{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-highlights-critical-investments-in-fy2021-labor-health-and-human-services-and-education-funding-bill", "Blunt Highlights Critical Investments in FY2021 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Funding Bill", "2020-12-21", "2020", "2020-12", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S. Senator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Chairman\r\nof the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services,\r\nEducation, and Related Agencies (Labor/HHS), today announced key priorities\r\nthat were included in the fiscal year 2021 Labor/HHS funding bill. The bill is\r\nthe product of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations and is part of the larger government funding bill Congress will consider shortly. This bill provides resources for critical programs that\r\nimpact the lives of nearly every American  from educating students and\r\nproviding workforce development opportunities to improving health care and\r\npaving the way for new treatments and cures, said Blunt. This bill\r\nincludes the sixth consecutive significant increase for the National Institutes\r\nof Health. As we have seen first-hand this year, medical research is key to\r\nresponding to diseases we have fought for years, like cancer and Alzheimer's\r\ndisease, as well as novel viruses like COVID-19. The bill continues our\r\ncommitment to fighting the opioid and stimulant epidemic, which is unfortunately\r\non the rise during the pandemic. The bill provides funding for education and\r\nearly childhood programs, from helping hardworking families afford high-quality\r\nearly childcare, to investing in Career and Technical Education, to making\r\ncollege more affordable. Finally, as our economy continues its recovery, the\r\nbill focuses investment in workforce programs, like the apprenticeship program,\r\nto ensure Americans can compete in a global economy. In addition to funding a range of health, education, and\r\nworkforce programs, the bill includes resources to prevent waste, fraud, abuse,\r\nand improper payments in the Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid programs.\r\nSince becoming chairman, over the last six years Blunt has led the effort to\r\nreprioritize funding within the Labor/HHS bill, including eliminating 30\r\nprograms representing over $1 billion in annual savings. Key Priorities Funded in the Bill: Supporting Groundbreaking Medical Research and\r\nExpanding Access to Health Care Services, Including Mental and Behavioral\r\nHealth Care: \r\nNational Institutes of Health (NIH): The\r\nbill includes a $1.25 billion increase for NIH. Since Blunt became chairman of\r\nthe Labor/HHS subcommittee in 2015, NIH funding has increased by $12.85\r\nbillion, or nearly 43%. According to data from United for Medical Research, NIH\r\nfunding supported nearly 476,000 jobs and more than $81 billion in economic\r\nactivity nationwide in FY2019. In Missouri, NIH funding supported $1.6\r\nbillion in new economic activity and more than 9,000 jobs. Through December\r\n1, 2020, Missouri institutions received $670.8 million in NIH funding for 1,351\r\ngrants. From 2015-December 1, 2020, NIH funding to Missouri institutions\r\nincreased by $199.2 million or 42.2%.   \r\nEnding the HIV Epidemic: $443.3 million,\r\nan increase of $132.3 million, to support the president's HIV initiative and\r\nother high priority HIV efforts to reduce the number of new HIV infections by\r\n90% in 10 years. The majority of these resources will be targeted to 48\r\ncounties and seven states, including Missouri, for prevention, diagnoses,\r\nresearch, and response activities. Missouri received over $4.5 million in\r\nfiscal year 2020 for these efforts.  \r\n \r\nOpioid Epidemic: $4 billion, an increase\r\nof $85 million, to combat the opioid epidemic. Funds are targeted toward\r\nimproving treatment and prevention efforts; finding alternative pain\r\nmedications; workforce needs, especially in our rural communities; and treating\r\nbehavioral health. Importantly, the bill gives states flexibility to use opioid\r\nresponse funds on stimulants across multiple government programs. Preliminary\r\n2020 numbers show that the challenges of this year are likely to increase the\r\nnumber of opioid-involved deaths, emphasizing the need to continue these\r\ncritical investments. Under Blunt's leadership, funding for health-related\r\nopioid programs has increased by $3.7 billion.   \r\nMental Health: As a critical part of both\r\ncombating opioid abuse and ensuring safety in our schools and communities, the\r\nbill provides $4 billion, a $188 million increase, for mental health research,\r\ntreatment, and prevention, including:    o\r\nCertified Community Behavioral Health\r\nClinics: $250 million, an increase of $50 million, for Certified Community\r\nBehavioral Health Clinics. In 2018, Blunt targeted funding to community clinics\r\nthat provide a comprehensive approach to mental health care treatment. To date,\r\nMissouri clinics have received $26 million in funds from this program. Blunt\r\nhas led efforts to expand access to mental health care, including through his Excellence\r\nIn Mental Health Act, which created a pilot program in Missouri and seven\r\nother states to advance progress toward treating mental health like all other\r\nhealth. The bill also extends the Excellence program for three years. The program\r\nwas extended and expanded to two additional states in the Blunt-backed CARES\r\nAct;   o\r\nMental Health Block Grant Crisis Set-Aside:\r\n$35 million for a new mental health block grant set-aside which will support\r\nstate efforts to build much needed crisis systems to address the needs of\r\nindividuals in mental health crisis in a high quality, expeditious manner. The\r\ndevelopment of these services will promote 24/7 access to well-trained mental\r\nhealth professionals in the time of acute mental health crisis;   o\r\nProject AWARE: $107 million, a $5 million\r\nincrease, for the Project AWARE program that supports coordination between\r\nschools and state mental health agencies to increase awareness of mental health\r\namong school-aged kids, train school personnel on detecting and responding to\r\nmental health issues, and connect school-aged kids and their families with\r\nneeded services. Within this funding, the bill provides $12.5 million, an\r\nincrease of $2.5 million, to address areas that have experienced civil unrest;    o\r\nMental Health Awareness Training: $24\r\nmillion, an increase of $1 million, for Mental Health Awareness Training in\r\nwhich Missouri was one of the first adopters;   o\r\nSuicide Programs: $102 million, an\r\nincrease of $12 million. This increase provides support to the suicide lifeline\r\nand grants to help identify and help those at risk of suicide;   o\r\nBehavioral Health Workforce: $150\r\nmillion, an increase of $11 million, to support Behavioral Health Education and\r\nWorkforce Training programs and Mental and Behavioral Health programs. Funding\r\nincludes $29.7 million for the Mental and Substance Use Disorder (SUD)\r\nWorkforce Training Demonstration for grants to train professionals to provide\r\nSUD and mental health treatment;   o\r\nPediatric Mental Health Access Grants:\r\n$10 million for Pediatric Mental Health Access Grants to expand access to\r\nbehavioral health services in pediatric primary care settings; and   o\r\nNational Institute of Mental Health: $2.1\r\nbillion for mental health research at NIH, an increase of $60.7 million.   \r\nPublic Health Preparedness: $4.1 billion,\r\na $58 million increase, for programs that help America's communities and\r\nhospitals prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health and medical\r\ndisasters and emergencies. These events include natural disasters, pandemic\r\ndiseases, and man-made threats. This includes $6 million to support the\r\npediatric pandemic network to prepare for and respond to global health threats.\r\nSince FY2015, the committee has increased public health preparedness funding by\r\n$1.3 billion, or 46%.    \r\nAlzheimer's Research and Care: The bill\r\nincreases investments in groundbreaking Alzheimer's research and caregiver\r\nsupport for one of America's most costly and prevalent diseases. The cost\r\nof caring for people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia is\r\nexpected to increase from $305 billion this year to $1.1 trillion by 2050, with\r\nMedicare and Medicaid paying roughly 70% of the total cost. The bill provides: o\r\n$3.1 billion for Alzheimer's disease research,\r\nan increase of $300 million. Under Blunt's chairmanship, there has been nearly\r\na five-fold funding increase for Alzheimer's research;   o\r\n$15 million, an increase of $5 million, for the\r\nBOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act to create a national public health\r\ninfrastructure to increase early detection and diagnosis and support prevention\r\nefforts; and   o\r\n$27.5 million, an increase of $1 million, for\r\nexpanding direct services through the Alzheimer's disease program at the\r\nAdministration for Community Living. \r\nCommunity Health Centers: $1.68 billion\r\nfor Community Health Centers, an increase of $57.3 million. The bill also\r\nreauthorizes funding for CHCs for three years. As co-chair of the Community Health\r\nCenter caucus, Blunt previously introduced\r\nlegislation to reauthorize and increase mandatory funding for the program. There\r\nare more than 300 sites in Missouri, with Missouri health centers receiving\r\nover $115 million in federal grant funding to serve a total of more than\r\n606,000 patients a year.   \r\nMedical Student Education: $50 million\r\nfor Medical Student Education for states with the highest projected primary\r\ncare physician shortages in 2025. Funding will provide supplemental grants to\r\nboth the University of Missouri and University of Missouri-Kansas City.   \r\nPediatric Pandemic Network: $10 million\r\nfor a new regional pediatric network made up of children's hospitals to prepare\r\nfor and respond to global health threats.   \r\nRural Health: $329.5 million for Rural\r\nHealth Care programs, an increase of $11.2 million. The obstacles faced by\r\npatients and providers in rural communities are unique and often significantly\r\ndifferent from those in urban areas. Funding for rural health care programs has\r\nmore than doubled under Blunt's chairmanship.   o\r\nDelta States Network Rural Development\r\nNetwork Grant: $24 million, an increase of $2 million, to continue a\r\nprogram to help underserved rural communities in the Delta identify and better\r\naddress their health care needs. This includes $12 million for the Delta Region\r\nCommunity Health Systems Development (DRCHSD) program, which started under\r\nBlunt's chairmanship, to help small rural hospitals improve their financial and\r\noperational stability. Pemiscot County Memorial Hospital in Hayti, Mo., and\r\nIron County Hospital in Pilot Knob, Mo., have participated\r\nin the DRCHSD program since December 2017 and Ste. Genevieve County Memorial\r\nHospital in Ste. Genevieve, Mo. has participated since October 2019.   \r\nChildren's Hospitals Graduate Medical\r\nEducation (CHGME): $350 million, a $10 million increase, for the CHGME\r\nprogram, which protects children's access to high quality medical care by\r\nproviding freestanding children's hospitals with funding to support the\r\ntraining of pediatric providers. In Missouri, Children's Mercy Hospital in\r\nKansas City and St. Louis Children's Hospital received more than $13 million\r\nlast year in combined funding from this program. This funding level represents\r\nan increase of $85 million for CHGME under Blunt's chairmanship, or 32%.  \r\n Promoting State and Local Flexibility in Education,\r\nFrom Birth Through College and Career: \r\nHead Start: $10.7 billion, an increase of\r\n$135 million, to help all Head Start programs keep up with rising costs,\r\nmaintain enrollment, and continue to provide high-quality services for children\r\nand families. Missouri Head Start programs receive more than $167 million\r\nannually and provide high-quality early childhood services to 15,000 children\r\nand their families.   \r\nChild Care and Development Block Grant\r\n(CCDBG): $5.9 billion, an increase of $85 million. Over the last three\r\nyears, funding for CCDBG has more than doubled, which has helped improve the\r\nsafety and quality of child care programs, including increasing provider\r\npayment rates, and expand working families' access to high-quality child care.\r\nMissouri receives over $106 million from the CCDBG annually.  \r\n \r\nIndividuals with Disabilities Education Act\r\n(IDEA): $13.8 billion, an increase of $181 million, to support the\r\neducational needs of students with disabilities, which includes an increase of\r\n$3.5 million for preschool grants and an increase of $4.9 million for grants\r\nfor infants and families. Missouri received approximately $262 million from\r\nthese programs for this school year.  \r\n \r\nTitle I Grants to Local Educational Agencies:\r\n$16.5 billion, an increase of $227 million, for grants to school districts to\r\nhelp all children meet challenging state academic standards. Missouri received\r\napproximately $260 million in Title I funding for this school year to support\r\nschools with a significant number or percentage of low-income students.   \r\nImpact Aid: $1.5 billion, an increase of\r\n$15 million. Missouri school districts receive approximately $28 million to\r\nhelp compensate for the presence of federal activities and land, including lost\r\nrevenue.   \r\nSTEM and Computer Science Education (CSE):\r\n$67 million, an increase of $2 million, in targeted STEM education funding,\r\nincluding specifically prioritizing CSE.   \r\n21st Century Community Learning Centers:\r\n$1.3 billion, an increase of $10 million, for before- and after-school\r\nprograms.   \r\nCareer and Technical Education State Grants:\r\n$1.3 billion, an increase of $52 million. Missouri received approximately $25\r\nmillion to support CTE programs across the state this school year.  \r\nCharter Schools Program: $440 million,\r\nthe same as the FY2020 level, to help support the creation, replication, and\r\nexpansion of high-quality charter schools.   \r\nPell Grants: For the fourth year in a\r\nrow, the bill increases the maximum Pell Grant award, an increase of $150, or\r\n2.4%, for the 2021-22 school year, from $6,345 to $6,495. Approximately 90,000\r\nstudents receive over $350 million in Pell Grant funding to attend Missouri\r\ncolleges and universities. The bill continues support for year-round Pell\r\nGrants, which help students complete post-secondary education programs faster\r\nand enter or re-enter the workforce sooner. Blunt successfully\r\nled efforts to restore eligibility for year-round Pell Grants in the FY2017\r\nomnibus appropriations bill.   \r\nTRIO: $1.1 billion, an increase of $7\r\nmillion, to help low-income and first generation students get into college and\r\nsucceed when they are there.   \r\nStrengthening Historically Black Colleges and\r\nUniversities (HBCU) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSI): Includes\r\nan increase of $32 million for programs specifically targeted at strengthening\r\nHBCUs and MSIs.   Preparing America's Workforce: \r\nCareer Pathways: $10 million to continue\r\nan initiative at the Department of Labor to improve career pathways for\r\nstudents that can lead to the full-range of post-secondary college and career\r\noptions.   \r\nRural Postsecondary Education and Economic\r\nDevelopment Program: $10 million for a new initiative to improve postsecondary\r\naccess and completion among rural students by providing services for students\r\nfrom middle school through college, and promoting partnerships between school\r\ndistricts, institutions of higher education, and regional economic development\r\norganizations.    \r\nApprenticeship Opportunities: $185\r\nmillion, an increase of $10 million, for the Apprenticeship Program to expand\r\nflexible and effective workforce training opportunities.   \r\nVeterans' Employment and Training (VETS)\r\nPrograms: $316 million, an increase of $5 million, for VETS programs.\r\nFunding supports veterans in the transition assistance program as they move\r\ninto the civilian workforce and helps homeless veterans attain skills for\r\nmeaningful employment.    o\r\nThe bill continues to provide the Department of\r\nLabor with the necessary resources to carry out Blunt's HIRE\r\nVets Act, which established a tiered recognition program within the\r\nDepartment of Labor to award employers based on their contributions to veteran\r\nemployment. Seven\r\nemployers in Missouri received a HIRE Vets Medallion in 2019, and seven\r\nemployers were recognized in 2020.  \r\n \r\nRural Workforce Training Initiative: $35\r\nmillion, an increase of $5 million, to continue the Workforce Opportunity in\r\nRural Communities program started in 2018 under Blunt's chairmanship to provide\r\nreemployment and training assistance in the Delta and Appalachian regions. This\r\nyear, Blunt recognized\r\nthree Missouri grant recipients for their awards totaling more than $3.5\r\nmillion.   \r\nWorkforce Training Programs: $2.85\r\nbillion, an increase of $25.5 million, for state workforce training programs.\r\nThese funds are distributed by formula to states and localities to meet each\r\nstate's unique job training and reemployment needs. Missouri received $35.6\r\nmillion for training and employment services grants in 2020.   \r\nYouth Workforce Training Programs: The\r\nbill increased funding for programs that provide at-risk youth with the\r\nopportunity to gain educational and occupational skills:   o\r\nYouth Training Grants to States: $921\r\nmillion, an increase of $8 million;   o\r\nJob Corps: $1.75 billion, an increase of\r\n$5 million. Missouri has three Job Corps centers located in Excelsior Springs,\r\nPuxico, and St. Louis; and   o\r\nYouthBuild: $96.5 million, an increase of\r\n$2 million. Missouri has four current YouthBuild grantees located in Columbia,\r\nSt. Joseph, and St. Louis.   Reducing Fraud, Waste, and Abuse of Taxpayer Dollars: \r\nReemployment Services and Eligibility\r\nAssessments: $200 million to conduct enhanced, in-person assessments to\r\naccelerate the reemployment of Unemployment Compensation recipients to reduce\r\nthe duration of their time receiving benefits and the likelihood of exhausting\r\nbenefit coverage. These actions also help protect the integrity of the\r\nUnemployment Insurance Trust Fund by reducing improper payments. This program\r\nhas been shown to save $2.60 for every $1.00 spent.   \r\nHealth Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC):\r\n$807 million, an increase of $21 million, is provided by utilizing the cap\r\nadjustment in the Budget Control Act. For every $1.00 spent on HCFAC, $2.00 is\r\nrecovered by the U.S. Treasury. This will create over $10.2 billion in savings\r\nto the Treasury over 10 years.   \r\nPreventing Social Security Disability Fraud,\r\nAbuse, and Improper Payments: $1.6 billion is provided to support periodic\r\nreviews to ensure that individuals receiving Social Security disability\r\nbenefits are still eligible under program rules. This funding is estimated to\r\nsave approximately $9 billion over 10 years for the Social Security, Medicare,\r\nand Medicaid programs.   Other highlights of the bill include: \r\nAdoption Opportunities: $44 million, an\r\nincrease of $2 million, to help remove barriers to adoption and find permanent\r\nhomes for children, particularly children with special needs.   \r\nAmeriCorps: $455 million, an increase of\r\n$27 million, for AmeriCorps State and National grants and $225 million, an\r\nincrease of $4 million, for AmeriCorps Seniors programs. Last year, more than\r\n1,300 AmeriCorps and 3,500 Senior Corps members helped address local needs in\r\nschools and communities across Missouri, including responding to natural disasters.\r\nBlunt has also cosponsored\r\nlegislation to expand national service programs to help the nation respond\r\nto and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.\r\n   \r\nCommunity-Based Child Abuse Prevention:\r\n$61 million, an increase of $5 million, to support community-based efforts to\r\nprevent child abuse.  \r\n \r\nFamily Violence and Prevention Services:\r\n$182.5 million, an increase of $7.5 million, to provide services and temporary\r\nshelter for victims of domestic violence, and $13 million, an increase of $1\r\nmillion for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.   \r\nLow Income Home Energy Assistance Program\r\n(LIHEAP): $3.75 million, an increase of $10 million, to help low-income\r\nhouseholds with home heating and cooling costs.   \r\nRunaway and Homeless Youth Program: $137\r\nmillion, an increase of $4.4 million, for services and temporary shelter for\r\nhomeless youth.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-highlights-critical-investments-in-fy2021-labor-health-and-human-services-and-education-funding-bill"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5025502070784569, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}