Summary
This report provides a brief summary of the status of FY2024 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations as of the cover date of this report. It also provides background on the scope of the LHHS bill generally and the context for congressional appropriations decisions, including the submission of the FY2024 President's budget request and budget enforcement in the absence of a budget resolution.
Full-year FY2024 appropriations for LHHS were enacted on March 23, 2024, when the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (FY2024 LHHS omnibus; H.R. 2882; P.L. 118-47) was signed into law by the President. The FY2024 LHHS omnibus reduced regular discretionary appropriations for LHHS by 6% (-$12.9 billion) relative to FY2023 and by 1% (-$2.6 billion) relative to FY2022. Prior to its enactment, the final version of the measure was approved by the House on March 22, and the Senate on March 23 (74-24).
Prior to enactment of full-year appropriations, FY2024 funding was provided temporarily through four continuing resolutions (CRs). The first CR was signed into law on September 30, 2023 (Division A of H.R. 5860; P.L. 118-15), providing continuing appropriations for all 12 annual appropriations acts (including LHHS) through November 17, 2023. Subsequently, three additional CRs were enacted, which extended the provisions of the first CR with some additional provisions (see Division A of P.L. 118-22, enacted on November 16, 2023; Division A of P.L. 118-35, enacted on January 19, 2024; Division A of P.L. 118-40, enacted on March 1, 2024). In general, the CRs funded discretionary programs at the same rate, and under the same conditions, as in FY2023 and funded annually appropriated entitlements at their current law levels. The CRs included a few provisions that were specific to LHHS accounts or related activities.
On July 27, 2023, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to report the FY2024 LHHS bill, 26-2; the measure was subsequently reported to the Senate that same day (S. 2624; S.Rept. 118-84). The Senate committee bill would have reduced discretionary appropriations for LHHS by 6% (-$12.1 billion) relative to FY2023 and by 1% (-$1.8 billion) relative to FY2022. The measure was not formally marked up in subcommittee prior to full committee consideration. The Senate Appropriations Committee reported its initial suballocations for all 12 subcommittees, including LHHS, on June 22, 2023 (15-13).
While the House Appropriations Committee did not report its version of the LHHS bill, a draft bill was approved in subcommittee on July 14, 2023, by a voice vote. Previously, on June 15, 2023, the House Appropriations Committee approved draft suballocations (33-27), which would have reduced regular discretionary appropriations for LHHS by 29% (-$60.3 billion) relative to FY2023 and by 25% (-$49.9 billion) relative to FY2022.
The LHHS bill also received some House floor consideration, but the House did not vote on passage of the bill. On October 6, 2023, Representative Aderholt, chair of the House Appropriations LHHS Subcommittee, introduced an LHHS bill (H.R. 5894); the text of H.R. 5894 was substantially the same as the subcommittee draft bill. The bill was brought to the House floor for consideration on November 14, under the terms of a special rule (H.Res. 864). The special rule specified the amendments that were to be in order, and provided that the text of the bill would be Rules Committee Print 118-13, which in effect made numerous alterations to the provisions in H.R. 5894 as introduced. Floor amendments were considered on November 14 and 15, with a total of 109 being adopted.
One proposal has been signed into law providing LHHS emergency-designated appropriations for FY2024. In P.L. 118-50 (H.R. 815, April 24, 2024), Division B, the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, provided $481 million in emergency-designated appropriations for the Refugee and Entrant account at the Administration for Children and Families (HHS).
Full-year FY2024 funding for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations act were enacted on March 23, 2024, when the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (FY2024 LHHS omnibus; H.R. 2882; P.L. 118-47) was signed into law by the President. Previously, FY2024 funding had been provided temporarily through four continuing resolutions (P.L. 118-15, P.L. 118-22, P.L. 118-35, P.L. 118-40). This report provides a brief summary of the status of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations during the FY2024 appropriations cycle, including relevant congressional actions and a top-line comparison of discretionary funding enacted in FY2023 versus relevant FY2024 legislative proposals as of the cover date of this report. It also provides background on the scope of the bill and the context for congressional appropriations decisions.
