Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

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Labor, Health and Human Services, and

Education: FY2020 Appropriations

August 20, 2020

Congressional Research Service

https://crsreports.congress.gov

R46492

SUMMARY

Labor, Health and Human Services, and

Education: FY2020 Appropriations

This report offers an overview of actions taken by Congress and the President to provide

FY2020 appropriations for accounts funded by the Departments of Labor, Health and

Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) appropriations bill. This

bill includes all accounts funded through the annual appropriations process at the

Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Education (ED). It also provides annual

appropriations for most agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services

(HHS), with certain exceptions (e.g., the Food and Drug Administration is funded via

the Agriculture bill). The LHHS bill also provides funds for more than a dozen related

agencies, including the Social Security Administration (SSA).

This report primarily focuses on regular FY2020 LHHS discretionary funding enacted

during the annual appropriations process. The emergency supplemental funding that was

subsequently enacted for FY2020 is generally not included in the budgetary figures

discussed in the main body of the report. (These appropriations are addressed in the

context of the FY2020 annual cycle in Appendix C.)

Regular Appropriations

FY2020 LHHS Omnibus: On December 19, 2019, the President signed into law the

Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 1865; P.L. 116-94). This law

contained full-year LHHS appropriations in Division A. Discretionary LHHS

appropriations totaled $195.4 billion. This amount is 3.2% more than FY2019 enacted

and 17.4% more than the FY2020 President’s budget request. The omnibus also

provided $902.3 billion in mandatory funding, for a combined LHHS total of $1.098

trillion. The distribution of discretionary funding was as follows:



DOL: $12.4 billion, 2.4% more than FY2019.



HHS: $94.9 billion, 4.9% more than FY2019.

ED: $72.8 billion, 1.8% more than FY2019.



Related Agencies: $15.4 billion, 0.3% more than FY2019.

R46492

August 20, 2020

Jessica Tollestrup,

Coordinator

Specialist in Social Policy

Karen E. Lynch,

Coordinator

Specialist in Social Policy

David H. Bradley

Specialist in Labor

Economics

Ada S. Cornell

Senior Research Librarian

William R. Morton

Analyst in Income Security

Angela Napili

Senior Research Librarian

Kyle D. Shohfi

Analyst in Education Policy

FY2020 LHHS Senate Action: The FY2020 LHHS bill did not receive subcommittee, full committee, or initial

floor action in the Senate prior to its enactment. With regard to committee consideration, the Senate

Appropriations Committee scheduled a markup for September 10, 2019, but that markup was indefinitely

postponed. (The initial LHHS subcommittee allocation (S.Rept. 116-104) that was adopted by the Senate

Appropriations Committee on September 12, 2019 is discussed in Appendix A.) Senator Blunt, Chair of the

Senate LHHS Subcommittee subsequently released the text of a draft LHHS bill and accompanying committee

report on September 18.

FY2020 LHHS House Action: The House Appropriations Committee’s LHHS subcommittee approved its draft

bill on April 30, 2019, by a voice vote. The full committee markup was held on May 8, 2019, and the bill was

ordered to be reported that same day (30-23). The bill was subsequently reported to the House on May 15 (H.R.

2740, H.Rept. 116-62).

As reported by the full committee, the bill would have provided $204.3 billion in discretionary LHHS funds, a

7.9% increase from FY2019 enacted levels. This amount would have been 22.7% more than the FY2020

President’s request. In addition, the House committee bill would have provided an estimated $902.3 billion in

mandatory funding, for a combined total of $1.107 trillion for LHHS as a whole. The distribution of discretionary

funding was as follows:

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Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations



DOL: $13.3 billion, 9.9% more than FY2019.



HHS: $99.4 billion, 9.8% more than FY2019.

ED: $75.9 billion, 6.3% more than FY2019.



Related Agencies: $15.7 billion, 2.7% more than FY2019.

The House began consideration of the FY2020 LHHS bill the week of June 10. Of the 73 LHHS amendments

offered, 64 were adopted and the remaining 9 were withdrawn or defeated. The House passed the LHHS omnibus

by a vote of 226-203 on June 19. Because there is no publicly-available source that estimates the account-level

budgetary effects of the amendments adopted to Division A, this report provides analysis of the House Committeereported version of the LHHS bill. For information on the LHHS amendments offered during floor consideration,

see Appendix B.

FY2020 President’s Budget Request: On March 11, 2019, the Trump Administration released the FY2020

President’s budget. The President requested $166.5 billion in discretionary funding for acc ounts funded by the

LHHS bill, which would have been a decrease of 12.1% from FY2019 levels. In addition, the President requested

$900.4 billion in annually appropriated mandatory funding, for a total of $1.067 trillion for LHHS as a whole. The

distribution of discretionary funding was as follows:



DOL: $10.9 billion, 10.0% less than FY2019.



HHS: $78.1 billion, 13.7% less than FY2019.

ED: $64.0 billion, 10.4% less than FY2019.

Related Agencies: $13.5 billion, 11.8% less than FY2019.

Supplemental Appropriations

The legislative response to the global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has included the

enactment of laws to provide authorities and FY2020 supplemental funding to prevent, prepare for, and respond to

the pandemic. As of the date of this report, discretionary LHHS supplemental appropriations for COVID-19

response have been enacted in four supplemental appropriations measures:



Title I, Division B, of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act

(PPPHCEA, P.L. 116-139), enacted on April 24, 2020, provided $100 billion in supplemental

LHHS funds.

Title VIII, Division B, of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act,

P.L. 116-136), enacted on March 27, 2020, provided $172.1 billion in supplemental LHHS funds.

Title V, Division A, of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA, P.L. 116-127),

enacted on March 18, 2020, provided $1.25 billion in supplemental LHHS funds.

Title III, Division A, of the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations

Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-123), enacted on March 6, 2020, provided approximately $6.4 billion in

supplemental LHHS funds.

In addition, Title IX of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act (USMCA, P.L. 116113), enacted on January 29, 2020, provided $210 million in discretionary LHHS supplemental appropriations to

implement the agreement.

See Appendix C of this report for an analysis of the supplemental discretionary LHHS appropriations provided in

these acts. For a detailed discussion of the LHHS COVID-19 response funding, see CRS Report R46353, COVID19: Overview of FY2020 LHHS Supplemental Appropriations.

