On July 13, the House Appropriations Committee (HAC) Republicans released their Fiscal Year 2024 (FY 2024) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill. The FY 2024 mark of $163.0 billion is a decrease of $63.8 billion from FY 2023. The bill includes a total of $103.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a cut of $17.4 billion from FY 2023, and the CDC is allocated $7.6 billion, a cut of 1.6 billion below FY 2023. While some programs managed to maintain level funding in the bill draft, many public health programs were reduced or eliminated entirely.

 

The FY 2024 Labor-HHS appropriations draft report was posted on the HAC Republican’s website on November 3. The report draft includes the following language relevant to the 317 Program:

 

• Cost Estimates.—The Committee requests that the report on estimated funding needs of the Section 317 Immunization Program be updated and submitted not later than February 1, 2024.

 

• Promoting Routine Vaccination.—The Committee is concerned by the continued lag in routine vaccination across the life course due to the COVID pandemic, with underserved populations affected to a greater degree and adolescents affected disproportionately. If not addressed, these trends will increasingly expose Americans to vaccine preventable diseases, outbreaks, and exacerbate existing health disparities. The Committee urges CDC to prioritize engagement with providers, healthcare stakeholders, educators, community organizations, and families on the importance of ensuring that all receive the recommended routine vaccinations. The Committee also requests CDC provide an update in the fiscal year 2025 congressional justification on the vaccine education efforts and the rate of routine vaccination across all ages, as well as an update on the plan to administer missed doses. CDC should include updated recommendations about what other tools it could employ to address this issue.

 

• Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Prevention.—The Committee encourages CDC to raise awareness of the impacts of RSV and to promote the uptake of novel vaccines.

 

• Viral Hepatitis.—The Committee has included funding to support efforts to eliminate the public health threat of viral hepatitis and to specifically implement and help fund the HHS Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan which offers a framework to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat. The Committee is aware of the November 2021 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommendation that all adults between ages 19 and 59 be vaccinated for hepatitis B and CDC guidelines for universal screening and urges a coordinated Federal effort to implement these goals. Therefore, the Committee requests that CDC include information in the fiscal year 2025 congressional justification on the efficacy of the CDC in promoting vaccinations among the most at risk of viral hepatitis. Finally, the Committee urges that the Center prioritize funding for jurisdictions with the highest infection rates.

 

 

Other funding related to immunization capacity and infrastructure includes:

• level funding at just over $231 million for CDC’s Influenza Planning and Response program.

• $75 million for Public Health Data Modernization efforts, a decrease of $100 million.

• level funding for the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program at $160 million.

 

The FY 2024 House Labor-HHS bill text can be found here, and the draft bill report can be found here.