On July 10, the House Appropriations Committee advanced several bills that would fund key federal agencies for Fiscal Year 2025, which starts on October 1. The bills were debated in all-day Committee proceedings, during which Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) held votes on funding proposals for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Education (ED), and several additional agencies.

Next, the full House will vote on the funding bills, which cannot be enacted until the Senate takes action. The funding bills are largely expected to stall until after the November election, leading to harmful short-term Continuing Resolutions. LeadingAge will continue to monitor and update members on FY25 funding efforts. View the markup recording, bill texts, and statements by the Chairman here.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides a total discretionary allocation of $90.400 billion, which is $7.084 billion (7.3%) below the Fiscal Year 2024 enacted level. Because of the proposed cuts, LeadingAge is strongly concerned with the impacts of the Committee-advanced HUD funding bill.

• In a 31-26 vote, the Appropriations Committee approved a steep funding cut to HUD, including a 60% cut to the HOME Investment Partnerships program, which addresses housing supply issues by funding the development and preservation of affordable housing. Subcommittee Chairman Steve Womack (R-AR) said during the mark-up that the program was “flush with cash” from other sources.
• While the Committee adopted a bipartisan manager’s amendment offered by Subcommittee Chairman Womack to make technical fixes and adjustments, an amendment offered by Ranking Member Quigley (D-IL) was defeated along party lines. The Quigley amendment would have removed language from the funding bill that prevents HUD from implementing or enforcing policies related to racial equity, climate, and similar HUD priorities.
• HUD’s rental assistance programs, including HUD Project-Based Section 8 and HUD Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly, would receive funding levels that HUD has said are enough to renew existing contracts serving eligible households.
• The bill does not include new funding to develop Section 202 homes or to hire new Service Coordinators, and eliminates several other grant programs.

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

The Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides a total discretionary allocation of $185.8 billion, which is $8.6 billion (4%) below the Fiscal Year 2024 enacted score, $23.8 billion (11%) below the Fiscal Year 2024 effective spending level, and $36.2 billion (15%) below the President’s Budget Request.

The bill also included a provision for funds to not be made available to administer, implement, or enforce the final rule entitled ‘‘Medicare and Medicaid Programs;  Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency  Reporting.”  This provision was motioned to strike and was not adopted by a vote of 23 yeas to 33 nays.  LeadingAge has opposed the mandate and continues to support all avenues of halting the rule.

Department of Labor – Employment and Training Administration Training and Employment Services

• Provides $2.7 billion to support the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and National Apprenticeship

Department of Labor – Wage & Hour Division; Occupational Safety & Health Administration

• On a department-wide basis, the bill provides a discretionary total of $10.5 billion for the Department of Labor (DOL), which is $3 billion (23%) below the FY24 enacted level and $3.6 billion below the President’s Budget Request.
• These reduced appropriations include a cut of $25 million from the FY24 funding level for the Wage and Hour Division (WHD), which the Committee notes is a reflection of its concern that the Division has created economic threats to workers through aggressive rulemaking, and of $75 million from the FY2024 funding level for the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA).
• The bill prohibits DOL from using any appropriated funding to administer, implement or enforce the WHD’s final independent contractor classification rule, which took effect March 11; the WHD’s final rule defining overtime exemptions for executive, administrative and professional employees, which took effect July 1; or OSHA’s worker walkaround representative designation process rule, which took effect May 31.

Department of Labor – National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)

• Provides a discretionary total of $200 million in funding for the NLRB, a cut of nearly $100 million from the FY2024 funding level.
• The Committee notes its significant concern that NLRB resources are being used to support regulatory and enforcement actions inconsistent with the National Labor Relations Act and in curtailment of employer rights.
• The bill prohibits the NLRB from using any appropriated funding to administer, implement or enforce the Board’s Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status, which became effective February 26. In March a federal court in Texas struck down the Joint Employer standard, but the Board has appealed that decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Department of Education – Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education

• Provides $2.1 billion to support the Perkins Act and the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act to support career and technical education for secondary and post-secondary institutions to prepare students for the workforce, particularly allied health professionals.

Department of Education – Office of Federal Student Aid Student Financial Assistance

• Provides $1.5 billion to support the Public Health Service Act and loan repayment programs, which are critical to incentivizing health careers, like nursing.