[Pages H5740-H5792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024

General Leave

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include extraneous material on H.R. 5894, and that I may include
tabular material on the same.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Alabama?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 864 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill, H.R. 5894.
The Chair appoints the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. DesJarlais) to
preside over the Committee of the Whole.

{time} 1121

In the Committee of the Whole

Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for the consideration of the bill
(H.R. 5894) making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal
year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes, with Mr.
DesJarlais in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the
first time.
General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one
hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective
designees.
The gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt) and the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, I rise in support this morning of H.R. 5894, the FY 2024
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and related agencies
bill.
This is my first year as chair of this very important subcommittee,
and I am proud to be able to support programs that touch the lives of
literally every American in one form or fashion.
Our Nation remains mired in high inflation, which was only worsened
by the massive infusion of government spending, both during and
immediately after the COVID pandemic. I have said on numerous occasions
that inflation is a tax on every single American. Moreover, it is a tax
borne disproportionately by low-income Americans.
We cannot continue to make our constituents pay for our reckless D.C.
beltway spending. At some point, we must stop the out-of-control
spending spree that we have seen over the past 2 years. This bill that
is before the House this morning represents a clear first step toward
returning to fiscal responsibility while at the same time ensuring that
funding for critical and high-priority functions are maintained.
Yes, the bill before us today reflects the challenges in achieving
deficit reduction solely through reductions in discretionary spending.
To be honest, a $60 billion cut to social spending programs in this
bill requires scrutiny and priority setting.
Over 50 programs are proposed for reduction and another 60 programs
are eliminated. Most of those that are eliminated are unauthorized or
they have expired authorizations. Title I grants to States are cut by
almost 80 percent, or more than $14 billion.
While title I grants do support school districts everywhere,
including rural districts and the districts back in Alabama that I
represent, these funds disproportionately support big city public
schools, those same public schools that failed to educate the most
vulnerable children that were entrusted to them by closing their doors
for almost 2 years during the pandemic.
It is estimated that over $20 billion in unspent funding still
remains available from those funds that were provided during the
pandemic to these schools. Until this funding--over $21 billion--is
drawn down and used responsibly, the Federal Government should not
continue to make further investments in these failing schools.
At the same time, the priorities of this bill are biodefense,
programs that support rural America, targeted education programs,
including those for children with special needs and congressional
oversight responsibilities.
The bill also maintains support for Pell grants and language to
ensure borrowers can quickly resume payments of their student loans
following the recent Supreme Court decision.
Other programs for certain vulnerable populations, such as Americans
with disabilities, older Americans, and foster children, are maintained
at current levels.
Childcare block grants, which provide vouchers for families to choose
childcare settings of their choice, are maintained at $8 billion.
In response to this administration's executive branch overreach, this
bill prohibits funding for programs focused solely on diversity,
equity, and inclusion. It eliminates funding for Planned Parenthood and
other controversial grantees. It also protects religious freedom and
values by stopping the administration's regulations that would require
schools to allow biological boys to compete against girls in women's
sports programs and prohibiting any Federal funding from going toward
enforcing gender identity politics or social, hormonal, or surgical
interventions to look like the opposite sex.
The bill prohibits funding for controversial ideologies like critical
race theory. These radical views do not belong in public schools.
Schools should be teaching our children how to think, not what to
think.
The bill maintains the longstanding Hyde amendment to ensure that
taxpayer funds are not used for abortion on demand and that no one is
forced to participate in an abortion or refer for one under any Federal
program.
The bill also makes sure that taxpayer funds are not used to
circumvent State laws restricting abortion and also ensures that
Federal research funds are not used on human fetal tissue obtained from
an elective abortion.
Furthermore, the bill before us also includes provisions preventing
this administration from moving forward with job-killing regulations
that relate to independent contractors, joint employer status, and
federally forced wage rates for agricultural workers. The
administration's regulatory agenda is stifling small businesses, which
should be an incubator for innovation.

[[Page H5741]]

To protect against man-made pandemics, the bill prohibits any funding
from going to EcoHealth Alliance, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or
any lab located in Russia or China. The bill also prohibits funding
from being used for any gain-of-function research, which was being used
on bat coronavirus prior to the COVID pandemic, and it prohibits
enforcement of the CMS COVID vaccine mandate on healthcare workers.
In closing, Mr. Chairman, in addition to thanking everybody that has
had a part in this, I want to say a special thanks to the chair of our
committee, Chairwoman Granger, and also my fellow subcommittee members
and their staff. I certainly also thank the Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education Subcommittee staff on both the Democrat and the
Republican side, as we have had to work through this bill over the last
several months. I just appreciate everyone's hard work and input as we
have moved forward on this.
Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the debate today, and I reserve the
balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I
congratulate Chairman Aderholt on his first bill as chairman of the
subcommittee. I thank the minority staff--particularly Stephen
Steigleder, Philip Tizzani, Laurie Mignone, and Jackie Kilroy--for all
of their hard work, as well as the majority staff, Susan Ross, Kathryn
Salmon, James Redstone, Emily Goff, and Laura Stagno. As I have often
said, they keep our names on the door, so many thanks to all.
Mr. Chair, I have never seen an appropriations bill quite like this
one. I have never seen a bill that was this inhumane and which defies
all the values and ideals of a society which promises to address the
needs and the challenges of its people.

{time} 1130

In Charles Dickens' ``Great Expectations,'' Pip observes the Pocket
family children as ``not growing up or being brought up, but were
tumbling up.'' This bill leaves America's children tumbling up.
This bill is the largest domestic appropriations bill, and for good
reason. The programs funded in Labor-HHS-Education ensure that our
workforce is strong, our families are healthy and safe, and our
children's future is secure.
Indeed, last Congress, we passed a Labor-HHS bill that supported
middle-class working families, lifted up vulnerable Americans, and
prepared our Nation for future crises, which makes it even more
disappointing to see where we have ended up in this year's process.
The majority's 2024 Labor-HHS-Education bill and its 28 percent cut
of $64 billion bring us back to a level unseen since 2008. It heralds
their intent to end public education in the United States. This bill
eliminates present and future job opportunities for young adults,
seniors, and working families. It jeopardizes maternal, pediatric, and
public health.
This bill is shameful, which is presumably the reason why it was
never marked up or voted on by the full Appropriations Committee.
As disappointed as I am to see the authority of the Appropriations
Committee surrendered, sadly, based on where the majority has taken
this entire process, it is not surprising.
Mr. Chair, 154 days ago, the House Appropriations Committee held its
first full committee markup of the 2024 bill. Nine more followed. This
bill was not one of them.
Nonetheless, the House majority circumvented the committee process.
They air-dropped five new poison pill riders into the Labor-HHS bill
without any bipartisan consultation or vote by the committee.
We are left to assume that the majority knew this bill had no path
forward in committee, and they know it has no path forward, period.
Horace Mann called education ``the great equalizer.'' Perhaps, then,
it is the majority's aversion to equality that explains why they cut 28
percent from the Department of Education.
They will take at least 224,000 teachers out of low-income classrooms
and eviscerate the programs that help at-risk youth build a bright
future. This cut would entail a loss of 3,700 teachers in Alabama, 800
teachers in Idaho, 4,400 teachers in Maryland, 4,300 teachers in
Tennessee, 6,500 teachers in Michigan, 5,000 teachers in Louisiana,
8,300 teachers in Georgia, 1,500 teachers in Kansas, 22,300 teachers in
Texas, and 4,400 teachers in Arizona. Explain that to your
constituents.
I am deeply concerned about the impact such a colossal retraction
from public education funding would have on children across our
country.
This bill tells the story of where the majority seeks to take this
country. Republicans have made it clear they are opposed to public
education, and they seek to destroy it.
Quality education will no longer be accessible to working families,
but it will be accessible, again, to the purview of the rich.
I must underscore that point. This is no messaging bill. This is
their Commitment to America. I am taking Republicans at their word, as
should all American people. This is what they want to do.
When 161 House Republicans voted earlier this year to eliminate all
K-12 funding at the Department of Education in the Massie amendment to
H.R. 5, I was horrified, but that was only the beginning.
House Republicans are in lockstep behind the most extreme ideologues
in their party. Just this summer, former Secretary Betsy DeVos penned
an op-ed calling to eliminate the Department of Education.
The Heritage Foundation's budget blueprint includes a proposal to
eliminate the Department of Education.
Former OMB Director Russ Vought wants massive funding reductions to
``thwart'' a public education system he sees as ``an existential threat
to the American Republic.''
We are witnessing a widespread attack on public education that should
shock every American family. If left to their own devices, Republicans
will gleefully take public education to the graveyard.
How will this bill move us closer toward those ends?
English language acquisition funding to help 5 million English
learners nationwide is eliminated, disadvantaging and discriminating
against students who primarily speak another language and restraining
their future ability to compete and succeed in the economy.
Supporting Effective Instruction State Grants, which provide
professional development opportunities for educators, are completely
gone.
Federal work-study is no more for the 660,000 students who need it to
help finance their postsecondary education. It limits their potential
earnings and future success in the job market.
Nearly $1 billion is cut from the supplemental educational
opportunity grants, which eliminate need-based financial aid for 1.7
million students nationwide.
Promise Neighborhoods, social and emotional learning grants, and
magnet schools are all completely erased, as well.
The programs that are not completely abolished in this bill are so
poorly funded as to be completely nonfunctional.
A $14.7 billion cut from title I, the very foundation of public
education in America, is patently unthinkable and would remove hundreds
of thousands of teachers from classrooms, directly harming children in
every single one of our districts.
Students nationwide are struggling with rising college costs, and
this bill provides no relief by freezing the maximum Pell grant for the
first time in 12 years.
I believe we all agree that we have a crisis in our Nation's
classrooms, but rather than address the teacher shortage and fully fund
our children's future, our Nation's future, the majority's solution is
to abolish the public classroom altogether. If you cannot afford a
private education for your children, well, too bad.

This is the every child left behind act. Regardless of your age or
stage in life, this bill means you can't count on your country for
assistance in getting back on your feet.
Youth job training, adult job training, Job Corps, and senior
community service employment programs are all eliminated. If you want
to work and just need help finding the right job or finding a better
job, this bill has nothing to offer you.

[[Page H5742]]

They are putting workers who do find jobs at risk by cutting $313
million for worker protection agencies like the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration. The 30 percent cut to the Wage and Hour
Division, the agency that is tasked with enforcing wage law and
ensuring that our children are not working illegally, will send the
rights of workers in this country back to a time before World War II.
This bill hangs working families out to dry. Healthy Start, diaper
distribution, teen pregnancy prevention, title X family planning--all
abolished.
With riders that block access to abortions and reproductive
healthcare services and force providers to withhold critical
information about healthcare options, it is clear in this area that the
majority does not trust women to make their own decisions, and where
they are taking us is moving down a road to a nationwide abortion ban.
These provisions amount to the majority simultaneously ensuring
anyone who may get pregnant will get pregnant, teenagers included, and
there are no resources or lifelines available to help those children
and their families.
People can only hope that they do not get cancer. You will not find
support from House Republicans. From the National Institutes of Health,
over $2 billion is cut from the National Cancer Institute, the National
Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the National Institute
of Mental Health, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases.
Cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are as
outrageous as they are dangerous. Firearm injury prevention, tobacco
prevention, and ending the HIV epidemic, which, by the way, was an
initiative of President Donald Trump, Republicans have decided that
addressing these problems is not worth a single dollar to the American
people.
What should we be doing if not combating the leading causes of death
in this country? What should we fund if not the health and future of
America's families? Supporting our children and working families is the
bare minimum of what the greatest country in the world should do for
its people, but this bill goes well below the bare minimum.
This bill steals from our children's future, from our families'
health, and from Americans' livelihood. It abandons young adults. It
stifles biomedical innovation. It surrenders to current and future
public health crises. It hurts women with poison pill riders on
abortion.
Mr. Chair, for these reasons, I vehemently oppose this bill, and I
urge my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Carl).
Mr. CARL. Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Aderholt for his remarkable work on
this bill, particularly under the trying circumstances in which we find
ourselves.
One area of concern I would like to touch on is the Medicare wage
index. The wage index is unfair to rural southern States like Alabama.
Alabama has one of the lowest reimbursement rates in the Nation. Even
worse, Mobile and Baldwin Counties, which I represent, face a huge
struggle with the labor market since they are so close to Florida and
competing with Florida's higher reimbursement rate.
A small adjustment to this classification for Mobile and Baldwin
Counties would level the playing field at a time when hiring and
retaining healthcare workers is at such a critical stage. It would also
address the massive population growth that we are having in these
counties and the increasingly older population on the Alabama Gulf
Coast.
The reclassification is carefully designed to address this unique
situation. These carve-outs have been accomplished for decades in
higher reimbursement States while lowering the reimbursement for States
that need it the most and that have been ignored. To achieve more fair
funding in healthcare, especially in a unique situation like Mobile and
Baldwin Counties, a reclassification is the right thing to do.
Mr. Chair, I support this bill, and I hope that by working together,
we can address these critical issues and ensure a brighter future for
our communities.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I
rise in support of these remarks from my friend and colleague from
Alabama (Mr. Carl).
Hospitals in Alabama and, really, across the Nation are facing
financial pressure because of healthcare disparities created by a
specific Medicare regulation called the Medicare area wage index, as
Mr. Carl just mentioned.
The wage index system is broken. It is punishing cost-effective
hospitals in so many rural areas. Despite increases in labor costs, the
wage index in these States consistently decreases over the years, and
the decline is projected to continue.
I thank the gentleman from Alabama for raising this issue here today.
Although this is primarily under the jurisdiction of the authorizing
committees, I am proud that this bill includes provisions drawing
attention to this very important issue.
I hope that, moving forward, Congress can work to address this long-
broken system, which is continuing to create serious challenges for our
rural hospitals and their communities.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the distinguished ranking member of
the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and
Related Agencies.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding, and I rise in strong opposition to this spending bill.
In it, House Republicans have reduced funding to the NIH and the
National Cancer Institute and virtually eliminated funding for medical
and behavioral research into deadly diseases.
House Republicans eliminated the CDC's tobacco prevention and control
programs. I repeat: House Republicans have defunded our most important
antismoking programs with this bill.
Deaths will be the reality if these cuts come to fruition. How can
Republicans still be this beholden to Big Tobacco?
House Republicans also eliminated the Ending the HIV Epidemic
initiative despite States like Florida, where we are seeing a 33
percent spike in new HIV diagnoses.
With this bill, House Republicans are eliminating Healthy Start,
whose sole mission is to improve the well-being of expectant mothers or
those who just gave birth, all to reduce infant mortality.
On top of that, this extreme MAGA bill eliminates funding for title X
family planning because their far-right ideology forbids access to
reproductive health and related preventive health services.
Of course, House Republicans have eliminated the Teen Pregnancy
Prevention program in tandem with riders that block access to abortion
services or reproductive healthcare services.
At least this bill nakedly reflects the true values of the MAGA House
Republicans because it will encourage discrimination, promote bigotry,
trample on women's rights, decimate public education, and push
minorities further away from equality.

{time} 1145

Of course, it ``protects'' Americans from critical race theory,
LGBTQI+ communities, and programs that promote diversity and equity.
This bill should adhere to the agreement that was made in the Fiscal
Responsibility Act we passed on a bipartisan basis in the spring.
Slash-and-burn budgeting hurts real people while you take care of your
corporate co-conspirators.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this terrible spending bill if
it ever even comes to a vote.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Steube).
Mr. STEUBE. Mr. Chair, our Nation's foster care system is
overburdened and limited in its ability to adequately address the
adversities, challenges, and traumas that children and families often
confront in some of the most vulnerable times of their lives. This is
the unfortunate reality--a status quo where good enough is not good
enough. It is a status quo where children are forgotten and neglected,
a status quo that leaves children to gather in the

[[Page H5743]]

trauma that introduced them to the foster care system.
The Administration for Children and Families has emboldened the
status quo for far too long. Studies show that children placed in
foster care are significantly more likely to face lifelong struggles
that include homelessness, sex trafficking, incarceration, and post-
traumatic stress disorder.
To move past these challenges, we must introduce innovative solutions
that address the complex needs of children and families involved in the
foster care system.
Our foster care system lacks innovation, but that is something that
we can change. We must educate, support, and empower children in the
foster care system to reach their full potential.
To accomplish these goals, our foster care system needs
interventional, trauma-informed programming molded to the unique
circumstances of each child in the foster care system.
I encourage my colleagues to recognize these unique challenges and
help set foster care youth on a path to success.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), a member of the Appropriations Committee.
Ms. LOIS FRANKEL of Florida. My, my, my. In the spending bill that
most affects our social fabric, MAGA Republicans take an ax to women's
reproductive freedom, public education, and Medicare.
At a time when costs are too high for working people, Republicans
underfund childcare and eldercare. Instead of lifting up American
families, this bill brings us down with culture war garbage.
It is a ``no'' for me. We can and we must do better.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Nevada (Ms. Lee), a member of the Appropriations Committee.
Ms. LEE of Nevada. Mr. Chair, I am literally losing my voice, but
somehow I will find the strength to make my voice heard on this
dangerous bill.
I rise today to speak against this bill's completely dated, out-of-
date insistence on stripping women of their fundamental freedoms, not
to mention the 80 percent cut to title I across this country. This is
funding for our most at-risk students everywhere, in every community in
this country. It will eliminate over 200,000 teachers and jeopardize
the education of 26 million students.
First, I will take you back to a week ago when Americans all across
this country from Ohio to Kentucky to Virginia came out in droves to
reject extremist efforts to strip a woman's right to make decisions
about her own body.
Now, Republicans here in Washington are doubling down on that same
out-of-touch agenda, this time by sneaking partisan policy wins into
what is supposed to be a bipartisan process for funding our government.
Conservatives have spent 50 years saying abortion should be left up
to the States. They finally got their way when the Supreme Court
overturned Roe v. Wade. Now, even after local communities everywhere
are demonstrating clearly that they believe in a woman's fundamental
freedoms, radical House Republicans are doing everything they can to
make abortion illegal at a national level.
It is time to wake up, listen to women across this country from the
coasts to the hills to the deserts who have spoken and will continue to
say: Hands off our bodies. It is our choice. Let's leave it that way.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.'' This nonsense needs to end.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for her strong voice,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Ciscomani), a member of our Appropriations
Committee that has been very helpful on this bill that is before us
today.
Mr. CISCOMANI. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of Head Start
programs across the country.
As a father of six, I recognize the importance of early learning and
development for our next generation. As a dad, I want to ensure all
children have the same opportunities to build a strong foundation for
their lives.
That is why I joined my colleague and friend Representative Lawler on
his amendment, which we will consider later, to increase the amount of
Head Start funding provided in the FY 2024 Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bill.
Further, I introduced my own amendment, which is included in the en
bloc to underscore the importance of the Head Start program.
The importance of these programs, both in my district and across the
country, cannot be understated. When our students and families have
access to these resources, they are better equipped to put their best
foot forward each day, both in and out of the classrooms.
With 22 Head Start programs at almost 500 locations in Arizona, these
programs are vital to the well-being of families and children
everywhere. In my district alone, 10 percent of the families with
children under the age of 5 lives below the poverty level. The tools
our students need to succeed go far beyond pencils and notebooks in the
classroom. When we invest in our kids, we are investing in a stronger
community.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Ciscomani for his comments. As
we move forward with this bill, I look forward to working with him, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
Virginia (Ms. McClellan).
Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Chair, I thank Congresswoman DeLauro for her
leadership.
When we invest in our children, we invest in our communities. I
agree, and that is why I am so perplexed and frankly outraged by the
draconian cuts in this bill, specifically targeting teachers, students,
and title I schools that serve vulnerable communities.
These draconian cuts would force 220,000 teachers from the
classrooms. In my district, that is nearly 700 title I teachers who
would lose their jobs.
I am one of the few mothers of young children in this Congress. I
have an eighth grader and a third grader. I see every day that at a
time when our schools are still struggling to address learning
disruption and a growing achievement gap resulting, in part, from the
COVID pandemic and the growing mental health crisis, that this bill
compounds that problem by cutting resources to our schools and cutting
mental health services that will help to address the crisis that our
children and the adults that care for them are facing every day.
For that reason, I urge my colleagues to vote against this extreme
Labor-HHS appropriation bill.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode
Island (Mr. Magaziner).
Mr. MAGAZINER. Mr. Chair, every child deserves access to a high-
quality education, but House Republicans are proposing harmful cuts
that would close the doors of opportunity for millions of children.
At a time when we are facing a nationwide teacher shortage, House
Republicans want to cut title I funding by 80 percent, kicking 220,000
teachers out of the classroom, including 1,000 teachers in Rhode
Island.
House Republicans also propose to cut Head Start funding by $750
million, putting 50,000 children, including hundreds in Rhode Island,
out of early childhood education programs and making it harder for
their parents to go back to work.
All told, this bill would cut $22.5 billion from the Department of
Education, and many of my Republican colleagues who are advocating for
these cuts, who are saying we just can't find the money to pay teachers
and help kids, had no problem voting for a tax cut program of $1.9
trillion that went disproportionately to billionaires and big
corporations. They voted for $750 billion of tax cuts to corporations,
$150 billion of cuts for multimillion-dollar inheritances, and now when
it comes to finding even a fraction of that same amount to fund
teachers and fund children, they are saying they can't find the money.
Please.
If you can find trillions of dollars to give to billionaires and big
corporations, you can sure as heck find money for teachers and
students.

[[Page H5744]]

Instead of handouts for those at the top, let's focus on policies
that will help working people.
I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, fight back against
extremism, and stand up for our kids.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
It is incredulous the scope of this bill and its damage to the
American people, their healthcare, their education, and their
opportunity for a job and their future.
Just quickly, in the Department of Labor: Adult Job Training; Youth
Job Training; Job Corps; Senior Community Service Employment; the
Bureau of International Labor Affairs; the Women's Bureau, the Women's
Bureau that helps women find jobs in nontraditional areas, these are
all eliminated. They are eliminated.
Let's go now to the Department of Health and Human Services: Title X
Family Planning; Healthy Start; Ryan White Ending the HIV Epidemic,
something that George Bush and Donald Trump wanted to provide funding
for, eliminated.
Nursing Workforce Diversity. We have a shortage of nurses today. We
need to be recruiting and training nurses to be able to take care of
patients, to be able to administer healthcare.
I always classify nurses as angels of mercy. They were with me every
single day when I was in the hospital a number of years ago for a
period of time. The doctors could look at me, they did great surgery,
but it was the nurses who looked at me, and they could tell whether it
was a good day or a bad day, and they were there for comfort and care.
But, no, we don't want to train and recruit nurses.
The CDC, Tobacco Prevention and Control--my God, we have gone to such
an extent to really cut back on addiction and not to make kids addicted
in our country.

