ocation for LHHS of

14 For further information, see CRS Report R45778, Exceptions to the Budget Control Act’s Discretionary Spending
Lim its.
15 See S.Prt. 117-16, p. 110, https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/CPRT -117SPRT 45298.pdf.
16 For a discussion of budget enforcement through methods such as H.Res. 467, see CRS Report R44296, Deeming
Resolutions: Budget Enforcem ent in the Absence of a Budget Resolution .
17 Advance appropriations become available for obligation one or more fiscal years after the budget year covered by
the appropriations act . T he FY2022 LHHS appropriations bill generally would contain advance appropriations for
FY2023 and FY2024 for certain programs and activities. For further information, see CRS Report R43482, Advance
Appropriations, Forward Funding, and Advance Funding: Concepts, Practice, and Budget Process Considerations .
18 H.Res. 467 further provided that the BCA cap adjustments (Section 251(b) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency
Deficit Control Act) would not apply to allocations established pursuant to that resolution. However, the adjustment for
reemployment services and eligibilit y assessments would continue to be in effect for FY2022 through FY2027 pursuant
to Section 314(g) of the Congressional Budget Act, subject to specified limits.
19 “Publication of Budgetary Material,” Congressional Record, daily edition, Vol. 167, No. 110 (June 24, 2021), p.
H3130.
20 Suballocations are commonly adjusted through the appropriations cycle to account for changing priorities. For
FY2022, the House Appropriations Committee reported revised suballocations on July 16 ( H.Rept. 117-91) to
incorporate the cap adjustments where applicable, but otherwise the suballocation for the LHHS subcommittee was the
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$237.466 bil ion represents a 36% (+$63.4 bil ion) increase relative to FY2021. That amount does
not include funding subject to adjustments, such as for emergency requirements.
FY2022 LHHS Legislative Action
The House completed initial floor consideration of FY2022 LHHS appropriations on July 29,
2021, with the passage (219-208) of H.R. 4502. Those LHHS appropriations were packaged for
the purposes of floor consideration with six other appropriations acts, with LHHS appropriations
being in Division A of H.R. 4502.21 Floor action was regulated by the terms of a special rule
(H.Res. 555) that made in order 56 amendments to the LHHS title of the bil .22 This rule also
provided the authority for the chair of the Appropriations Committee or her designee to offer any
of the amendments made in order en bloc (i.e., in groups of amendments to be disposed of
together).23 Al but two LHHS amendments were considered in this manner.24 When counted as
56 separate amendments, 47 were adopted and 9 were rejected.
Previously, on July 15, 2021, the House Appropriations Committee voted (33-25) to report the
LHHS bil ; the measure was subsequently reported to the House on July 19 (H.R. 4502; H.Rept.
117-96). The measure was approved in subcommittee, via a voice vote, on July 12, 2021.
Senate Appropriations Committee action on the FY2022 LHHS bil has not yet occurred.
Table 1 displays the CBO estimate of enacted LHHS discretionary appropriations for FY2021,
and the House committee-reported FY2022 discretionary appropriations for LHHS. The amount
shown for “regular discretionary appropriations” does not include any funding that is subject to
program integrity adjustments or emergency designations. The amount shown represents current-
year budget authority subject to the spending limits and takes into account any applicable CBO
scorekeeping adjustments. Under this method of estimating the bil , the House proposal would
increase regular discretionary appropriations for LHHS relative to FY2021 by 36% (+$63.4
bil ion).
As mentioned previously, certain LHHS appropriations, such as those al owed for program
integrity funding or designated for emergency requirements, are effectively exempt from the
discretionary spending limits. As was the case for FY2021, the FY2022 House proposal would
provide the maximum amount al owed for program integrity spending under relevant procedures
(see discussion in “FY2022 Discretionary Spending Levels and Appropriations Al ocations”).
With regard to new FY2022 funding for emergency requirements, no such emergency-designated
funding has been proposed by the House. The “adjusted appropriations” total in the table includes
these additional funds along with “regular discretionary appropriations.”

same as originally reported.
21 T hose appropriations acts were Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy and Water Development, Financial
Services and General Government, Interior and Environment, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and
T ransportation and Housing and Urban Development.
22 For a list of these LHHS amendments (numbered 1-56) and the text of each that was made in order, see pages 8-13
and 30-38 of H.Rept. 117-109.
23 For further information about en bloc authority in the context of House floor consideration of appropriations
measures, see CRS Report R46841, Changes in the House of Representatives’ Initial Consideration of Regular
Appropriations Measures, 113th-116th Congresses.
24 For the en bloc amendments proposing changes to the LHHS division of the bill, see consideration of amendments en
bloc nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Congressional Record, daily edition, Vol. 167, No. 131 (July 27, 2021), pp. H4055-H4073.
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Table 1. LHHS Discretionary Appropriations: Comparison of FY2021 Enacted with
FY2022 House Appropriations Committee Proposal
(Budget authority in bil ions of dol ars)

FY2022 House
Committee
FY2021
Bill
Enacted
(H.R. 4502)
Regular discretionary
appropriations
174.073
237.466
Adjustments:a

Health care fraud and
abuse control
0.496
0.556
Continuing disability
reviews and
1.302
1.435
redeterminations
Reemployment services
0.083
0.133
and eligibility assessments
Emergency requirements
156.563
—
Adjusted appropriations
332.517
239.590
Source: The FY2021 enacted amounts are from CBO, Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriations, Fiscal
Year 2021, House of Representatives, as of December 27, 2020, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2021-02/
FY2021-House-2021-02-01.pdf, and CRS analysis of Division H of P.L. 116-260. The FY2022 House amounts are
from page 3 of H.Rept. 117-96, and CRS analysis of H.R. 4502, as reported. “Regular discretionary
appropriations” exclude funds for which special rules apply under the spending limits (e.g., funds for certain
program integrity activities and emergency requirements), as wel as funds provided under authorities in the 21 st
Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255) that are effectively exempt from the spending limits.
Notes: Amounts reflect current-year discretionary budget authority subject to spending limits.
a. CBO presents the FY2021 enacted amounts provided for health care fraud and abuse control, continuing
disability reviews and redeterminations, and reemployment services and eligibility assessments as an
aggregated “program integrity” total of $1.881 bil ion. The FY2021 enacted amounts for these activities are
identified via CRS analysis of Division H of P.L. 116-260.

Author Information

Karen E. Lynch
Jessica Tollestrup
Specialist in Social Policy
Specialist in Social Policy

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Status of FY2022 LHHS Appropriations: In Brief

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