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Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Contents

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1

Report Roadmap and Useful Terminology........................................................................... 1

Scope of the Report ................................................................................................... 2

Important Budget Concepts ......................................................................................... 2

Mandatory vs. Discretionary Budget Authority ......................................................... 2

Total Budget Authority Provided in the Bill vs. Total Budget Authority Available

in the Fiscal Year ............................................................................................... 3

Status of FY2020 LHHS Appropriations ............................................................................. 4

FY2020 Supplemental Appropriations .......................................................................... 4

Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPPHCEA,

Title I, Division B, H.R. 266; P.L. 116-139) ........................................................... 4

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act, Title VIII,

Divis ion B, H.R. 748; P.L. 116-136) ..................................................................... 5

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA, Title V, Division A, H.R.

6201; P.L. 116-127)............................................................................................ 5

Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020

(Title III, Division A, H.R. 6074; P.L. 116-123)...................................................... 6

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2019

(USMCA, Title IX, H.R. 5430; P.L. 116-113)......................................................... 6

FY2020 Annual LHHS Appropriations ......................................................................... 7

FY2020 LHHS Omnibus (Division A, Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,

2020, H.R. 1865; P.L. 116-94) ............................................................................. 7

FY2020 Continuing Resolutions (Division A, P.L. 116-59; Division A, P.L. 11669) .................................................................................................................. 8

Earlier Congressional Action on an LHHS Bill ......................................................... 9

FY2020 President’s Budget Request........................................................................... 10

Conclusion of the FY2019 Appropriations Process ....................................................... 10

Summary of FY2020 LHHS Appropriations ...................................................................... 11

Department of Labor (DOL) ........................................................................................... 14

About DOL ............................................................................................................ 15

FY2020 DOL Appropriations Overview ...................................................................... 15

Selected DOL Highlights .......................................................................................... 16

Employment and Training Administration (ETA) .................................................... 16

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) .......................................................................... 17

Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) ......................................................... 18

Labor-Related General Provisions......................................................................... 18

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ............................................................. 21

About HHS............................................................................................................. 21

FY2020 HHS Appropriations Overview ...................................................................... 22

Special Public Health Funding Mechanisms................................................................. 24

Public Health Service Evaluation Tap .................................................................... 24

Prevention and Public Health Fund ....................................................................... 26

Selected HHS Highlights by Agency .......................................................................... 26

HRSA .............................................................................................................. 27

CDC................................................................................................................. 27

NIH.................................................................................................................. 28

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SAMHSA ......................................................................................................... 29

AHRQ .............................................................................................................. 30

CMS ................................................................................................................ 30

ACF ................................................................................................................. 31

ACL................................................................................................................. 32

Restrictions Related to Certain Controversial Issues ...................................................... 32

Department of Education (ED) ........................................................................................ 39

About ED ............................................................................................................... 39

FY2020 ED Appropriations Overview ........................................................................ 40

Selected ED Highlights ............................................................................................ 41

School Improvement Programs............................................................................. 41

Student Financial Assistance ................................................................................ 42

Related Agencies .......................................................................................................... 44

FY2020 Related Agencies Appropriations Overview ..................................................... 45

Selected Related Agencies Highlights ......................................................................... 46

SSA Limitation on Administrative Expenses (LAE) ................................................. 46

Corporation for National and Community Service ................................................... 46

National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ............................................................... 47

Figures

Figure 1. FY2020 Enacted LHHS Appropriations................................................................. 8

Figure 2. FY2020 Enacted LHHS Appropriations by Title ................................................... 14

Figure 3. FY2020 Enacted HHS Appropriations by Agency ................................................. 24

Tables

Table 1. Status of Full-Year LHHS Appropriations Legislation, FY2020 .................................. 7

Table 2. LHHS Appropriations Overview by Bill Title, FY2019-FY2020............................... 12

Table 3. DOL Appropriations Overview............................................................................ 16

Table 4. Detailed DOL Appropriations.............................................................................. 19

Table 5. HHS Appropriations Overview............................................................................ 23

Table 6. HHS Appropriations Totals by Agency ................................................................. 33

Table 7. HHS Discretionary Appropriations for Selected Programs or Activities,

by Agency................................................................................................................. 36

Table 8. ED Appropriations Overview .............................................................................. 40

Table 9. Detailed ED Appropriations ................................................................................ 43

Table 10. Related Agencies Appropriations Overview ......................................................... 45

Table 11. Detailed Related Agencies Appropriations ........................................................... 47

Table A-1. FY2020 LHHS Discretionary House and Senate Initial 302(b) Suballocations,

FY2020 Enacted Levels, and FY2019 Enacted Levels...................................................... 54

Table A-2. LHHS Appropriations Overview, by Bill Title: FY2019-FY2020........................... 55

Table B-1. House Floor Amendments Offered to H.R. 2740 ................................................. 57

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Table C-1. Summary of Enacted FY2020 Discretionary Regular and Supplemental

Appropriations ........................................................................................................... 65

Appendixes

Appendix A. Budget Enforcement Activities ..................................................................... 50

Appendix B. House Floor Amendments Offered to H.R. 2740 .............................................. 57

Appendix C. Enacted FY2020 LHHS Supplemental Appropriations...................................... 63

Contacts

Author Information ....................................................................................................... 66

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Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Introduction

This report provides an overview of FY2020

appropriations actions for accounts traditionally funded

in the appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor,

Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related

Agencies (LHHS). This bill provides discretionary and

mandatory appropriations to three federal departments:

the Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of

Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department

of Education (ED). In addition, the bill provides annual

appropriations for more than a dozen related agencies,

including the Social Security Administration (SSA).

FY2020 Supplemental

Appropriations

This report primarily focuses on regular

FY2020 LHHS discretionary funding

enacted during the annual appropriations

process. The emergency supplemental

funding that was subsequently enacted for

FY2020 is generally not included in the

budgetary figures discussed in the main

body of the report. (These appropriations

are addressed in the context of the

FY2020 annual cycle in Appendix C.)

Discretionary funds represent less than one-fifth of the total funds appropriated in the annual

LHHS bill. Nevertheless, the LHHS bill is typically the largest single source of discretionary

funds for domestic nondefense federal programs among the various appropriations bills. (The

Department of Defense bill is the largest source of discretionary funds among all federal

programs.) Because the appropriations process both provides and controls discretionary funding

(concepts discussed further in “Mandatory vs. Discretionary Budget Authority”), the bulk of this

report is focused on these funds.

The LHHS bill typically is one of the more controversial of the regular appropriations bills

because of the size of its funding and the scope of its programs, as well as various related social

policy issues addressed in the bill, such as restrictions on the use of federal funds for abortion and

for research on human embryos, stem cells, and gun violence.

Congressional clients may consult the LHHS experts list in CRS Report R42638, Appropriations:

CRS Experts, for information on which analysts to contact at the Congressional Research Service

(CRS) with questions on specific agencies and programs funded in the LHHS bill.

