Federal Government Reduces Funding For Special Education State Grants

If you have a question or concern about special education law, school administration, federal standards, or the overall rights of a student, please feel free to call the expert education law attorneys at Maya Murphy, P.C. in Westport today at (203) 221-3100 .

 The U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved a draft Labor, Health and Human Services funding bill for fiscal year 2017 Thursday that the panel's Republican leadership said allocates $161.6 billion in discretionary funding for programs in the Department of Labor and other federal agencies, blocks unneeded regulation and reduces spending.

The funding will be spent on the DOL, Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education and other proven programs with the most national benefit such as medical research, public health and biodefense, the committee leaders said. It also includes funds for a comprehensive approach to battling the nation's opioid epidemic and fighting the spread of the Zika virus.

Taxpayers will save money through the bill, which slashes funding in wasteful or ineffective programs, according to committee leaders. The funding bill is $569 million below the level enacted in 2016 and $2.8 billion below President Barack Obama's budget request.

The measure passed 31-19.

"This is the 12th and final appropriations bill to be considered by the committee this year," said House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky. "It follows the responsible lead of the legislation before it - investing in proven, effective programs, rolling back over‑regulation and overreach by the administration that kills American jobs, and cutting spending to save hard‑earned taxpayer dollars."

The bill provides $12 billion for the Labor Department to increase worker training programs, including state grants for dislocated workers, Job Corps, and the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, and also provides adequate funding for enforcement and benefit protection agencies to fulfill their core missions, according to the committee. The amount is $138 million lower than the amount the agency received in 2016 and $765 million below what the president had asked for, it said.

The Department of Health and Human Services will receive $73.2 billion, which is $2.6 billion more than what the agency received in 2016 and $3.5 billion above the amount Obama requested. The bill targets funds to effective programs that help improve the health, safety and quality of life for Americans within the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and other agencies under HHS, according to the committee.

The Department of Education will get $67 billion - $1.3 billion below the level enacted in 2016 and $2.4 billion lower than the president's budget request - which will go toward special education grants to states, student support and academic achievement state grants and Pell grants, among other programs.

The National Labor Relations Board will get $215 million under the bill, which is $59 million below the enacted level in 2016 and $59.7 million lower than what the president asked for. The legislation includes several policy provisions to stop what the committee said was the board's "harmful anti-business regulations that impose additional and excessive costs on American businesses, result in job losses and hinder economic growth."

Those provisions include a continuation of the prohibition on the use of electronic voting in union elections.

Other agencies to receive funding under the bill include the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Social Security Administration.

The bill also contains several provisions to stop the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and to continue all longstanding restrictions on abortion funding that have been included in the legislation in previous years.

In addition, the committee made several amendments to the bill, such as adding language directing the Bureau of Labor Statistics to conduct a study on the impacts of free trade agreements on the U.S. labor market. Another amendment, approved 29-21, specified that any federal funding may be used to provide in vitro fertilization treatments only if such treatments do not result in the destruction of viable human embryos before embryo transfer. An amendment asking for a Department of Education study on the adverse impacts of school segregation was adopted by a voice vote.

Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said in a statement that the bill reduces discretionary spending by more than half a billion dollars while prioritizing where funding is needed the most.

"Several important programs through the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health that benefit many Americans receive a substantial increase in funding, often well beyond the amount the president requested in his budget," Cole said. "More specifically, the bill includes additional funding dedicated to the Zika response effort, which gives the CDC director the ability to respond more quickly to the fight against Zika."

He added that the bill continues to fund numerous programs that many Americans rely on such as Head Start, special education, community service and Native American programs for well-being.

"This bill reflects the values and priorities of the American taxpayer," Cole said. "It will make a difference and improve the welfare of the American people."

Committee member Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in remarks made during the full committee markup of the bill on Wednesday that some of the increases in the measure - which she said she strongly supports - come at the expense of programs that are already underfunded. She cited cuts to Medicare, the Department of Labor, the Pell Grant program and tobacco prevention efforts.

She also said the bill hurts women's health by completely eliminating funding for Title X Family Planning and by eliminating the Teen Pregnancy Prevention program.

"The funding in this bill fails to meet our country's needs, and breaks our promises to women, seniors, students, and our workforce," DeLauro said.

If you have a child with a disability and have questions about special education law, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq., at 203-221-3100, or at JMaya@mayalaw.com, to schedule a free consultation.

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Source- Kelly Knaub, House Panel Passes $161B Labor, Health Funding, Law360, July 14, 2016, at Law360.com