Congressional clients may consult the LHHS experts list in CRS Report R42638, Appropriations: CRS Experts, for information on which analysts to contact at the Congressional Research Service (CRS) with questions on specific agencies and programs funded in the LHHS bill.
The LHHS bill is the largest of the 12 annual appropriations bills when accounting for both mandatory and discretionary funding ($1.4 trillion in FY2023).1 It provides annually appropriated budget authority for the following federal departments and agencies:
In general, mandatory funding represents more than 80% of the total LHHS bill, supporting annually appropriated entitlements such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Discretionary funds, which account for less than 20% of total funds in the bill, tend to be the focus of congressional debate during the appropriations process.2 This is because the appropriations process generally has little control over the amount of mandatory funding provided for appropriated entitlements; rather, the authorizing statute controls the program parameters (e.g., eligibility rules, benefit levels) that entitle certain recipients to payments. Consequently, the focus of this report generally is on the discretionary spending for LHHS programs and activities under various laws and proposals.
Even though discretionary appropriations represent a relatively small share of the entire LHHS bill, the bill is typically the largest single source of nondefense discretionary funding for the federal government. (The Department of Defense bill is the largest single source of discretionary funding overall.)
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Calculating Total LHHS Budget Authority Budget authority is the amount of money a federal agency is legally authorized to commit or spend. Appropriations bills may include budget authority that becomes available in the current fiscal year, in future fiscal years, or some combination. Amounts that become available in future fiscal years are typically referred to as advance appropriations (e.g., the FY2024 LHHS appropriations act generally contains advance appropriations that become available in FY2025 and FY2026 for certain programs and activities). In addition, while new budget authority is generally subject to a variety of statutory and congressional rules that are intended to control the budget (i.e., budget controls), some budget authority may be effectively exempted from those controls, including budget authority for emergency requirements, health care fraud and abuse control, and continuing disability reviews and redeterminations. The amount of LHHS budget authority can be tabulated in various ways. The total amount of budget authority provided in an appropriations bill (i.e., total in the bill) would be calculated regardless of the year in which the funding becomes available.3 In some cases, such as the 302(b) suballocations (discussed later), the total is based on current-year appropriations (i.e., the amount of budget authority available for obligation in a given fiscal year), which is calculated regardless of the year in which it was first appropriated.4 Additionally, budgetary totals may or may not include Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scorekeeping and other adjustments to reflect budget enforcement conventions and special instructions of Congress.5 Finally, calculations of LHHS budget authority might include or exclude budget authority that is exempted from budget controls. |
Under the congressional budget process, congressional consideration of annual appropriations traditionally is preceded by the submission of the President's budget request and the adoption of the congressional budget resolution. However, the FY2024 cycle has been affected by a number of issues, including the circumstances affecting the timing of the President's budget and the recent imposition of statutory discretionary spending limits on defense and nondefense spending. Background related to these issues is provided below.
FY2024 President's Budget Submission
The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 (P.L. 67-13), as amended, requires the President to submit an annual consolidated federal budget to Congress at the beginning of each regular congressional session, not later than the first Monday in February. Many of the proposals in the President's budget would require changes to laws that govern mandatory spending levels or policies, which are typically established on a multiyear or permanent basis. Discretionary spending, however, which is roughly one-third of the federal budget,6 is decided and controlled each fiscal year through the annual appropriations process. While Congress is ultimately not required to adopt the President's proposals or recommendations, the submission of the President's budget typically initiates the congressional budget process and informs Congress of the President's recommended spending levels for agencies and programs.7
The President's budget request for FY2024 was submitted on March 9, 2023, about five weeks after it was due. It was preceded by the enactment of FY2023 full-year annual appropriations (P.L. 117-328) on December 29, 2022, about three months into the fiscal year. The delay of the budget submission allowed the FY2023 funding amounts displayed in the budget materials generally to reflect the annual appropriations in December.