Report Roadmap and Useful Terminology

This report is divided into several sections. The opening section provides an explanation of the

scope of the LHHS bill (and hence, the scope of this report) and an introduction to important

terminology and concepts that carry throughout the report. Next is a series of sections describing

major congressional actions on FY2020 appropriations and (for context) a review of the

conclusion of the FY2019 appropriations process. This is followed by a high-level summary and

analysis of enacted and proposed appropriations for FY2020, compared to FY2019 funding

levels. The body of the report concludes with overview sections for each of the major titles of the

bill: DOL, HHS, ED, and Related Agencies (RA). These sections provide selected highlights

from FY2020 enacted and proposed funding levels compared to FY2019. (Note that the

distribution of funds is sometimes illustrated by figures, which in all cases are based on the

FY2020 enacted version of the LHHS bill. 1 )

Appendix A provides a summary of budget enforcement activities for FY2020. This includes

information on the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA; P.L. 112-25) and sequestration, budget

1 T he dollars and percentages in each figure also are generally illustrative, except as noted, of the parallel distribution

of funds enacted in FY2019 and proposed by the FY2020 President’s budget, and the House committee -reported and

the Senate-passed bills.

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Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

enforcement in the absence of an FY2020 budget resolution, subcommittee spending allocations,

and current-year spending levels. This is followed by Appendix B, which provides an overview

of the LHHS-related floor amendments that were offered in the House during its consideration of

H.R. 2740. Appendix C provides an analysis of the supplemental discretionary LHHS

appropriations enacted for FY2020. For a detailed discussion of the FY2020 supplemental LHHS

COVID-19 response funding, see CRS Report R46353, COVID-19: Overview of FY2020 LHHS

Supplemental Appropriations.

Scope of the Report

This report focuses on appropriations to agencies and accounts that are subject to the jurisdiction

of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittees of the

House and Senate appropriations committees (i.e., accounts traditionally funded via the LHHS

bill). Department “totals” provided in this report do not include funding for accounts or agencies

that are traditionally funded by appropriations bills under the jurisdiction of other subcommittees.

The LHHS bill provides appropriations for the following federal departments and agencies:



the Department of Labor;



most agencies at the Department of Health and Human Services, except for the

Food and Drug Administration (funded through the Agriculture appropriations

bill), the Indian Health Service (funded through the Interior-Environment

appropriations bill), and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

(also funded through the Interior-Environment appropriations bill);



the Department of Education; and

more than a dozen related agencies, including the Social Security Administration,

the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Corporation for Public

Broadcasting, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Labor

Relations Board, and the Railroad Retirement Board.

Note also that funding totals displayed in this report do not reflect amounts provided outside of

the annual appropriations process. Certain direct spending programs, such as Social Security and

parts of Medicare, receive funding directly from their authorizing statutes; such funds are not

reflected in the totals provided in this report because they are not provided through the annual

appropriations process (see related discussion in the “Important Budget Concepts” section).

Important Budget Concepts

Mandatory vs. Discretionary Budget Authority 2

The LHHS bill includes both discretionary and mandatory budget authority. While all

discretionary spending is subject to the annual appropriations process, only a portion of

mandatory spending is provided in appropriations measures.

2 For definitions of these and other budget terms, see U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), A Glossary of

Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process, GAO-05-734SP, September 1, 2005, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO05-734SP. (T erms of interest may include appropriated entitlement, direct spending, discretionary, entitlement

authority, and mandatory.)

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Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Mandatory programs funded through the annual appropriations process are commonly referred to

as appropriated entitlements. In general, appropriators have little control over the amounts

provided for appropriated entitlements; rather, the authorizing statute controls the program

parameters (e.g., eligibility rules, benefit levels) that entitle certain recipients to payments. If

Congress does not appropriate the money necessary to meet these commitments, entitled

recipients (e.g., individuals, states, or other entities) may have legal recourse. 3

Most mandatory spending is not provided through the annual appropriations process, but rather

through budget authority provided by the program’s authorizing statute (e.g., Social Security

benefits payments). The funding amounts in this report do not include budget authority provided

outside of the appropriations process. Instead, the amounts reflect only those funds, discretionary

and mandatory, that are provided through appropriations acts.

As displayed in this report, mandatory amounts for the FY2020 President’s budget submission

reflect current-law (or current services) estimates; they generally do not include the President’s

proposed changes to a mandatory spending program’s authorizing statute that might affect total

spending. (In general, such proposals are excluded from this report, as they typically would be

enacted in authorizing legislation.)

The report focuses most closely on discretionary funding. This is because discretionary funding

receives the bulk of attention during the appropriations process. (As noted earlier, although the

LHHS bill includes more mandatory funding than discretionary funding, the appropriators

generally have less flexibility in adjusting mandatory funding levels than discretionary funding

levels.)

Mandatory and discretionary spending is subject to budget enforcement processes that include

sequestration. In general, sequestration involves largely across-the-board reductions that are made

to certain categories of discretionary or mandatory spending. However, the conditions that trigger

sequestration, and how it is carried out, differ for each type of spending. This is discussed further

in Appendix A.

Total Budget Authority Provided in the Bill vs. Total Budget Authority

Available in the Fiscal Year

Budget authority is the amount of money a federal agency is legally authorized to commit or

spend. Appropriations bills may include budget authority that becomes available in the current

fiscal year, in future fiscal years, or some combination. Amounts that become available in future

fiscal years are typically referred to as advance appropriations.

Unless otherwise specified, appropriations levels displayed in this report refer to the total amount

of budget authority provided in an appropriations bill (i.e., “total in the bill”), regardless of the

year in which the funding becomes available. 4 In some cases, the report breaks out current-year

appropriations (i.e., the amount of budget authority available for obligation in a given fiscal year,

regardless of the year in which it was first appropriated). 5

Sometimes appropriations measures include amendments to laws authorizing mandatory spending programs and

thereby change the amount of mandatory appropriations needed. Because such amendments are legislative in nature,

they may violate parliamentary rules separating authorizations and appropriations. For more information, see CRS

Report R42388, The Congressional Appropriations Process: An Introduction .

4 Such figures include advance appropriations provided in the bill for future fiscal years, but do not include advance

appropriations provided in prior years’ appropriations bills that become available in the current year.

5 Such figures exclude advance appropriations for future years, but include advance appropriations from prior years that

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As the annual appropriations process unfolds, the amount of current-year budget authority is

measured against 302(b) allocation ceilings (budget enforcement caps for appropriations

subcommittees that traditionally emerge following the budget resolution process). The process of

measuring appropriations against these spending ceilings takes into account scorekeeping

adjustments, which are made by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to reflect conventions

and special instructions of Congress.6 Unless otherwise specified, appropriations levels displayed

in this report do not reflect additional scorekeeping adjustments.

