The following memorandum is a summary and analysis of provisions included in the President’s FY2022 discretionary funding request that may be relevant to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). This summary was prepared by Venable, LLP, on behalf of AACOM.
Public Health Infrastructure
Improved Readiness
The discretionary request includes $8.7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to restore capacity at the agency. The CDC would use this additional funding to support core public health capacity improvements in states and territories, modernize public health data collection nationwide, train new epidemiologists and other public health experts, and build international capacity.
Expanded Access to Mental Healthcare
The request expands on mental health resources included in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) by including $1.6 billion for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG) and additional funding to expand suicide prevention activities, among other support specific to law enforcement. This amount would be more than double the 2021 enacted level.
Other Diseases and Epidemics
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)
The discretionary request includes $6.5 billion to launch ARPA-H, which would increase funding for direct federal research and development spending in health. This funding is a component of a $51 billion request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to continue support research that enhances health, lengthens life, and reduces illness and disability.
Opioid Epidemic
The discretionary request would invest $10.7 billion to support research, prevention, treatment, and recovery support services, with targeted investments to support populations with unique needs including rural populations.
Maternal Mortality and Race-Based Disparities in Maternal Mortality
The discretionary request would invest more than $200 million to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity rates nationwide, bolster Maternal Mortality Review Committees, expand the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies program, and implement bias training for healthcare providers.
Investing in America’s Future
Increased Pell Grants
The discretionary request would increase the maximum Pell Grant by $400, which would be the largest one-time increase since 2009, to $6,895. The request would also make “DREAMers,” immigrants brought by their parents to the United States without permission as children, eligible for Pell Grants.
Climate Crisis
Improved Energy Efficiency, Safety, and Resilience of Low-Income Homes and Public Buildings
The discretionary request would invest $1.7 billion in energy saving retrofits to homes, schools, and federal buildings.
Clean Energy Technologies
The request would invest more than $10 billion in clean energy innovation across non-defense agencies, which would help transform the nation’s electric, transportation, buildings, and industrial sectors to achieve net-zero carbon economy by 2050. This amount would be more than a 35% increase over 2021 enacted levels.
Advancing Equity
Equity in Higher Education
The discretionary request would increase institutional capacity and student supports at HBCUs, TCUs, MSIs, and low-resourced institutions, such as community colleges. It also provides a $100 million increase in funding for programs that aim to increase participation in science and engineering of individuals from racial and ethnic groups who are traditionally underrepresented in these fields.
Broadband
The discretionary request would provide an increase of $65 million over the 2021 enacted level for Reconnect, the Rural e-Connectivity Program, and prioritizing tribal lands. This investment would build on the funding provided in the ARP.
Restoring America’s Global Standing
Obligation to America’s Veterans
In addition to the significant investments in the ARP, the discretionary request includes $97.5 billion to improve access to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare, including increases in funding for women’s health, mental health, suicide prevention, and veterans’ homeless programs. The request also includes $882 million for medical and prosthetic research.
FY2022 Department Funding
Department of Education
The request includes $102.8 billion for the Department of Education, a 41% increase over the 2021 enacted level including the additional $3 billion in Pell Grants. The request would also provide a $600 million increase for institutional capacity and student support.
Department of Health and Human Services
The President’s request includes $131.7 billion for HHS, which would be a 25% increase from the 2021 enacted level. In addition to increased funding for the CDC, it would provide $905 million for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response’s (ASPR) Strategic National Stockpile. The discretionary request also includes $51 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which includes the increased funding for ARPA-H.
The discretionary request prioritizes investments in programs that help rural communities by providing access to quality healthcare and health professionals. Within the Health Resources and Services Administration, the discretionary request increases funding to help rural healthcare providers stay open and care for their rural communities, increase funding for rural residency programs, and ensure coal miners and their families receive health benefits. The discretionary request also funds efforts to increase the number of individuals from rural areas going to medical school or other training programs, and returning or staying in rural communities to provide care, with a focus on primary care physicians, nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, and other in-demand providers.
Department of Labor
The discretionary request includes a $2.1 billion investment in the Department of Labor’s worker protection agencies to conduct the enforcement and regulatory work needed to ensure workers’ wages, benefits, and rights are protected. The request also includes investments to improve access to the unemployment insurance system, particularly in under-served communities. This includes a $100 million investment to support the development of information technology solutions to assist states with timely and equitable access to benefits.
Department of Veterans Affairs
The President’s request includes $113.1 billion in discretionary funding for the VA as well as $111.3 billion in advance appropriations for VA medical care programs in 2023. These funds are in addition to the more than $15 billion included in the ARP to improve access to VA healthcare. This funding would support critical healthcare improvements, address racial disparities within the VA, modernize VA information technology, and investments in research critical to veterans’ health needs.
Please contact AACOM Government Relations at aacomgr@aacom.org with questions or for further information.
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