On May 9, the President submitted amendments to the FY2024 budget request that included changes to the amounts requested for specified Department of Education accounts.8 In addition, two supplemental appropriations proposals made since that time have included requests for LHHS-related discretionary funding. The request for "critical national security funding needs" made on October 20 included funding for HHS and DOL accounts.9 The request for "critical domestic needs" made on October 25 included funding for HHS and ED accounts.10
FY2024 Discretionary Spending Levels and Appropriations Allocations
For FY2024, the discretionary spending levels in appropriations measures are enforceable by both statutory and procedural means. Statutory budget enforcement is through the discretionary spending limits in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (BBEDCA; P.L. 99-177), as amended. These statutory limits are enforced through sequestration: largely across-the-board reductions made to the category of spending that is in excess of the limit (defense or nondefense), to eliminate the excess spending.11 Procedural budget enforcement is primarily associated with the budget resolution, which provides a process for the House and Senate to agree on budgetary targets ahead of consideration of spending and revenue legislation. These targets are enforced through points of order.
Certain spending is effectively exempt from these limits (commonly referred to as adjustments to those limits). In recent years, adjustments that have been applied to LHHS appropriations are for emergency requirements, to accommodate new budget authority for specified "program integrity" initiatives at HHS (health care fraud and abuse control), the SSA (continuing disability reviews and redeterminations), and for DOL to fund reemployment services and eligibility assessments conducted by the states related to unemployment compensation.12
The statutory limits on discretionary spending that are currently in effect were enacted as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA; P.L. 118-5) on June 3, 2023.13 Prior to the FRA, statutory limits on discretionary spending had been in effect from FY2012 through FY2021 (having expired at the end of FY2021).14 The FRA amended the BBEDCA to provide limits on defense discretionary (all spending under budget function 050) and nondefense discretionary (all other spending) for FY2024 and FY2025. All funding in the LHHS bill is subject to the nondefense limit. The statutory limit on nondefense discretionary spending for FY2024 is $703.65 billion. This would be a $40.2 billion (-5%) reduction relative to FY2023 enacted nondefense discretionary spending when accounting for Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scorekeeping, and prior to any adjustments to the limits pursuant to BBEDCA authorities.15 For LHHS programs and activities, the FRA also provided for adjustments to the nondefense spending limit for health care fraud and abuse control, continuing disability reviews and redeterminations, and reemployment services and eligibility assessments, up to a specified amount of funding for each of FY2024 and FY2025.16 The maximum amount of funding allowed for these LHHS adjustments is $2.447 billion total in FY2024 and $2.531 billion in FY2025.
Appropriations Allocations Under the Budget Resolution
The budget resolution process dates back to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and is used each year to impose a limit on total discretionary spending available to the appropriations committees (commonly referred to as a 302(a) allocation) and subsequently, limits on spending under the jurisdiction of each appropriations subcommittee (referred to as 302(b) suballocations).17
As of the cover date of this report, there has been no House or Senate action on a FY2024 budget resolution.18 For the purposes of providing 302(a) allocations and budgetary aggregates for the consideration of FY2024 appropriations, as well as other matters that would have been traditionally associated with the budget resolution, the FRA directed the chairs of the House Budget Committee and the Senate Budget Committee to enter those amounts into the Congressional Record as soon as practicable. These were published in the Senate on June 21, 2023, but have not been published in the House.19
Generally, the next step in the appropriations process is for each of the appropriations committees to adopt suballocations from the total amount allocated to them. These 302(b) suballocations provide a limit on current-year (i.e., FY2024) appropriations within each subcommittee's jurisdiction and incorporate any applicable scorekeeping adjustments made by CBO.20 On June 15, 2023, the House Appropriations Committee voted to approve draft suballocations for all 12 subcommittees, including LHHS (33-27).21 Subsequently, the Senate Appropriations Committee reported its suballocations on June 22, 2023 (15-13).22 These suballocations are displayed in Table 1.