Status of FY2020 LHHS Appropriations

FY2020 Supplemental Appropriations

The legislative response to the global pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has

included the enactment of laws to provide authorities and supplemental funding to prevent,

prepare for, and respond to the pandemic. As of the date of this report, LHHS supplemental

appropriations for COVID-19 response have been enacted in four separate supplemental

appropriations measures, discussed below. These are discussed in detail in CRS Report R46353,

COVID-19: Overview of FY2020 LHHS Supplemental Appropriations.

In addition, supplemental discretionary LHHS appropriations to implement the United StatesMexico-Canada Agreement were enacted prior to the COVID-19 outbreak.

See Appendix C for an analysis of the discretionary LHHS appropriations provided in these acts.

Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPPHCEA,

Title I, Division B, H.R. 266; P.L. 116-139)

In April 2020, Congress and the President came to an agreement on a fourth COVID-19

supplemental appropriations act. Among other provisions, this act provided additional

supplemental appropriations to HHS for the Provider Relief Fund and to support COVID-19

testing. 7 The legislative vehicle that was used for the agreement was H.R. 266, an unrelated

appropriations bill that had been passed previously by the House. On April 21, 2020, the measure

was laid before the Senate by unanimous consent and passed with a substitute amendment by

voice vote. The House adopted the Senate version of the proposal on April 23 by a vote of 388-5. 8

The President signed the bill into law (P.L. 116-139) the following day. 9 The bill provided $100

billion in supplemental LHHS funds for programs and activities at HHS.

become available in the given fiscal year.

For more information on scorekeeping, see CRS Report 98-560, Baselines and Scorekeeping in the Federal Budget

Process. See also a discussion of key scorekeeping guidelines included in the joint explanatory statement

accompanying the conference report to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 ( H.Rept. 105-217, pp. 1007-1014).

T he CARES and PPPHCEA supplemental measures each provided funding for a “Provider Relief Fund” to assist

health care providers and facilities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information on the new fund, see

HHS, “CARES Act Provider Relief Fund” (the name given to t his fund by HHS), April 22, 2020, https://www.hhs.gov/

provider-relief/index.html.

8 House Committee on Appropriations, H.R. 622, Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act

Division B – Additional Emergency Appropriations for Coronavirus Response, April 21, 2020,

https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/

Interim%20Emergency%20Package%20Funds%20Hospitals%2C%20Health%20Workers%20and%20Testing.pdf.

9 See CRS Report R46325, Fourth COVID-19 Relief Package (P.L. 116-139): In Brief.

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Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act, Title VIII,

Division B, H.R. 748; P.L. 116-136)

On March 17, 2020, the Administration released a second request for FY2020 supplemental

appropriations of $45.8 billion for COVID-19 response, of which $11.1 billion was for LHHS

accounts and activities. 10 Over the next several days, Congress and the Administration negotiated

the scope and scale of this legislative response, leading to enactment of a third COVID-19

response measure.

The legislative vehicle that was ultimately chosen for this package was H.R. 748, an unrelated

measure that had been passed previously by the House. 11 Prior to when a deal was reached

between Congress and the Administration, the Senate voted on March 22 (47-47) and March 23

(49-46) not to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 748. 12 The measure was ultimately

laid before the Senate by unanimous consent and passed with a substitute amendment by a vote of

96-0 on March 25. The House subsequently took up the Senate amendment on March 27, and

agreed to it by a voice vote. The bill was signed into law (P.L. 116-136) by the President that

same day. 13 Among other provisions, the bill provided $172.1 billion in supplemental LHHS

funds for various programs and activities at DOL, HHS, ED, and four LHHS related agencies (the

Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Railroad

Retirement Board, and the Social Security Administration).

Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA, Title V, Division A, H.R.

6201; P.L. 116-127)

A second COVID-19 response measure was developed by Congress and the Administration soon

after the first (P.L. 116-123) was enacted. Initially, H.R. 6201 was introduced by the Chair of the

House Appropriations Committee on March 11, 2020. 14 The House amended and passed the

measure by a vote of 363-40 on March 14, but further alterations to the final legislative package

were negotiated over the next two days. 15 On March 16, the House (by unanimous consent)

With regard to LHHS, the letter also explained that the Administration was seeking to amend its FY2 021 budget

request for CDC and NIH to provide them additional budgetary resources and authorities. Letter from Russell T .

Vought, Acting Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to Vice President Michael Pence, March 17,

2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Letter-regarding-additional-funding-to-support-theUnited-States-response-to-COVID-19-3.17.2020.pdf.

11 Prior to when H.R. 748 was determined to be the vehicle for the third COVID-19 response measure, the Senate

Majority Leader, Senator McConnell, introduced a proposal on March 19, 2020, that did not include supplemental

emergency-designated discretionary appropriations (S. 3548). Four days later, on March 23, 2020, the House

Appropriations Committee Chair introduced a proposal (H.R. 6379) that did include supplemental appropriations

(including for LHHS).

12 T he Senate Appropriations Committee released a summary of the supplemental appropriations in the measure

(Senate Appropriations Committee, $340 Billion Surge in Emergency Funding to Combat Coronavirus Outbreak,

March 25, 2020, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/

Coronavirus%20Supplemental%20Appropriations%20Summary_FINAL.pdf .)

CRS reports on the CARES Act are available on Congress.gov at https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/

house-bill/748 and https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3548.

14 For a summary of the measure, see House Appropriations Comm ittee, H.R. 6201, FAMILIES FIRST

CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT, Title-By-Title Summary, March 11, 2020, https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/

democrats.appropriations.house.gov/files/Families%20First%20Summary%20FINAL.pdf.

For background, see John Bresnahan and Marianne Levine, “ Senate to take up coronavirus package after House

passes revised bill,” Politico, March 16, 2020, https://www.politico.com/news/2020/03/16/senate-coronavirusemergency-package-131465. See also “DIRECT ING T HE CLERK OF T HE HOUSE OF REPRESENT AT IVES T O

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considered and agreed to a resolution (H.Res. 904) that directed the Clerk to make changes to the

legislation when preparing the final, official version of the House-passed bill (engrossment). The

engrossed version was sent to the Senate and ultimately passed without amendment by a vote of

90-8 on March 18. The President signed the bill into law (P.L. 116-127) the same day. 16 The bill

provided $1.25 billion in supplemental LHHS funds for programs and activities at HHS.

Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act,

2020 (Title III, Division A, H.R. 6074; P.L. 116-123)

On February 24, 2020, the Trump Administration sent Congress a request for supplemental

appropriations of $1.25 billion for the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund

(PHSSEF) at HHS. 17 The request letter included a number of other proposals, largely but not

exclusively related to re-purposing existing funds toward response efforts. All told, the

Administration estimated needing to allocate approximately $2.5 billion toward COVID-19

response efforts. (For the most part, amounts for other LHHS aspects of the request generally

were unspecified in the publicly released request letter.) 18

Several days after the Administration’s request, the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee

introduced H.R. 6074 on March 4, 2020. The measure passed the House that same day by a vote

of 415-2, passed the Senate on March 5 by a vote of 96-1, and was signed into law (P.L. 116-123)

on March 6. 19 The bill provided approximately $6.4 billion in supplemental LHHS funds for

accounts and activities at HHS.

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Supplemental Appropriations Act,

2019 (USMCA, Title IX, H.R. 5430; P.L. 116-113)

The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) was a trade agreement that was

introduced by the House Majority Leader, Representative Hoyer, on December 13, 2019 (H.R.

5430). The measure was passed by the House on December 19, 2019, by a vote of 385-41, and

the Senate on January 16, 2020, by a vote of 89-10. The bill was signed into law on January 29,

2020 (P.L. 116-113).

Supplemental discretionary appropriations carried in Title IX provided $210 million to the

Department of Labor to implement the agreement. 20

MAKE CORRECT IONS IN T HE ENGROSSMENT OF H.R. 6201,” Congressional Record, daily edition, vol. 166,

no. 50 (March 16, 2020), pp. H1698-H1707.

16 CRS Reports on FFCRA are available on Congress.gov at https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/

6201.

T he PHSSEF is an account used by the HHS Secretary for one-time or short-term funding such as emergency

supplemental appropriations, and for some ongoing public health preparedness activities.

18 Letter from Russell T . Vought, Acting Director, Office of Management and Budget (OMB), to Vice President

Michael Pence, February 24, 2020, https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/CoronavirusSupplemental-Request-Letter-Final.pdf.

19 A summary of provisions is provided in CRS Report R46285, Coronavirus Preparedness and Response

Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116 -123): First Coronavirus Supplemental.

20 See CBO, “Estimate for H.R. 5430, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Implementation Act, as introduced

on December 13, 2019, December 16, 2020, https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/2019-12/hr5430.pdf.

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

FY2020 Annual LHHS Appropriations

Table 1 provides a timeline of major legislative actions for full-year LHHS proposals, which are

discussed in greater detail below

Table 1. Status of Full-Year LHHS Appropriations Legislation, FY2020

Subcommittee

Approval

House

Senate

Resolution of House and

Senate Differences

Full Committee

Approval

House

4/30/19

H.R. 2740

voice

vote

H.Rept.

116-62

5/15/19

Senate

House

Initial

Passage

Senate

Initial

Passage

Conf.

Report

House

Final

Passage

Senate

Final

Passage

H.R. 2740,

Division A

H.R. 1865, H.R. 1865,

Division A Division A

6/19/19

12/17/19

12/19/19

226-203

297-120

71-23

Public

Law

P.L. 116-94

12/20/19

30-23

Source: CRS Appropriations Status Table.

FY2020 LHHS Omnibus (Division A, Further Consolidated Appropriations

Act, 2020, H.R. 1865; P.L. 116-94)

About one week prior to when the second FY2020 continuing resolution (CR) was scheduled to

expire, the House, Senate, and Trump Administration announced that it had reached a deal that

would fund all 12 appropriations bills in two legislative packages (H.R. 1158 and H.R. 1865);

LHHS was funded in Division A of H.R. 1865. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,

2020 was agreed to by the House (297-120) on December 17, 2019, and by the Senate (71-23) on

December 19. The bill was signed into law on December 20 (P.L. 116-94).

LHHS discretionary appropriations in the FY2020 LHHS omnibus totaled $195.4 billion. This

amount is 3.2% more than FY2019 enacted and 17.4% more than the FY2020 President’s budget

request. The omnibus also provided $902.3 billion in mandatory funding, for a combined LHHS

total of $1.098 trillion. (Note that these totals are based only on amounts provided by the FY2020

LHHS omnibus and do not include the supplemental funds, which were provided in addition to

the annual appropriations.)

See Figure 1 for a breakdown of FY2020 discretionary and mandatory LHHS appropriations. 21

21 While the percentages in this figure were calculated based on amounts in the FY20 20 LHHS omnibus, they are

generally also illustrative—within a few percentage points—of the share of mandatory and discretionary funds in

FY2019 and under the various FY2020 proposals (e.g., President’s budget and the House-committee bill).

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Figure 1. FY2020 Enacted LHHS Appropriations

Source: Amounts in this figure are generally drawn from or calculated based on data contained in the

explanatory statement accompanying the FY2020 LHHS omnibus (P.L. 116-94), available in the Congressional

Record, vol. 165, no. 204, December 17, 2019, pp. H11061-H11161. Enacted totals for FY2020 do not include

emergency-designated appropriations provided by P.L. 116-113, P.L. 116-123, P.L. 116-127, P.L. 116-136, or P.L.

116-139. For consistency with source materials, amounts in this figure generally do not reflect mandatory

spending sequestration. CRS calculations do, however, include LHHS funding provided to HHS pursuant to the

21 st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255).

Notes: Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Amounts in this figure (1) reflect all budget authority

appropriated in the bill, regardless of the year in which funds become available (i.e., totals do not include

advances from prior-year appropriations, but do include advances for subsequent years provided in this bill); (2)

have generally not been adjusted to reflect scorekeeping; (3) comprise only those funds provided for agencies

and accounts subject to the jurisdiction of the LHHS subcommittees of the House and Senate appropriations

committees; and (4) do not include appropriations that occur outside of appropriations bills.

FY2020 Continuing Resolutions (Division A, P.L. 116-59; Division A, P.L. 11669)

FY2020 LHHS appropriations were provided by two continuing resolutions (CRs) until the

enactment of the LHHS omnibus (P.L. 116-94) on December 20, 2019. 22

The first CR (Division A of H.R. 4378; P.L. 116-59) was enacted on September 27, 2019. The CR

provided continuing appropriations for all 12 annual appropriations acts (including LHHS)

through November 21, 2019. In general, the CR funded discretionary programs at the same rate

and under the same conditions as in FY2019 (§ 101) and annually appropriated entitlements at

their current law levels (§111). It also included several anomalies that were specific to LHHS

accounts or activities (§§137-139). 23

The second CR (Division A of H.R. 3055; P.L. 116-69) was enacted on November 21, 2019. This

law extended the prior FY2020 CR through December 20, 2019. (None of the few additional

anomalies added by Division A were LHHS-specific.)