{time} 1200

Firearm Injury and Mortality Prevention. This is research and the
same kind of research we did with regard to understanding how good
seatbelts were and how they could save people. This is not taking
anyone's gun away. This is about public health, but, no, that is
eliminated.
Global HIV/AIDS, the CDC's contribution to PEPFAR--launched by George
Bush--all eliminated. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services,
Minority AIDS. My God, we are suffering a mental health crisis in this
country, but, no, the Republicans would eliminate that.
Preschool Development Grants, Adult Protective Services Formula
Grants, all eliminated.
Now, the Department of Education. Effective Instruction State Grants,
eliminated. Social and Emotional Learning, eliminated. Civics--we find
today that young people, older people, don't know anything about the
American government. They don't know who does what at local, State, or
federal. They don't engage in a dialogue with one another so that you
can get to some sort of a rapprochement, understand what is being done
in government. No, Republicans don't want a literate society, so let's
eliminate civics.
Magnet Schools Assistance, Promise Neighborhoods, the Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. My God, the kids who need
financial assistance.
Federal Work-Study, let me mention that one, because today, working
families, middle-class families, vulnerable families, are having a
tough time. They are going paycheck to paycheck. Yeah, you know what?
They want their kids to go to school to get an education. You know
what? Their kids are willing to work. They will go to the library. They
will do those jobs with the Federal Work-Study Program.
When I talk about Republicans wanting to eliminate public education,
this is a very good example, because you cut off the opportunity for
that child to be able to work and to help his parents support him in
getting an education.
Who are we and what are we about with this bill?
I could go on, but what would be the point? That is what this bill is
about. As I said, it is not a messaging bill. This is where the
majority wants to take us. They want to eliminate public education in
this Nation.
I come from an immigrant family whose parents could dare dream their
daughter serves in the United States House of Representatives. I can
hear, day in and day out, my folks who have now passed who said: Get an
education. Get an education. They sacrificed for that education, and we
have a majority of this body who wants to take it away.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R.
5894--Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024.
House Republicans had an opportunity to engage in a productive,
bipartisan appropriations process, but instead are wasting time with
partisan bills that cut domestic spending to levels well below the
Fiscal Responsibility Act agreement and endanger critical services for
the American people.
As with all the additional appropriation bills that have been up for
consideration on the House Floor, I strongly oppose the passage of this
bill for a myriad of reasons.
The 2024 Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act provides $163 billion, which is a 28
percent cut of $64 billion, and brings us back to a level unseen since
2008.
This dangerous and irresponsible legislation would do the following:
Decimate support for children in K-12 elementary schools and early
childhood education.
Abandon college students and low-income workers trying to improve
their lives through higher education or job training.
Stifle lifesaving biomedical innovation by cutting funding for cancer
research, mental health research, and neurological research, and by
slashing funding for advanced research projects intended to develop new
cures and therapies.
Surrender to ongoing public health crises in mental health, opioid
use, HIV/AIDS, and health disparities.
Harm women's health by cutting programs that support maternal and
child health, eliminating programs that provide access to health
services and contraception, and adding numerous partisan and poison
pill riders related to abortion and reproductive health.
This bill is out of regular order. It was never marked up and
considered in the House Appropriations committee.
There is no example of this happening in the last 20 years.
House Republicans are stripping $63.8 billion away from Texas, making
it harder for Texans to access education, health care, employment, and
more.
I think we can all agree children are our future and that we should
invest to make our future better and brighter.
As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am extremely
passionate about the wellbeing and education of children.
Which is why I offered the Jackson Lee Amendment No. 51 as
incorporated in the En Bloc.
Despite the horrible provisions throughout the entirety of this
appropriations bill, the Jackson Lee Amendment No. 51 as incorporated
into En Bloc Amendment is an important amendment that would increase by
$2 million the Head Start Act, including Head Start partnerships.
One of the objectives of the Congressional Children's Caucus is to
ensure that all the children in this country have an opportunity to
receive an education, including early childhood development.
Head Start helps all children succeed, especially vulnerable
children.
If we continue to underfund education in the United States, our
children will suffer, we will dismantle public education, and we will
be weaker as a nation.
This legislation would kick teachers out of classrooms.
The United States is already in a teacher shortage and this bill
would cut another 22,300 teachers from Texas schools due to cuts from
Title 1.
This bill would severely impact teachers and students all over the
state of Texas, where the Texas Education Agency has already decided to
unnecessarily takeover Houston ISD.
Houston ISD is the largest school district in the state, with a
student population of more than 200,000, according to a breakdown by
the Texas Tribune.
A TEA takeover would have a negative impact on each Independent
School District (ISD) because a board of managers are not elected, and
they don't have to answer to the constituents in those districts.
State takeovers in other districts have led to school closures,
layoffs, and no improvements in test scores.
The vast majority of school districts that have been taken over by
state agencies (TEA included) have not improved but declined.

[[Page H5745]]

TEA has no experience managing a district of 200k-plus scholars and
we should not suffer as the guinea pigs.
Texas is behind the national average of how much the state spends per
student in the classroom.
More specifically, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that Texas
spends $3,000 less than the national average.
We have to stop the State from intermeddling and overstepping into
our educational systems--causing further harm and damage to our
communities.
This legislation will make cuts to schools and communities that are
already suffering.
With the pandemic, burnout and the rise in the cost of living,
teachers are already struggling, and this bill will only add to that.
Without the support of our teachers, students will be left behind.
I also offered the Jackson Lee Amendment No. 24 as incorporated in
the En Bloc.
Again, despite the horrible provisions throughout the entirety of
this bill, the Jackson Lee Amendment No. 24 as incorporated into En
Bloc Amendment is an important amendment that would increase and
decrease by $2 million the National Cancer Institute in order to
research triple negative breast cancer.
Breast cancer accounts for 12.5 percent of all new annual cancer
cases worldwide, making it the most common cancer in the world.
This issue is extremely important, especially for the brave men and
women in the military, who are up to 20-40 percent more likely to
develop breast cancer.
There are few people in this country whose lives have not been
touched by breast cancer.
Yet, there are persistent disparities in breast cancer incidence and
death rates.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the
United States for Black and Hispanic women.
Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than women of
any other racial or ethnic group.
Experts believe that it's partially because about 1 in 5 Black women
is diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, more than any other
racial or ethnic group.
Compared with non-Hispanic white women, Black women are less likely
to receive guideline adherent care and have an approximate 2-fold
higher mortality incidence, resulting in a disproportionately higher
risk of death from Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
Triple Negative Breast Cancer (``TNBC'') is one of many forms of
breast cancer and accounts for about 15-30 percent of all diagnosed
invasive breast cancer cases in the United States.
Due to its aggressive behavior, TNBC grows quickly and is more likely
to have spread at the time it is found and is more likely to come back
after treatment than other types of breast cancer.
TNBC cells do not contain (are ``negative for'') three key receptors
that medicines typically target in other types of breast cancers;
therefore, there are limited treatment options that can be used to
treat the cancer.
Patients with an early diagnosis can often be treated with
chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery; however, the limited therapies
available specifically addressing the management of TNBC has made
treating this disease a challenge for clinicians.
Recent innovation in targeted therapies have fueled advances in the
fight against TNBC.
Advances in breast cancer screening and treatment over the last few
decades have reduced the overall breast cancer mortality rate, yet the
disproportionate impact of TNBC on racial and ethnic minority
communities raises considerations about the underlying determinants
driving the disparities.
It is necessary to promote TNBC education, raise awareness about the
disease-related disparities, and tackle inequities within the health
care delivery such as inadequate access to screening, diagnostic
testing, and care, to improve early detection and survival.
Providing the NIH with the resources necessary to research TNBC could
save thousands of lives each year.
The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 24 would allow for more research so we
can one day hopefully learn a way to reduce the number of Americans
affected by breast cancer.
Additionally, I have introduced H.R. 225, the Triple-Negative Breast
Cancer Research and Education Act of 2023, which focuses on expanding,
intensifying, and coordinating programs for the conduct and support of
research on triple-negative breast cancer, a type of breast cancer that
is difficult to detect but disproportionately impacts African American
and Hispanic women.
While these Jackson Lee Amendments are important, the negatives of
this appropriations bill vastly outweigh these positive amendments--
which is why H.R. 5894 must be voted down.
Importantly, this bill is harmful for women's reproductive rights.
Access to abortion and fertility care is essential to a person's
freedom, including for service members, to make decisions about their
health and well-being, and having control over their economic security.
Anti-abortion policymakers want to take away women's ability to make
personal decisions about their health and safety.
We must defend their freedom to control their own bodies, lives, and
futures.
The shameful attacks on women's reproductive health rights make it
crystal clear: anti-abortion lawmakers will take any action to ensure
people cannot access abortion care.
Anti-abortion lawmakers are pushing an extreme agenda to take away
service women's freedom and autonomy, all while trying to claim they
support women's rights.
Access to reproductive health care, including abortion and fertility
care, is critical to our democracy and overall well-being as a free
nation.
As policymakers, we must ensure that all Americans can access
abortion care without barriers.
We aren't truly free unless we can control our own bodies, lives, and
futures.
Our laws and policies should protect our rights, not try to control
and dehumanize us.
This bill will undoubtedly have a devastating impact on all
Americans.
As we know, the National Institutes of Health has had major progress
in human health advances, promising medical findings, and research
insights.
Yet, significant cuts to NIH make maintaining American research and
development leadership worldwide more challenging at a time when
competitor nations are increasing their support for biomedical
research.
Funding cuts will delay progress towards new cures, treatments, and
diagnostics that benefit the nation and drive our biomedical innovation
economy forward.
Beyond sustaining American leadership in biomedical research, the NIH
is a major catalyst for local economies, directly and indirectly
supporting over 560,000 jobs and producing $96.84 billion in new
economic activity in FY22, equaling an economic return of $2.64 for
every $1 in research funding.
This bill eliminates funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic
Initiative within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (-$220
million), the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (-$165 million), and
Community Health Centers Program (-$157 million).
The bill also cuts funding for the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund by 53
percent (-$32 million).
We have made significant advances in HIV/AIDS research and it would
be devastating to cut back on the important work that is being done.
Rather than cutting billions of dollars for NIH-supported medical
research occurring in nearly every congressional district across the
country, the House should build on decades of strong bipartisan support
and investment that has led to the lifesaving medications and
treatments Americans rely on every day.
We must fund the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services
in order to research and solve conditions such as Triple Negative
Breast Cancer, diabetes, and HIV.
This legislation would also impact Federal Work Study programs and
Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants making it more difficult than
it already is for college students to pay for a higher education and
receive financial aid.
The elimination of these programs and the flat funding levels of Pell
Grants for the first time since 2012 would create financial emergencies
for low-income students.
Cutting these programs would not only drive-up student borrowing and
potentially discourage the next generation of students, but it would
also create a real and immediate financial shortfall for current low-
income students who have rely on these programs to earn their degree.
This legislation would also take away funding from our elderly
population.
Under the current LHHS bill there would be a $250 million dollar
decrease to the Social Security Administration's customer service
budget at a time when the agency continues to struggle to deliver
timely and accurate service. This year saw continued record high hold
times and wait times for disability claims.
The bill has a $15 million decrease for Elder Rights Supports,
funding used to protect older Americans from elder abuse.
The Senior Community Service Employment Program would be eliminated.
This program provides the opportunity for tens of thousands of older
Americans to find work despite pernicious age discrimination.
This bill negatively impacts every single person in the United States
from the youngest to the oldest.
This bill doesn't choose to impact just Republicans or Democrats.
We will all feel the severity of this bill if it is passed.
We cannot better the lives of everyday Americans with this terrible
bill that eliminates much of the progress that has been made in
education, public health, and the workforce.

[[Page H5746]]

This reckless underlying legislation would painfully impact the lives
of millions of Americans by making disastrous cuts to programs that
workers and families count on every day.
Instead of investing in America, Republicans would rather focus on
advancing unpopular and dangerous right-wing priorities.
The proposal in front of us here today is not a reasonable middle
ground, nor is it even a starting point for discussion.
I recognize that we are in the midst of austere budgetary and
political times, however, we cannot continue to ignore the return on
investment that advanced developments in health research, employment
assistance, and education will yield to the American public.
I urge all my colleagues to oppose this dangerous and shameful bill.
The CHAIR. All time for general debate has expired.
Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment
under the 5-minute rule.
An amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of
Rules Committee Print 118-13, modified by the amendment printed in part
A of House Report 118-272, shall be considered as adopted in the House
and in the Committee of the Whole, and the bill, as amended, shall be
considered as read.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 5894

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

TITLE I

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

training and employment services

For necessary expenses of the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (referred to in this Act as ``WIOA'') and the
National Apprenticeship Act, $2,836,808,000, plus
reimbursements, shall be available. Of the amounts provided:
(1) for grants to States for adult employment and training
activities and dislocated worker employment and training
activities, $1,807,553,000 as follows:
(A) $712,000,000 for adult employment and training
activities, which shall be available for the period October
1, 2024 through June 30, 2025; and
(B) $1,095,553,000 for dislocated worker employment and
training activities, of which $235,553,000 shall be available
for the period July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, and of
which $860,000,000 shall be available for the period October
1, 2024 through June 30, 2025:
Provided, That the funds available for allotment to
outlying areas to carry out subtitle B of title I of the WIOA
shall not be subject to the requirements of section
127(b)(1)(B)(ii) of such Act: Provided further, That
notwithstanding the requirements of WIOA, outlying areas may
submit a single application for a consolidated grant that
awards funds that would otherwise be available to such areas
to carry out the activities described in subtitle B of title
I of the WIOA: Provided further, That such application shall
be submitted to the Secretary of Labor (referred to in this
title as ``Secretary''), at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may require:
Provided further, That outlying areas awarded a consolidated
grant described in the preceding provisos may use the funds
for any of the programs and activities authorized under such
subtitle B of title I of the WIOA subject to approval of the
application and such reporting requirements issued by the
Secretary; and
(2) for national programs, $1,029,255,000 as follows:
(A) $360,859,0000 for the dislocated workers assistance
national reserve, of which $160,859,000 shall be available
for the period July 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025, and
of which $200,000,000 shall be available for the period
October 1, 2024 through September 30, 2025: Provided, That
funds provided to carry out section 132(a)(2)(A) of the WIOA
may be used to provide assistance to a State for statewide or
local use in order to address cases where there have been
worker dislocations across multiple sectors or across
multiple local areas and such workers remain dislocated;
coordinate the State workforce development plan with emerging
economic development needs; and train such eligible
dislocated workers: Provided further, That funds provided to
carry out sections 168(b) and 169(c) of the WIOA may be used
for technical assistance and demonstration projects,
respectively, that provide assistance to new entrants in the
workforce and incumbent workers: Provided further, That
notwithstanding section 168(b) of the WIOA, of the funds
provided under this subparagraph, the Secretary may reserve
not more than 10 percent of such funds to provide technical
assistance and carry out additional activities related to the
transition to the WIOA: Provided further, That of the funds
provided under this subparagraph, $115,000,000 shall be for
training and employment assistance under sections 168(b),
169(c) (notwithstanding the 10 percent limitation in such
section) and 170 of the WIOA as follows:
(i) $50,000,000 shall be for workers in the Appalachian
region, as defined by 40 U.S.C. 14102(a)(1), workers in the
Lower Mississippi, as defined in section 4(2) of the Delta
Development Act (Public Law 100-460, 102 Stat. 2246; 7 U.S.C.
2009aa(2)), and workers in the region served by the Northern
Border Regional Commission, as defined by 40 U.S.C. 15733;
and
(ii) $65,000,000 shall be for the purpose of developing,
offering, or improving educational or career training
programs at community colleges, defined as public
institutions of higher education, as described in section
101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and at which the
associate's degree is primarily the highest degree awarded,
with other eligible institutions of higher education, as
defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of
1965, eligible to participate through consortia, with
community colleges as the lead grantee;
(B) $60,000,000 for Native American programs under section
166 of the WIOA, which shall be available for the period July
1, 2024 through June 30, 2025;
(C) $97,396,000 for migrant and seasonal farmworker
programs under section 167 of the WIOA, including $90,134,000
for formula grants (of which not less than 70 percent shall
be for employment and training services), $6,591,000 for
migrant and seasonal housing (of which not less than 70
percent shall be for permanent housing), and $671,000 for
other discretionary purposes, which shall be available for
the period April 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025: Provided,
That notwithstanding any other provision of law or related
regulation, the Department of Labor shall take no action
limiting the number or proportion of eligible participants
receiving related assistance services or discouraging
grantees from providing such services: Provided further,
That notwithstanding the definition of ``eligible seasonal
farmworker'' in section 167(i)(3)(A) of the WIOA relating to
an individual being ``low-income'', an individual is eligible
for migrant and seasonal farmworker programs under section
167 of the WIOA under that definition if, in addition to
meeting the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of section
167(i)(3)(A), such individual is a member of a family with a
total family income equal to or less than 150 percent of the
poverty line;
(D) $105,000,000 for YouthBuild activities as described in
section 171 of the WIOA, which shall be available for the
period April 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025;
(E) $115,000,000 for ex-offender activities, under the
authority of section 169 of the WIOA, which shall be
available for the period April 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025:
Provided, That of this amount, $30,000,000 shall be for
competitive grants to national and regional intermediaries
for activities that prepare for employment young adults with
criminal legal histories, young adults who have been justice
system-involved, or young adults who have dropped out of
school or other educational programs, with a priority for
projects serving high-crime, high-poverty areas;
(F) $6,000,000 for the Workforce Data Quality Initiative,
under the authority of section 169 of the WIOA, which shall
be available for the period July 1, 2024 through June 30,
2025; and
(G) $285,000,000 to expand opportunities through
apprenticeships, to be available to the Secretary to carry
out activities through grants, cooperative agreements,
contracts and other arrangements, with States and other
appropriate entities, including equity intermediaries and
business and labor industry partner intermediaries, which
shall be available for the period July 1, 2024 through June
30, 2025.

federal unemployment benefits and allowances

For payments during fiscal year 2024 of trade adjustment
benefit payments and allowances under part I of subchapter B
of chapter 2 of title II of the Trade Act of 1974, and
section 246 of that Act; and for training, employment and
case management services, allowances for job search and
relocation, and related State administrative expenses under
part II of subchapter B of chapter 2 of title II of the Trade
Act of 1974, and including benefit payments, allowances,
training, employment and case management services, and
related State administration provided pursuant to section
231(a) of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of
2011, sections 405(a) and 406 of the Trade Preferences
Extension Act of 2015, and section 285(a) of the Trade Act of
1974, as amended, $30,700,000 together with such amounts as
may be necessary to be charged to the subsequent
appropriation for payments for any period subsequent to
September 15, 2024: Provided, That notwithstanding section
502 of this Act, any part of the appropriation provided under
this heading may remain available for obligation beyond the
current fiscal year pursuant to the authorities of section
245(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2317(c)).

state unemployment insurance and employment service operations

(including transfer of funds)

For authorized administrative expenses, $84,066,000,
together with not to exceed $3,921,556,000 which may be
expended from the Employment Security Administration Account
in the Unemployment Trust Fund (``the Trust Fund''), of
which--
(1) $3,141,635,000 from the Trust Fund is for grants to
States for the administration of State unemployment insurance
laws as authorized under title III of the Social Security Act
(including not less than $382,000,000 to carry out
reemployment services and eligibility assessments under
section 306 of such Act, any claimants of regular
compensation, as defined in such section, including those who
are profiled as most likely to exhaust their benefits, may be
eligible for such services and assessments: Provided, That
of such amount, $117,000,000 is specified for grants under
section 306 of the Social Security Act and is provided to
meet the terms of section 251(b)(2)(E)(ii) of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended,
and $265,000,000 is additional new budget authority specified
for purposes of section 251(b)(2)(E)(i)(V) of such Act; and
$9,000,000 for continued support of the Unemployment
Insurance Integrity Center of Excellence), the administration
of unemployment insurance for Federal employees and for ex-
service

[[Page H5747]]

members as authorized under 5 U.S.C. 8501-8523, and the
administration of trade readjustment allowances, reemployment
trade adjustment assistance, and alternative trade adjustment
assistance under the Trade Act of 1974 and under section
231(a) of the Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of
2011, sections 405(a) and 406 of the Trade Preferences
Extension Act of 2015, and section 285(a) of the Trade Act of
1974, as amended, and shall be available for obligation by
the States through December 31, 2024, except that funds used
for automation shall be available for Federal obligation
until expended, and for State obligation through September
30, 2026, and funds for competitive grants awarded to States
for improved operations and to conduct in-person reemployment
and eligibility assessments and unemployment insurance
improper payment reviews and provide reemployment services
and referrals to training, as appropriate, shall be available
for Federal obligation through December 31, 2024 (except that
funds for outcome payments pursuant to section 306(f)(2) of
the Social Security Act shall be available for Federal
obligation through March 31, 2025), and for obligation by the
States through September 30, 2026, and funds for the
Unemployment Insurance Integrity Center of Excellence shall
be available for obligation by the State through September
30, 2025, and funds used for unemployment insurance workloads
experienced through September 30, 2024 shall be available for
Federal obligation through December 31, 2024;
(2) $23,000,000 from the Trust Fund is for national
activities necessary to support the administration of the
Federal-State unemployment insurance system;
(3) $658,639,000 from the Trust Fund, together with
$21,413,000 from the General Fund of the Treasury, is for
grants to States in accordance with section 6 of the Wagner-
Peyser Act, and shall be available for Federal obligation for
the period July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025;
(4) $25,000,000 from the Trust Fund is for national
activities of the Employment Service, including
administration of the work opportunity tax credit under
section 51 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (including
assisting States in adopting or modernizing information
technology for use in the processing of certification
requests), and the provision of technical assistance and
staff training under the Wagner-Peyser Act;
(5) $73,282,000 from the Trust Fund is for the
administration of foreign labor certifications and related
activities under the Immigration and Nationality Act and
related laws, of which $50,000,000 shall be available for the
Federal administration of such activities, and $23,282,000
shall be available for grants to States for the
administration of such activities; and
(6) $62,653,000 from the General Fund is to provide
workforce information, national electronic tools, and one-
stop system building under the Wagner-Peyser Act and shall be
available for Federal obligation for the period July 1, 2024
through June 30, 2025, of which up to $9,800,000 may be used
to carry out research and demonstration projects related to
testing effective ways to promote greater labor force
participation of people with disabilities: Provided, That
the Secretary may transfer amounts made available for
research and demonstration projects under this paragraph to
the ``Office of Disability Employment Policy'' account for
such purposes:
Provided, That to the extent that the Average Weekly
Insured Unemployment (``AWIU'') for fiscal year 2024 is
projected by the Department of Labor to exceed 2,365,000, an
additional $28,600,000 from the Trust Fund shall be available
for obligation for every 100,000 increase in the AWIU level
(including a pro rata amount for any increment less than
100,000) to carry out title III of the Social Security Act:
Provided further, That funds appropriated in this Act that
are allotted to a State to carry out activities under title
III of the Social Security Act may be used by such State to
assist other States in carrying out activities under such
title III if the other States include areas that have
suffered a major disaster declared by the President under the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance
Act: Provided further, That the Secretary may use funds
appropriated for grants to States under title III of the
Social Security Act to make payments on behalf of States for
the use of the National Directory of New Hires under section
453(j)(8) of such Act: Provided further, That the Secretary
may use funds appropriated for grants to States under title
III of the Social Security Act to make payments on behalf of
States to the entity operating the State Information Data
Exchange System: Provided further, That funds appropriated
in this Act which are used to establish a national one-stop
career center system, or which are used to support the
national activities of the Federal-State unemployment
insurance, employment service, or immigration programs, may
be obligated in contracts, grants, or agreements with States
and non-State entities: Provided further, That States
awarded competitive grants for improved operations under
title III of the Social Security Act, or awarded grants to
support the national activities of the Federal-State
unemployment insurance system, may award subgrants to other
States and non-State entities under such grants, subject to
the conditions applicable to the grants: Provided further,
That funds appropriated under this Act for activities
authorized under title III of the Social Security Act and the
Wagner-Peyser Act may be used by States to fund integrated
Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service automation
efforts, notwithstanding cost allocation principles
prescribed under the final rule entitled ``Uniform
Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
Requirements for Federal Awards'' at part 200 of title 2,
Code of Federal Regulations: Provided further, That the
Secretary, at the request of a State participating in a
consortium with other States, may reallot funds allotted to
such State under title III of the Social Security Act to
other States participating in the consortium or to the entity
operating the Unemployment Insurance Information Technology
Support Center in order to carry out activities that benefit
the administration of the unemployment compensation law of
the State making the request: Provided further, That the
Secretary may collect fees for the costs associated with
additional data collection, analyses, and reporting services
relating to the National Agricultural Workers Survey
requested by State and local governments, public and private
institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations
and may utilize such sums, in accordance with the provisions
of 29 U.S.C. 9a, for the National Agricultural Workers Survey
infrastructure, methodology, and data to meet the information
collection and reporting needs of such entities, which shall
be credited to this appropriation and shall remain available
until September 30, 2025, for such purposes.

advances to the unemployment trust fund and other funds

For repayable advances to the Unemployment Trust Fund as
authorized by sections 905(d) and 1203 of the Social Security
Act, and to the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund as
authorized by section 9501(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986; and for nonrepayable advances to the revolving fund
established by section 901(e) of the Social Security Act, to
the Unemployment Trust Fund as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 8509,
and to the ``Federal Unemployment Benefits and Allowances''
account, such sums as may be necessary, which shall be
available for obligation through September 30, 2025.

program administration

For expenses of administering employment and training
programs, $108,900,000, together with not to exceed
$54,015,000 which may be expended from the Employment
Security Administration Account in the Unemployment Trust
Fund.

Employee Benefits Security Administration

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for the Employee Benefits Security
Administration, $152,880,000, of which up to $3,000,000 shall
be made available through September 30, 2025, for the
procurement of expert witnesses for enforcement litigation.