FY2024 LHHS Legislative Action
FY2024 Further Consolidated Appropriations Act
Full-year FY2024 appropriations for LHHS were enacted on March 23, 2024, when the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (FY2024 LHHS omnibus; H.R. 2882; P.L. 118-47) was signed into law by the President. The FY2024 LHHS omnibus provided full-year appropriations for six of the annual appropriations acts in Divisions A-F, with LHHS appropriations being provided in Division D. Prior to its enactment, the final version of the measure was approved by the House on March 22,23 and the Senate on March 23 (74-24). The FY2024 LHHS appropriations provided in the omnibus are summarized in the "LHHS Funding Levels" section.
FY2024 Continuing Appropriations
Between the start of FY2024 and the enactment of full-year appropriations, FY2024 LHHS regular appropriations were provided by a series of CRs. The first CR was signed into law on September 30, 2023 (Division A of H.R. 5860; P.L. 118-15). It provided continuing appropriations for all 12 of the annual appropriations acts (including LHHS) through November 17, 2023. H.R. 5860 was introduced by Representative Granger, the House Appropriations Committee chair, on September 30, 2023. That same day, the measure was passed by both the House (335-91) and the Senate (88-9), and signed into law. Subsequently, three additional CRs were enacted, (see Division A of P.L. 118-22, enacted on November 16, 2023; Division A of P.L. 118-35, enacted on January 19, 2024; Division A of P.L. 118-40, enacted on March 1, 2024).
In general, the FY2024 CRs funded discretionary programs at the same rate and under the same conditions as in FY2023 annual appropriations acts (§101), with specified exceptions, and funded annually appropriated entitlements at their current law levels (§111).24 The CRs included a few provisions that were specific to LHHS accounts or related activities. Most of these LHHS-specific provisions were included in the first CR and continued in the subsequent CRs (§§101(8), 133); one new LHHS-specific provision was added in the second CR (§145).25
FY2024 Emergency-Designated Appropriations
Emergency-designated appropriations are effectively exempt from otherwise applicable budget enforcement requirements, such as committee allocations, as described above. One proposal has been signed into law providing LHHS emergency-designated appropriations for FY2024. In P.L. 118-50 (H.R. 815, April 24, 2024), Division B, the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, provided $481 million in emergency-designated appropriations for the Refugee and Entrant account at the Administration for Children and Families (HHS).26
Earlier Congressional Action on an LHHS Bill
In the Senate, the FY2024 LHHS bill was reported out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, but did not receive floor consideration. On July 27, 2023, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to report the FY2024 LHHS bill, 26-2; the measure was subsequently reported to the Senate that same day (S. 2624; S.Rept. 118-84). The measure was not formally marked up in subcommittee prior to full committee action.
In the House, the FY2024 LHHS bill received some House Appropriations Committee consideration, but was not marked up by the full committee. The draft bill was approved in subcommittee on July 14, 2023, by a voice vote.27
The LHHS bill also received some House floor consideration, but the House did not vote on passage of the bill. On October 6, 2023, Representative Aderholt, chair of the House Appropriations LHHS Subcommittee, introduced an LHHS bill (H.R. 5894); the text of H.R. 5894 as introduced was substantially the same as the subcommittee draft. The bill was brought to the House floor for consideration on November 14, under the terms of a special rule (H.Res. 864), that specified the amendments that would be in order and provided that the text of the bill would be Rules Committee Print 118-13, which in effect made numerous alterations to the provisions in H.R. 5894 as introduced.28 This rule also provided the authority for the chair of the Appropriations Committee or her designee to offer any of the amendments made in order en bloc (i.e., in groups of amendments to be disposed of together);29 a total of 49 amendments were considered in this manner. When counting amendments considered en bloc as separate amendments, 109 amendments were adopted, 23 were rejected, and 2 were offered and withdrawn.
