A Critical Look at the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

Senators Take a New Look at the National Immunization Program

ACIP Votes to Temporarily Revise Recommendations

Worth Repeating

Did You Know?

Upcoming Events

Back to Every Child By Two Main Page

Back to November/December Newsletter
 
 

Today House and Senate conferees are negotiating a final agreement on the conference report that will determine appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Education for the rest of fiscal year 2002 that ends on September 30.  The conferees agreed to fund the National Immunization Program at $628 million.  This represents a total increase of $76 million.  The House had requested an increase of  $47 million; the Senate, $84.5 million, so the compromise is good news for immunization advocates. 
      The state immunization grant program, authorized under Section 317 of the Public Health Services Act, will receive an increase of about $22 million for the purchase of vaccines, bringing the vaccine purchase appropriation to $222.3 million.  The 317 state grants received an increase of $19 million for program operations and infrastructure, bringing that total to $200.7 million.  Global immunization activities received a $27 million increase for a total of $133.8 million, and CDC received a $7 million increase for a total of $71.1 million to administer the National Immunization Program. 
      (The conference committee had delayed its work until Congress completed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, because of the direct effect on education appropriations.  One of the sticking points on that bill, H.R. 1, was the federal contribution to funding students in special education.  The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (P.L. 94-142) authorizes a 40 percent federal match to states, but the federal match has never been met.  Some Members wanted to make special education an entitlement program, but did not succeed.  Overall federal education spending will increase by $8 billion for fiscal year 2002.)
      (Another sticking point on the Labor/HHS/Education conference report has been the addition of the Mental Health Parity Act (Wellstone/Domenici), which would require health plans that already cover some mental health services to offer coverage on parity with physical health services coverage.  This is controversial with some House members, both because of anticipated costs to employers and because it is an authorizing piece amending an appropriations bill.  However there is strong Senate support to pass this amendment.  At this writing there is no word on whether the amendment is included in the conference report.) 
      Once the conference report is complete, it will go to each house for an up or down vote, and then to the President to be signed into law. 
      Congress should finally recess on December 21, having settled the remaining three appropriations bills-Labor/HHS/Education, Defense and Foreign Operations.   The second session of the 107th Congress begins in late January, coinciding with the President's State of the Union address.  Meanwhile, the federal agencies have been formulating their fiscal year 2003 budgets for submission to the Office of Management and Budget.  OMB "passes back" to the agencies their respective proposals with OMB's changes, and the President submits his budget shortly after his State of the Union.  That begins the Congressional budget process reconciling projected revenues with projected overall federal spending.  The appropriations process starts after the House and Senate Budget Committees have set allocations for the 13 appropriations subcommittees.