Status of FY2019 LHHS Appropriations

Status of FY2019 LHHS Appropriations

On 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 final 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.

Although 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 have been relatively flat under the FY2019 House committee bill (+$5 million). The FY2019 bills considered in the Senate, meanwhile, would have increased regular discretionary LHHS appropriations by roughly $2 billion (+1.2%). The enacted appropriations law increases this funding by about $1 billion (+0.6%).

Table 1. FY2019 Enacted and Proposed LHHS Discretionary Appropriations,
Compared with FY2018 Enacted Levels

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 Enacted
(P.L. 115-245)

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: Adjusted appropriations include discretionary funds for which special rules apply with regard to the discretionary spending limits, including certain funds for program integrity activities and (where applicable) for 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 and $711 million for the FY2019 bills).

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.

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]