Table 1 displays the CBO estimate of enacted LHHS discretionary appropriations for FY2022 FY2023, and the FY2024 LHHS omnibus (FY2024 enacted), alongside the FY2024 draft House suballocation for LHHS30 and the FY2024 Senate committee-reported bill (S. 2624). The amounts shown for "regular discretionary appropriations" do not include any funding that is subject to program integrity adjustments or emergency designations. The amounts shown represent current-year budget authority subject to the spending limits and take into account any applicable CBO scorekeeping adjustments. Under this method of estimating the bill, the FY2024 LHHS omnibus reduced regular discretionary appropriations for LHHS by 6% (-$12.9 billion) relative to FY2023 and by 1% (-$2.6 billion) relative to FY2022. The enacted amount is similar to the Senate proposal, which would have reduced discretionary appropriations for LHHS by 6% (-$12.1 billion) relative to FY2023 and by 1% (-$1.8 billion) relative to FY2022.31 In comparison, the House proposal would have reduced regular discretionary appropriations for LHHS by 29% (-$60.3 billion) relative to FY2023 and by 25% (-$49.9 billion) relative to FY2022.32
As mentioned previously, certain LHHS appropriations, such as those allowed for program integrity funding or designated as for emergency requirements, are effectively exempt from the discretionary spending limits (see discussion in the "FY2024 Discretionary Spending Levels and Appropriations Allocations" section). The "adjusted appropriations" total in the table includes funding under these adjustments, plus "regular discretionary appropriations." Both the proposed and enacted FY2024 LHHS appropriations provided the maximum amount allowed ($2.4 billion) for the program integrity adjustments. (Note that the draft House Appropriations Committee report on FY2024 suballocations for LHHS only presented an aggregate total for the three LHHS "program integrity" adjustments.) FY2024 enacted emergency-designated appropriations for a LHHS total of $481 million. The House suballocations for LHHS did not include any FY2024 funding for emergency requirements, whereas the FY2024 Senate committee-reported LHHS bill would have provided $4.5 billion in emergency-designated discretionary funding.33
Table 1. LHHS Discretionary Appropriations: Comparison of FY2022 Enacted, FY2023 Enacted, FY2024 House and Senate Appropriations Committee Initial 302(b) Suballocations, and FY2024 Enacted
(budget authority in billions of dollars)
|
FY2022 Enacted |
FY2023 Enacted |
FY2024 Draft House Committee Suballocationa |
FY2024 Senate Committee-Reported Bill (S. 2624) |
FY2024 Enacted |
|
|
Regular discretionary appropriations |
196.994 |
207.367 |
147.096 |
195.231 |
194.434 |
|
Adjustments:b |
|||||
|
Program Integrity |
2.124 |
2.345 |
2.447 |
2.447 |
2.447 |
|
Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (non-add) |
0.556 |
0.576 |
— |
0.604 |
0.604 |
|
Continuing Disability Reviews and Redeterminations (non-add) |
1.435 |
1.511 |
— |
1.578 |
1.578 |
|
Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (non-add) |
0.133 |
0.258 |
— |
0.265 |
0.265 |
|
Emergency requirements |
7.831 |
9.920 |
— |
4.500 |
0.481c |
|
Adjusted appropriations |
206.949 |
219.632 |
149.543 |
202.178 |
197.362 |
Source: The FY2022 Enacted amounts are from CBO, Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2022, House of Representatives, as of May 26, 2022, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2022-05/FY2022-House-2022-05-26.pdf; and Table 3 in CBO, cost estimate, The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act would provide funding to encourage enactment of state laws aimed at controlling access to guns and to support a variety of other initiatives to enhance school safety, mental health programs, and violence prevention, June 22, 2022, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2022-06/S2938.pdf. The FY2023 Enacted amounts are from CBO, CBO Estimate for Divisions A through N of H.R. 2617 (as modified by S.A. 6552), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, December 21, 2022, https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58872; and CRS analysis of P.L. 117-180 and P.L. 117-328. The FY2024 House Appropriations Committee initial suballocations are as published at https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/documents/
FY24%20House%20Subcommittee%20Allocations%206.13.23_0.pdf. The FY2024 Senate Committee-reported bill (S. 2624) amounts are from S.Rept. 118-84, p. 1, and CRS analysis of the text of S. 2624. FY2024 Enacted amounts are from CBO, Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2024, House of Representatives, as of March 23, 2024, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-04/FY2024-House-2024-03-23.pdf; and CRS analysis of P.L. 118-50. "Regular discretionary appropriations" exclude funds for which special rules apply under the spending limits (e.g., funds for certain program integrity activities and emergency requirements), as well as funds provided under authorities in the 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255) that are effectively exempt from the spending limits.