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

pension benefit guaranty corporation fund

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (``Corporation'')
is authorized to make such expenditures, including financial
assistance authorized by subtitle E of title IV of the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, within
limits of funds and borrowing authority available to the
Corporation, and in accord with law, and to make such
contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year
limitations, as provided by 31 U.S.C. 9104, as may be
necessary in carrying out the program, including associated
administrative expenses, through September 30, 2024, for the
Corporation: Provided, That none of the funds available to
the Corporation for fiscal year 2024 shall be available for
obligations for administrative expenses in excess of
$512,900,000: Provided further, That to the extent that the
number of new plan participants in plans terminated by the
Corporation exceeds 100,000 in fiscal year 2024, an amount
not to exceed an additional $9,200,000 shall be available
through September 30, 2028, for obligations for
administrative expenses for every 20,000 additional
terminated participants: Provided further, That obligations
in excess of the amounts provided for administrative expenses
in this paragraph may be incurred and shall be available
through September 30, 2028 for obligation for unforeseen and
extraordinary pre-termination or termination expenses or
extraordinary multiemployer program related expenses after
approval by the Office of Management and Budget and
notification of the Committees on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives and the Senate: Provided further, That an
additional amount shall be available for obligation through
September 30, 2028 to the extent the Corporation's costs
exceed $250,000 for the provision of credit or identity
monitoring to affected individuals upon suffering a security
incident or privacy breach, not to exceed an additional $100
per affected individual.

Wage and Hour Division

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for the Wage and Hour Division,
including reimbursement to State, Federal, and local agencies
and their employees for inspection services rendered,
$185,000,000.

Office of Labor-Management Standards

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for the Office of Labor-Management
Standards, $48,515,000.

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for the Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs, $83,232,000.

Office of Workers' Compensation Programs

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for the Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs, $106,500,000, together with $2,205,000
which may be expended from the Special Fund in accordance
with sections 39(c), 44(d), and 44(j) of the Longshore and
Harbor Workers' Compensation Act.

special benefits

(including transfer of funds)

For the payment of compensation, benefits, and expenses
(except administrative expenses

[[Page H5748]]

not otherwise authorized) accruing during the current or any
prior fiscal year authorized by 5 U.S.C. 81; continuation of
benefits as provided for under the heading ``Civilian War
Benefits'' in the Federal Security Agency Appropriation Act,
1947; the Employees' Compensation Commission Appropriation
Act, 1944; section 5(f) of the War Claims Act (50 U.S.C. App.
2012); obligations incurred under the War Hazards
Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and 50 percent of
the additional compensation and benefits required by section
10(h) of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act,
$700,000,000, together with such amounts as may be necessary
to be charged to the subsequent year appropriation for the
payment of compensation and other benefits for any period
subsequent to August 15 of the current year, for deposit into
and to assume the attributes of the Employees' Compensation
Fund established under 5 U.S.C. 8147(a): Provided, That
amounts appropriated may be used under 5 U.S.C. 8104 by the
Secretary to reimburse an employer, who is not the employer
at the time of injury, for portions of the salary of a re-
employed, disabled beneficiary: Provided further, That
balances of reimbursements unobligated on September 30, 2023,
shall remain available until expended for the payment of
compensation, benefits, and expenses: Provided further, That
in addition there shall be transferred to this appropriation
from the Postal Service and from any other corporation or
instrumentality required under 5 U.S.C. 8147(c) to pay an
amount for its fair share of the cost of administration, such
sums as the Secretary determines to be the cost of
administration for employees of such fair share entities
through September 30, 2024: Provided further, That of those
funds transferred to this account from the fair share
entities to pay the cost of administration of the Federal
Employees' Compensation Act, $83,007,000 shall be made
available to the Secretary as follows:
(1) For enhancement and maintenance of automated data
processing systems operations and telecommunications systems,
$28,153,000;
(2) For automated workload processing operations, including
document imaging, centralized mail intake, and medical bill
processing, $26,526,000;
(3) For periodic roll disability management and medical
review, $26,527,000;
(4) For program integrity, $1,801,000; and
(5) The remaining funds shall be paid into the Treasury as
miscellaneous receipts:
Provided further, That the Secretary may require that any
person filing a notice of injury or a claim for benefits
under 5 U.S.C. 81, or the Longshore and Harbor Workers'
Compensation Act, provide as part of such notice and claim,
such identifying information (including Social Security
account number) as such regulations may prescribe.

special benefits for disabled coal miners

For carrying out title IV of the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Act of 1977, as amended by Public Law 107-275,
$22,890,000, to remain available until expended.
For making after July 31 of the current fiscal year,
benefit payments to individuals under title IV of such Act,
for costs incurred in the current fiscal year, such amounts
as may be necessary.
For making benefit payments under title IV for the first
quarter of fiscal year 2025, $7,000,000, to remain available
until expended.

administrative expenses, energy employees occupational illness
compensation fund

For necessary expenses to administer the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, $66,532,000,
to remain available until expended: Provided, That the
Secretary may require that any person filing a claim for
benefits under the Act provide as part of such claim such
identifying information (including Social Security account
number) as may be prescribed.

black lung disability trust fund

(including transfer of funds)

Such sums as may be necessary from the Black Lung
Disability Trust Fund (the ``Fund''), to remain available
until expended, for payment of all benefits authorized by
section 9501(d)(1), (2), (6), and (7) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986; and repayment of, and payment of interest on
advances, as authorized by section 9501(d)(4) of that Act. In
addition, the following amounts may be expended from the Fund
for fiscal year 2024 for expenses of operation and
administration of the Black Lung Benefits program, as
authorized by section 9501(d)(5): not to exceed $44,059,000
for transfer to the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs,
``Salaries and Expenses''; not to exceed $41,178,000 for
transfer to Departmental Management, ``Salaries and
Expenses''; not to exceed $368,000 for transfer to
Departmental Management, ``Office of Inspector General''; and
not to exceed $356,000 for payments into miscellaneous
receipts for the expenses of the Department of the Treasury.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for the Occupational Safety and
Health Administration, $536,922,000, including not to exceed
$120,000,000 which shall be the maximum amount available for
grants to States under section 23(g) of the Occupational
Safety and Health Act (the ``Act''), which grants shall be no
less than 50 percent of the costs of State occupational
safety and health programs required to be incurred under
plans approved by the Secretary under section 18 of the Act;
and, in addition, notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration may retain up
to $499,000 per fiscal year of training institute course
tuition and fees, otherwise authorized by law to be
collected, and may utilize such sums for occupational safety
and health training and education: Provided, That
notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, the Secretary is authorized,
during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, to collect
and retain fees for services provided to Nationally
Recognized Testing Laboratories, and may utilize such sums,
in accordance with the provisions of 29 U.S.C. 9a, to
administer national and international laboratory recognition
programs that ensure the safety of equipment and products
used by workers in the workplace: Provided further, That
none of the funds appropriated under this paragraph shall be
obligated or expended to prescribe, issue, administer, or
enforce any standard, rule, regulation, or order under the
Act which is applicable to any person who is engaged in a
farming operation which does not maintain a temporary labor
camp and employs 10 or fewer employees: Provided further,
That no funds appropriated under this paragraph shall be
obligated or expended to administer or enforce any standard,
rule, regulation, or order under the Act with respect to any
employer of 10 or fewer employees who is included within a
category having a Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred
(``DART'') occupational injury and illness rate, at the most
precise industrial classification code for which such data
are published, less than the national average rate as such
rates are most recently published by the Secretary, acting
through the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in accordance with
section 24 of the Act, except--
(1) to provide, as authorized by the Act, consultation,
technical assistance, educational and training services, and
to conduct surveys and studies;
(2) to conduct an inspection or investigation in response
to an employee complaint, to issue a citation for violations
found during such inspection, and to assess a penalty for
violations which are not corrected within a reasonable
abatement period and for any willful violations found;
(3) to take any action authorized by the Act with respect
to imminent dangers;
(4) to take any action authorized by the Act with respect
to health hazards;
(5) to take any action authorized by the Act with respect
to a report of an employment accident which is fatal to one
or more employees or which results in hospitalization of two
or more employees, and to take any action pursuant to such
investigation authorized by the Act; and
(6) to take any action authorized by the Act with respect
to complaints of discrimination against employees for
exercising rights under the Act:
Provided further, That the foregoing proviso shall not
apply to any person who is engaged in a farming operation
which does not maintain a temporary labor camp and employs 10
or fewer employees: Provided further, That not less than
$3,500,000 shall be for Voluntary Protection Programs.

Mine Safety and Health Administration

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for the Mine Safety and Health
Administration, $325,052,000, including purchase and bestowal
of certificates and trophies in connection with mine rescue
and first-aid work, and the hire of passenger motor vehicles,
including up to $2,000,000 for mine rescue and recovery
activities and not less than $10,537,000 for State assistance
grants: Provided, That notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, not
to exceed $750,000 may be collected by the National Mine
Health and Safety Academy for room, board, tuition, and the
sale of training materials, otherwise authorized by law to be
collected, to be available for mine safety and health
education and training activities: Provided further, That
notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302, the Mine Safety and Health
Administration is authorized to collect and retain up to
$2,499,000 from fees collected for the approval and
certification of equipment, materials, and explosives for use
in mines, and may utilize such sums for such activities:
Provided further, That the Secretary is authorized to accept
lands, buildings, equipment, and other contributions from
public and private sources and to prosecute projects in
cooperation with other agencies, Federal, State, or private:
Provided further, That the Mine Safety and Health
Administration is authorized to promote health and safety
education and training in the mining community through
cooperative programs with States, industry, and safety
associations: Provided further, That the Secretary is
authorized to recognize the Joseph A. Holmes Safety
Association as a principal safety association and,
notwithstanding any other provision of law, may provide funds
and, with or without reimbursement, personnel, including
service of Mine Safety and Health Administration officials as
officers in local chapters or in the national organization:
Provided further, That any funds available to the Department
of Labor may be used, with the approval of the Secretary, to
provide for the costs of mine rescue and survival operations
in the event of a major disaster.

Bureau of Labor Statistics

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for the Bureau of Labor Statistics,
including advances or reimbursements to State, Federal, and
local agencies and their employees for services rendered,
$589,952,000, together with not to exceed $68,000,000 which
may be expended from the Employment Security Administration
account in the Unemployment Trust Fund.

Office of Disability Employment Policy

salaries and expenses

(including transfer of funds)

For necessary expenses for the Office of Disability
Employment Policy to provide leadership, develop policy and
initiatives, and award grants furthering the objective of
eliminating barriers

[[Page H5749]]

to the training and employment of people with disabilities,
$43,000,000, of which not less than $9,000,000 shall be for
research and demonstration projects related to testing
effective ways to promote greater labor force participation
of people with disabilities: Provided, That the Secretary
may transfer amounts made available under this heading for
research and demonstration projects to the ``State
Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations''
account for such purposes.

Departmental Management

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses for Departmental Management,
including the hire of three passenger motor vehicles,
$200,995,000, together with not to exceed $308,000, which may
be expended from the Employment Security Administration
account in the Unemployment Trust Fund: Provided, That
$6,211,000 shall be used for program evaluation and shall be
available for obligation through September 30, 2025:
Provided further, That funds available for program evaluation
may be used to administer grants for the purpose of
evaluation: Provided further, That grants made for the
purpose of evaluation shall be awarded through fair and open
competition.

veterans' employment and training

Not to exceed $269,841,000 may be derived from the
Employment Security Administration account in the
Unemployment Trust Fund to carry out the provisions of
chapters 41, 42, and 43 of title 38, United States Code, of
which--
(1) $185,000,000 is for Jobs for Veterans State grants
under 38 U.S.C. 4102A(b)(5) to support disabled veterans'
outreach program specialists under section 4103A of such
title and local veterans' employment representatives under
section 4104(b) of such title, and for the expenses described
in section 4102A(b)(5)(C), which shall be available for
expenditure by the States through September 30, 2026, and not
to exceed 3 percent for the necessary Federal expenditures
for data systems and contract support to allow for the
tracking of participant and performance information:
Provided, That, in addition, such funds may be used to
support such specialists and representatives in the provision
of services to transitioning members of the Armed Forces who
have participated in the Transition Assistance Program and
have been identified as in need of intensive services, to
members of the Armed Forces who are wounded, ill, or injured
and receiving treatment in military treatment facilities or
warrior transition units, and to the spouses or other family
caregivers of such wounded, ill, or injured members;
(2) $34,379,000 is for carrying out the Transition
Assistance Program under 38 U.S.C. 4113 and 10 U.S.C. 1144;
(3) $47,048,000 is for Federal administration of chapters
41, 42, and 43 of title 38, and sections 2021, 2021A and 2023
of title 38, United States Code: Provided, That, up to
$500,000 may be used to carry out the Hire VETS Act (division
O of Public Law 115-31); and
(4) $3,414,000 is for the National Veterans' Employment and
Training Services Institute under 38 U.S.C. 4109:
Provided, That the Secretary may reallocate among the
appropriations provided under paragraphs (1) through (4)
above an amount not to exceed 3 percent of the appropriation
from which such reallocation is made.
In addition, from the General Fund of the Treasury,
$65,500,000 is for carrying out programs to assist homeless
veterans and veterans at risk of homelessness who are
transitioning from certain institutions under sections 2021,
2021A, and 2023 of title 38, United States Code: Provided,
That notwithstanding subsections (c)(3) and (d) of section
2023, the Secretary may award grants through September 30,
2024, to provide services under such section: Provided
further, That services provided under sections 2021 or under
2021A may include, in addition to services to homeless
veterans described in section 2002(a)(1), services to
veterans who were homeless at some point within the 60 days
prior to program entry or veterans who are at risk of
homelessness within the next 60 days, and that services
provided under section 2023 may include, in addition to
services to the individuals described in subsection (e) of
such section, services to veterans recently released from
incarceration who are at risk of homelessness: Provided
further, That notwithstanding paragraph (3) under this
heading, funds appropriated in this paragraph may be used for
data systems and contract support to allow for the tracking
of participant and performance information: Provided
further, That notwithstanding sections 2021(e)(2) and
2021A(f)(2) of title 38, United States Code, such funds shall
be available for expenditure pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1553.
In addition, fees may be assessed and deposited in the HIRE
Vets Medallion Award Fund pursuant to section 5(b) of the
HIRE Vets Act, and such amounts shall be available to the
Secretary to carry out the HIRE Vets Medallion Award Program,
as authorized by such Act, and shall remain available until
expended: Provided, That such sums shall be in addition to
any other funds available for such purposes, including funds
available under paragraph (3) of this heading: Provided
further, That section 2(d) of division O of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31; 38 U.S.C. 4100
note) shall not apply.

it modernization

For necessary expenses for Department of Labor centralized
infrastructure technology investment activities related to
support systems and modernization, $27,269,000, which shall
be available through September 30, 2025.

office of inspector general

For salaries and expenses of the Office of Inspector
General in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector
General Act of 1978, $91,187,000, together with not to exceed
$5,841,000 which may be expended from the Employment Security
Administration account in the Unemployment Trust Fund:
Provided, That not more than $2,000,000 of the amount
provided under this heading may be available until expended.

General Provisions

Sec. 101. None of the funds appropriated by this Act for
the Job Corps shall be used to pay the salary and bonuses of
an individual, either as direct costs or any proration as an
indirect cost, at a rate in excess of Executive Level II.

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 102. Not to exceed 1 percent of any discretionary
funds (pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985) which are appropriated for the current
fiscal year for the Department of Labor in this Act may be
transferred between a program, project, or activity, but no
such program, project, or activity shall be increased by more
than 3 percent by any such transfer: Provided, That the
transfer authority granted by this section shall not be used
to create any new program or to fund any project or activity
for which no funds are provided in this Act: Provided
further, That the Committees on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives and the Senate are notified at least 15
days in advance of any transfer.
Sec. 103. In accordance with Executive Order 13126, none
of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available
pursuant to this Act shall be obligated or expended for the
procurement of goods mined, produced, manufactured, or
harvested or services rendered, in whole or in part, by
forced or indentured child labor in industries and host
countries already identified by the United States Department
of Labor prior to enactment of this Act.
Sec. 104. Except as otherwise provided in this section,
none of the funds made available to the Department of Labor
for grants under section 414(c) of the American
Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (29
U.S.C. 2916a) may be used for any purpose other than
competitive grants for training individuals who are older
than 16 years of age and are not currently enrolled in school
within a local educational agency in the occupations and
industries for which employers are using H-1B visas to hire
foreign workers, and the related activities necessary to
support such training.
Sec. 105. None of the funds made available by this Act
under the heading ``Employment and Training Administration''
shall be used by a recipient or subrecipient of such funds to
pay the salary and bonuses of an individual, either as direct
costs or indirect costs, at a rate in excess of Executive
Level II. This limitation shall not apply to vendors
providing goods and services as defined in Office of
Management and Budget Circular A-133. Where States are
recipients of such funds, States may establish a lower limit
for salaries and bonuses of those receiving salaries and
bonuses from subrecipients of such funds, taking into account
factors including the relative cost-of-living in the State,
the compensation levels for comparable State or local
government employees, and the size of the organizations that
administer Federal programs involved including Employment and
Training Administration programs.

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 106. (a) Notwithstanding section 102, the Secretary
may transfer funds made available to the Employment and
Training Administration by this Act, either directly or
through a set-aside, for technical assistance services to
grantees to ``Program Administration'' when it is determined
that those services will be more efficiently performed by
Federal employees: Provided, That this section shall not
apply to section 171 of the WIOA.
(b) Notwithstanding section 102, the Secretary may transfer
not more than 0.5 percent of each discretionary appropriation
made available to the Employment and Training Administration
by this Act to ``Program Administration'' in order to carry
out program integrity activities relating to any of the
programs or activities that are funded under any such
discretionary appropriations: Provided, That funds
transferred under this subsection shall be available to the
Secretary to carry out program integrity activities directly
or through grants, cooperative agreements, contracts and
other arrangements with States and other appropriate
entities: Provided further, That funds transferred under the
authority provided by this subsection shall be available for
obligation through September 30, 2024.

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 107. (a) The Secretary may reserve not more than 0.75
percent from each appropriation made available in this Act
identified in subsection (b) in order to carry out
evaluations of any of the programs or activities that are
funded under such accounts. Any funds reserved under this
section shall be transferred to ``Departmental Management''
for use by the Office of the Chief Evaluation Officer within
the Department of Labor, and shall be available for
obligation through September 30, 2024: Provided, That such
funds shall only be available if the Chief Evaluation Officer
of the Department of Labor submits a plan to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate describing the evaluations to be carried out 15 days
in advance of any transfer.
(b) The accounts referred to in subsection (a) are:
``Training and Employment Services'', ``State Unemployment
Insurance and Employment Service Operations'', ``Employee
Benefits Security Administration'', ``Office of Workers'
Compensation Programs'', ``Wage and Hour Division'', ``Office
of Federal Contract Compliance Programs'', ``Office of Labor
Management Standards'', ``Occupational Safety and Health

[[Page H5750]]

Administration'', ``Mine Safety and Health Administration'',
``Office of Disability Employment Policy'', and ``Veterans'
Employment and Training''.
Sec. 108. (a) Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of
1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) shall be applied as if the following
text is part of such section:
``(s)(1) The provisions of this section shall not apply for
a period of 2 years after the occurrence of a major disaster
to any employee--
``(A) employed to adjust or evaluate claims resulting from
or relating to such major disaster, by an employer not
engaged, directly or through an affiliate, in underwriting,
selling, or marketing property, casualty, or liability
insurance policies or contracts;
``(B) who receives from such employer on average weekly
compensation of not less than $591.00 per week or any minimum
weekly amount established by the Secretary, whichever is
greater, for the number of weeks such employee is engaged in
any of the activities described in subparagraph (C); and
``(C) whose duties include any of the following:
``(i) interviewing insured individuals, individuals who
suffered injuries or other damages or losses arising from or
relating to a disaster, witnesses, or physicians;
``(ii) inspecting property damage or reviewing factual
information to prepare damage estimates;
``(iii) evaluating and making recommendations regarding
coverage or compensability of claims or determining liability
or value aspects of claims;
``(iv) negotiating settlements; or
``(v) making recommendations regarding litigation.
``(2) The exemption in this subsection shall not affect the
exemption provided by section 13(a)(1).
``(3) For purposes of this subsection--
``(A) the term `major disaster' means any disaster or
catastrophe declared or designated by any State or Federal
agency or department;
``(B) the term `employee employed to adjust or evaluate
claims resulting from or relating to such major disaster'
means an individual who timely secured or secures a license
required by applicable law to engage in and perform the
activities described in clauses (i) through (v) of paragraph
(1)(C) relating to a major disaster, and is employed by an
employer that maintains worker compensation insurance
coverage or protection for its employees, if required by
applicable law, and withholds applicable Federal, State, and
local income and payroll taxes from the wages, salaries and
any benefits of such employees; and
``(C) the term `affiliate' means a company that, by reason
of ownership or control of 25 percent or more of the
outstanding shares of any class of voting securities of one
or more companies, directly or indirectly, controls, is
controlled by, or is under common control with, another
company.''.
(b) This section shall be effective on the date of
enactment of this Act.
Sec. 109. (a) Flexibility With Respect to the Crossing of
H-2B Nonimmigrants Working in the Seafood Industry.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), if a petition
for H-2B nonimmigrants filed by an employer in the seafood
industry is granted, the employer may bring the nonimmigrants
described in the petition into the United States at any time
during the 120-day period beginning on the start date for
which the employer is seeking the services of the
nonimmigrants without filing another petition.
(2) Requirements for crossings after 90th day.--An employer
in the seafood industry may not bring H-2B nonimmigrants into
the United States after the date that is 90 days after the
start date for which the employer is seeking the services of
the nonimmigrants unless the employer--
(A) completes a new assessment of the local labor market
by--
(i) listing job orders in local newspapers on 2 separate
Sundays; and
(ii) posting the job opportunity on the appropriate
Department of Labor Electronic Job Registry and at the
employer's place of employment; and
(B) offers the job to an equally or better qualified United
States worker who--
(i) applies for the job; and
(ii) will be available at the time and place of need.
(3) Exemption from rules with respect to staggering.--The
Secretary of Labor shall not consider an employer in the
seafood industry who brings H-2B nonimmigrants into the
United States during the 120-day period specified in
paragraph (1) to be staggering the date of need in violation
of section 655.20(d) of title 20, Code of Federal
Regulations, or any other applicable provision of law.
(b) H-2B Nonimmigrants Defined.--In this section, the term
``H-2B nonimmigrants'' means aliens admitted to the United
States pursuant to section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B)).
Sec. 110. The determination of prevailing wage for the
purposes of the H-2B program shall be the greater of--(1) the
actual wage level paid by the employer to other employees
with similar experience and qualifications for such position
in the same location; or (2) the prevailing wage level for
the occupational classification of the position in the
geographic area in which the H-2B nonimmigrant will be
employed, based on the best information available at the time
of filing the petition. In the determination of prevailing
wage for the purposes of the H-2B program, the Secretary
shall accept private wage surveys even in instances where
Occupational Employment Statistics survey data are available
unless the Secretary determines that the methodology and data
in the provided survey are not statistically supported.
Sec. 111. None of the funds in this Act shall be used to
enforce the definition of corresponding employment found in
20 CFR 655.5 or the three-fourths guarantee rule definition
found in 20 CFR 655.20, or any references thereto. Further,
for the purpose of regulating admission of temporary workers
under the H-2B program, the definition of temporary need
shall be that provided in 8 CFR 214.2(h)(6)(ii)(B).
Sec. 112. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary may furnish through grants, cooperative agreements,
contracts, and other arrangements, up to $2,000,000 of excess
personal property, at a value determined by the Secretary, to
apprenticeship programs for the purpose of training
apprentices in those programs.
Sec. 113. (a) The Act entitled ``An Act to create a
Department of Labor'', approved March 4, 1913 (37 Stat. 736,
chapter 141) shall be applied as if the following text is
part of such Act:

``SEC. 12. SECURITY DETAIL.

