Alert

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, today announced that the subcommittee has passed the second consecutive bipartisan LHHS bill. The bill funds key Missouri priorities, and includes another $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health.

“For the second year in a row, the subcommittee has successfully worked together in a constrained fiscal environment to craft a bipartisan bill that prioritizes resources for programs that will have the most benefit for the most Missourians,” Blunt said. “I’m proud that we were able to secure another $2 billion increase for the NIH, which will provide doctors and researchers in Missouri and across the nation additional resources to help them treat and cure the most deadly and costliest diseases, including Alzheimer’s. The measure also includes $816 million to help address the growing opioid epidemic, including $15 million for a new opioid prevention grant that will go directly to communities affected by this crisis.”

As Chairman for the last three years, Blunt has secured a $2 billion increase in every Labor/HHS bill the Subcommittee has put forward, amounting to a 20 percent increase for the agency during that time. In 2016, Missouri institutions received $509 million in NIH funding.

Blunt continued, “In addition, the bill includes the first discretionary increase in the maximum Pell Grant award in over a decade, making college more affordable for students in Missouri and nationwide. Over the past three years, the subcommittee has eliminated or consolidated a total of three dozen programs totaling more than $1.2 billion. This bill reflects the priorities of Missourians, and deserves the support of members of the full committee.”

Following Are Some of the Key Missouri Priorities Funded in the Bill:

Department of Health and Human Services

• $2 Billion Increase for NIH: For the third consecutive year, the bill includes a $2 billion increase for NIH, providing a total of $36.1 billion. The continued investments in the NIH has fundamentally changed the trajectory of biomedical research funding and the prospects of scientists looking to cure the most deadly and costliest diseases.
  
  
• 440 Percent Funding Increase Over the Past Two Years for Programs to Combat Opioid Abuse: The measure includes $816 million, an increase of $665 million since fiscal year 2016, for programs to combat opioid abuse at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). According to CDC, nearly 2 million Americans have an opioid use disorder related to prescription drugs and almost 600,000 have an opioid use disorder related to heroin.
  
  
• $414 Million Increase for Alzheimer’s Disease Research: The bill includes $1.8 billion for Alzheimer’s disease research, a 29.3 percent increase from last year’s level. In 2017, Medicare and Medicaid will spend an estimated $175 billion caring for those with Alzheimer’s, the most expensive disease in America, and other dementias. Since Blunt became subcommittee chair three years ago, Alzheimer’s disease research funding has more than tripled, increasing from $589 million to $1.8 billion.

• $533.1 Million for the Clinical and Translational Science Award (NCATS): The measure includes $533.1 million, an increase of $17 million, for the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Program. Washington University, which Blunt visited in August, is part of the national program aimed at accelerating discoveries toward better health.

• $400 Million for the BRAIN Initiative: The measure increases funding for the BRAIN initiative by $140 million, or 53.8 percent, above FY2017. The BRAIN Initiative is developing a more complete understanding of brain function, which could help millions of people who suffer from a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease.
  
  
• Increase for the Precision Medicine Initiative: The measure includes $290 million to fund the All of US precision medicine study, an increase of $60 million from FY2017. In addition, the bill secures $80 million for the National Cancer Institute’s precision medicine program. As Dr. Douglas Lowy, the Acting Director of the National Cancer Institute, explained at a 2016 Labor/HHS subcommittee hearing, precision medicine research is critical for determining how “you deliver the right drug, to the right patient, at the right time.”
  
  
• $513 Million to Combat Antibiotic Resistance: To help combat antibiotic-resistant superbugs, the bill provides a total of $513 million, an increase of $50 million over last year’s level, to expand efforts to develop new antibiotics, create rapid diagnostic tests, and build a national genome sequence database on all reported resistant human infections. Antibiotics have been used to successfully treat patients for more than 70 years, but over time the drugs have become less effective as organisms adapt to the drugs designed to kill them.
  