Notes: Amounts reflect current-year discretionary budget authority subject to spending limits.
a. According to page 2 of the draft explanatory materials released by the House Appropriations Committee, the LHHS appropriations in H.R. 5894 (and presumably as proposed in Rules Committee Print 118-13) align with the draft subcommittee suballocation (House Appropriations Committee, draft explanatory materials timestamped 03:26 on November 2, 2023, p. 2, https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY24-LHHS-Explanatory-Materials.pdf).
b. The FY2022 enacted amounts for these activities are identified via CRS analysis of Division H of P.L. 117-103. The FY2023 enacted amounts for these activities are identified via CRS analysis of Division H of P.L. 117-328. Note that CBO tabulates these adjustments differently based on relevant procedures in CBO, Discretionary Spending in Fiscal Year 2023 Under Divisions A Through L of H.R. 2617 (as modified by Senate Amendment 6552), the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, December 21, 2022, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-12/HR-2617_div-A%E2%80%93N.pdf. See also CBO, Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2023, House of Representatives, February 10, 2023, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2023-02/FY2023-House-2022-12-23.pdf; and CBO, Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2023, Senate, February 10, 2023, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2023-02/FY2023-Senate-2022-12-23.pdf.
c. The budgetary effects of Section 301 of Division B, related to eligibility for certain benefits, also were emergency-designated. These budgetary effects are not included in this report because no definite dollar amount was specified. For further information, see CBO, CBO Estimate for H.R. 8035, Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, As Posted on the website of the House Committee on Rules on April 17, 2024, April 19, 2024, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-04/hr8035_Ukraine_Security_Supplemental_Appropriations_Act_2024.pdf.
| 1. |
Calculated based on the explanatory statement accompanying the FY2023 LHHS omnibus (P.L. 117-328) available in the Congressional Record, vol. 168, no. 198, book II, December 20, 2022, pp. S8874-S9198. The discretionary funding provided in the LHHS appropriations act is both provided and controlled by that act. The mandatory funding provided in the LHHS act is controlled by provisions in authorizing law. For definitions of these and other budget terms, see U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process, GAO-05-734SP, September 1, 2005, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-05-734SP. (Terms of interest may include budget authority, appropriated entitlement, direct spending, discretionary, entitlement authority, and mandatory.) |
| 2. |
For an illustrative discussion of the distribution of funds among the different titles of the bill, and between discretionary and mandatory spending, see the summary of FY2024 Senate committee-approved LHHS appropriations on pages 7-11 of CRS Report R47936, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2024 Appropriations. |
| 3. |
Such figures include advance appropriations provided in the bill for future fiscal years, but do not include advance appropriations provided in prior years' appropriations bills that become available in the current year. |
| 4. |
Such figures typically exclude advance appropriations for future years, but include advance appropriations from prior years that become available in the given fiscal year. |
| 5. |
For more information on scorekeeping, see CRS Report 98-560, Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget Process. See also a discussion of key scorekeeping guidelines included in the joint explanatory statement accompanying the conference report to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (H.Rept. 105-217, pp. 1007-1014). |
| 6. |
Congressional Budget Office (CBO), The 2022 Long-Term Budget Outlook, July 2022, p. 18, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-07/57971-LTBO.pdf. |
| 7. |
For more information, see CRS Report R47019, The Executive Budget Process: An Overview. |
| 8. |
See the budget amendments package at https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FY_2024_Budget_Amendment_Corrections_5-9-23.pdf. |
| 9. |
See Executive Office of the President (EOP), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), "Letter Regarding Critical National Security Funding Needs for FY 2024," October 20, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2023/10/20/letter-regarding-critical-national-security-funding-needs-for-fy-2024/. |
| 10. |
