House Adopts FY 2010 Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill - July, 24, 2009

On Friday, July 24, the House of Representatives adopted the Fiscal Year (FY) Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill.  The bill provides a total of $160.7 billion in funding for discretionary programs, which represents a $5.6 billion increase over FY 2009 levels.  Of particular note, the bill level funds the community health center program at FY 2009 levels; provides a $137 million increase in funding for HRSA’s health workforce programs; directs HRSA and the Department of Labor to develop an interagency task force to address workforce needs related to health reform; provides $75 million in state health access grants; and provides a $942 million increase for NIH.  The bill also provides significant new funds for CMS to enable the agency to implement possible health reform legislation and provides a 50 percent increase in funding for program integrity activities.