``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Labor is authorized to
employ law enforcement officers or special agents to--
``(1) provide protection for the Secretary of Labor during
the workday of the Secretary and during any activity that is
preliminary or postliminary to the performance of official
duties by the Secretary;
``(2) provide protection, incidental to the protection
provided to the Secretary, to a member of the immediate
family of the Secretary who is participating in an activity
or event relating to the official duties of the Secretary;
``(3) provide continuous protection to the Secretary
(including during periods not described in paragraph (1)) and
to the members of the immediate family of the Secretary if
there is a unique and articulable threat of physical harm, in
accordance with guidelines established by the Secretary; and
``(4) provide protection to the Deputy Secretary of Labor
or another senior officer representing the Secretary of Labor
at a public event if there is a unique and articulable threat
of physical harm, in accordance with guidelines established
by the Secretary.
``(b) Authorities.--The Secretary of Labor may authorize a
law enforcement officer or special agent employed under
subsection (a), for the purpose of performing the duties
authorized under subsection (a), to--
``(1) carry firearms;
``(2) make arrests without a warrant for any offense
against the United States committed in the presence of such
officer or special agent;
``(3) perform protective intelligence work, including
identifying and mitigating potential threats and conducting
advance work to review security matters relating to sites and
events;
``(4) coordinate with local law enforcement agencies; and
``(5) initiate criminal and other investigations into
potential threats to the security of the Secretary, in
coordination with the Inspector General of the Department of
Labor.
``(c) Compliance With Guidelines.--A law enforcement
officer or special agent employed under subsection (a) shall
exercise any authority provided under this section in
accordance with any--
``(1) guidelines issued by the Attorney General; and
``(2) guidelines prescribed by the Secretary of Labor.''.
(b) This section shall be effective on the date of
enactment of this Act.
Sec. 114. The Secretary is authorized to dispose of or
divest, by any means the Secretary determines appropriate,
including an agreement or partnership to construct a new Job
Corps center, all or a portion of the real property on which
the Treasure Island Job Corps Center is situated. Any sale or
other disposition, to include any associated construction
project, will not be subject to any requirement of any
Federal law or regulation relating to the disposition of
Federal real property or relating to Federal procurement,
including but not limited to subchapter III of chapter 5 of
title 40 of the United States Code, subchapter V of chapter
119 of title 42 of the United States Code, and chapter 33 of
division C of subtitle I of title 41 of the United States
Code. The net proceeds of such a sale shall be transferred to
the Secretary, which shall be available until expended to
carry out the Job Corps Program on Treasure Island.

(rescission)

Sec. 115. Of the unobligated funds available under section
286(s)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1356(s)(2)), $206,000,000 are hereby permanently rescinded
not later than September 30, 2024.

(rescission)

Sec. 116. Of the amounts which are made available to
``Employment and Training Administration--Training and
Employment Services'' on October 1, 2023 by Public Law 117-
328, $712,000,000 are hereby rescinded.
Sec. 117. No Federal funds may be made available to alter
or affect the administration, implementation, or enforcement
of the final rule entitled ``Independent Contractor Status
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act'' (86 Fed. Reg. 1168) and
dated January 7, 2021.
Sec. 118. No Federal funds may be made available to
administer, implement, or enforce the rule entitled
``Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and
Exercising Shareholder Rights'' (87 Fed. Reg. 73822) and
dated December 1, 2022.
Sec. 119. No Federal funds may be made available to
administer, implement, or enforce--
(1) the final rule entitled ``Adverse Effect Wage Rate
Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A
Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States''
(88 Fed. Reg. 12760) and dated February 28, 2023; or

[[Page H5751]]

(2) section 655.131(b) of title 20, Code of Federal
Regulations (relating to joint employer requirements) as
amended by the final regulations published by the Department
of Labor in the Federal Register on October 12, 2022 (87 Fed.
Reg. 61660).
Sec. 120. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to implement, administer, or promote a program for
clean energy apprenticeships or the promotion of
apprenticeship opportunities based on a job applicant or
potential job applicant's race, color, religion, or sex.
Sec. 121. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to implement or enforce the proposed rule entitled
``Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural
Employment in the United States'' published by the Department
of Labor in the Federal Register on September 15, 2023 (88
Fed. Reg. 63750 et seq.).
This title may be cited as the ``Department of Labor
Appropriations Act, 2024''.

TITLE II

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration

primary health care

For carrying out titles II and III of the Public Health
Service Act (referred to in this Act as the ``PHS Act'') with
respect to primary health care and the Native Hawaiian Health
Care Act of 1988, $1,858,772,000: Provided, That no more
than $1,000,000 shall be available until expended for
carrying out the provisions of section 224(o) of the PHS Act:
Provided further, That no more than $120,000,000 shall be
available until expended for carrying out subsections (g)
through (n) and (q) of section 224 of the PHS Act, and for
expenses incurred by the Department of Health and Human
Services (referred to in this Act as ``HHS'') pertaining to
administrative claims made under such law: Provided further,
That not less than $150,000,000 shall be obligated in fiscal
year 2024 for construction and capital improvement costs:
Provided further, That the time limitation in section
330(e)(3) of the PHS Act shall not apply to funds made
available under the preceding proviso.

health workforce

For carrying out titles III, VII, and VIII of the PHS Act
with respect to the health workforce, sections 1128E and 1921
of the Social Security Act, and the Health Care Quality
Improvement Act of 1986, $1,336,348,000: Provided, That
section 751(j)(2) of the PHS Act and the proportional funding
amounts in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 756(f) of
the PHS Act shall not apply to funds made available under
this heading: Provided further, That for any program
operating under section 751 of the PHS Act on or before
January 1, 2009, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
(referred to in this title as the ``Secretary'') may
hereafter waive any of the requirements contained in sections
751(d)(2)(A) and 751(d)(2)(B) of such Act for the full
project period of a grant under such section: Provided
further, That section 756(c) of the PHS Act shall apply to
paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 756(a) of such Act:
Provided further, That no funds shall be available for
section 340G-1 of the PHS Act: Provided further, That fees
collected for the disclosure of information under section
427(b) of the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986 and
sections 1128E(d)(2) and 1921 of the Social Security Act
shall be sufficient to recover the full costs of operating
the programs authorized by such sections and shall remain
available until expended for the National Practitioner Data
Bank: Provided further, That funds transferred to this
account to carry out section 846 and subpart 3 of part D of
title III of the PHS Act may be used to make prior year
adjustments to awards made under such section and subpart:
Provided further, That $126,000,000 shall remain available
until expended for the purposes of providing primary health
services, assigning National Health Service Corps (``NHSC'')
participants to expand the delivery of substance use disorder
treatment services, notwithstanding the assignment priorities
and limitations under sections 333(a)(1)(D), 333(b), and
333A(a)(1)(B)(ii) of the PHS Act, and making payments under
the NHSC Loan Repayment Program under section 338B of such
Act: Provided further, That, within the amount made
available in the previous proviso, $16,000,000 shall remain
available until expended for the purposes of making payments
under the NHSC Loan Repayment Program under section 338B of
the PHS Act to individuals participating in such program who
provide primary health services in Indian Health Service
facilities, Tribally-Operated 638 Health Programs, and Urban
Indian Health Programs (as those terms are defined by the
Secretary), notwithstanding the assignment priorities and
limitations under section 333(b) of such Act: Provided
further, That for purposes of the previous two provisos,
section 331(a)(3)(D) of the PHS Act shall be applied as if
the term ``primary health services'' includes clinical
substance use disorder treatment services, including those
provided by masters level, licensed substance use disorder
treatment counselors: Provided further, That of the funds
made available under this heading, $6,000,000 shall be
available to make grants to establish, expand, or maintain
optional community-based nurse practitioner fellowship
programs that are accredited or in the accreditation process,
with a preference for those in Federally Qualified Health
Centers, for practicing postgraduate nurse practitioners in
primary care or behavioral health: Provided further, That of
the funds made available under this heading, $10,000,000
shall remain available until expended for activities under
section 775 of the PHS Act: Provided further, That the
United States may recover liquidated damages in an amount
determined by the formula under section 338E(c)(1) of the PHS
Act if an individual either fails to begin or complete the
service obligated by a contract under section 775(b) of the
PHS Act: Provided further, That for purposes of section
775(c)(1) of the PHS Act, the Secretary may include other
mental and behavioral health disciplines as the Secretary
deems appropriate: Provided further, That the Secretary may
terminate a contract entered into under section 775 of the
PHS Act in the same manner articulated in section 206 of this
title for fiscal year 2024 contracts entered into under
section 338B of the PHS Act.
Of the funds made available under this heading, $60,000,000
shall remain available until expended for grants to public
institutions of higher education to expand or support
graduate education for physicians provided by such
institutions, including funding for infrastructure
development, maintenance, equipment, and minor renovations or
alterations: Provided, That, in awarding such grants, the
Secretary shall give priority to public institutions of
higher education located in States with a projected primary
care provider shortage in 2030, as determined by the
Secretary: Provided further, That grants so awarded are
limited to such public institutions of higher education in
States in the top quintile of States with a projected primary
care provider shortage in 2030, as determined by the
Secretary: Provided further, That the minimum amount of a
grant so awarded to such an institution shall be not less
than $1,000,000 per year: Provided further, That such a
grant may be awarded for a period not to exceed 5 years:
Provided further, That such a grant awarded with respect to a
year to such an institution shall be subject to a matching
requirement of non-Federal funds in an amount that is not
more than 10 percent of the total amount of Federal funds
provided in the grant to such institution with respect to
such year.

maternal and child health

For carrying out titles III, XI, XII, and XIX of the PHS
Act with respect to maternal and child health and title V of
the Social Security Act, $991,582,000: Provided, That
notwithstanding sections 502(a)(1) and 502(b)(1) of the
Social Security Act, not more than $177,268,000 shall be
available for carrying out special projects of regional and
national significance pursuant to section 501(a)(2) of such
Act and $10,276,000 shall be available for projects described
in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of section 501(a)(3) of such
Act.

ryan white hiv/aids program

For carrying out title XXVI of the PHS Act with respect to
the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, $2,332,535,000, of which
$2,045,630,000 shall remain available to the Secretary
through September 30, 2026, for parts A and B of title XXVI
of the PHS Act, and of which not less than $900,313,000 shall
be for State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs under the
authority of section 2616 or 311(c) of such Act.

health systems

For carrying out titles III and XII of the PHS Act with
respect to health care systems, and the Stem Cell Therapeutic
and Research Act of 2005, $101,009,000, of which $122,000
shall be available until expended for facility renovations
and other facilities-related expenses of the National
Hansen's Disease Program: Provided, That the second sentence
in section 372(a) of the PHS Act and section 372(b)(1)(A) of
the PHS Act shall not apply to any contracts awarded by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services for the operation of
the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.

rural health

For carrying out titles III and IV of the PHS Act with
respect to rural health, section 427(a) of the Federal Coal
Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, and sections 711 and 1820
of the Social Security Act, $402,607,000, of which
$74,277,000 from general revenues, notwithstanding section
1820(j) of the Social Security Act, shall be available for
carrying out the Medicare rural hospital flexibility grants
program: Provided, That of the funds made available under
this heading for Medicare rural hospital flexibility grants,
$25,942,000 shall be available for the Small Rural Hospital
Improvement Grant Program for quality improvement and
adoption of health information technology, no less than
$5,000,000 shall be available to award grants to public or
non-profit private entities for the Rural Emergency Hospital
Technical Assistance Program, and up to $1,000,000 shall be
to carry out section 1820(g)(6) of the Social Security Act,
with funds provided for grants under section 1820(g)(6)
available for the purchase and implementation of telehealth
services and other efforts to improve health care
coordination for rural veterans between rural providers and
the Department of Veterans Affairs: Provided further, That
notwithstanding section 338J(k) of the PHS Act, $12,500,000
shall be available for State Offices of Rural Health:
Provided further, That $12,700,000 shall remain available
through September 30, 2026, to support the Rural Residency
Development Program.

hrsa-wide activities and program support

For carrying out title III of the Public Health Service Act
and for cross-cutting activities and program support for
activities funded in other appropriations included in this
Act for the Health Resources and Services Administration,
$215,088,000, of which $45,050,000 shall be for expenses
necessary for the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth,
including grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for
the advancement of telehealth activities: Provided, That
funds made available under this heading may be used to
supplement program support funding provided under the
headings ``Primary Health Care'', ``Health Workforce'',
``Maternal and Child Health'', ``Ryan White HIV/AIDS
Program'', ``Health Systems'', and ``Rural Health''.

[[Page H5752]]

vaccine injury compensation program trust fund

For payments from the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program
Trust Fund (the ``Trust Fund''), such sums as may be
necessary for claims associated with vaccine-related injury
or death with respect to vaccines administered after
September 30, 1988, pursuant to subtitle 2 of title XXI of
the PHS Act, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That for necessary administrative expenses, not to exceed
$15,200,000 shall be available from the Trust Fund to the
Secretary.

covered countermeasures process fund

For carrying out section 319F-4 of the PHS Act, $7,000,000,
to remain available until expended.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

immunization and respiratory diseases

For carrying out titles II, III, XVII, and XXI, and section
2821 of the PHS Act, and titles II and IV of the Immigration
and Nationality Act, with respect to immunization and
respiratory diseases, $326,075,000.

hiv/aids, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, and
tuberculosis prevention

For carrying out titles II, III, XVII, and XXIII of the PHS
Act with respect to HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually
transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis prevention,
$1,171,056,000.

emerging and zoonotic infectious diseases

For carrying out titles II, III, and XVII, and section 2821
of the PHS Act, and titles II and IV of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, with respect to emerging and zoonotic
infectious diseases, $708,772,000: Provided, That of the
amounts made available under this heading, up to $1,000,000
shall remain available until expended to pay for the
transportation, medical care, treatment, and other related
costs of persons quarantined or isolated under Federal or
State quarantine law.

chronic disease prevention and health promotion

For carrying out titles II, III, XI, XV, XVII, and XIX of
the PHS Act with respect to chronic disease prevention and
health promotion, $797,569,000: Provided, That funds made
available under this heading may be available for making
grants under section 1509 of the PHS Act for not less than 21
States, tribes, or tribal organizations: Provided further,
That the proportional funding requirements under section
1503(a) of the PHS Act shall not apply to funds made
available under this heading.

birth defects, developmental disabilities, disabilities and health

For carrying out titles II, III, XI, and XVII of the PHS
Act with respect to birth defects, developmental
disabilities, disabilities and health, $205,560,000.

public health scientific services

For carrying out titles II, III, and XVII of the PHS Act
with respect to health statistics, surveillance, health
informatics, and workforce development, $654,497,000.

environmental health

For carrying out titles II, III, and XVII of the PHS Act
with respect to environmental health, $130,850,000:
Provided, That of the amounts appropriated under this heading
up to $2,600,000 may remain available until expended for
carrying out the Vessel Sanitation Program, in addition to
user fee collections available for such purpose.

injury prevention and control

For carrying out titles II, III, and XVII of the PHS Act
with respect to injury prevention and control, $730,779,000.

national institute for occupational safety and health

For carrying out titles II, III, and XVII of the PHS Act,
sections 101, 102, 103, 201, 202, 203, 301, and 501 of the
Federal Mine Safety and Health Act, section 13 of the Mine
Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, and sections 20,
21, and 22 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, with
respect to occupational safety and health, $247,700,000.

energy employees occupational illness compensation program

For necessary expenses to administer the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, $55,358,000,
to remain available until expended: Provided, That this
amount shall be available consistent with the provision
regarding administrative expenses in section 151(b) of
division B, title I of Public Law 106-554.

global health

For carrying out titles II, III, and XVII of the PHS Act
with respect to global health, $370,772,000, of which
$100,000,000 shall remain available through September 30,
2026, for global public health protection: Provided, That
funds may be used for purchase and insurance of official
motor vehicles in foreign countries.

public health preparedness and response

For carrying out titles II, III, and XVII of the PHS Act
with respect to public health preparedness and response, and
for expenses necessary to support activities related to
countering potential biological, nuclear, radiological, and
chemical threats to civilian populations, $735,000,000:
Provided, That the Director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (referred to in this title as ``CDC'')
or the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and
Disease Registry may detail staff without reimbursement to
support an activation of the CDC Emergency Operations Center,
so long as the Director or Administrator, as applicable,
provides a notice to the Committees on Appropriations of the
House of Representatives and the Senate within 15 days of the
use of this authority, a full report within 30 days after use
of this authority which includes the number of staff and
funding level broken down by the originating center and
number of days detailed, and an update of such report every
180 days until staff are no longer on detail without
reimbursement to the CDC Emergency Operations Center.

buildings and facilities

(including transfer of funds)

For acquisition of real property, equipment, construction,
installation, demolition, and renovation of facilities,
$40,000,000, which shall remain available until expended:
Provided, That funds made available to this account in this
or any prior Act that are available for the acquisition of
real property or for construction or improvement of
facilities shall be available to make improvements on non-
federally owned property, provided that any improvements that
are not adjacent to federally owned property do not exceed
$2,500,000, and that the primary benefit of such improvements
accrues to CDC: Provided further, That funds previously set-
aside by CDC for repair and upgrade of the Lake Lynn
Experimental Mine and Laboratory shall be used to acquire a
replacement mine safety research facility: Provided further,
That funds made available to this account in this or any
prior Act that are available for the acquisition of real
property or for construction or improvement of facilities in
conjunction with the new replacement mine safety research
facility shall be available to make improvements on non-
federally owned property, provided that any improvements that
are not adjacent to federally owned property do not exceed
$5,000,000: Provided further, That in addition, the prior
year unobligated balance of any amounts assigned to former
employees in accounts of CDC made available for Individual
Learning Accounts shall be credited to and merged with the
amounts made available under this heading to support the
replacement of the mine safety research facility.

cdc-wide activities and program support

(including transfer of funds)

For carrying out titles II, III, XVII and XIX, and section
2821 of the PHS Act and for cross-cutting activities and
program support for activities funded in other appropriations
included in this Act for the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, $231,428,000: Provided, That paragraphs (1)
through (3) of subsection (b) of section 2821 of the PHS Act
shall not apply to funds appropriated under this heading and
in all other accounts of the CDC: Provided further, That of
the amounts made available under this heading, $35,000,000,
to remain available until expended, shall be available to the
Director of the CDC for deposit in the Infectious Diseases
Rapid Response Reserve Fund established by section 231 of
division B of Public Law 115-245: Provided further, That
funds appropriated under this heading may be used to support
a contract for the operation and maintenance of an aircraft
in direct support of activities throughout CDC to ensure the
agency is prepared to address public health preparedness
emergencies: Provided further, That employees of CDC or the
Public Health Service, both civilian and commissioned
officers, detailed to States, municipalities, or other
organizations under authority of section 214 of the PHS Act,
or in overseas assignments, shall be treated as non-Federal
employees for reporting purposes only and shall not be
included within any personnel ceiling applicable to the
Agency, Service, or HHS during the period of detail or
assignment: Provided further, That CDC may use up to $10,000
from amounts appropriated to CDC in this Act for official
reception and representation expenses when specifically
approved by the Director of CDC: Provided further, That in
addition, such sums as may be derived from authorized user
fees, which shall be credited to the appropriation charged
with the cost thereof: Provided further, That with respect
to the previous proviso, authorized user fees from the Vessel
Sanitation Program and the Respirator Certification Program
shall be available through September 30, 2025.

National Institutes of Health

national cancer institute

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to cancer, $7,104,159,000, of which up to
$30,000,000 may be used for facilities repairs and
improvements at the National Cancer Institute--Frederick
Federally Funded Research and Development Center in
Frederick, Maryland.

national heart, lung, and blood institute

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases, and
blood and blood products, $3,982,345,000.

national institute of dental and craniofacial research

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to dental and craniofacial diseases,
$520,163,000.

national institute of diabetes and digestive and kidney diseases

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to diabetes and digestive and kidney disease,
$2,300,721,000.

national institute of neurological disorders and stroke

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to neurological disorders and stroke,
$2,588,925,000.

national institute of allergy and infectious diseases

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to allergy and infectious diseases,
$5,062,279,000.

[[Page H5753]]

national institute of general medical sciences

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to general medical sciences, $3,154,679,000, of
which $1,327,482,000 shall be from funds available under
section 241 of the PHS Act: Provided, That not less than
$435,956,000 is provided for the Institutional Development
Awards program.

eunice kennedy shriver national institute of child health and human
development

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to child health and human development,
$1,749,078,000.

national eye institute

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to eye diseases and visual disorders,
$896,549,000.

national institute of environmental health sciences

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to environmental health sciences, $913,979,000.

national institute on aging

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to aging, $4,407,623,000.

national institute of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin
diseases, $685,465,000.

national institute on deafness and other communication disorders

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to deafness and other communication disorders,
$534,333,000.

national institute of nursing research

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to nursing research, $197,693,000.

national institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to alcohol abuse and alcoholism, $595,318,000.

national institute on drug abuse

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to drug abuse, $1,662,695,000.

national institute of mental health

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to mental health, $2,112,843,000.

national human genome research institute

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to human genome research, $663,200,000.

national institute of biomedical imaging and bioengineering

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to biomedical imaging and bioengineering
research, $440,627,000.

national center for complementary and integrative health

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to complementary and integrative health,
$170,384,000.

national institute on minority health and health disparities

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to minority health and health disparities
research, $524,395,000.

john e. fogarty international center

For carrying out the activities of the John E. Fogarty
International Center (described in subpart 2 of part E of
title IV of the PHS Act), $95,162,000.

national library of medicine

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to health information communications,
$497,548,000: Provided, That of the amounts available for
improvement of information systems, $4,000,000 shall be
available until September 30, 2025: Provided further, That
in fiscal year 2024, the National Library of Medicine may
enter into personal services contracts for the provision of
services in facilities owned, operated, or constructed under
the jurisdiction of the National Institutes of Health
(referred to in this title as ``NIH'').

national center for advancing translational sciences

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act
with respect to translational sciences, $923,323,000:
Provided, That not less than $75,000,000 shall be available
to implement section 480 of the PHS Act, relating to the
Cures Acceleration Network: Provided further, That at least
$629,560,000 is provided to the Clinical and Translational
Sciences Awards program.

office of the director

For carrying out the responsibilities of the Office of the
Director, NIH, $2,069,459,000: Provided, That funding shall
be available for the purchase of not to exceed 29 passenger
motor vehicles for replacement only: Provided further, That
all funds credited to the NIH Management Fund shall remain
available for one fiscal year after the fiscal year in which
they are deposited: Provided further, That $722,401,000
shall be available for the Common Fund established under
section 402A(c)(1) of the PHS Act: Provided further, That of
the funds provided, $10,000 shall be for official reception
and representation expenses when specifically approved by the
Director of the NIH: Provided further, That the Office of
AIDS Research within the Office of the Director of the NIH
may spend up to $8,000,000 to make grants for construction or
renovation of facilities as provided for in section
2354(a)(5)(B) of the PHS Act: Provided further, That
$80,000,000 shall be used to carry out section 404I of the
PHS Act (42 U.S.C. 283k), relating to biomedical and
behavioral research facilities: Provided further, That
amounts made available under this heading are also available
to establish, operate, and support the Research Policy Board
authorized by section 2034(f) of the 21st Century Cures Act.
In addition to other funds appropriated for the Common Fund
established under section 402A(c) of the PHS Act, $12,600,000
is appropriated to the Common Fund from the 10-year Pediatric
Research Initiative Fund described in section 9008 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 9008), for the
purpose of carrying out section 402(b)(7)(B)(ii) of the PHS
Act (relating to pediatric research), as authorized in the
Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act.

buildings and facilities

For the study of, construction of, demolition of,
renovation of, and acquisition of equipment for, facilities
of or used by NIH, including the acquisition of real
property, $350,000,000, to remain available until expended.

nih innovation account, cures act

(including transfer of funds)

For necessary expenses to carry out the purposes described
in section 1001(b)(4) of the 21st Century Cures Act, in
addition to amounts available for such purposes in the
appropriations provided to the NIH in this Act, $407,000,000,
to remain available until expended: Provided, That such
amounts are appropriated pursuant to section 1001(b)(3) of
such Act, are to be derived from amounts transferred under
section 1001(b)(2)(A) of such Act, and may be transferred by
the Director of the National Institutes of Health to other
accounts of the National Institutes of Health solely for the
purposes provided in such Act: Provided further, That upon a
determination by the Director that funds transferred pursuant
to the previous proviso are not necessary for the purposes
provided, such amounts may be transferred back to the
Account: Provided further, That the transfer authority
provided under this heading is in addition to any other
transfer authority provided by law.

advanced research projects agency for health

For carrying out section 301 and part J of title IV of the
PHS Act with respect to advanced research projects for
health, $500,000,000.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

mental health

For carrying out titles III, V, and XIX of the PHS Act with
respect to mental health, the Protection and Advocacy for
Individuals with Mental Illness Act, and the SUPPORT for
Patients and Communities Act, $2,706,282,000: Provided, That
of the funds made available under this heading, $93,887,000
shall be for the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative:
Provided further, That notwithstanding section 520A(f)(2) of
the PHS Act, no funds appropriated for carrying out section
520A shall be available for carrying out section 1971 of the
PHS Act: Provided further, That in addition to amounts
provided herein, $21,039,000 shall be available under section
241 of the PHS Act to carry out subpart I of part B of title
XIX of the PHS Act to fund section 1920(b) technical
assistance, national data, data collection and evaluation
activities, and further that the total available under this
Act for section 1920(b) activities shall not exceed 5 percent
of the amounts appropriated for subpart I of part B of title
XIX: Provided further, That of the funds made available
under this heading for subpart I of part B of title XIX of
the PHS Act, at least 5 percent shall be available to support
evidence-based crisis systems: Provided further, That up to
10 percent of the amounts made available to carry out the
Children's Mental Health Services program may be used to
carry out demonstration grants or contracts for early
interventions with persons not more than 25 years of age at
clinical high risk of developing a first episode of
psychosis: Provided further, That section 520E(b)(2) of the
PHS Act shall not apply to funds appropriated in this Act for
fiscal year 2024: Provided further, That $385,000,000 shall
be available for grants to communities and community
organizations who meet criteria for Certified Community
Behavioral Health Clinics pursuant to section 223(a) of
Public Law 113-93: Provided further, That none of the funds
provided for section 1911 of the PHS Act shall be subject to
section 241 of such Act: Provided further, That of the funds
made available under this heading, $21,420,000 shall be to
carry out section 224 of the Protecting Access to Medicare
Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-93; 42 U.S.C. 290aa 22 note).

substance abuse treatment

For carrying out titles III and V of the PHS Act with
respect to substance abuse treatment and title XIX of such
Act with respect to substance abuse treatment and prevention,
section 1003 of the 21st Century Cures Act, and the SUPPORT
for Patients and Communities Act, $3,980,103,000: Provided,
That $1,583,000,000 shall be for carrying out section 1003 of
the 21st Century Cures Act: Provided further, That of such
amount in the preceding proviso not less than 4 percent shall
be made available to Indian Tribes or tribal organizations:
Provided further, That of the amount reserved by the previous
proviso, the Secretary shall award grants using data that the
Secretary determines to be the most objective and reliable
measure of drug use and drug-related deaths: Provided
further, That in addition to amounts provided herein, the
following amounts shall be available under section 241 of the
PHS Act: (1) $79,200,000 to carry out subpart II of part B of
title XIX of the PHS Act to fund section 1935(b) technical
assistance, national data, data collection and evaluation
activities, and further that the total available under this
Act for section 1935(b) activities shall

[[Page H5754]]

not exceed 5 percent of the amounts appropriated for subpart
II of part B of title XIX; and (2) $2,000,000 to evaluate
substance abuse treatment programs: Provided further, That
none of the funds provided for section 1921 of the PHS Act or
State Opioid Response Grants shall be subject to section 241
of such Act.

substance abuse prevention

For carrying out titles III and V of the PHS Act with
respect to substance abuse prevention, $179,602,000.

health surveillance and program support

For program support and cross-cutting activities that
supplement activities funded under the headings ``Mental
Health'', ``Substance Abuse Treatment'', and ``Substance
Abuse Prevention'' in carrying out titles III, V, and XIX of
the PHS Act and the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals
with Mental Illness Act in the Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, $109,895,000: Provided, That
in addition to amounts provided herein, $31,428,000 shall be
available under section 241 of the PHS Act to supplement
funds available to carry out national surveys on drug abuse
and mental health, to collect and analyze program data, and
to conduct public awareness and technical assistance
activities: Provided further, That, in addition, fees may be
collected for the costs of publications, data, data
tabulations, and data analysis completed under title V of the
PHS Act and provided to a public or private entity upon
request, which shall be credited to this appropriation and
shall remain available until expended for such purposes:
Provided further, That amounts made available in this Act for
carrying out section 501(o) of the PHS Act shall remain
available through September 30, 2025: Provided further, That
funds made available under this heading (other than amounts
specified in the first proviso under this heading) may be
used to supplement program support funding provided under the
headings ``Mental Health'', ``Substance Abuse Treatment'',
and ``Substance Abuse Prevention''.