See EOP, OMB, "FACT SHEET: White House Calls on Congress to Support Critical Domestic Needs," October 25, 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/10/25/fact-sheet-white-house-calls-on-congress-to-support-critical-domestic-needs/; and EOP, OMB, "Funding Request to meet Critical Needs," undated, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Funding-Request-to-Meet-Critical-Needs.pdf. |
| 11. |
The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA; P.L. 118-5) also contains procedures by which these limits might be temporarily or permanently adjusted in the case of a continuing resolution. For a summary of these adjustments, see CRS Insight IN12168, Discretionary Spending Caps in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. |
| 12. |
For further information on how these generally function, see Appendix A in CRS Report R47345, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2023 Appropriations. |
| 13. |
For more information, see CRS Insight IN12168, Discretionary Spending Caps in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. |
| 14. |
These limits were initially established in 2011 by the amendments made by the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25) to the BBEDCA, but they were subsequently revised several times over the course of their effective period. For a summary of these changes, see CRS Insight IN11148, The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019: Changes to the BCA and Debt Limit. |
| 15. |
These calculations are based on CBO, Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2023, U.S. Senate, February 10, 2023, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2023-02/FY2023-Senate-2022-12-23.pdf. Note that CBO tabulates a slightly different amount of funding using House conventions in CBO, Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2023, U.S. House of Representatives, February 10, 2023, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2023-02/FY2023-House-2022-12-23.pdf. The FRA includes a provision described as incentivizing Members to enact regular full-year appropriations legislation. The FRA states that in the event that a continuing resolution (CR) is in effect on January 1 of 2024 or 2025 for any budget account, the discretionary spending limits for that fiscal year are automatically revised. The revision would result in an increase in nondefense discretionary budget authority and a decrease for defense discretionary spending levels when compared with the original levels. Under such a scenario, a sequester order would be issued on April 30 of either 2024 or 2025. The FRA states that the revised limits would revert to the original FRA limits if full-year appropriations were enacted before April 30. For more information, see CRS Insight IN12183, The FRA's Discretionary Spending Caps Under a CR: FAQs. |
| 16. |
The FRA also provided for a designation for emergency requirements, which would generally be available for funding under the purview of any appropriations act (not just LHHS). |
| 17. |
For further information, see CRS Report 98-815, Budget Resolution Enforcement. |
| 18. |
The House Budget Committee voted to report a FY2024 budget resolution on September 20, 2023, but the measure has not yet been reported. |
| 19. |
"Budget Enforcement Levels," Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 169, no. 108 (June 21, 2023), pp. S2180-S2181. |
| 20. |
Such suballocations are commonly revised throughout the appropriations process to reflect changing budgetary priorities. |
| 21. |
The House Appropriations Committee suballocations have not been formally reported, but they have been published by the committee at https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/documents/FY24%20House%20Subcommittee%20Allocations%206.13.23_0.pdf. |
| 22. |
S.Rept. 118-45. These suballocations were subsequently revised in S.Rept. 118-57, S.Rept. 118-69, S.Rept. 118-78, S.Rept. 118-98, S.Rept. 118-108, and S.Rept. 118-162. |
| 23. |
The House vote on the LHHS omnibus was with regard to the special rule H.Res. 1102, which was brought up under suspension of the rules and passed by a vote of 286-134. H.Res. 1102, as agreed to by the House, deemed that the House concurred in the Senate amendment to H.R. 2282 passed on March 12, 2024, with a further amendment that includes six appropriations bill divisions. |
| 24. |
