Senate Committee moves FY11 funding bill.

Senate Committee Approves FY11 Labor-HHS-Education Funding Bill

On July 27, the Senate appropriations committee approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 spending bill for programs administered by the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies (Labor-H).  Despite widespread concerns in Congress about federal spending and the deficit, the committee-passed bill actually boosts overall discretionary spending for these agencies to almost $170 billion – about a four percent increase over FY 2010 levels – including approximately $223 million in increased funding for the Department of Labor and nearly $2.7 billion in additional discretionary funding for the Department of Education.
 
Although it is unclear if Congress will be able to complete work on the bill before the end of the current fiscal year – the House has yet to act at the full committee level, and there is little time left on the congressional calendar before the November elections – the Senate Appropriations bill does provide some signals about congressional funding priorities in the current economic climate.  Importantly, the committee placed particular attention on the need for additional investments in training and education in the current economic climate, noting in the committee report that “[w]ith the Nation’s unemployment rate at 9.5%, programs that help Americans find jobs and upgrade their skills are critically needed.” 

Click here to read highlights of the bill.