House unveils $69.7B HHS bill that funds abstinence

By Julian Pecquet - 12/15/11 08:38 AM ET

House GOP appropriators unveiled late Wednesday an omnibus spending bill that sets aside $69.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services. That's $700 million less than what HHS got for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30 and $3.4 billion below the president's budget request.

The HHS provisions include several Republican priorities and are in line with the spending cap agreed to during debate on the debt-ceiling limit. It precludes the IRS from spending any money to implement the healthcare reform law and retains certain anti-abortion riders.

The bill also eliminates cuts to Planned Parenthood, while adding $5 million for abstinence education, which wasn't funded last year or in the president's budget request.

Here's the breakdown:

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): $30.7 billion, $299 million more than last year and $758 million less than the president's request;

• Administration for Children and Families (ACF): $29.2 billion, $855 million less than last year but $327 million more than the president requested;

• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA): $6.5 billion, which is $41 million below last year's level and $848 million below the budget request. Community Health Centers get $1.6 billion, same as last year;

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): $6.1 billion, $38 million more than last year but $269 million less than the president's request;

• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS): The spending bill contains $3.9 billion for CMS Program Management, which is $241 million over last year's level and $517 million below the president's request; and

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA): $3.5 billion, a $27 million cut from last year's level and $73 million less than what the president asked for.