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

grants to states for medicaid

For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, titles XI
and XIX of the Social Security Act, $406,956,850,000, to
remain available until expended.
In addition, for carrying out such titles after May 31,
2024, for the last quarter of fiscal year 2024 for
unanticipated costs incurred for the current fiscal year,
such sums as may be necessary, to remain available until
expended.
In addition, for carrying out such titles for the first
quarter of fiscal year 2025, $245,580,414,000, to remain
available until expended.
Payment under such title XIX may be made for any quarter
with respect to a State plan or plan amendment in effect
during such quarter, if submitted in or prior to such quarter
and approved in that or any subsequent quarter.

payments to the health care trust funds

For payment to the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund
and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund,
as provided under sections 217(g), 1844, and 1860D-16 of the
Social Security Act, sections 103(c) and 111(d) of the Social
Security Amendments of 1965, section 278(d)(3) of Public Law
97-248, and for administrative expenses incurred pursuant to
section 201(g) of the Social Security Act, $476,725,000,000.
In addition, for making matching payments under section
1844 and benefit payments under section 1860D-16 of the
Social Security Act that were not anticipated in budget
estimates, such sums as may be necessary.

program management

For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, titles XI,
XVIII, XIX, and XXI of the Social Security Act, titles XIII
and XXVII of the PHS Act, the Clinical Laboratory Improvement
Amendments of 1988, and other responsibilities of the Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services, not to exceed
$3,326,690,000 to be transferred from the Federal Hospital
Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical
Insurance Trust Fund, as authorized by section 201(g) of the
Social Security Act; together with all funds collected in
accordance with section 353 of the PHS Act and section
1857(e)(2) of the Social Security Act, funds retained by the
Secretary pursuant to section 1893(h) of the Social Security
Act, and such sums as may be collected from authorized user
fees and the sale of data, which shall be credited to this
account and remain available until expended: Provided, That
all funds derived in accordance with 31 U.S.C. 9701 from
organizations established under title XIII of the PHS Act
shall be credited to and available for carrying out the
purposes of this appropriation: Provided further, That the
Secretary is directed to collect fees in fiscal year 2024
from Medicare Advantage organizations pursuant to section
1857(e)(2) of the Social Security Act and from eligible
organizations with risk-sharing contracts under section 1876
of that Act pursuant to section 1876(k)(4)(D) of that Act:
Provided further, That of the amount made available under
this heading, $397,334,000 shall remain available until
September 30, 2025, and shall be available for the Survey and
Certification Program: Provided further, That amounts
available under this heading to support quality improvement
organizations (as defined in section 1152 of the Social
Security Act) shall not exceed the amount specifically
provided for such purpose under this heading in division H of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115-
141).

health care fraud and abuse control account

In addition to amounts otherwise available for program
integrity and program management, $915,000,000, to remain
available through September 30, 2025, to be transferred from
the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal
Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund, as authorized by
section 201(g) of the Social Security Act, of which
$675,648,000 shall be for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services program integrity activities, of which $100,145,000
shall be for the Department of Health and Human Services
Office of Inspector General to carry out fraud and abuse
activities authorized by section 1817(k)(3) of such Act, and
of which $132,207,000 shall be for the Department of Justice
to carry out fraud and abuse activities authorized by section
1817(k)(3) of such Act: Provided, That the report required
by section 1817(k)(5) of the Social Security Act for fiscal
year 2024 shall include measures of the operational
efficiency and impact on fraud, waste, and abuse in the
Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP programs for the funds provided
by this appropriation: Provided further, That of the amount
provided under this heading, $311,000,000 is provided to meet
the terms of section 251(b)(2)(C)(ii) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, and
$604,000,000 is additional new budget authority specified for
purposes of section 251(b)(2)(C)(i)(XI) of such Act for
additional health care fraud and abuse control activities:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall provide not less
than $35,000,000 from amounts made available under this
heading and amounts made available for fiscal year 2024 under
section 1817(k)(3)(A) of the Social Security Act for the
Senior Medicare Patrol program to combat health care fraud
and abuse.

Administration for Children and Families

payments to states for child support enforcement and family support
programs

For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, titles I,
IV-D, X, XI, XIV, and XVI of the Social Security Act and the
Act of July 5, 1960, $3,309,000,000, to remain available
until expended; and for such purposes for the first quarter
of fiscal year 2025, $1,400,000,000, to remain available
until expended.
For carrying out, after May 31 of the current fiscal year,
except as otherwise provided, titles I, IV-D, X, XI, XIV, and
XVI of the Social Security Act and the Act of July 5, 1960,
for the last 3 months of the current fiscal year for
unanticipated costs, incurred for the current fiscal year,
such sums as may be necessary.

low income home energy assistance

For making payments under subsections (b) and (d) of
section 2602 of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act of
1981 (42 U.S.C. 8621 et seq.), $4,011,000,000: Provided,
That notwithstanding section 2609A(a) of such Act, not more
than $9,600,000 may be reserved by the Secretary for
technical assistance, training, and monitoring of program
activities for compliance with internal controls, policies
and procedures, and to supplement funding otherwise available
for necessary administrative expenses to carry out such Act,
and the Secretary may, in addition to the authorities
provided in section 2609A(a)(1), use such funds through
contracts with private entities that do not qualify as
nonprofit organizations: Provided further, That all but
$900,000,000 of the amount appropriated under this heading
shall be allocated as though the total appropriation for such
payments for fiscal year 2024 was less than $1,975,000,000:
Provided further, That, after applying all applicable
provisions of section 2604 of such Act and the previous
proviso, each State or territory that would otherwise receive
an allocation that is less than 97 percent of the amount that
it received under this heading for fiscal year 2023 from
amounts appropriated in Public Law 117-328 shall have its
allocation increased to that 97 percent level, with the
portions of other States' and territories' allocations that
would exceed 100 percent of the amounts they respectively
received in such fashion for fiscal year 2023 being ratably
reduced.

refugee and entrant assistance

For necessary expenses for refugee and entrant assistance
activities authorized by section 414 of the Immigration and
Nationality Act and section 501 of the Refugee Education
Assistance Act of 1980, and for carrying out section 462 of
the Homeland Security Act of 2002, section 235 of the William
Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization
Act of 2008, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(``TVPA''), and the Torture Victims Relief Act of 1998,
$2,756,956,000, of which $2,707,201,000 shall remain
available through September 30, 2026, for carrying out such
sections 414, 501, 462, and 235: Provided, That amounts
available under this heading to carry out the TVPA shall also
be available for research and evaluation with respect to
activities under such Act: Provided further, That the
contribution of funds requirement under section
235(c)(6)(C)(iii) of the William Wilberforce Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 shall not
apply to funds made available under this heading.

payments to states for the child care and development block grant

For carrying out the Child Care and Development Block Grant
Act of 1990 (``CCDBG Act''), $8,021,387,000 shall be used to
supplement, not supplant State general revenue funds for
child care assistance for low-income families: Provided,
That technical assistance under section 658I(a)(3) of such
Act may be provided directly, or through the use of
contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or interagency
agreements: Provided further, That all funds made available
to carry out section 418 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 618), including funds appropriated for that purpose in
such section 418 or any other provision of law, shall be
subject to the reservation of funds authority in paragraphs
(4) and (5) of section 658O(a) of the CCDBG Act: Provided
further, That notwithstanding section

[[Page H5755]]

658O(a)(2) of such Act, 5 percent of the amount appropriated
under this heading for such Act shall be reserved under such
section for Indian tribes and tribal organizations with
applications approved under section 658O(c) of such Act:
Provided further, That of the amounts made available under
this heading, the Secretary may reserve up to 0.5 percent for
Federal administrative expenses.

social services block grant

For making grants to States pursuant to section 2002 of the
Social Security Act, $1,700,000,000: Provided, That
notwithstanding subparagraph (B) of section 404(d)(2) of such
Act, the applicable percent specified under such subparagraph
for a State to carry out State programs pursuant to title XX-
A of such Act shall be 10 percent.

children and families services programs

For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, the Runaway
and Homeless Youth Act, the Head Start Act, the Every Student
Succeeds Act, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act,
sections 303 and 313 of the Family Violence Prevention and
Services Act, the Native American Programs Act of 1974, title
II of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment and Adoption
Reform Act of 1978 (adoption opportunities), part B-1 of
title IV and sections 429, 473A, 477(i), 1110, 1114A, and
1115 of the Social Security Act, and the Community Services
Block Grant Act (``CSBG Act''); and for necessary
administrative expenses to carry out titles I, IV, V, X, XI,
XIV, XVI, and XX-A of the Social Security Act, the Act of
July 5, 1960, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Act
of 1981, $13,388,077,000, of which $75,000,000, to remain
available through September 30, 2025, shall be for grants to
States for adoption and legal guardianship incentive
payments, as defined by section 473A of the Social Security
Act and may be made for adoptions and legal guardianships
completed before September 30, 2024: Provided, That
$11,246,820,000 shall be for making payments under the Head
Start Act, including for Early Head Start-Child Care
Partnerships, and, of which, notwithstanding section 640 of
such Act:
(1) $25,000,000 shall be available for allocation by the
Secretary to supplement activities described in paragraphs
(7)(B) and (9) of section 641(c) of the Head Start Act under
the Designation Renewal System, established under the
authority of sections 641(c)(7), 645A(b)(12), and 645A(d) of
such Act, and such funds shall not be included in the
calculation of ``base grant'' in subsequent fiscal years, as
such term is used in section 640(a)(7)(A) of such Act;
(2) $8,000,000 shall be available for the Tribal Colleges
and Universities Head Start Partnership Program consistent
with section 648(g) of such Act; and
(3) up to $40,000,000 shall be available to supplement
funding otherwise available for research, evaluation, and
Federal administrative costs:
Provided further, That notwithstanding the income
eligibility requirements of subsection (a) and paragraphs (1)
and (2) of subsection (d) of section 645 of the Head Start
Act, and of the income eligibility criteria and allowances
prescribed in regulations under such Act, an Indian tribe
that operates a Head Start program may, at its discretion,
establish selection criteria, including criteria to
prioritize children in families for which a child, a family
member, or a member of the same household, is a member of an
Indian tribe, to enroll children who would benefit from the
Head Start program: Provided further, That the Secretary may
reduce the reservation of funds under section 640(a)(2)(C) of
such Act in lieu of reducing the reservation of funds under
sections 640(a)(2)(B), 640(a)(2)(D), and 640(a)(2)(E) of such
Act: Provided further, That $804,383,000 shall be for making
payments under the CSBG Act: Provided further, That
$34,383,000 shall be for section 680 of the CSBG Act, of
which not less than $22,383,000 shall be for section
680(a)(2) and not less than $12,000,000 shall be for section
680(a)(3)(B) of such Act: Provided further, That,
notwithstanding section 675C(a)(3) of the CSBG Act, to the
extent Community Services Block Grant funds are distributed
as grant funds by a State to an eligible entity as provided
under such Act, and have not been expended by such entity,
they shall remain with such entity for carryover into the
next fiscal year for expenditure by such entity consistent
with program purposes: Provided further, That the Secretary
shall establish procedures regarding the disposition of
intangible assets and program income that permit such assets
acquired with, and program income derived from, grant funds
authorized under section 680 of the CSBG Act to become the
sole property of such grantees after a period of not more
than 12 years after the end of the grant period for any
activity consistent with section 680(a)(2)(A) of the CSBG
Act: Provided further, That intangible assets in the form of
loans, equity investments and other debt instruments, and
program income may be used by grantees for any eligible
purpose consistent with section 680(a)(2)(A) of the CSBG Act:
Provided further, That these procedures shall apply to such
grant funds made available after November 29, 1999: Provided
further, That funds appropriated for section 680(a)(2) of the
CSBG Act shall be available for financing construction and
rehabilitation and loans or investments in private business
enterprises owned by community development corporations:
Provided further, That $240,000,000 shall be for carrying out
section 303(a) of the Family Violence Prevention and Services
Act, of which $7,000,000 shall be allocated notwithstanding
section 303(a)(2) of such Act for carrying out section 309 of
such Act: Provided further, That the percentages specified
in section 112(a)(2) of the Child Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Act shall not apply to funds appropriated under
this heading: Provided further, That $1,864,000 shall be for
a human services case management system for federally
declared disasters, to include a comprehensive national case
management contract and Federal costs of administering the
system: Provided further, That up to $2,000,000 shall be for
improving the Public Assistance Reporting Information System,
including grants to States to support data collection for a
study of the system's effectiveness.

promoting safe and stable families

For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, section 436
of the Social Security Act, $345,000,000 and, for carrying
out, except as otherwise provided, section 437 of such Act,
$86,515,000: Provided, That of the funds available to carry
out section 437, $59,765,000 shall be allocated consistent
with subsections (b) through (d) of such section: Provided
further, That of the funds available to carry out section
437, to assist in meeting the requirements described in
section 471(e)(4)(C), $20,000,000 shall be for grants to each
State, territory, and Indian tribe operating title IV-E plans
for developing, enhancing, or evaluating kinship navigator
programs, as described in section 427(a)(1) of such Act and
$6,750,000, in addition to funds otherwise appropriated in
section 476 for such purposes, shall be for the Family First
Clearinghouse and to support evaluation and technical
assistance relating to the evaluation of child and family
services: Provided further, That section 437(b)(1) shall be
applied to amounts in the previous proviso by substituting
``5 percent'' for ``3.3 percent'', and notwithstanding
section 436(b)(1), such reserved amounts may be used for
identifying, establishing, and disseminating practices to
meet the criteria specified in section 471(e)(4)(C):
Provided further, That the reservation in section 437(b)(2)
and the limitations in section 437(d) shall not apply to
funds specified in the second proviso: Provided further,
That the minimum grant award for kinship navigator programs
in the case of States and territories shall be $200,000, and,
in the case of tribes, shall be $25,000.

payments for foster care and permanency

For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, title IV-E
of the Social Security Act, $8,594,000,000.
For carrying out, except as otherwise provided, title IV-E
of the Social Security Act, for the first quarter of fiscal
year 2025, $3,400,000,000.
For carrying out, after May 31 of the current fiscal year,
except as otherwise provided, section 474 of title IV-E of
the Social Security Act, for the last 3 months of the current
fiscal year for unanticipated costs, incurred for the current
fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary.

Administration for Community Living

aging and disability services programs

(including transfer of funds)

For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, the
Older Americans Act of 1965 (``OAA''), the RAISE Family
Caregivers Act, the Supporting Grandparents Raising
Grandchildren Act, titles III and XXIX of the PHS Act,
sections 1252 and 1253 of the PHS Act, section 119 of the
Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008,
title XX-B of the Social Security Act, the Developmental
Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000, parts
2 and 5 of subtitle D of title II of the Help America Vote
Act of 2002, the Assistive Technology Act of 1998, titles II
and VII (and section 14 with respect to such titles) of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and for Department-wide
coordination of policy and program activities that assist
individuals with disabilities, $2,418,901,000, together with
$55,242,000 to be transferred from the Federal Hospital
Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary Medical
Insurance Trust Fund to carry out section 4360 of the Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990: Provided, That of amounts
made available under this heading to carry out sections 311,
331, and 336 of the OAA, up to one percent of such amounts
shall be available for developing and implementing evidence-
based practices for enhancing senior nutrition, including
medically-tailored meals: Provided further, That
notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, funds made
available under this heading to carry out section 311 of the
OAA may be transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture in
accordance with such section: Provided further, That up to 5
percent of the funds provided for adult protective services
grants under section 2042 of title XX of the Social Security
Act may be used to make grants to Tribes and tribal
organizations: Provided further, That $2,000,000 shall be
for competitive grants to support alternative financing
programs that provide for the purchase of assistive
technology devices, such as a low-interest loan fund; an
interest buy-down program; a revolving loan fund; a loan
guarantee; or an insurance program: Provided further, That
applicants shall provide an assurance that, and information
describing the manner in which, the alternative financing
program will expand and emphasize consumer choice and
control: Provided further, That State agencies and
community-based disability organizations that are directed by
and operated for individuals with disabilities shall be
eligible to compete: Provided further, That none of the
funds made available under this heading may be used by an
eligible system (as defined in section 102 of the Protection
and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness Act (42
U.S.C. 10802)) to continue to pursue any legal action in a
Federal or State court on behalf of an individual or group of
individuals with a developmental disability (as defined in
section 102(8)(A) of the Developmental Disabilities and
Assistance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000 (20 U.S.C.
15002(8)(A)) that is attributable to a mental impairment (or
a combination of mental and physical impairments), that has

[[Page H5756]]

as the requested remedy the closure of State operated
intermediate care facilities for people with intellectual or
developmental disabilities, unless reasonable public notice
of the action has been provided to such individuals (or, in
the case of mental incapacitation, the legal guardians who
have been specifically awarded authority by the courts to
make healthcare and residential decisions on behalf of such
individuals) who are affected by such action, within 90 days
of instituting such legal action, which informs such
individuals (or such legal guardians) of their legal rights
and how to exercise such rights consistent with current
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure: Provided further, That the
limitations in the immediately preceding proviso shall not
apply in the case of an individual who is neither competent
to consent nor has a legal guardian, nor shall the proviso
apply in the case of individuals who are a ward of the State
or subject to public guardianship.

Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response

research, development, and procurement

For carrying out title III and subtitles A and B of title
XXVIII of the PHS Act, with respect to the research,
development, storage, production, and procurement of medical
countermeasures to counter potential chemical, biological,
radiological, and nuclear threats to civilian populations,
$3,277,991,000. Of such amount:
(1) $1,100,000,000 shall be for expenses necessary to
support advanced research and development pursuant to section
319L of the PHS Act and other administrative expenses of the
Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, to
remain available through September 30, 2025: Provided, That
funds provided under this heading for purposes of acquisition
of security countermeasures shall be in addition to any other
funds made available for such purposes: Provided further,
That products purchased with funds made available under this
paragraph may, at the discretion of the Secretary, be
deposited in the Strategic National Stockpile pursuant to
section 319F-2 of the PHS Act;
(2) $850,000,000 shall be for expenses necessary for
procuring security countermeasures (as defined in section
319F-2(c)(1)(B) of the PHS Act), to remain available until
expended;
(3) $1,000,000,000 shall be for expenses necessary to carry
out section 319F-2(a) of the PHS Act, to remain available
until expended; and
(4) $327,991,000 shall be for expenses necessary to prepare
for or respond to an influenza pandemic, of which
$300,000,000 shall remain available until expended for
activities including the development and purchase of
vaccines, antivirals, necessary medical supplies,
diagnostics, and surveillance tools: Provided, That
notwithstanding section 496(b) of the PHS Act, funds
allocated under this paragraph may be used for the
construction or renovation of privately owned facilities for
the production of pandemic influenza vaccines and other
biologics, if the Secretary finds such construction or
renovation necessary to secure sufficient supplies of such
vaccines or biologics.

operations and emergency response

For carrying out titles III, XII, and subtitles A and B of
title XXVIII of the PHS Act, operations and emergency
response activities related to countering potential chemical
biological, radiological, and nuclear threats and other
public health emergencies, $342,606,000.

Office of the Secretary

general departmental management

For necessary expenses, not otherwise provided, for general
departmental management, for carrying out titles III, XVII,
XXI, and section 229 of the PHS Act, the United States-Mexico
Border Health Commission Act, and research studies under
section 1110 of the Social Security Act, $402,341,000,
together with $58,028,000 from the amounts available under
section 241 of the PHS Act to carry out national health or
human services research and evaluation activities: Provided,
That of this amount, $28,000,000 shall be for minority AIDS
prevention and treatment activities: Provided further, That
of the funds made available under this heading, $40,000,000
shall be for making competitive grants which exclusively
implement education in sexual risk avoidance (defined as
voluntarily refraining from non-marital sexual activity):
Provided further, That funding for such competitive grants
for sexual risk avoidance shall use medically accurate
information referenced to peer-reviewed publications by
educational, scientific, governmental, or health
organizations; implement an evidence-based approach
integrating research findings with practical implementation
that aligns with the needs and desired outcomes for the
intended audience; and teach the benefits associated with
self-regulation, success sequencing for poverty prevention,
healthy relationships, goal setting, and resisting sexual
coercion, dating violence, and other youth risk behaviors
such as underage drinking or illicit drug use without
normalizing teen sexual activity: Provided further, That no
more than 10 percent of the funding for such competitive
grants for sexual risk avoidance shall be available for
technical assistance and administrative costs of such
programs: Provided further, That funds provided in this Act
for embryo adoption activities may be used to provide to
individuals adopting embryos, through grants and other
mechanisms, medical and administrative services deemed
necessary for such adoptions: Provided further, That such
services shall be provided consistent with 42 CFR 59.5(a)(4):
Provided further, That of the funds made available under
this heading, $5,000,000 shall be for carrying out prize
competitions sponsored by the Office of the Secretary to
accelerate innovation in the prevention, diagnosis, and
treatment of kidney diseases (as authorized by section 24 of
the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15
U.S.C. 3719)).

medicare hearings and appeals

For expenses necessary for Medicare hearings and appeals in
the Office of the Secretary, $196,000,000, of which
$40,000,000 shall remain available until September 30, 2025,
to be transferred in appropriate part from the Federal
Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Supplementary
Medical Insurance Trust Fund.

office of the national coordinator for health information technology

For expenses necessary for the Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology, including
grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements for the
development and advancement of interoperable health
information technology, $56,238,000 shall be from amounts
made available under section 241 of the PHS Act.

office of inspector general

For expenses necessary for the Office of Inspector General,
including the hire of passenger motor vehicles for
investigations, in carrying out the provisions of the
Inspector General Act of 1978, $80,000,000: Provided, That
of such amount, necessary sums shall be available for
providing protective services to the Secretary and
investigating non-payment of child support cases for which
non-payment is a Federal offense under 18 U.S.C. 228:
Provided further, That of the amount appropriated under this
heading, necessary sums shall be available for carrying out
activities authorized under section 3022 of the PHS Act (42
U.S.C. 300jj-52).

office for civil rights

For expenses necessary for the Office for Civil Rights,
$32,000,000.

retirement pay and medical benefits for commissioned officers

For retirement pay and medical benefits of Public Health
Service Commissioned Officers as authorized by law, for
payments under the Retired Serviceman's Family Protection
Plan and Survivor Benefit Plan, and for medical care of
dependents and retired personnel under the Dependents'
Medical Care Act, such amounts as may be required during the
current fiscal year.

