Policy Corner: December 16, 2022
Categories: Policy Corner Archives
Congress Sends Short-term Funding Bill to Fund Federal Government to President
Yesterday, the Senate passed a one-week continuing resolution (CR) to keep government funded through Dec. 23 after the House of Representatives passed the same measure earlier in the week. The federal government has been operating under another CR that is to expire at midnight tonight. Unable to pass the annual appropriations bills, Congress has passed these two consecutive CRs with the hope of passing spending bills to fund government through the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 next week.
Both the House and Senate appropriations leaders have finally distributed final spending allocations to their dozen subcommittees with the goal of preparing an omnibus package of spending bills to be unveiled Monday and passed next week. The omnibus spending bill would authorize funding for federal discretionary programs, including the Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) TBI State Partnership Program and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) research programs, as well as programs administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Social Security and Medicare are considered “mandatory spending,” and are funded according to the laws that created them, and as such, they are not part of the annual appropriations process.
Congress Passes the NDAA which Includes Military Health Care Programs
Congress passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) this week, which authorizes funding levels and provides authorities for the U.S. military and other critical defense priorities. The bill requires the establishment of a comprehensive initiative for brain health, the Warfighter Brain Health Initiative, to improve cognitive performance and brain health of servicemembers. The bill also makes improvements relating to behavioral health care in the military health system and requires a review and report on the rates of suicides in the Armed Forces by military occupational specialty during the time period beginning after September 11, 2001, and continuing to the present day. President Biden is expected to sign the bill immediately.
Senators Introduce Bills on Education; Behavioral Health This week.
This week, two senators introduced separate bills to increase graduation rates of individuals with disabilities within higher education and to promote mental health wellness through culturally appropriate programs. Specifically, Senator Robert Casey (D-Pa.) introduced S. 5281 to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the graduation rates of individuals with disabilities within higher education. He introduced the bill on Dec. 15 and the text is not yet available. The day before, Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced S. 5251 to direct the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote mental wellness and resilience and heal mental health, behavioral health, and psychological problems through age and culturally appropriate community programs, and award grants for the purpose of establishing, operating, or expanding community-based mental wellness and resilience programs, and for other purposes.
