On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law H.R.2617, a $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations package for fiscal year 2023 (FY23). The Senate passed the measure on December 22, 2022, and the House approved it on December 23, 2022. The law includes $681,933,000 for the Section 317 Immunization Program, an increase of $31,136,000 from FY22.

 

The final Labor-HHS appropriations bill section totals $226.8 billion, which is an increase of $15 billion or 7.1% over FY22. This is down substantially from the House version of the bill which carried a $27 billion increase, and the Senate’s increase of $21 billion. The CDC increase was scaled back to $760 million or a 9% increase over FY22, totaling $9.2 billion for FY23. Similar to last year, there was a shift in the overall funding allocation from non-defense to defense to garner the necessary Republican support to pass the measure. The increase for the 317 Program demonstrates Congress’s continued interest in supporting immunization efforts across the country and enhancing adult immunization.

 

The conference bill includes the following legislative text relevant to the 317 Program:

 

IMMUNIZATION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES

 

The agreement provides a total of $919,291 ,000 for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, which includes $499,941,000 in discretionary appropriations and $419,350,000 in transfers from the PPH Fund. Within this total, the agreement includes the following amounts:

​

Budget Activity

Section 317 Immunization Program – $681,933,000

Acute Flaccid Myelitis – $6,000,000

Influenza Planning and Response – $231,358,000

​

317 Immunization Program.-The agreement includes an increase to enhance immunization efforts, including increasing awardee base awards with a focus on expanding and sustaining critical immunization program infrastructure and promoting routine vaccination. CDC is expected to use this funding to promote health equity related to protection from vaccine preventable diseases, as well as address vaccine hesitancy. In expanding existing immunization infrastructure, CDC is directed to implement new strategies for hard-to-reach populations, such as those who may be vaccine-hesitant, those who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups, and those who are underserved due to socioeconomic or other reasons. The agreement urges CDC to prioritize and to allocate resources to engage providers, healthcare stakeholders, educators, community organizations, and families on the importance of ensuring that all individuals receive their recommended routine vaccinations. The agreement also requests CDC provide the Committees an update on the achievements of the ongoing "Vaccinate with Confidence" campaign and the rate of routine vaccination across all ages, as well as a forward-looking plan to administer missed doses. CDC should include in the plan recommendations about what other tools it could employ to promote health equity.

 

Influenza Planning and Response.- The agreement includes an increase to enhance CDC's influenza activities.

 

The text of the FY23 omnibus appropriations law can be found here, and the Labor-HHS report can be found here.

​