General Provisions

Sec. 201. Funds appropriated in this title shall be
available for not to exceed $50,000 for official reception
and representation expenses when specifically approved by the
Secretary.
Sec. 202. None of the funds appropriated in this title
shall be used to pay the salary of an individual, through a
grant or other extramural mechanism, at a rate in excess of
Executive Level II: Provided, That none of the funds
appropriated in this title shall be used to prevent the NIH
from paying up to 100 percent of the salary of an individual
at this rate.
Sec. 203. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may
be expended pursuant to section 241 of the PHS Act, except
for funds specifically provided for in this Act, or for other
taps and assessments made by any office located in HHS, prior
to the preparation and submission of a report by the
Secretary to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate detailing the planned uses of
such funds.
Sec. 204. Notwithstanding section 241(a) of the PHS Act,
such portion as the Secretary shall determine, but not more
than 2.5 percent, of any amounts appropriated for programs
authorized under such Act shall be made available for the
evaluation (directly, or by grants or contracts) of the
implementation and effectiveness of such programs.

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 205. Not to exceed 1 percent of any discretionary
funds (pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985) which are appropriated for the current
fiscal year for HHS in this Act may be transferred between
appropriations, but no such appropriation shall be increased
by more than 3 percent by any such transfer: Provided, That
the transfer authority granted by this section shall not be
used to create any new program or to fund any project or
activity for which no funds are provided in this Act:
Provided further, That the Committees on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives and the Senate are notified at
least 15 days in advance of any transfer.
Sec. 206. In lieu of the timeframe specified in section
338E(c)(2) of the PHS Act, terminations described in such
section may occur up to 60 days after the effective date of a
contract awarded in fiscal year 2024 under section 338B of
such Act, or at any time if the individual who has been
awarded such contract has not received funds due under the
contract.
Sec. 207. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may
be made available to any entity under title X of the PHS Act
unless the applicant for the award certifies to the Secretary
that it encourages family participation in the decision of
minors to seek family planning services and that it provides
counseling to minors on how to resist attempts to coerce
minors into engaging in sexual activities.
Sec. 208. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
provider of services under title X of the PHS Act shall be
exempt from any State law requiring notification or the
reporting of child abuse, child molestation, sexual abuse,
rape, or incest.
Sec. 209. None of the funds appropriated by this Act
(including funds appropriated to any trust fund) may be used
to carry out the Medicare Advantage program if the Secretary
denies participation in such program to an otherwise eligible
entity (including a Provider Sponsored Organization) because
the entity informs the Secretary that it will not provide,
pay for, provide coverage of, or provide referrals for
abortions: Provided, That the Secretary shall make
appropriate prospective adjustments to the capitation payment
to such an entity (based on an

[[Page H5757]]

actuarially sound estimate of the expected costs of providing
the service to such entity's enrollees): Provided further,
That nothing in this section shall be construed to change the
Medicare program's coverage for such services and a Medicare
Advantage organization described in this section shall be
responsible for informing enrollees where to obtain
information about all Medicare covered services.
Sec. 210. None of the funds made available in this title
may be used, in whole or in part, to advocate or promote gun
control.
Sec. 211. The Secretary shall make available through
assignment not more than 60 employees of the Public Health
Service to assist in child survival activities and to work in
AIDS programs through and with funds provided by the Agency
for International Development, the United Nations
International Children's Emergency Fund or the World Health
Organization.
Sec. 212. In order for HHS to carry out international
health activities, including HIV/AIDS and other infectious
disease, chronic and environmental disease, and other health
activities abroad during fiscal year 2024:
(1) The Secretary may exercise authority equivalent to that
available to the Secretary of State in section 2(c) of the
State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956. The Secretary
shall consult with the Secretary of State and relevant Chief
of Mission to ensure that the authority provided in this
section is exercised in a manner consistent with section 207
of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and other applicable
statutes administered by the Department of State.
(2) The Secretary is authorized to provide such funds by
advance or reimbursement to the Secretary of State as may be
necessary to pay the costs of acquisition, lease, alteration,
renovation, and management of facilities outside of the
United States for the use of HHS. The Department of State
shall cooperate fully with the Secretary to ensure that HHS
has secure, safe, functional facilities that comply with
applicable regulation governing location, setback, and other
facilities requirements and serve the purposes established by
this Act. The Secretary is authorized, in consultation with
the Secretary of State, through grant or cooperative
agreement, to make available to public or nonprofit private
institutions or agencies in participating foreign countries,
funds to acquire, lease, alter, or renovate facilities in
those countries as necessary to conduct programs of
assistance for international health activities, including
activities relating to HIV/AIDS and other infectious
diseases, chronic and environmental diseases, and other
health activities abroad.
(3) The Secretary is authorized to provide to personnel
appointed or assigned by the Secretary to serve abroad,
allowances and benefits similar to those provided under
chapter 9 of title I of the Foreign Service Act of 1980, and
22 U.S.C. 4081 through 4086 and subject to such regulations
prescribed by the Secretary. The Secretary is further
authorized to provide locality-based comparability payments
(stated as a percentage) up to the amount of the locality-
based comparability payment (stated as a percentage) that
would be payable to such personnel under section 5304 of
title 5, United States Code if such personnel's official duty
station were in the District of Columbia. Leaves of absence
for personnel under this subsection shall be on the same
basis as that provided under subchapter I of chapter 63 of
title 5, United States Code, or section 903 of the Foreign
Service Act of 1980, to individuals serving in the Foreign
Service.

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 213. The Director of the NIH, jointly with the
Director of the Office of AIDS Research, may transfer up to 3
percent among institutes and centers from the total amounts
identified by these two Directors as funding for research
pertaining to the human immunodeficiency virus: Provided,
That the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate are notified at least 15 days
in advance of any transfer.

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 214. Of the amounts made available in this Act for
NIH, the amount for research related to the human
immunodeficiency virus, as jointly determined by the Director
of NIH and the Director of the Office of AIDS Research, shall
be made available to the ``Office of AIDS Research'' account.
The Director of the Office of AIDS Research shall transfer
from such account amounts necessary to carry out section
2353(d)(3) of the PHS Act.
Sec. 215. (a) Authority.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Director of NIH (``Director'') may use
funds authorized under section 402(b)(12) of the PHS Act to
enter into transactions (other than contracts, cooperative
agreements, or grants) to carry out research identified
pursuant to or research and activities described in such
section 402(b)(12).
(b) Peer Review.--In entering into transactions under
subsection (a), the Director may utilize such peer review
procedures (including consultation with appropriate
scientific experts) as the Director determines to be
appropriate to obtain assessments of scientific and technical
merit. Such procedures shall apply to such transactions in
lieu of the peer review and advisory council review
procedures that would otherwise be required under sections
301(a)(3), 405(b)(1)(B), 405(b)(2), 406(a)(3)(A), 492, and
494 of the PHS Act.
Sec. 216. Not to exceed $100,000,000 of funds appropriated
by this Act to the institutes and centers of the National
Institutes of Health may be used for alteration, repair, or
improvement of facilities, as necessary for the proper and
efficient conduct of the activities authorized herein, at not
to exceed $5,000,000 per project.

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 217. Of the amounts made available for NIH, 1 percent
of the amount made available for National Research Service
Awards (``NRSA'') shall be made available to the
Administrator of the Health Resources and Services
Administration to make NRSA awards for research in primary
medical care to individuals affiliated with entities who have
received grants or contracts under sections 736, 739, or 747
of the PHS Act, and 1 percent of the amount made available
for NRSA shall be made available to the Director of the
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to make NRSA
awards for health service research.
Sec. 218. (a) The Biomedical Advanced Research and
Development Authority (``BARDA'') may enter into a contract,
for more than one but no more than 10 program years, for
purchase of research services or of security countermeasures,
as that term is defined in section 319F-2(c)(1)(B) of the PHS
Act (42 U.S.C. 247d-6b(c)(1)(B)), if--
(1) funds are available and obligated--
(A) for the full period of the contract or for the first
fiscal year in which the contract is in effect; and
(B) for the estimated costs associated with a necessary
termination of the contract; and
(2) the Secretary determines that a multi-year contract
will serve the best interests of the Federal Government by
encouraging full and open competition or promoting economy in
administration, performance, and operation of BARDA's
programs.
(b) A contract entered into under this section--
(1) shall include a termination clause as described by
subsection (c) of section 3903 of title 41, United States
Code; and
(2) shall be subject to the congressional notice
requirement stated in subsection (d) of such section.
Sec. 219. (a) The Secretary shall publish in the fiscal
year 2025 budget justification and on Departmental Web sites
information concerning the employment of full-time equivalent
Federal employees or contractors for the purposes of
implementing, administering, enforcing, or otherwise carrying
out the provisions of the ACA, and the amendments made by
that Act, in the proposed fiscal year and each fiscal year
since the enactment of the ACA.
(b) With respect to employees or contractors supported by
all funds appropriated for purposes of carrying out the ACA
(and the amendments made by that Act), the Secretary shall
include, at a minimum, the following information:
(1) For each such fiscal year, the section of such Act
under which such funds were appropriated, a statement
indicating the program, project, or activity receiving such
funds, the Federal operating division or office that
administers such program, and the amount of funding received
in discretionary or mandatory appropriations.
(2) For each such fiscal year, the number of full-time
equivalent employees or contracted employees assigned to each
authorized and funded provision detailed in accordance with
paragraph (1).
(c) In carrying out this section, the Secretary may exclude
from the report employees or contractors who--
(1) are supported through appropriations enacted in laws
other than the ACA and work on programs that existed prior to
the passage of the ACA;
(2) spend less than 50 percent of their time on activities
funded by or newly authorized in the ACA; or
(3) work on contracts for which FTE reporting is not a
requirement of their contract, such as fixed-price contracts.
Sec. 220. The Secretary shall publish, as part of the
fiscal year 2025 budget of the President submitted under
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code, information
that details the uses of all funds used by the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services specifically for Health
Insurance Exchanges for each fiscal year since the enactment
of the ACA and the proposed uses for such funds for fiscal
year 2025. Such information shall include, for each such
fiscal year, the amount of funds used for each activity
specified under the heading ``Health Insurance Exchange
Transparency'' in the Explanatory Materials published at
<a href='https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/
republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY24-LHHS-
Explanatory-Materials.pdf'>https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/
republicans.appropriations.house.gov/files/FY24-LHHS-
Explanatory-Materials.pdf</a> (hereinafter ``Explanatory
Materials'').
Sec. 221. None of the funds made available by this Act
from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund or the Federal
Supplemental Medical Insurance Trust Fund, or transferred
from other accounts funded by this Act to the ``Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services--Program Management'' account,
may be used for payments under section 1342(b)(1) of Public
Law 111-148 (relating to risk corridors).

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 222. (a) Within 45 days of enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall transfer funds appropriated under section
4002 of the ACA to the accounts specified, in the amounts
specified, and for the activities specified under the heading
``Prevention and Public Health Fund'' in the Explanatory
Materials.
(b) Notwithstanding section 4002(c) of the ACA, the
Secretary may not further transfer these amounts.
(c) Funds transferred for activities authorized under
section 2821 of the PHS Act shall be made available without
reference to section 2821(b) of such Act.
Sec. 223. Effective during the period beginning on
November 1, 2015 and ending January 1, 2026, any provision of
law that refers (including through cross-reference to another
provision of law) to the current recommendations of the
United States Preventive Services Task Force with respect to
breast cancer screening, mammography, and prevention shall be
administered by the Secretary involved as if--

[[Page H5758]]

(1) such reference to such current recommendations were a
reference to the recommendations of such Task Force with
respect to breast cancer screening, mammography, and
prevention last issued before 2009; and
(2) such recommendations last issued before 2009 applied to
any screening mammography modality under section 1861(jj) of
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(jj)).

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 224. The NIH Director may transfer funds for opioid
addiction, opioid alternatives, stimulant misuse and
addiction, pain management, and addiction treatment to other
Institutes and Centers of the NIH to be used for the same
purpose 15 days after notifying the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate: Provided, That the transfer authority provided in
the previous proviso is in addition to any other transfer
authority provided by law.
Sec. 225. (a) The Secretary shall provide to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate:
(1) Detailed monthly enrollment figures from the Exchanges
established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care
Act of 2010 pertaining to enrollments during the open
enrollment period; and
(2) Notification of any new or competitive grant awards,
including supplements, authorized under section 330 of the
Public Health Service Act.
(b) The Committees on Appropriations of the House and
Senate must be notified at least 2 business days in advance
of any public release of enrollment information or the award
of such grants.
Sec. 226. The Department of Health and Human Services
shall provide the Committees on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives and Senate a biannual report 30 days after
enactment of this Act on staffing described in the
Explanatory Materials.
Sec. 227. Funds appropriated in this Act that are
available for salaries and expenses of employees of the
Department of Health and Human Services shall also be
available to pay travel and related expenses of such an
employee or of a member of his or her family, when such
employee is assigned to duty, in the United States or in a
U.S. territory, during a period and in a location that are
the subject of a determination of a public health emergency
under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act and such
travel is necessary to obtain medical care for an illness,
injury, or medical condition that cannot be adequately
addressed in that location at that time. For purposes of this
section, the term ``U.S. territory'' means Guam, the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands,
the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or the Trust Territory of
the Pacific Islands.
Sec. 228. The Department of Health and Human Services may
accept donations from the private sector, nongovernmental
organizations, and other groups independent of the Federal
Government for the care of unaccompanied alien children (as
defined in section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 279(g)(2))) in the care of the Office of
Refugee Resettlement of the Administration for Children and
Families, including medical goods and services, which may
include early childhood developmental screenings, school
supplies, toys, clothing, and any other items intended to
promote the wellbeing of such children.
Sec. 229. In addition to the existing Congressional
notification for formal site assessments of potential influx
facilities, the Secretary shall notify the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
at least 15 days before operationalizing an unlicensed
facility, and shall (1) specify whether the facility is hard-
sided or soft-sided, and (2) provide analysis that indicates
that, in the absence of the influx facility, the likely
outcome is that unaccompanied alien children will remain in
the custody of the Department of Homeland Security for longer
than 72 hours or that unaccompanied alien children will be
otherwise placed in danger. Within 60 days of bringing such a
facility online, and monthly thereafter, the Secretary shall
provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate a report detailing the total
number of children in care at the facility, the average
length of stay and average length of care of children at the
facility, and, for any child that has been at the facility
for more than 60 days, their length of stay and reason for
delay in release.
Sec. 230. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to prevent a United States Senator or Member of the
House of Representatives from entering, for the purpose of
conducting oversight, any facility in the United States used
for the purpose of maintaining custody of, or otherwise
housing, unaccompanied alien children (as defined in section
462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
279(g)(2))), provided that such Senator or Member has
coordinated the oversight visit with the Office of Refugee
Resettlement not less than two business days in advance to
ensure that such visit would not interfere with the
operations (including child welfare and child safety
operations) of such facility.
Sec. 231. Not later than 14 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and monthly thereafter, the Secretary
shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives and the Senate, and make publicly
available online, a report with respect to children who were
separated from their parents or legal guardians by the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (regardless of whether
or not such separation was pursuant to an option selected by
the children, parents, or guardians), subsequently classified
as unaccompanied alien children, and transferred to the care
and custody of ORR during the previous month. Each report
shall contain the following information:
(1) the number and ages of children so separated subsequent
to apprehension at or between ports of entry, to be reported
by sector where separation occurred; and
(2) the documented cause of separation, as reported by DHS
when each child was referred.
Sec. 232. Funds appropriated in this Act that are
available for salaries and expenses of employees of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall also be
available for the primary and secondary schooling of eligible
dependents of personnel stationed in a U.S. territory as
defined in section 227 of this Act at costs not in excess of
those paid for or reimbursed by the Department of Defense.
Sec. 233. Section 231 of division B of the Department of
Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Appropriations Act, 2019 and Continuing Appropriations Act,
2019 (42 U.S.C. 247d-4a) is amended by striking ``Provided
further, That the Committees on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives'' and all that follows through ``and all
the actual obligations incurred to date:'' and inserting the
following: ``Provided further, That the Director shall
provide to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate, at least 15 days in advance
of any transfer or obligation of funds made under the
authority provided in this section, (1) a notification on the
anticipated uses of funds by program, project, or activity;
and (2) a detailed spend plan of anticipated uses of funds,
including estimated personnel and administrative costs,
disaggregated by program, project, or activity: Provided
further, That such spend plans shall be updated to include
all applicable obligations to date and unobligated amounts
and submitted quarterly to such Committees on Appropriations
until such funds are fully expended: Provided further, That
the Director shall brief such Committees on Appropriations
not later than 15 days after providing such a notification:
Provided further, That the Director shall provide to such
Committees on a monthly basis a report on all amounts
available in the Reserve Fund for the current fiscal year and
the preceding two fiscal years, including (1) each individual
obligation above $5,000,000; (2) with respect to each such
obligation, the notification to which it relates; and (3) the
total amount unobligated in the Reserve Fund:''.
Sec. 234. Title VIII of division B of the CARES Act
(Public Law 116-136) is amended, under the heading
``Department of Health and Human Services-Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention-CDC-Wide Activities and Program
Support'', by striking ``Provided further, That the Secretary
of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the
Director of the CDC, shall provide a report to the Committees
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate every 14 days, for one year from the date from any
such declaration or determination described in the third
proviso of section 231 of division B of Public Law 115-245,
that details commitment and obligation information for the
Reserve Fund during the prior two weeks, as long as such
report would detail obligations in excess of $5,000,000, and
upon the request by such Committees:''.

(rescission)

Sec. 235. Of the unobligated balances in the
``Nonrecurring Expenses Fund'' established in section 223 of
division G of Public Law 110-161, $1,000,000,000 are hereby
rescinded not later than September 30, 2024: Provided, That
from any remaining unobligated balances in such Fund, the
Secretary of Health and Human Services may transfer up to
$85,000,000 to ``Department of Health and Human Services--
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention--Buildings and
Facilities'' to be merged with and to be available for the
same time period as the appropriations to which transferred:
Provided further, That, except as otherwise provided in this
Act, none of the funds provided by this Act may be obligated
for a new program, project, or activity using such Fund for
which a notification was not submitted to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
prior to the date of enactment of this Act: Provided
further, That the Secretary may obligate funds from such Fund
for any program, project, or activity for which a
notification was submitted before the date of enactment of
this Act: Provided further, That the Secretary may transfer
amounts into such Fund: Provided further, That any amounts
transferred into such Fund are available for the purposes
provided by this section or for which a notification was
submitted to such Committees on Appropriations before the
date of enactment of this Act: Provided further, That the
authority to transfer amounts under this section is in
addition to any other transfer authority in law.
Sec. 236. (a) Not later than March 16, 2023, and every 30
days thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Appropriations of the
Senate a report with respect to Federal expenditures made
pursuant to a covered law. Such report shall include the
following (if applicable for the period covered by the
report):
(1) The total amount of funding made available by covered
laws (and the amendments made by such laws) that has been
obligated to date.
(2) A list of each financial award funded, in part or in
full, by covered laws (and the amendments made by such laws),
including the following information for each such award:
(A) All recipients for which funding has been obligated.
(B) The amount of funding that has been obligated for each
recipient.
(C) The type of award (such as a grant or loan).

[[Page H5759]]

(3) The number, job title, and duties of any full time
equivalent employees who have been hired using the funding
made available by covered laws (and the amendments made by
such laws).
(4) An accounting of such funds that have not yet been
obligated.
(5) The identity of any contractors that have been procured
using such funding.
(6) The total amount of funding awarded under a covered law
that was returned to the Treasury and the specific accounts
to which such funds were obligated after being so returned.
(7) The total amount of such funds that have been
transferred out of each account established or funded under a
covered law, and with respect to such transferred funds, the
information specified in paragraphs (1) through (6).
(b) For purposes of this section, the term ``covered law''
means--
(1) section 11004 of Public Law 117-169 (commonly referred
to as the ``Inflation Reduction Act of 2022'');
(2) the American Rescue Plan Act (Public Law 117-2) (and
the amendments made by such Act); and
(3)(A) the third paragraph under the heading ``Office of
the Secretary--Public Health and Social Services Emergency
Fund'' of division B of the CARES Act (Public Law 116-136);
(B) the second paragraph under the heading ``Office of the
Secretary--Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund''
of division B of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health
Care Enhancement Act (Public Law 116-139); and
(C) the third paragraph under the heading ``Office of the
Secretary--Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund''
of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental
Appropriations Act, 2021 (division M of Public Law 117-260).
Sec. 237. None of the funds provided in this Act under the
heading ``Department of Health and Human Services--Office of
the Secretary--General Departmental Management'' may be used
for employee travel.
Sec. 238. None of the funds provided in this Act may be
used to conduct or support research using human fetal tissue
if such tissue is obtained pursuant to an induced abortion.
Sec. 239. (a) IN GENERAL.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, none of the funds made available by this
Act may be made available either directly, through a State
(including through managed care contracts with a State), or
through any other means, to a prohibited entity.
(b) PROHIBITED ENTITY.--The term ``prohibited entity''
means an entity, including its affiliates, subsidiaries,
successors, and clinics--
(1) that, as of the date of enactment of this Act--
(A) is an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation
under section 501(a) of such Code;
(B) is an essential community provider described in section
156.235 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations (as in
effect on the date of enactment of this Act), that is
primarily engaged in family planning services, reproductive
health, and related medical care; and
(C) performs, or provides any funds to any other entity
that performs abortions, other than an abortion performed--
(i) in the case of a pregnancy that is the result of an act
of rape or incest; or
(ii) in the case where a woman suffers from a physical
disorder, physical injury, or physical illness that would, as
certified by a physician, place the woman in danger of death
unless an abortion is performed, including a life endangering
physical condition caused by, or arising from, the pregnancy
itself; and
(2) for which the total amount of Federal grants to such
entity, including grants to any affiliates, subsidiaries, or
clinics of such entity, under title X of the Public Health
Service Act in fiscal year 2016 exceeded $23,000,000.
(c)(1) END OF PROHIBITION.--The definition in subsection
(b) shall cease to apply to an entity if such entity
certifies that it, including its affiliates, subsidiaries,
successors, and clinics, will not perform, and will not
provide any funds to any other entity that performs, an
abortion as described in subsection (b)(1)(C).
(2) REPAYMENT.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall seek repayment of any Federal assistance received by
any entity that had made a certification described in
paragraph (1) and subsequently violated the terms of such
certification.
Sec. 240. None of the funds in this Act may be used to
support, administer, oversee, or issue a grant, contract, or
cooperative agreement for the purposes of providing
information on, promoting access to, or facilitating an
abortion.
Sec. 241. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
Federal funding may be made available to the EcoHealth
Alliance, Inc. located in New York.
Sec. 242. None of the funds provided in this Act to the
Department of Health and Human Services, or provided under a
previous or subsequent appropriations Act to such department,
or provided from any account in the Treasury of the United
States derived by the collection of fees available to such
department, may be used to enforce the rule titled ``Medicare
and Medicaid Programs; Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff
Vaccination'', which was issued by the Centers for Medicare
and Medicaid Services on November 5, 2021, or any
substantially similar rule.
Sec. 243. None of the funds in this Act may be used to
implement, administer, or enforce Executive Order 13988,
entitled `Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the
Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation,' published by
the Executive Office of the President on January 25, 2021 (86
Fed. Reg. 7023).
Sec. 244. Beginning on the fourth day following the date
of enactment of this Act, the aggregate dollar amount
appropriated under the heading ``Department of Health and
Human Services--Office of the Secretary--General Departmental
Management'' shall be reduced by $1,000 for each day on which
the Secretary of Health and Human Services fails to submit to
the Congress the fiscal year 2023 and 2024 Moyer Report.
Sec. 245. None of the funds appropriated under this act
may be used to require any project under title X of the PHS
Act to refer for abortions: Provided, That no provider of
services under title X of the PHS Act shall be required to
subvert or operate in conflict with any State law limiting
referral for abortion/pregnancy counseling.
Sec. 246. Title II of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 202 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 245
the following:

``SEC. 245A. CIVIL ACTION FOR CERTAIN VIOLATIONS.