22 For an overview of CRs, see CRS Report R42647, Continuing Resolutions: Overview of Components and Practices.

23 For further information on the continuing appropriations provided by P.L. 116-59, see CRS Report R45982,

Overview of Continuing Appropriations for FY2020 (P.L. 116 -59).

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Earlier Congressional Action on an LHHS Bill

FY2020 LHHS Action in the Senate (Division A, H.R. 2740)

The FY2020 LHHS bill did not receive subcommittee, full committee, or initial floor

consideration in the Senate prior to its enactment.

With regard to committee consideration, the Senate Appropriations Committee scheduled a

markup for September 10, 2019, but that markup was indefinitely postponed prior to when it was

to occur. 24 (The initial LHHS subcommittee allocation (S.Rept. 116-104) that was adopted by the

Senate Appropriations Committee on September 12, 2019 is discussed in Appendix A.) Senator

Blunt, Chair of the Senate LHHS Subcommittee subsequently released the text of a draft LHHS

bill and accompanying committee report on September 18. 25

The Senate Majority Leader, Senator McConnell, presented cloture on the motion to proceed to

H.R. 2740, the House-passed version of the LHHS bill, on September 16. The Senate voted not to

invoke cloture (51-44) on September 18. Cloture was not invoked a second time (51-41) on

October 31.

FY2020 LHHS Action in the House (Division A, H.R. 2740)

The House Appropriations Committee’s LHHS subcommittee approved its draft bill on April 30,

2019, by a voice vote. The full committee markup was held on May 8 and the bill was ordered to

be reported that same day (30-23). The bill was subsequently reported to the House on May 15

(H.R. 2740, H.Rept. 116-62). This is the earliest the LHHS bill (including its predecessor under

prior jurisdictional arrangements) has been reported to the House since the current budget process

was first implemented in FY1976. The FY2020 LHHS bill and FY2020 Military Construction,

Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (H.R. 2745) were the first to be

reported to the House during the FY2020 cycle. The last time LHHS was the first bill reported by

the House Appropriations Committee was FY1980, though in that year the bill was one of three

reported on the same day.

As reported by the full committee, the bill would have provided $204.3 billion in discretionary

LHHS funds, a 7.9% increase from FY2019 enacted levels. This amount would have been 22.7%

more than the FY2020 President’s request. In addition, the House committee bill would have

provided an estimated $902.3 billion in mandatory funding, for a combined total of $1.107 trillion

for LHHS as a whole.

The House began consideration of the FY2020 LHHS bill the week of June 10. To do this, the

House took up the FY2020 LHHS bill reported from committee (H.R. 2740) and amended it into

a four-bill omnibus, with LHHS appropriations in Division A. 26 Of the 73 LHHS amendments

24 Senate Appropriations Committee, “Appropriations Schedule for the Week of September 9, 2019,” September 6,

2019, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/appropriations-schedule-for-the-week-ofseptember-9-2019.

See Senate Appropriations Committee, “Blunt Releases FY2020 Labor, HHS, & Education Appropriations Bill,”

September 18, 2019, https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/fy2020-labor-hhs-and-education-appropriations-billreleased.

26 T he four appropriations acts that received floor consideration via H.R. 2740 were LHHS (Division A); Department

of Defense (Division B); Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies (Division C); and Department of State,

Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (Division D). T wo special rules were adopted that affected the consideration

of LHHS appropriations in Division A: H.Res. 431 and H.Res. 436.

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

offered to Division A, 64 were adopted and the remaining 9 were withdrawn or defeated. The

House passed the LHHS omnibus by a vote of 226-203 on June 19. Because there is no publiclyavailable source that estimates the account-level budgetary effects of the amendments adopted to

Division A, this report provides analysis of the House Committee-reported version of the LHHS

bill. For information on the LHHS amendments offered during floor consideration, see Appendix

FY2020 President’s Budget Request

On March 11, 2019, the Trump Administration released the initial FY2020 President’s budget. 27

The President requested $166.5 billion in discretionary funding for accounts funded by the LHHS

bill, which would have been a decrease of 12.1% from FY2019 levels. In addition, the President

requested $900.4 billion in annually appropriated mandatory funding, for a total of $1.067 trillion

for LHHS as a whole.

Conclusion of the FY2019 Appropriations Process

During the 115th Congress, on September 28, 2018, the President signed into law the Department

of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act, 2019 and

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019 (H.R. 6157, P.L. 115-245). This was the first occasion since

the FY1997 appropriations cycle that full-year LHHS appropriations were enacted on or before

the start of the fiscal year (October 1). The conference report (H.Rept. 115-952) was adopted by

the Senate on September 18, and the House on September 26. The bill provided regular, full-year

appropriations for the Department of Defense (Division A) and LHHS (Division B)

appropriations acts.

LHHS discretionary appropriations in the FY2019 omnibus totaled $189.4 billion. This amount

was 1.5% more than FY2018 enacted and 8.9% more than the FY2019 President’s budget

request. The omnibus also provided $869.8 billion in mandatory funding, for a combined LHHS

total of $1.059 trillion. (Note that these totals are based only on amounts provided by the FY2019

LHHS omnibus and do not include the supplemental funds, which were provided in addition to

the annual appropriations.)28

27 T he initial set of budget materials was released on March 11, 2019, and additional agency materials were released in

the following weeks, including many on March 18, 2019. In addition, on May 13, the President submitted two budget

amendments that would affect portions of the initial request , though these amendments did not affect the net budget

authority totals proposed in the initial FY2020 request. T he LHHS budget amendments proposed authorizing (1) the

HHS National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to implement a reorganization plan and (2) certain

funds in the HHS General Departmental Management account to be available for specified activities carried out by the

Departmental Appeals Board.

28 For further information, see CRS Report R45869, Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2019

Appropriations.

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Summary of FY2020 LHHS Appropriations

Dollars and Percentages in this Report

Amounts displayed in this report are typically rounded to the nearest million or billion (as labeled). Dollar and

percentage changes discussed in the text are based on unrounded amounts.

Unless otherwise specified, appropriations levels displayed in this report refer to the total amount of budget

authority provided in an appropriations bill (i.e., “total in the bill”), regardless of the year in which the funding

becomes available.

Amounts for FY2019 Enacted, FY2020 Request, and FY2020 Enacted are generally drawn from or calculated based

on data contained in the explanatory statement accompanying the FY2020 LHHS omnibus ( P.L. 116-94), available

in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 204, December 17, 2019, pp. H11061 -H11161.