  
• $1.49 Billion for Community Health Centers: The nearly 200 service delivery sites in Missouri serve more than 500,000 Missourians per year. In addition, 29 organizations receive approximately $100 million in federal funding.
  
  
• $305 million for Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME): The bill includes $305 million, a $5 million increase from FY2017, for CHGME. The program is designed to protect children’s access to high quality medical care by providing freestanding children’s hospitals with funding to support the training of pediatric providers. In Missouri, Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and St. Louis Children’s Hospital in St. Louis each receive approximately $6 million a year in funding from this program.
  
  
• $21 million for the Office for Advancement of Telehealth: The measure increases funding for Telehealth by $2.5 million above FY2017. Telehealth networks improve patient care, increase access to medical providers, and can reduce the incidence of chronic disease. 
  
  
• $21 million to provide support for Victims of Human Trafficking: The bill includes $21 million, a $2 million increase from FY2017, to help local organizations provide critical services for victims of human trafficking. The funding increase compliments Blunt’s efforts on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to improve programs to combat human trafficking and provide services for victims.

Department of Education:

• Provides First Discretionary Increase in the Maximum Pell Grant in Over a Decade: The measure increases the total maximum Pell Grant from $5,920 to $6,020, an increase of 1.7 percent. The maximum Pell Grant has increased each year with mandatory funding since FY2007. With the automatic mandatory increase expiring after the 2017-18 award year, the discretionary increase ensures the maximum award will continue to increase next school year. This will help students keep up with rising costs and reduce the need for student loans.
  
  
• Funds Year-Round Pell: The bill provides more than sufficient funding to continue Year-Round Pell Grants, which provide an estimated 900,000 students an additional award of over $1,600 annually to help them complete their program faster, enter or re-enter the workforce sooner, and graduate with less debt. Finally, the bill includes a provision restoring Pell eligibility for students who were defrauded or attended schools that closed.

• Supports State and Local Flexibility in Elementary and Secondary Education: The bill continues to prioritize funding for elementary and secondary education programs that provide the most control and flexibility for states, school districts, schools, and parents to make education decisions impacting students and families. It includes increases for Title I grants to low income schools and Title IV grants to provide flexibility to schools to fund a range of activities, including: STEM, arts education, and school counselling. Further, the bill increases funding to charter schools and Impact Aid.

• Ensures Competition In Student Loan Servicing: The measure promotes accountability and high-quality service for student borrowers and taxpayers by ensuring competition in student loan servicing. Blunt introduced a bill this summer to promote competition amongst student loan servicers.

Related Agencies:

• Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS): The bill maintains level funding for AmeriCorps, National Civilian Community Corps, Volunteers in Service to America, and Senior Corps programs. In addition, CNCS organizations in Missouri and across the nation work closely with communities to improve education, decrease violence, combat the opioid epidemic, and respond to natural disasters. 

Department of Labor:

• $284 Million for Veterans Employment and Training: The bill provides $284 million in Veterans Employment and Training funding, an increase of $5 million above last year’s level. That funding will support intensive employment services to veterans and eligible spouses, transitioning servicemembers, wounded warriors, and disabled veterans. The bill also provides new funding for the Department of Labor to quickly move forward with the implementation of Blunt’s HIRE Vets Act, a bipartisan measure that establishes a tiered recognition program within the Department of Labor to award employers based on their contributions to veteran employment.
  
  
• $30 Million for Rural Job Training Programs: The measure includes $30 million to help rural areas recover economically through supplemental dislocated worker training funds, particularly those in the Delta Regional Authority. The bill also directs the DOL to collaborate with the Delta Regional Authority to develop a targeted apprenticeship program to meet the unique needs of underserved rural communities in this region.

Eliminates inefficient and costly programs: The measure eliminates six programs, equating to over $152 million in spending reductions. Over the past three years under Blunt, the subcommittee has eliminated or consolidated a total of three dozen programs totaling more than $1.2 billion