News

June 24, 2008

chairman harkin announces subcommittee approved labor-hhs funding priorities

Appropriations package makes investments in American priorities, will save hundreds of millions of dollars by reducing fraud, waste, and abuse

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, today unveiled the details of the subcommittee’s funding package. The bill makes major investments in employment, health care and education programs as well as takes additional steps to save millions of dollars by reducing fraud, waste and abuse practices found within federal agencies.

“This bill reflects the priorities and values of the American people. We have made major investments in everything from cancer research and special education to reducing the backlog at the Social Security Administration and preparing for a pandemic flu outbreak,” Subcommittee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said.  “The bill provides $30 billion for life-saving biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, more than $2 billion for community health centers, and modest but much-needed increases for special education, nursing education, and Head Start.  It also increases funding for job training, mine safety, and workplace safety. We have written a bipartisan bill that, I believe, reflects the real priorities and values of the American people and I look forward to working with my colleagues to make these goals a reality.”

Legislation highlights:

Labor

Job Training – The Subcommittee legislation provides more than $2.9 billion for state grants for job training, an increase of $25 million over last year and $499 million over the budget request.  In addition, the bill includes more than $1.6 billion for the Office of Job Corps, an increase of $40 million over the FY 2008 level and $85 million more than the President’s budget request. 

Worker Protection – The Subcommittee legislation provides more than $851 million to ensure the health and safety of workers, including $504 million for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and $346 million for the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).  This total is an increase of $33.7 million above the FY 2008 level.

Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health – The Subcommittee legislation provides more than $30 billion to fund biomedical research at the 27 Institutes and Centers that comprise the NIH. This represents an increase of $1 billion over the FY 2008 level and President’s budget request. The Subcommittee’s increase will allow the NIH to award the highest number of new research project grants in its history and keep up with the biomedical inflation rate for the first time in six years.

Community Health Centers — The Subcommittee legislation provides more than $2.2 billion for community health centers, $150 million over the FY 2008 level.

Nursing Education — The Subcommittee legislation provides more than $167 million for nursing education, $11.6 million over the FY 2008 level.

Pandemic Influenza — The Subcommittee recommendation includes $585 million to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic.  Funds are available for the development and purchase of vaccine, antivirals, necessary medical supplies, diagnostics, and other surveillance tools.

Colorectal Screenings – The Subcommittee provided $25 million to establish a nation-wide program to support colorectal screenings for low-income individuals.

Senior Nutrition Services – As Americans are enduring steep increases to food and fuel costs, senior meal programs are being hit hard by both crises due to the rising cost of food and the rising cost of delivering those meals to homebound seniors. The Subcommittee bill increases funding for senior nutrition services by $43 million, for a total of $801 million.

Education

Head Start — The Subcommittee has included $7.1 billion for the Head Start Program, an increase of $223 million over the FY 2008 comparable level.

Title I (Education) — The Subcommittee has provided more than $14.5 billion for Title I grants to Local Education Agencies, an increase of more than $631 million over the FY 2008 level, and more than $491 million  for school improvement grants, the same amount as the FY 2008 level.

Education for Individuals with Disabilities — The Subcommittee bill provides more than $12.5 billion to help ensure that all children have access to a free and appropriate education, and that all infants and toddlers with disabilities have access to early intervention services.  This amount includes $11.4 billion for Part B grants to states, an increase of $477 million over last year and $140 million more than the budget request.

Improving Teacher Quality – Research proves that improving teacher quality is the most important thing schools can do to help students succeed academically. In an effort to meet the goal of leaving no child behind and providing strong teachers to classrooms across the country, the Subcommittee has provided more than $3.6 billion through 14 separate programs aimed at hiring teachers or improving teacher quality.

Related Agencies

Social Security Administration (SSA) — $10.4 billion is included for the administrative expenses of the SSA, $50 million over the President’s budget request and $632 million more than FY 2008, to continue efforts to reduce the backlog of disability claims. SSA reviews current disability cases to ensure beneficiaries remain eligible for Social Security.

Elimination of Fraud, Waste, and Abuse:

For fiscal year 2009, the Subcommittee has increased funding for a variety of activities aimed at reducing fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer dollars. These program integrity initiatives have been shown to be a wise investment of Federal dollars resulting in billions of dollars of savings from Federal entitlement programs--unemployment insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, and Social Security.

  • Unemployment Insurance Program Integrity – The Subcommittee recommendation includes $50,000,0000, an increase of $40,000,000, to conduct eligibility reviews of claimants of Unemployment Insurance. This increase will save an estimated $200 million annually in inappropriate Unemployment Insurance payments.
  • Social Security Program Integrity – The Subcommittee recommendation includes $504,000,000 for conducting continuing disability reviews [CDRs] and redeterminations of eligibility for Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits. CDRs save $10 in benefit payments for every $1 spent to conduct these activities, while redeterminations save $7 in payments for every $1 for doing this work.
  • Health Care Program Integrity - In fiscal year 2006, Medicare and Medicaid outlays accounted for nearly $1 out of every $5 of the total Federal outlays. Fraud committed against Federal health care programs puts Americans at increased risk and diverts critical resources from providing necessary health services to some of the Nation's most vulnerable populations.
  • The Subcommittee has included $198,000,000 for Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) activities at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  No discretionary funds were provided for this activity in fiscal year 2008.
  • Investment in health care program integrity more than pays for itself based on 10 years of documented recoveries to the Medicare Part A Trust Fund. The historical return on investment for the life of the Medicare Integrity program has been about 13 to 1.