Senate Advances FY 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations
Senate Advances FY 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education Appropriations
 
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August 2018

The Senate approved legislation combining the two largest appropriations bills – Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) – by an 85-7 vote on August 23. The bill, H.R. 6157, represents the third “minibus” appropriations package that the Senate has advanced for fiscal year (FY) 2019.

As noted in the June 2018 issue of AERA Highlights, the Senate FY 2019 LHHS bill contains $39.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a $2 billion boost, and a $615 million for the Institute of Education Sciences, a $2 million increase over FY 2018 levels. 

Before the Senate vote, the White House Office of Management and Budget issued a Statement of Administration Policy on the legislation, noting that the bill “funds 28 programs that the Administration has proposed for elimination in the FY 2019 Budget request.” The president’s FY 2019 budget request included zeroing out the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems and the Regional Educational Laboratories within the Institute of Education Sciences, which would be funded in the Senate minibus legislation and the House LHHS bill.

The Senate used the House-approved FY 2019 Defense appropriations bill as the vehicle for the minibus. The House Appropriations Committee advanced its FY 2019 LHHS bill on July 11. Congress will continue to work on appropriations in September, as FY 2019 begins on October 1.