For an estimate of the discretionary appropriations contained in Division A of H.R. 6833, see Estimated Discretionary Appropriations Under Division A of Senate Amendment Number 5745 to H.R. 6833, the Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, with Adjustments Made in the Senate, September 28, 2022, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2021-09/57491-CBO-Estimate-for-HR5305.pdf. For an estimate of the discretionary appropriations contained in Division A of H.R. 1437, see Estimated Discretionary Appropriations Under Division A of the Further Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2023 (Rules Committee Print 117-72, the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1437) as posted on the Rules Committee Website (https://rules.house.gov/bill/117/hr1437-sa), with Adjustments Made in the House, December 14, 2022, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2022-12/hr1437%28as_modified%29.pdf. |
| 25. |
The LHHS-specific provisions in the first CR (§§101(8) and 133) are discussed in CRS Report R47749, Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2024 (Division A of P.L. 118-15). |
| 26. |
The budgetary effects of Section 301 of Division B, related to eligibility for certain benefits, also were emergency-designated. These budgetary effects are not included in this report because no definite dollar amount was specified. For further information, see CBO, CBO Estimate for H.R. 8035, Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, As Posted on the website of the House Committee on Rules on April 17, 2024, April 19, 2024, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2024-04/hr8035_Ukraine_Security_Supplemental_Appropriations_Act_2024.pdf. |
| 27. |
See draft text linked to House Appropriations Committee, "Committee Releases FY24 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill," July 13, 2023, https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/committee-releases-fy24-labor-health-and-human-services-education-and-related. |
| 28. |
See the Rules Committee report accompanying H.Res. 864 for the text of the amendments made in order (H.Rept. 118-272). The text of Rules Committee Print 118-13 is posted at https://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules118.house.gov/files/LHHS%20RCP%20FINAL_xml.pdf. A comparative print of H.R. 5894 and the Rules Committee Print 118-13 is posted at https://rules.house.gov/sites/republicans.rules118.house.gov/files/118hr5894ih_to_LHHS%20RCP%20FINAL_xml.pdf. Draft explanatory materials accompanying H.R. 5894 and Rules Committee Print 118-13 have also been released by the House Appropriations Committee and posted at https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY24-LHHS-Explanatory-Materials.pdf. |
| 29. |
For further information about en bloc authority in the context of House floor consideration of appropriations measures, see CRS Report R46841, Changes in the House of Representatives' Initial Consideration of Regular Appropriations Measures, 113th-116th Congresses. |
| 30. |
The House Appropriations Committee majority summary of the subcommittee draft LHHS bill indicated that total discretionary funding in the draft aligns with the draft subcommittee allocation. (See bill summary linked at House Appropriations Committee majority, "Committee Releases FY24 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill," July 13 2023, https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/committee-releases-fy24-labor-health-and-human-services-education-and-related.) According to page 2 of the draft explanatory materials released by the House Appropriations Committee, the LHHS appropriations in H.R. 5894 (and presumably as proposed in Rules Committee Print 118-13) align with the draft subcommittee suballocation. |
| 31. |
An alternative way of calculating the amount of the Senate-proposed reductions was provided in the committee report accompanying S. 2624. The subcommittee's effective base discretionary funding allocation, which includes discretionary funding offset by savings in changes in mandatory programs and other similar adjustments, is $1,218,000,000 below the comparable FY2023 level (S.Rept. 118-84, p. 1). With regard to the House-proposed reductions, it could not be determined based on the suballocations alone the extent to which these reductions would have been achieved via rescissions to previously enacted funding and other related budgetary mechanisms, versus reducing the amount of LHHS funding that would be newly enacted for FY2024. |
| 32. |
This CRS estimate is based on a comparison of the CBO estimate for FY2022 enacted (CBO, Report on the Status of Discretionary Appropriations, Fiscal Year 2022, House of Representatives, as of May 26, 2022, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files?file=2022-05/FY2022-House-2022-05-26.pdf) to the total discretionary spending budget authority allocation. |
| 33. |
Emergency-designed funding in S. 2624 was proposed for a total of 11 accounts under the Health and Human Services (Title II) and Related Agencies (Title IV) titles in the bill. |