Amounts for the FY2020 House Committee-reported bill are generally drawn from or calculated based on data

contained in the committee report (H.Rept. 116-62) accompanying H.R. 2740. Throughout this report, the

FY2020 House Appropriations Committee-reported LHHS bill is commonly referred to as the House “committee

bill.” (This report does not contain estimates of the House-passed version of H.R. 2740, as there is no publiclyavailable source that estimates the account-level budgetary effects of the adopted amendments. However,

information on the LHHS amendments offered during floor consideration can be found in Appendix B.)

Enacted totals for FY2019 do not include emergency-designated appropriations provided by P.L. 116-20 or P.L.

116-26. Enacted totals for FY2020 do not include emergency-designated appropriations provided by P.L. 116-113,

P.L. 116-123, P.L. 116-127, P.L. 116-136, or P.L. 116-139. For informational purposes, FY2019 and FY2020 enacted

supplemental amounts are displayed separately at the bottom of tables throughout the report and not summed.

One exception to this rule is made in Table A-1, which includes FY2019 and FY2020 enacted supplemental funds

in the “Adjusted Appropriations” totals, as scored by the Congressional Budget Office. In addition, further details

on the FY2020 supplemental appropriations can be found in Appendix C.

For consistency with source materials, the FY2019 and FY2020 numbers in this report generally do not reflect

actual or anticipated postenactment budgetary adjustments, except as noted. 29 CRS calculations do, however,

include LHHS funding provided to HHS pursuant to the 21 st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255).

Table 2 displays FY2020 discretionary and mandatory LHHS budget authority provided or

proposed, by bill title, along with FY2019 enacted levels. The amounts shown in this table reflect

total budget authority provided in the annual LHHS bill (i.e., all funds appropriated in the bill,

regardless of the fiscal year in which the funds become available), not total budget authority

available for the current fiscal year. (For a comparable table showing current-year budget

authority, see Table A-2. Note that the totals in this table do not include emergency supplemental

appropriations; amounts provided in supplementals are displayed separately at the bottom of the

table and are in addition to regular appropriations. For a discussion of the FY2020 supplemental

appropriations displayed below the bill totals in Table 2, see Appendix C.)

29 T he general practice for CRS reports on the LHHS bill has been to reflect conventions used in source materials.

T hese conventions have varied over the years. For instance, CRS reports on LHHS appropriations for FY2012-FY2015

generally relied on source materials that adjusted appropriations amounts in the prior -year column to reflect

sequestration, reestimates of mandatory spending, transfers, reprogramming, and other adjustments for compar ability.

However, the FY2016 version of this report broke from that practice due to differing display conventions in source

documents, and did not reflect any such adjustments (except sequestration for the Prevention and Public Health Fund

(PPHF)). T he FY2017 version of this report differed from both of these prior practices, in that it reflected a smaller

subset of transfers (generally concentrated at the National Institutes of Health) and other adjustments for comparability

(e.g., program moves from one account to another), but not reprogramming of funds or mandatory sequestration

(except sequestration of the PPHF). T he FY2108 and FY2019 versions of this report, however, relied on source

materials that generally did not reflect any transfers or other budgetary adjustments pursuant to administrative

authorities except PPHF sequestration. T he source materials used for the FY2020 report version, and thus the numbers

in this report, continue this most recent approach.

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Table 2. LHHS Appropriations Overview by Bill Title, FY2019-FY2020

(Total budget authority provided in the bill, in billions of dollars)

FY2019

Enacted

FY2020

Request

FY2020

House

Cmte.

(H.R. 2740)

Title I: Labor

13.6

12.3

14.7

13.8

Discretionary

12.1

10.9

13.3

12.4

Mandatory

1.4

Title II: HHS

899.2

916.1

939.3

934.8

Discretionary

90.5

78.1

99.4

94.9

Mandatory

808.7

838.0

840.0

839.9

Title III: Education

75.0

67.6

79.5

76.4

Discretionary

71.4

64.0

75.9

72.8

Mandatory

3.5

3.6

71.5

70.9

73.1

72.7

Discretionary

15.3

13.5

15.7

15.4

Mandatory

56.2

57.3

Total BA in the Bill

1,059.2

1,066.9

1,106.6

1,097.7

Discretionary

189.4

166.5

204.3

195.4

Mandatory

869.8

900.4

902.3

P.L. 116-20 (emergency)

0.5

—

P.L. 116-26 (emergency)

2.9

—

P.L. 116-113 (emergency)

—

0.2

P.L. 116-123 (emergency)

—

6.4

P.L. 116-127 (emergency)

—

1.3

P.L. 116-136 (emergency)

—

172.1

P.L. 116-139 (emergency)

—

100.0

186.7

188.3

189.1

183.3

186.2

186.7

-9.4

-24.8

-12.6

-10.5

Bill Title

Title IV: Related Agencies

FY2020

Enacted

(P.L. 116-94)

Memoranda (non-emergency funds only):

Advances for Future Years

(provided in current bill) a

Advances from Prior Years

(for use in current year) a

Additional Scorekeeping Adjustmentsb

Source: Amounts in this table for the FY2019 Enacted, FY2020 Request, and FY2020 Enacted columns are

generally drawn from or calculated based on data contained in the explanatory statement accompanying the

FY2020 LHHS omnibus (P.L. 116-94), available in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 204, December 17, 2019,

pp. H11061-H11161. Amounts in the FY2020 House Committee column are generally drawn from or calculated

based on data contained in the committee report (H.Rept. 116-62) accompanying H.R. 2740. Enacted totals for

FY2019 do not include emergency-designated appropriations provided by P.L. 116-20 or P.L. 116-26. Enacted

totals for FY2020 do not include emergency-designated appropriations provided by P.L. 116-113, P.L. 116-123,

P.L. 116-127, P.L. 116-136, or P.L. 116-139. For consistency with source materials, amounts in this table generally

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

do not reflect mandatory spending sequestration, where applicable, nor do they reflect any transfers or

reprogramming of funds pursuant to executive authorities. CRS calculations do, however, include LHHS funding

provided to HHS pursuant to the 21 st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255).

Notes: BA = Budget Authority. Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Amounts in this table (1) reflect

all BA appropriated in the bill, regardless of the year in which funds become available (i.e., totals do not include

advances from prior-year appropriations, but do include advances for subsequent years provided in this bill); (2)

have generally not been adjusted to reflect scorekeeping; (3) comprise only those funds provided (or requested)

for agencies and accounts subject to the jurisdiction of the LHHS subcommittees of the House and Senate

appropriations committees; and (4) do not include appropriations that occur outside of appropriations bills. No

amounts are shown for Title V, because this title consists solely of general provisions.

