On June 26, the House Appropriations Committee released its Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill. The FY25 mark of $198 billion is a cut of $24.6 billion or 11% below FY24. For HHS, the bill provides $109.5 billion which is a cut of $7.5 billion or 6 percent below FY24. The CDC total of $7.4 billion is a cut of $1.8 billion or 22% below FY24. This includes an unexpected elimination of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) which was funded at $761 million in FY24. The 317 Immunization Program was level-funded at the FY24 amount of $681.9 million

 

The House Appropriations Committee released its FY25 Labor-HHS report on July 9. The report draft includes the following language relevant to the 317 Program:

 

• Decline of Routine Immunizations.—The Committee is concerned about recent data which shows a significant decline in the rates of routine and seasonal childhood and adult immunizations. Seasonal influenza vaccination declined for the third year in a row and kindergarten vaccinations continue to decline. These declines have already had a measurable impact on public health as demonstrated by recent outbreaks of measles in Ohio, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Therefore, the Committee directs CDC, in consultation with FDA, ASPR, and NIH, to develop and include in the fiscal year 2026 congressional justification, a comprehensive research agenda to better understand the decline in routine vaccine uptake and confidence among Americans and develop a comprehensive strategy to educate physicians regarding the safety and efficacy of routine vaccines and how best to communicate with patients and to identify and engage partners/stakeholders needed to implement the strategies related to routine vaccinations.

 

• Immunization During Pregnancy.—To increase access to recommended immunizations, the Committee encourages CDC to increase its efforts to educate health care providers about the importance of immunization during pregnancy, which can provide protection for children from 0–6 months from diseases such as flu, pertussis (whooping cough), and respiratory syncytial virus, when the children are at their most vulnerable. The Committee also encourages CDC to work with Federal partners to improve awareness and coordination among Federal partners to increase immunization during pregnancy.

 

Other funding related to immunization capacity and infrastructure includes:

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

• Level funding at $175 million for Public Health Data Modernization Initiative.

• Elimination of the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program at $160 million.

 

The FY25 House Labor-HHS bill text can be found here, and the draft bill report can be found here.