Members of the U.S. House of Representatives return to Washington D.C. this week.  They’ll be discussing important public health bills including the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill for fiscal year 2019 and the reauthorization of the Farm Bill.

Last week the Senate passed H.R. 6157 which is the combined Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill for FY19.  This one is the eighth and ninth out of 12 spending bills to be passed by the Senate for FY19.  The legislation includes increased NIH funding and boosted resources for opioid treatment, prevention, and recovery programs.  Here’s a list of some of the adopted amendments:

  • Schumer-Collins amendment to increase funding for Lyme disease activities (3759).
  • Cortez-Masto-Ernst amendment to provide for conducting a study on the relationship between intimate partner violence and traumatic brain injury (3825).
  • Peters-Capito amendment to ensure youth are considered when the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration follows guidance on the medication-assisted treatment for prescription drug and opioid addiction program (3870).
  • Heitkamp amendment to provide funding for the SOAR (Stop, Observe, Ask, Respond) to Health and Wellness Program (3893).
  • Casey amendment to provide funding for the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren (3875).
  • Schatz-Hirono amendment to assess the ongoing mental health impact to the children and families impacted by a volcanic eruption covered by a major disaster declared by the President in calendar year 2018 (3897).
  • Heller-Manchin amendment to provide additional funding for activities related to neonatal abstinence syndrome (3912).
  • Heitkamp-Murkowski amendment to improve obstetric care for women living in rural areas (3933).
  • Durbin-Grassley amendment to provide for the use of funds by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs and biological products (3964).

The House hasn’t adopted its FY19 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill. It’s unclear how both chambers will resolve differences in funding levels between their bills. The House could work on its Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill or skip a floor vote and start negotiations with the Senate.  The Farm Bill, which funds WIC & SNAP also hangs in the balance. Here’s a summary of the Farm Bill.   The current legislation is scheduled to expire Sept 30th.

Bottom line: with only a few legislative days before the end of FY18, it’s likely that a continuing resolution will keep the government funded into FY19.

The APHA has several tools that you can use to get the attention of your Representative or Senator.  They’ve developed APHA’s Speak for Health advocacy resources, including state-specific fact sheets to help you be a better advocate.  They also have tools to help you meet with your members of Congress or their staff or invite them to visit you and Email or call your members of Congress using the APHA action alert as a phone script or email message. It’s quick and easy.

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