Totals in this table are based on budget authority provided in the bill (i.e., they exclude advance

appropriations from prior bills and include advance appropriations from this bill made available in future

years). The calculation for total budget authority available in the current year is as follows: Total BA in the

Bill, minus Advances for Future Years, plus Advances from Prior Years.

Totals in this table have generally not been adjusted for further scorekeeping. (To adjust for scorekeeping,

add this line to the total budget authority.)

Figure 2 displays the FY2020 enacted discretionary and mandatory LHHS funding levels, by bill

title. (While the dollars and percentages discussed in this section were calculated based on the

FY2020 enacted amounts, they are generally also illustrative—within several percentage points—

of the share of funds directed to each bill title in FY2019 and under the other FY2020 proposals.)

As this figure demonstrates, HHS accounts for the largest share of total FY2020 LHHS

appropriations: $934.8 billion, or 85.2%. This is due to the large amount of mandatory funding

included in the HHS appropriation, the majority of which is for Medicaid grants to states and

payments to health care trust funds. After HHS, ED and the Related Agencies represent the nextlargest shares of total LHHS funding, accounting for 7.0% and 6.6%, respectively. (The majority

of the ED appropriations each year are discretionary, while the bulk of funding for the Related

Agencies goes toward mandatory payments and administrative costs of the Supplemental Security

Income program at the Social Security Administration.) DOL accounts for the smallest share of

total LHHS funds, 1.3%.

The overall composition of LHHS funding is noticeably different when comparing only

discretionary appropriations. HHS accounts for a comparatively smaller share of total

discretionary appropriations (48.6%), while ED accounts for a relatively larger share (37.2%).

Together, these two departments represent the majority (85.8%) of discretionary LHHS

appropriations. DOL and the Related Agencies account for a roughly even split of the remaining

14.2% of discretionary LHHS funds.

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Figure 2. FY2020 Enacted LHHS Appropriations by Title

Source: Amounts in this figure are generally drawn from or calculated based on data contained in the

explanatory statement accompanying the FY2020 LHHS omnibus ( P.L. 116-94), available in the Congressional

Record, vol. 165, no. 204, December 17, 2019, pp. H11061 -H11161. Enacted totals for FY2020 do not include

emergency-designated appropriations provided by P.L. 116-113, P.L. 116-123, P.L. 116-127, P.L. 116-136, or P.L.

116-139. For consistency with source materials, amounts in this figure generally do not reflect mandatory

spending sequestration, where applicable, nor do they reflect any transfers or reprogramming of funds pursuant

to executive authorities. CRS calculations do, however, include LHHS funding provided to HHS pursuant to th e

21 st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255).

Notes: Details may not add to totals due to rounding. Amounts in this figure (1) reflect all BA appropriated in

the bill, regardless of the year in which funds become available (i.e., totals do not include advances from prioryear appropriations, but do include advances for subsequent years provided in this bill); (2) have generally not

been adjusted to reflect scorekeeping; (3) comprise only those funds provided for agencies and accounts subject

to the jurisdiction of the LHHS subcommittees of the House and Senate appropriations committees; and (4) do

not include appropriations that occur outside of appropriations bills.

Department of Labor (DOL)

Note that all amounts in this section are based on regular LHHS appropriations only. Amounts in

this section do not include mandatory funds provided outside of the annual appropriations process

(e.g., direct appropriations for Unemployment Insurance benefits payments). All amounts in this

section are rounded to the nearest million or billion (as labeled). The dollar changes and

percentage changes discussed in the text are based on unrounded amounts. For consistency with

source materials, amounts do not reflect sequestration or reestimates of mandatory spending

programs, where applicable.

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

About DOL

DOL is a federal department comprised of multiple entities that provide services related to

employment and training, worker protection, income security, and contract enforcement. Annual

LHHS appropriations laws direct funding to all DOL entities (see the text box). 31 The DOL

entities fall primarily into two main functional areas—workforce development and worker

protection. First, there are several DOL

entities that administer workforce employment

DOL Entities Funded via the

and training programs—such as the Workforce

LHHS Appropriations Process

Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state Employment and Training Administration (ETA)

formula grant programs, Job Corps, and the

Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Employment Service—that provide direct

Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

funding for employment activities or

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

administration of income security programs

(OFCCP)

(e.g., for the Unemployment Insurance

Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS)

benefits program). Also included in this area is Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP)

the Veterans’ Employment and Training

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Service (VETS), which provides employment

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)

services specifically for the veteran

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

population. Second, there are several agencies

Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)

that provide various worker protection

Departmental Management (DM) 30

services. For example, the Occupational

Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),

the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), and the Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

provide different types of regulation and oversight of working conditions. DOL entities focused

on worker protection provide services to ensure worker safety, adherence to wage and overtime

laws, and contract compliance, among other duties. In addition to these two main functional

areas, DOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects data and provides analysis on the labor

market and related labor issues.

FY2020 DOL Appropriations Overview

Table 3 generally displays FY2020 discretionary and mandatory DOL budget authority provided

or proposed, along with FY2019 enacted levels. The totals in this table do not include emergency

supplemental appropriations; amounts provided in supplementals are displayed separately at the

bottom of the table and are in addition to regular appropriations. For a discussion of the FY2020

supplemental appropriations displayed below the bill totals in Table 3, see Appendix C.

The FY2020 LHHS omnibus increased discretionary appropriations for DOL by $291 million

(+2.4%) compared to the FY2019 enacted levels. Discretionary DOL appropriations would have

increased by $1.2 billion (+9.9%) under the FY2020 House committee bill, compared to FY2019,

but would have decreased under the FY2020 President’s budget request by $1.2 billion (-10.0%).

Of the total funding provided in the bill for DOL, roughly 90% is discretionary.

30 Departmental Management includes the DOL salaries and expenses, Veterans Employment and T raining Service

(VET S), IT Modernization, and the Office of the Inspector General.

31 T he Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is funded primarily through insurance premiums and related fees

from companies covered by the PBGC.

Congressional Research Service

Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education: FY2020 Appropriations

Table 3. DOL Appropriations Overview

(Dollars in billions)

Funding

FY2019

Enacted

FY2020

Request

FY2020

House

Cmte.

(H.R. 2740)

FY2020

Enacted

(P.L.

116-94)

Discretionary

12.1

10.9

13.3

12.4

Mandatory

1.4

Total BA in the Bill

13.6

12.3

14.7

13.8

P.L. 116-20 (emergency)

0.1

—

P.L. 116-26 (emergency)

—

P.L. 116-113 (emergency)

—

0.2

P.L. 116-123 (emergency)

—

P.L. 116-127 (emergency)

—

P.L. 116-136 (emergency)

—

0.4