``(a) In General.--A qualified party may, in a civil
action, obtain appropriate relief with regard to a designated
violation.
``(b) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
``(1) Designated violation.--The term `designated
violation' means an actual or threatened violation of--
``(A) section 507(d) of division H of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2023 (or any subsequent substantially
similar provision); or
``(B) any funding condition imposed by the Federal
Government pursuant to such section 507(d) (or such
provision).
``(2) Qualified party.--The term `qualified party' means--
``(A) the Attorney General of the United States;
``(B) any attorney general of a State; or
``(C) any person or entity adversely affected by the
designated violation without regard to whether such person or
entity is a health care provider.
``(3) State governmental entity.--The term `State
governmental entity' means a State, a local government within
a State, and any agency or other governmental unit or
subdivision of a State, or of such a local government.
``(c) Administrative Remedies Not Required.--An action
under this section may be commenced, and relief may be
granted, without regard to whether the party commencing the
action has sought or exhausted any available administrative
remedies.
``(d) Defendants.--An action under this section may be
maintained against a Federal agency committing a designated
violation described in subsection (b)(1)(A) or any recipient
or subrecipient of Federal assistance committing a designated
violation described in subsection (b)(1)(B), including a
State governmental entity.
``(e) Nature of Relief.--In an action under this section,
the court shall grant--
``(1) all appropriate relief, including injunctive relief,
declaratory relief, and compensatory damages to prevent the
occurrence, continuance, or repetition of the designated
violation and to compensate for losses resulting from the
designated violation; and
``(2) to a prevailing plaintiff, reasonable attorneys' fees
and litigation costs.
Relief in an action under this section may include money
damages even if the defendant is a governmental entity.
``(f) Abrogation of State Immunity.--No State or
governmental official that commits a designated violation
shall be immune under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution
of the United States, the Eleventh Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States, or any other source of
law, from an action under subsection (a).''<inf>.
</inf> Sec. 247. None of the funds in this Act may be used
to issue or implement as a final rule the proposed rule
entitled ``Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and
Activities'' published by the Department of Health and Human
Services in the Federal Register on August 4, 2022 (87 Fed.
Reg. 47824) (relating to section 1557 of the Affordable Care
Act) or any successor or substantially similar rule.
Sec. 248. None of the funds in this Act may be used by the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to declare a public
health emergency pursuant to section 319 of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) or any related order that would
impede, limit, or restrict a citizen's Second Amendment
right.
This title may be cited as the ``Department of Health and
Human Services Appropriations Act, 2024''.

TITLE III

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

education for the disadvantaged

For carrying out title I and subpart 2 of part B of title
II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(referred to in this Act as ``ESEA'') and section 418A of the
Higher Education Act of 1965 (referred to in this Act as
``HEA''), $13,055,290,000, of which $2,126,990,000 shall
become available on July 1, 2024, and shall remain available
through September 30, 2025, and of which $10,841,177,000
shall become available on October 1, 2024, and shall remain
available through September 30, 2025, for academic year 2024-
2025: Provided, That $1,906,901,000 shall be for basic
grants under section 1124 of the ESEA: Provided further,
That up to $5,000,000 of these funds shall be available to
the Secretary of Education (referred to in this title as
``Secretary'') on October 1, 2023, to obtain annually updated
local educational agency-level census poverty data from the
Bureau of the Census: Provided further, That $1,362,301,000
shall be for concentration grants

[[Page H5760]]

under section 1124A of the ESEA: Provided further, That
$4,542,550,000 shall be for targeted grants under section
1125 of the ESEA: Provided further, That $4,542,550,000
shall be for education finance incentive grants under section
1125A of the ESEA: Provided further, That $224,000,000 shall
be for carrying out subpart 2 of part B of title II:
Provided further, That $52,123,000 shall be for carrying out
section 418A of the HEA.

Impact Aid

For carrying out programs of financial assistance to
federally affected schools authorized by title VII of the
ESEA, $1,618,112,000, of which $1,468,242,000 shall be for
basic support payments under section 7003(b), $48,316,000
shall be for payments for children with disabilities under
section 7003(d), $18,406,000 shall be for construction under
section 7007(a), $78,313,000 shall be for Federal property
payments under section 7002, and $4,835,000, to remain
available until expended, shall be for facilities maintenance
under section 7008: Provided, That for purposes of computing
the amount of a payment for an eligible local educational
agency under section 7003(a) for school year 2023-2024,
children enrolled in a school of such agency that would
otherwise be eligible for payment under section 7003(a)(1)(B)
of such Act, but due to the deployment of both parents or
legal guardians, or a parent or legal guardian having sole
custody of such children, or due to the death of a military
parent or legal guardian while on active duty (so long as
such children reside on Federal property as described in
section 7003(a)(1)(B)), are no longer eligible under such
section, shall be considered as eligible students under such
section, provided such students remain in average daily
attendance at a school in the same local educational agency
they attended prior to their change in eligibility status.

School Improvement Programs

For carrying out school improvement activities authorized
by part B of title I, part A of title II, subpart 1 of part A
of title IV, part B of title IV, part B of title V, and parts
B and C of title VI of the ESEA; the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act; section 203 of the Educational Technical
Assistance Act of 2002; the Compact of Free Association
Amendments Act of 2003; and the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
$4,850,428,000, of which $3,053,673,000 shall become
available on July 1, 2024, and remain available through
September 30, 2025, and of which $1,681,441,000 shall become
available on October 1, 2024, and shall remain available
through September 30, 2025, for academic year 2024-2025:
Provided, That $1,329,673,000 shall be for part B of title
IV: Provided further, That $45,897,000 shall be for part B
of title VI, which may be used for construction, renovation,
and modernization of any public elementary school, secondary
school, or structure related to a public elementary school or
secondary school that serves a predominantly Native Hawaiian
student body, and that the 5 percent limitation in section
6205(b) of the ESEA on the use of funds for administrative
purposes shall apply only to direct administrative costs:
Provided further, That $44,953,000 shall be for part C of
title VI, which shall be awarded on a competitive basis, and
may be used for construction, and that the 5 percent
limitation in section 6305 of the ESEA on the use of funds
for administrative purposes shall apply only to direct
administrative costs: Provided further, That $24,464,000
shall be available to carry out the Supplemental Education
Grants program for the Federated States of Micronesia and the
Republic of the Marshall Islands: Provided further, That the
Secretary may reserve up to 5 percent of the amount referred
to in the previous proviso to provide technical assistance in
the implementation of these grants: Provided further, That
$215,000,000 shall be for part B of title V: Provided
further, That $1,380,000,000 shall be available for grants
under subpart 1 of part A of title IV: Provided further,
That notwithstanding subsection (a)(3) of section 4103 of
such Act, the Secretary may reserve not more than 1 percent
under such subsection (a)(3) only for technical assistance.

Indian Education

For expenses necessary to carry out, to the extent not
otherwise provided, title VI, part A of the ESEA,
$194,746,000, of which $72,000,000 shall be for subpart 2 of
part A of title VI and $12,365,000 shall be for subpart 3 of
part A of title VI: Provided, That the 5 percent limitation
in sections 6115(d), 6121(e), and 6133(g) of the ESEA on the
use of funds for administrative purposes shall apply only to
direct administrative costs: Provided further, That grants
awarded under sections 6132 and 6133 of the ESEA with funds
provided under this heading may be for a period of up to 5
years.

Innovation and Improvement

For carrying out activities authorized by subparts 1, 3,
and 4 of part B of title II, and parts C, E, and subparts 1
and 4 of part F of title IV of the ESEA, $737,000,000:
Provided, That $3,000,000 shall be for subpart 3 of part B of
title II and shall be made available without regard to
sections 2201 and 2231(b): Provided further, That
$450,000,000 shall be for part C of title IV, and shall be
made available without regard to section 4311: Provided
further, That section 4303(d)(3)(A)(i) shall not apply to the
funds available for part C of title IV: Provided further,
That of the funds available for part C of title IV, the
Secretary shall use not less than $65,000,000 to carry out
section 4304, up to $140,000,000, to remain available through
March 31, 2025, to carry out section 4305(b), and not more
than $16,000,000 to carry out the activities in section
4305(a)(3): Provided further, That the Secretary shall
allow entities receiving grants under section 4303 to use up
to 10 percent of such grants for activities described in
section 4303(b)(2) and up to 5 percent for the activities
described in section 4303(c)(1)(C): Provided further, That
entities receiving grants under section 4304(k) shall not be
required to meet the matching requirements described in
section 4304(k)(2)(C) and (D) and shall not be required to
use such grants to support facilities aid programs that
allocate funds on a per-pupil basis: Provided further, That
notwithstanding section 4601(b), $284,000,000 shall be
available through December 31, 2024 for subpart 1 of part F
of title IV.

Safe Schools and Citizenship Education

For carrying out activities authorized by subparts 2 and 3
of part F of title IV of the ESEA, $316,000,000, to remain
available through December 31, 2024: Provided, That
$216,000,000 shall be available for section 4631, of which up
to $5,000,000, to remain available until expended, shall be
for the Project School Emergency Response to Violence
(Project SERV) program: Provided further, That $100,000,000
shall be available for section 4625.

Special Education

For carrying out the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA) and the Special Olympics Sport and
Empowerment Act of 2004, $15,453,264,000, of which
$5,870,321,000 shall become available on July 1, 2024, and
shall remain available through September 30, 2025, and of
which $9,283,383,000 shall become available on October 1,
2024, and shall remain available through September 30, 2025,
for academic year 2024-2025: Provided, That the amount for
section 611(b)(2) of the IDEA shall be equal to the lesser of
the amount available for that activity during fiscal year
2023, increased by the amount of inflation as specified in
section 619(d)(2)(B) of the IDEA, or the percent change in
the funds appropriated under section 611(i) of the IDEA, but
not less than the amount for that activity during fiscal year
2023: Provided further, That the Secretary shall, without
regard to section 611(d) of the IDEA, distribute to all other
States (as that term is defined in section 611(g)(2)),
subject to the third proviso, any amount by which a State's
allocation under section 611, from funds appropriated under
this heading, is reduced under section 612(a)(18)(B),
according to the following: 85 percent on the basis of the
States' relative populations of children aged 3 through 21
who are of the same age as children with disabilities for
whom the State ensures the availability of a free appropriate
public education under this part, and 15 percent to States on
the basis of the States' relative populations of those
children who are living in poverty: Provided further, That
the Secretary may not distribute any funds under the previous
proviso to any State whose reduction in allocation from funds
appropriated under this heading made funds available for such
a distribution: Provided further, That the States shall
allocate such funds distributed under the second proviso to
local educational agencies in accordance with section 611(f):
Provided further, That the amount by which a State's
allocation under section 611(d) of the IDEA is reduced under
section 612(a)(18)(B) and the amounts distributed to States
under the previous provisos in fiscal year 2012 or any
subsequent year shall not be considered in calculating the
awards under section 611(d) for fiscal year 2013 or for any
subsequent fiscal years: Provided further, That,
notwithstanding the provision in section 612(a)(18)(B)
regarding the fiscal year in which a State's allocation under
section 611(d) is reduced for failure to comply with the
requirement of section 612(a)(18)(A), the Secretary may apply
the reduction specified in section 612(a)(18)(B) over a
period of consecutive fiscal years, not to exceed 5, until
the entire reduction is applied: Provided further, That the
Secretary may, in any fiscal year in which a State's
allocation under section 611 is reduced in accordance with
section 612(a)(18)(B), reduce the amount a State may reserve
under section 611(e)(1) by an amount that bears the same
relation to the maximum amount described in that paragraph as
the reduction under section 612(a)(18)(B) bears to the total
allocation the State would have received in that fiscal year
under section 611(d) in the absence of the reduction:
Provided further, That the Secretary shall either reduce the
allocation of funds under section 611 for any fiscal year
following the fiscal year for which the State fails to comply
with the requirement of section 612(a)(18)(A) as authorized
by section 612(a)(18)(B), or seek to recover funds under
section 452 of the General Education Provisions Act (20
U.S.C. 1234a): Provided further, That the funds reserved
under 611(c) of the IDEA may be used to provide technical
assistance to States to improve the capacity of the States to
meet the data collection requirements of sections 616 and 618
and to administer and carry out other services and activities
to improve data collection, coordination, quality, and use
under parts B and C of the IDEA: Provided further, That the
Secretary may use funds made available for the State
Personnel Development Grants program under part D, subpart 1
of IDEA to evaluate program performance under such subpart:
Provided further, That States may use funds reserved for
other State-level activities under sections 611(e)(2) and
619(f) of the IDEA to make subgrants to local educational
agencies, institutions of higher education, other public
agencies, and private non-profit organizations to carry out
activities authorized by those sections: Provided further,
That, notwithstanding section 643(e)(2)(A) of the IDEA, if 5
or fewer States apply for grants pursuant to section 643(e)
of such Act, the Secretary shall provide a grant to each
State in an amount equal to the maximum amount described in
section 643(e)(2)(B) of such Act: Provided further, That if
more than 5 States apply for grants pursuant to section
643(e) of the IDEA, the Secretary shall award funds to those
States on the basis of the States' relative populations of
infants and toddlers except that no such State shall receive
a grant in excess of the amount described in section

[[Page H5761]]

643(e)(2)(B) of such Act: Provided further, That States may
use funds allotted under section 643(c) of the IDEA to make
subgrants to local educational agencies, institutions of
higher education, other public agencies, and private non-
profit organizations to carry out activities authorized by
section 638 of IDEA: Provided further, That, notwithstanding
section 638 of the IDEA, a State may use funds it receives
under section 633 of the IDEA to offer continued early
intervention services to a child who previously received
services under part C of the IDEA from age 3 until the
beginning of the school year following the child's third
birthday with parental consent and without regard to the
procedures in section 635(c) of the IDEA.

Rehabilitation Services

For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Helen Keller National
Center Act, $4,397,033,000, of which $4,253,834,000 shall be
for grants for vocational rehabilitation services under title
I of the Rehabilitation Act.

Special Institutions for Persons With Disabilities

american printing house for the blind

For carrying out the Act to Promote the Education of the
Blind of March 3, 1879, $43,431,000.

national technical institute for the deaf

For the National Technical Institute for the Deaf under
titles I and II of the Education of the Deaf Act of 1986,
$92,500,000: Provided, That from the total amount available,
the Institute may at its discretion use funds for the
endowment program as authorized under section 207 of such
Act.

gallaudet university

For the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, the Model
Secondary School for the Deaf, and the partial support of
Gallaudet University under titles I and II of the Education
of the Deaf Act of 1986, $165,361,000, of which up to
$15,000,000, to remain available until expended, shall be for
construction, as defined by section 201(2) of such Act:
Provided, That from the total amount available, the
University may at its discretion use funds for the endowment
program as authorized under section 207 of such Act.

Career, Technical, and Adult Education

For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, the
Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006
(``Perkins Act'') and the Adult Education and Family Literacy
Act (``AEFLA''), $2,191,436,000, of which $1,400,436,000
shall become available on July 1, 2024, and shall remain
available through September 30, 2025, and of which
$791,000,000 shall become available on October 1, 2024, and
shall remain available through September 30, 2025: Provided,
That $25,000,000 shall be available for innovation and
modernization grants under such section 114(e) of the Perkins
Act: Provided further, That of the amounts made available
for AEFLA, $13,712,000 shall be for national leadership
activities under section 242.

Student Financial Assistance

For carrying out subparts 1 and 10 of part A of title IV of
the HEA, $22,475,352,000 which shall remain available through
September 30, 2025.
The maximum Pell Grant for which a student shall be
eligible during award year 2024-2025 shall be $6,335.

Student Aid Administration

For Federal administrative expenses to carry out part D of
title I, and subparts 1, 9, and 10 of part A, and parts B, D,
and E of title IV of the HEA, and subpart 1 of part A of
title VII of the Public Health Service Act, $1,769,207,000,
to remain available through September 30, 2025: Provided,
That for student loan contracts awarded prior to October 1,
2017, the Secretary shall allow student loan borrowers who
are consolidating Federal student loans to select from any
student loan servicer to service their new consolidated
student loan: Provided further, That in order to promote
accountability and high-quality service to borrowers, the
Secretary shall not award funding for any contract
solicitation for a new Federal student loan servicing
environment, including the solicitation for the Federal
Student Aid (FSA) Next Generation Processing and Servicing
Environment, unless such an environment provides for the
participation of multiple student loan servicers that
contract directly with the Department of Education to manage
a unique portfolio of borrower accounts and the full life-
cycle of loans from disbursement to pay-off with certain
limited exceptions, and allocates student loan borrower
accounts to eligible student loan servicers based on
performance: Provided further, That the Secretary shall
provide quarterly briefings to the Committees on
Appropriations and Education and Labor of the House of
Representatives and the Committees on Appropriations and
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate on
general progress related to solicitations for Federal student
loan servicing contracts: Provided further, That not later
than 60 days after enactment of this Act, FSA shall provide
to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate a detailed spend plan of
anticipated uses of funds made available in this account for
fiscal year 2024 and provide quarterly updates on this plan
(including contracts awarded, change orders, bonuses paid to
staff, reorganization costs, and any other activity carried
out using amounts provided under this heading for fiscal year
2024).

Higher Education

For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided,
titles III, IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII of the HEA, and section
117 of the Perkins Act, $2,767,239,000: Provided, That
notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds made
available in this Act to carry out title VI of the HEA may be
used to support visits and study in foreign countries by
individuals who are participating in advanced foreign
language training and international studies in areas that are
vital to United States national security and who plan to
apply their language skills and knowledge of these countries
in the fields of government, the professions, or
international development: Provided further, That of the
funds referred to in the preceding proviso up to 1 percent
may be used for program evaluation, national outreach, and
information dissemination activities: Provided further, That
up to 1.5 percent of the funds made available under chapter 2
of subpart 2 of part A of title IV of the HEA may be used for
evaluation: Provided further, That section 313(d) of the HEA
shall not apply to an institution of higher education that is
eligible to receive funding under section 318 of the HEA:
Provided further, That of the funds made available under this
Act to carry out part B of title III of the HEA, to
supplement amounts otherwise available, not less than
$10,000,000 shall be for grants to part B institutions as
defined under section 322(2) of the HEA, that are junior or
community colleges, as defined in section 312(f) of the HEA:
Provided further, That funds in the preceding proviso are in
addition to any grant award that any such institution may
receive under section 323 of such Act and shall be allocated
in accordance with the allotments specified under section 324
of such Act.

Howard University

For partial support of Howard University, $301,693,000, of
which not less than $3,405,000 shall be for a matching
endowment grant pursuant to the Howard University Endowment
Act and shall remain available until expended.

College Housing and Academic Facilities Loans Program

For Federal administrative expenses to carry out activities
related to existing facility loans pursuant to section 121 of
the HEA, $321,000.

Historically Black College and University Capital Financing Program
Account

For the cost of guaranteed loans, $20,150,000, as
authorized pursuant to part D of title III of the HEA, which
shall remain available through September 30, 2025: Provided,
That such costs, including the cost of modifying such loans,
shall be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional
Budget Act of 1974: Provided further, That these funds are
available to subsidize total loan principal, any part of
which is to be guaranteed, not to exceed $377,340,824:
Provided further, That these funds may be used to support
loans to public and private Historically Black Colleges and
Universities without regard to the limitations within section
344(a) of the HEA.
In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out the
Historically Black College and University Capital Financing
Program entered into pursuant to part D of title III of the
HEA, $528,000.

Institute of Education Sciences

For necessary expenses for the Institute of Education
Sciences as authorized by section 208 of the Department of
Education Organization Act and carrying out activities
authorized by the National Assessment of Educational Progress
Authorization Act, section 208 of the Educational Technical
Assistance Act of 2002, and section 664 of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act, $707,372,000, which shall
remain available through September 30, 2025.

Departmental Management

program administration

For carrying out, to the extent not otherwise provided, the
Department of Education Organization Act, including rental of
conference rooms in the District of Columbia and hire of
three passenger motor vehicles, $350,000,000: Provided,
That none of the funds provided by this Act may be used to
support a number of non-career employees that is above the
number of non-career employees as of December 31, 2021.

office for civil rights

For expenses necessary for the Office for Civil Rights, as
authorized by section 203 of the Department of Education
Organization Act, $105,000,000.

office of inspector general

For expenses necessary for the Office of Inspector General,
as authorized by section 212 of the Department of Education
Organization Act, $60,000,000, of which $3,000,000 shall be
available through September 30, 2025.

General Provisions

Sec. 301. No funds appropriated in this Act may be used to
prevent the implementation of programs of voluntary prayer
and meditation in the public schools.

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 302. Not to exceed 1 percent of any discretionary
funds (pursuant to the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985) which are appropriated for the
Department of Education in this Act may be transferred
between appropriations, but no such appropriation shall be
increased by more than 3 percent by any such transfer:
Provided, That the transfer authority granted by this section
shall not be used to create any new program or to fund any
project or activity for which no funds are provided in this
Act: Provided further, That the Committees on Appropriations
of the House of Representatives and the Senate are notified
at least 15 days in advance of any transfer.
Sec. 303. Funds appropriated in this Act and consolidated
for evaluation purposes under section 8601(c) of the ESEA
shall be available from July 1, 2024, through September 30,
2025.
Sec. 304. (a) An institution of higher education that
maintains an endowment fund supported with funds appropriated
for title III or V of the HEA for fiscal year 2024 may use
the income from that fund to award scholarships to

[[Page H5762]]

students, subject to the limitation in section
331(c)(3)(B)(i) of the HEA. The use of such income for such
purposes, prior to the enactment of this Act, shall be
considered to have been an allowable use of that income,
subject to that limitation.
(b) Subsection (a) shall be in effect until titles III and
V of the HEA are reauthorized.
Sec. 305. Section 114(f) of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1011c(f))
shall be applied by substituting ``2024'' for ``2021''.
Sec. 306. Section 458(a)(4) of the HEA (20 U.S.C.
1087h(a)) shall be applied by substituting ``2024'' for
``2021''.
Sec. 307. Funds appropriated in this Act under the heading
``Student Aid Administration'' may be available for payments
for student loan servicing to an institution of higher
education that services outstanding Federal Perkins Loans
under part E of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965
(20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.).
Sec. 308. The Secretary may reserve not more than 0.5
percent from any amount made available in this Act for an HEA
program, except for any amounts made available for subpart 1
of part A of title IV of the HEA, to carry out rigorous and
independent evaluations and to collect and analyze outcome
data for any program authorized by the HEA: Provided, That
no funds made available in this Act for the ``Student Aid
Administration'' account shall be subject to the reservation
under this section: Provided further, That any funds
reserved under this section shall be available through
September 30, 2026: Provided further, That if, under any
other provision of law, funds are authorized to be reserved
or used for evaluation activities with respect to a program
or project, the Secretary may also reserve funds for such
program or project for the purposes described in this section
so long as the total reservation of funds for such program or
project does not exceed any statutory limits on such
reservations: Provided further, That not later than 30 days
prior to the initial obligation of funds reserved under this
section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on
Appropriations of the Senate and the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education
and Labor of the House of Representatives a plan that
identifies the source and amount of funds reserved under this
section, the impact on program grantees if funds are withheld
for the purposes of this section, and the activities to be
carried out with such funds.

(including transfer of funds)

Sec. 309. Of the amounts appropriated in this Act for
``Institute of Education Sciences'', up to $19,000,000 shall
be available for the Secretary of Education (``the
Secretary'') to provide support services to the Institute of
Education Sciences (including, but not limited to information
technology services, lease or procurement of office space,
human resource services, financial management services,
financial systems support, budget formulation and execution,
legal counsel, equal employment opportunity services,
physical security, facilities management, acquisition and
contract management, grants administration and policy, and
enterprise risk management): Provided, That the Secretary
shall calculate the actual amounts obligated and expended for
such support services by using a standard Department of
Education methodology for allocating the cost of all such
support services: Provided further, That the Secretary may
transfer any amounts available for IES support services in
excess of actual amounts needed for IES support services, as
so calculated, to the ``Program Administration'' account from
the ``Institute of Education Sciences'' account: Provided
further, That in order to address any shortfall between
amounts available for IES support services and amounts needed
for IES support services, as so calculated, the Secretary may
transfer necessary amounts to the ``Institute of Education
Sciences'' account from the ``Program Administration''
account: Provided further, That the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
are notified at least 14 days in advance of any transfer made
pursuant to this section.

(rescission)

Sec. 310. Of the unobligated balances in the ``Department
of Education Nonrecurring Expenses Fund'' established in
section 313 of division H of Public Law 116-260, $29,000,000
are hereby rescinded not later than September 30, 2024:
Provided, That from any remaining unobligated balances in
such Fund, the Secretary may transfer up to $45,325,000 to
``Howard University'' for completion of the Howard University
hospital, to remain available until expended: Provided
further, That, except as otherwise provided in this Act,
none of the funds provided by this Act may be obligated for a
new program, project, or activity using such Fund for which a
notification was not submitted to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
before the date of enactment of this Act: Provided further,
That the Secretary may obligate funds from such Fund for any
program, project, or activity for which a notification was
submitted before the date of enactment of this Act: Provided
further, That the Secretary may transfer amounts into such
Fund: Provided further, That any amounts transferred into
such Fund are available for the purposes provided by this
section or for which a notification was submitted to such
Committees on Appropriations before the date of enactment of
this Act: Provided further, That the authority to transfer
amounts under this section is in addition to any other
transfer authority in law.
Sec. 311. (a) None of the funds made available by this
title may be used to issue or implement as final rules the
rules proposed by the Department of Education relating to
title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (20 5 U.S.C.
1681-1688) and described under the heading
``Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs
or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance'' (87
Fed. Reg. 41390; published July 12, 2022).
(b) None of the funds made available by this title may be
used to issue or implement--
(1) as final rules the rules proposed by the Department of
Education relating to title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972 (20 U.S.C. 1681-1688) and described under the heading
``Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs
or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance: Sex-
Related Eligibility Criteria for Male and Female Athletic
Teams'' (88 Fed. Reg. 22860; published April 13, 2023), or
(2) any rule similar in substance to the proposed rules
described in paragraph (1) that relates to eligibility
criteria for participation on athletic teams.
Sec. 312. None of the funds made available under this Act
may be provided to any public institution of higher education
that denies to a religious student organization any right,
benefit, or privilege that is otherwise afforded to other
student organizations at the institution (including full
access to the facilities of the institution and official
recognition of the organization by the institution) because
of the religious beliefs, practices, speech, leadership
standards, or standards of conduct of the religious student
organization.

(rescission)

Sec. 313. Of the amounts which are made available to
``Department of Education--Education for the Disadvantaged''
on October 1, 2023 by Public Law 117-328, $8,671,399,000 are
hereby rescinded.

(rescission)

Sec. 314. Of the amounts which are made available to
``Department of Education--School Improvement Programs'' on
October 1, 2023 by Public Law 117-328, $1,681,441,000 are
hereby rescinded.
Sec. 315. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to--
(1) implement the waivers and modifications of statutory
and regulatory provisions relating to an extension of the
suspension of payments on certain loans and waivers of
interest on such loans under section 3513 of the CARES Act
(20 U.S.C. 1001 note), described by the Department of
Education in the Federal Register on October 12, 2022 (87
Fed. Reg. 61513 et seq.), and most recently extended in the
announcement by the Department of Education on November 22,
2022;
(2) take any substantially similar action; or
(3) waive any consequences of nonpayment by a borrower in
repayment such as delinquency or default.
Sec. 316. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to--
(1) implement the modifications of statutory and regulatory
provisions relating to debt discharge described by the
Department of Education in the Federal Register on October
12, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 61514), or take any substantially
similar action;
(2) issue a final rule or otherwise implement the proposed
rule on ``Improving Income-Driven Repayment for the William
D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program'' published by the
Department of Education in the Federal Register on January
11, 2023 (88 Fed. Reg. 1894 et seq.), or take any
substantially similar action; or
(3) implement, administer, or enforce parts 600, 668, and
685 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, (relating to
borrower defense to repayment), as amended by the final
regulations published by the Department of Education in the
Federal Register on November 1, 2022 (87 Fed. Reg. 65904 et
seq.) or take any substantially similar action.
Sec. 317. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to provide financial assistance to an educational
institution that allows an individual whose sex is male to
participate in an athletic program or activity that is
designated for women or girls. For the purpose of this
section, the term ``sex'' means the reproductive biology and
genetics of an individual as determined solely at birth.
This title may be cited as the ``Department of Education
Appropriations Act, 2024''.

TITLE IV

RELATED AGENCIES

Committee for Purchase From People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary for the Committee for Purchase From
People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (referred to in
this title as ``the Committee'') established under section
8502 of title 41, United States Code, $13,124,000: Provided,
That in order to authorize any central nonprofit agency
designated pursuant to section 8503(c) of title 41, United
States Code, to perform requirements of the Committee as
prescribed under section 51-3.2 of title 41, Code of Federal
Regulations, the Committee shall enter into a written
agreement with any such central nonprofit agency: Provided
further, That such agreement shall contain such auditing,
oversight, and reporting provisions as necessary to implement
chapter 85 of title 41, United States Code: Provided
further, That such agreement shall include the elements
listed under the heading ``Committee For Purchase From People
Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled--Written Agreement
Elements'' in the explanatory statement described in section
4 of Public Law 114-113 (in the matter preceding division A
of that consolidated Act): Provided further, That any such
central nonprofit agency may not charge a fee under section
51-3.5 of title 41, Code of Federal Regulations, prior to
executing a written agreement with the Committee: Provided
further, That no less than $3,150,000 shall be available for
the Office of Inspector General.

[[Page H5763]]

Corporation for National and Community Service

operating expenses

For necessary expenses for the Corporation for National and
Community Service (referred to in this title as ``CNCS'') to
carry out the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973
(referred to in this title as ``1973 Act'') and the National
and Community Service Act of 1990 (referred to in this title
as ``1990 Act''), $593,347,000, notwithstanding sections
198B(b)(3), 198S(g), 501(a)(4)(C), and 501(a)(4)(F) of the
1990 Act: Provided, That of the amounts provided under this
heading up to 1 percent of program grant funds may be used to
defray the costs of conducting grant application reviews,
including the use of outside peer reviewers and electronic
management of the grants cycle: Provided further, That for
the purposes of carrying out the 1990 Act, satisfying the
requirements in section 122(c)(1)(D) may include a
determination of need by the local community.

salaries and expenses

For necessary expenses of administration as provided under
section 501(a)(5) of the 1990 Act and under section 504(a) of
the 1973 Act, including payment of salaries, authorized
travel, hire of passenger motor vehicles, the rental of
conference rooms in the District of Columbia, the employment
of experts and consultants authorized under 5 U.S.C. 3109,
and not to exceed $2,500 for official reception and
representation expenses, $60,000,000.

office of inspector general

For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the Inspector General Act of 1978,
$7,595,000.

administrative provisions

Sec. 401. CNCS shall make any significant changes to
program requirements, service delivery or policy only through
public notice and comment rulemaking. For fiscal year 2024,
during any grant selection process, an officer or employee of
CNCS shall not knowingly disclose any covered grant selection
information regarding such selection, directly or indirectly,
to any person other than an officer or employee of CNCS that
is authorized by CNCS to receive such information.
Sec. 402. AmeriCorps programs receiving grants under the
National Service Trust program shall meet an overall minimum
share requirement of 24 percent for the first 3 years that
they receive AmeriCorps funding, and thereafter shall meet
the overall minimum share requirement as provided in section
2521.60 of title 45, Code of Federal Regulations, without
regard to the operating costs match requirement in section
121(e) or the member support Federal share limitations in
section 140 of the 1990 Act, and subject to partial waiver
consistent with section 2521.70 of title 45, Code of Federal
Regulations.
Sec. 403. Donations made to CNCS under section 196 of the
1990 Act for the purposes of financing programs and
operations under titles I and II of the 1973 Act or subtitle
B, C, D, or E of title I of the 1990 Act shall be used to
supplement and not supplant current programs and operations.
Sec. 404. In addition to the requirements in section
146(a) of the 1990 Act, use of an educational award for the
purpose described in section 148(a)(4) shall be limited to
individuals who are veterans as defined under section 101 of
the Act.
Sec. 405. For the purpose of carrying out section 189D of
the 1990 Act--
(1) entities described in paragraph (a) of such section
shall be considered ``qualified entities'' under section 3 of
the National Child Protection Act of 1993 (``NCPA'');
(2) individuals described in such section shall be
considered ``volunteers'' under section 3 of NCPA; and
(3) State Commissions on National and Community Service
established pursuant to section 178 of the 1990 Act, are
authorized to receive criminal history record information,
consistent with Public Law 92-544.
Sec. 406. Notwithstanding sections 139(b), 146 and 147 of
the 1990 Act, an individual who successfully completes a term
of service of not less than 1,200 hours during a period of
not more than one year may receive a national service
education award having a value of 70 percent of the value of
a national service education award determined under section
147(a) of the Act.

(rescission)

Sec. 407. Of the unobligated balances available in the
``National Service Trust'' established in section 102 of the
National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993,
$243,000,000 are hereby permanently rescinded, except that no
amounts may be rescinded from amounts that were previously
designated by the Congress as being for an emergency
requirement pursuant to a concurrent resolution on the budget
or the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.

Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary for the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service (``Service'') to carry out the functions
vested in it by the Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947,
including hire of passenger motor vehicles; for expenses
necessary for the Labor-Management Cooperation Act of 1978;
and for expenses necessary for the Service to carry out the
functions vested in it by the Civil Service Reform Act,
$53,705,000: Provided, That notwithstanding 31 U.S.C. 3302,
fees charged, up to full-cost recovery, for special training
activities and other conflict resolution services and
technical assistance, including those provided to foreign
governments and international organizations, and for
arbitration services shall be credited to and merged with
this account, and shall remain available until expended:
Provided further, That fees for arbitration services shall be
available only for education, training, and professional
development of the agency workforce: Provided further, That
the Director of the Service is authorized to accept and use
on behalf of the United States gifts of services and real,
personal, or other property in the aid of any projects or
functions within the Director's jurisdiction.

Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary for the Federal Mine Safety and
Health Review Commission, $18,012,000.

Institute of Museum and Library Services

office of museum and library services: grants and administration

For carrying out the Museum and Library Services Act of
1996 and the National Museum of African American History and
Culture Act, $294,800,000.

Medicaid and Chip Payment and Access Commission

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary to carry out section 1900 of the
Social Security Act, $9,405,000.

Medicare Payment Advisory Commission

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary to carry out section 1805 of the
Social Security Act, $13,824,000, to be transferred to this
appropriation from the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund
and the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund.

National Council on Disability

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary for the National Council on
Disability as authorized by title IV of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, $3,850,000.

National Labor Relations Board

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary for the National Labor Relations
Board to carry out the functions vested in it by the Labor-
Management Relations Act, 1947, and other laws, $200,000,000:
Provided, That no part of this appropriation shall be
available to organize or assist in organizing agricultural
laborers or used in connection with investigations, hearings,
directives, or orders concerning bargaining units composed of
agricultural laborers as referred to in section 2(3) of the
Act of July 5, 1935, and as amended by the Labor-Management
Relations Act, 1947, and as defined in section 3(f) of the
Act of June 25, 1938, and including in said definition
employees engaged in the maintenance and operation of
ditches, canals, reservoirs, and waterways when maintained or
operated on a mutual, nonprofit basis and at least 95 percent
of the water stored or supplied thereby is used for farming
purposes.

administrative provisions

Sec. 408. None of the funds provided by this Act or
previous Acts making appropriations for the National Labor
Relations Board may be used to issue any new administrative
directive or regulation that would provide employees any
means of voting through any electronic means in an election
to determine a representative for the purposes of collective
bargaining.
Sec. 409. No Federal funds may be made available to alter
or affect the administration, implementation, or enforcement
of the final rule entitled ``Joint Employer Status Under the
National Labor Relations Act'' (86 Fed. Reg. 11184) and dated
February 26, 2020.

National Mediation Board

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of the
Railway Labor Act, including emergency boards appointed by
the President, $15,113,000.

Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission

salaries and expenses

For expenses necessary for the Occupational Safety and
Health Review Commission, $15,449,000.

Railroad Retirement Board

dual benefits payments account

For payment to the Dual Benefits Payments Account,
authorized under section 15(d) of the Railroad Retirement Act
of 1974, $8,000,000, which shall include amounts becoming
available in fiscal year 2024 pursuant to section
224(c)(1)(B) of Public Law 98-76; and in addition, an amount,
not to exceed 2 percent of the amount provided herein, shall
be available proportional to the amount by which the product
of recipients and the average benefit received exceeds the
amount available for payment of vested dual benefits:
Provided, That the total amount provided herein shall be
credited in 12 approximately equal amounts on the first day
of each month in the fiscal year.

federal payments to the railroad retirement accounts

For payment to the accounts established in the Treasury for
the payment of benefits under the Railroad Retirement Act for
interest earned on unnegotiated checks, $150,000, to remain
available through September 30, 2025, which shall be the
maximum amount available for payment pursuant to section 417
of Public Law 98-76.

limitation on administration

For necessary expenses for the Railroad Retirement Board
(``Board'') for administration of the Railroad Retirement Act
and the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, $103,000,000, to
be derived in such amounts as determined by the Board from
the railroad retirement accounts

[[Page H5764]]

and from moneys credited to the railroad unemployment
insurance administration fund: Provided, That
notwithstanding section 7(b)(9) of the Railroad Retirement
Act this limitation may be used to hire attorneys only
through the excepted service: Provided further, That the
previous proviso shall not change the status under Federal
employment laws of any attorney hired by the Railroad
Retirement Board prior to January 1, 2013: Provided further,
That notwithstanding section 7(b)(9) of the Railroad
Retirement Act, this limitation may be used to hire students
attending qualifying educational institutions or individuals
who have recently completed qualifying educational programs
using current excepted hiring authorities established by the
Office of Personnel Management.

limitation on the office of inspector general

For expenses necessary for the Office of Inspector General
for audit, investigatory and review activities, as authorized
by the Inspector General Act of 1978, not more than
$14,000,000, to be derived from the railroad retirement
accounts and railroad unemployment insurance account.

Social Security Administration

payments to social security trust funds

For payment to the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund,
as provided under sections 201(m) and 1131(b)(2) of the
Social Security Act, $10,000,000.

supplemental security income program

For carrying out titles XI and XVI of the Social Security
Act, section 401 of Public Law 92-603, section 212 of Public
Law 93-66, as amended, and section 405 of Public Law 95-216,
including payment to the Social Security trust funds for
administrative expenses incurred pursuant to section
201(g)(1) of the Social Security Act, $45,455,426,000, to
remain available until expended: Provided, That any portion
of the funds provided to a State in the current fiscal year
and not obligated by the State during that year shall be
returned to the Treasury: Provided further, That not more
than $91,000,000 shall be available for research and
demonstrations under sections 1110, 1115, and 1144 of the
Social Security Act, and remain available through September
30, 2026.
For making, after June 15 of the current fiscal year,
benefit payments to individuals under title XVI of the Social
Security Act, for unanticipated costs incurred for the
current fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary.
For making benefit payments under title XVI of the Social
Security Act for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025,
$21,700,000,0000, to remain available until expended.

limitation on administrative expenses

(including transfer of funds)

For necessary expenses, including the hire and purchase of
two passenger motor vehicles, and not to exceed $20,000 for
official reception and representation expenses, not more than
$11,951,978,000 may be expended, as authorized by section
201(g)(1) of the Social Security Act, from any one or all of
the trust funds referred to in such section: Provided, That
not less than $2,700,000 shall be for the Social Security
Advisory Board: Provided further, That unobligated balances
of funds provided under this paragraph at the end of fiscal
year 2024 not needed for fiscal year 2024 shall remain
available until expended to invest in the Social Security
Administration information technology and telecommunications
hardware and software infrastructure, including related
equipment and non-payroll administrative expenses associated
solely with this information technology and
telecommunications infrastructure: Provided further, That
the Commissioner of Social Security shall notify the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate prior to making unobligated balances available
under the authority in the previous proviso: Provided
further, That reimbursement to the trust funds under this
heading for expenditures for official time for employees of
the Social Security Administration pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 7131,
and for facilities or support services for labor
organizations pursuant to policies, regulations, or
procedures referred to in section 7135(b) of such title shall
be made by the Secretary of the Treasury, with interest, from
amounts in the general fund not otherwise appropriated, as
soon as possible after such expenditures are made.
In addition, $1,851,000,000 may be expended, as authorized
by section 201(g)(1) of the Social Security Act, from any one
or all of the trust funds referred to in such section, to
remain available through March 31, 2025, for the costs
associated with continuing disability reviews under titles II
and XVI of the Social Security Act, including work-related
continuing disability reviews to determine whether earnings
derived from services demonstrate an individual's ability to
engage in substantial gainful activity, for the costs
associated with conducting redeterminations of eligibility
under title XVI of the Social Security Act, for the costs of
co-operative disability investigation units, and for the
costs associated with the prosecution of fraud in the
programs and operations of the Social Security Administration
by Special Assistant United States Attorneys: Provided, That,
of such amount, $273,000,000 is provided to meet the terms of
section 251(b)(2)(B)(ii)(III) of the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended, and
$1,578,000,000 is additional new budget authority specified
for purposes of section 251(b)(2)(B)(i)(XI) of such Act:
Provided further, That, of the additional new budget
authority described in the preceding proviso, $18,000,000 may
be transferred to the ``Office of Inspector General'', Social
Security Administration, for the costs of jointly operated
co-operative disability investigation units: Provided
further, That such transfer authority is in addition to any
other transfer authority provided by law: Provided further,
That the Commissioner shall provide to the Congress (at the
conclusion of the fiscal year) a report on the obligation and
expenditure of these funds, similar to the reports that were
required by section 103(d)(2) of Public Law 104-121 for
fiscal years 1996 through 2002: Provided further, That none
of the funds described in this paragraph shall be available
for transfer or reprogramming except as specified in this
paragraph.
In addition, $150,000,000 to be derived from administration
fees in excess of $5.00 per supplementary payment collected
pursuant to section 1616(d) of the Social Security Act or
section 212(b)(3) of Public Law 93-66, which shall remain
available until expended: Provided, That to the extent that
the amounts collected pursuant to such sections in fiscal
year 2024 exceed $150,000,000, the amounts shall be available
in fiscal year 2025 only to the extent provided in advance in
appropriations Acts.
In addition, up to $1,000,000 to be derived from fees
collected pursuant to section 303(c) of the Social Security
Protection Act, which shall remain available until expended.

office of inspector general

(including transfer of funds)

For expenses necessary for the Office of Inspector General
in carrying out the provisions of the Inspector General Act
of 1978, $32,000,000, together with not to exceed
$82,665,000, to be transferred and expended as authorized by
section 201(g)(1) of the Social Security Act from the Federal
Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal
Disability Insurance Trust Fund: Provided, That $2,000,000
shall remain available until expended for information
technology modernization, including related hardware and
software infrastructure and equipment, and for administrative
expenses directly associated with information technology
modernization.
In addition, an amount not to exceed 3 percent of the total
provided in this appropriation may be transferred from the
``Limitation on Administrative Expenses'', Social Security
Administration, to be merged with this account, to be
available for the time and purposes for which this account is
available: Provided, That notice of such transfers shall be
transmitted promptly to the Committees on Appropriations of
the House of Representatives and the Senate at least 15 days
in advance of any transfer.

TITLE V

GENERAL PROVISIONS

(transfer of funds)

Sec. 501. The Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education are authorized to transfer unexpended
balances of prior appropriations to accounts corresponding to
current appropriations provided in this Act. Such transferred
balances shall be used for the same purpose, and for the same
periods of time, for which they were originally appropriated.
Sec. 502. No part of any appropriation contained in this
Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current
fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein.
Sec. 503. (a) No part of any appropriation contained in
this Act or transferred pursuant to section 4002 of Public
Law 111-148 shall be used, other than for normal and
recognized executive-legislative relationships, for publicity
or propaganda purposes, for the preparation, distribution, or
use of any kit, pamphlet, booklet, publication, electronic
communication, radio, television, or video presentation
designed to support or defeat the enactment of legislation
before the Congress or any State or local legislature or
legislative body, except in presentation to the Congress or
any State or local legislature itself, or designed to support
or defeat any proposed or pending regulation, administrative
action, or order issued by the executive branch of any State
or local government, except in presentation to the executive
branch of any State or local government itself.
(b) No part of any appropriation contained in this Act or
transferred pursuant to section 4002 of Public Law 111-148
shall be used to pay the salary or expenses of any grant or
contract recipient, or agent acting for such recipient,
related to any activity designed to influence the enactment
of legislation, appropriations, regulation, administrative
action, or Executive order proposed or pending before the
Congress or any State government, State legislature or local
legislature or legislative body, other than for normal and
recognized executive-legislative relationships or
participation by an agency or officer of a State, local or
tribal government in policymaking and administrative
processes within the executive branch of that government.
(c) The prohibitions in subsections (a) and (b) shall
include any activity to advocate or promote any proposed,
pending or future Federal, State or local tax increase, or
any proposed, pending, or future requirement or restriction
on any legal consumer product, including its sale or
marketing, including but not limited to the advocacy or
promotion of gun control.
Sec. 504. The Secretaries of Labor and Education are
authorized to make available not to exceed $28,000 and
$20,000, respectively, from funds available for salaries and
expenses under titles I and III, respectively, for official
reception and representation expenses; the Director of the
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service is authorized to
make available for official reception and representation
expenses not to exceed $5,000 from the funds available for
``Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, Salaries and
Expenses''; and the Chairman of the National Mediation Board
is authorized to make available for official reception and
representation expenses not to exceed $5,000 from funds
available for ``National Mediation Board, Salaries and
Expenses''.
Sec. 505. When issuing statements, press releases,
requests for proposals, bid solicitations

[[Page H5765]]

and other documents describing projects or programs funded in
whole or in part with Federal money, all grantees receiving
Federal funds included in this Act, including but not limited
to State and local governments and recipients of Federal
research grants, shall clearly state--
(1) the percentage of the total costs of the program or
project which will be financed with Federal money;
(2) the dollar amount of Federal funds for the project or
program; and
(3) percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the
project or program that will be financed by non-governmental
sources.
Sec. 506. (a) None of the funds appropriated in this Act,
and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are
appropriated in this Act, shall be expended for any abortion.
(b) None of the funds appropriated in this Act, and none of
the funds in any trust fund to which funds are appropriated
in this Act, shall be expended for health benefits coverage
that includes coverage of abortion.
(c) The term ``health benefits coverage'' means the package
of services covered by a managed care provider or
organization pursuant to a contract or other arrangement.
Sec. 507. (a) The limitations established in the preceding
section shall not apply to an abortion--
(1) if the pregnancy is the result of an act of rape or
incest; or
(2) in the case where a woman suffers from a physical
disorder, physical injury, or physical illness, including a
life-endangering physical condition caused by or arising from
the pregnancy itself, that would, as certified by a
physician, place the woman in danger of death unless an
abortion is performed.
(b) Nothing in the preceding section shall be construed as
prohibiting the expenditure by a State, locality, entity, or
private person of State, local, or private funds (other than
a State's or locality's contribution of Medicaid matching
funds).
(c) Nothing in the preceding section shall be construed as
restricting the ability of any managed care provider from
offering abortion coverage or the ability of a State or
locality to contract separately with such a provider for such
coverage with State funds (other than a State's or locality's
contribution of Medicaid matching funds).
(d)(1) None of the funds made available in this Act may be
made available to a Federal agency or program, or to a State
or local government, if such agency, program, or government
subjects any institutional or individual health care entity
to discrimination on the basis that the health care entity
does not provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for
abortions.
(2) In this subsection, the term ``health care entity''
includes an individual physician or other health care
professional, a hospital, a provider-sponsored organization,
a health maintenance organization, a health insurance plan,
or any other kind of health care facility, organization, or
plan.
Sec. 508. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act
may be used for--
(1) the creation of a human embryo or embryos for research
purposes; or
(2) research in which a human embryo or embryos are
destroyed, discarded, or knowingly subjected to risk of
injury or death greater than that allowed for research on
fetuses in utero under 45 CFR 46.204(b) and section 498(b) of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 289g(b)).
(b) For purposes of this section, the term ``human embryo
or embryos'' includes any organism, not protected as a human
subject under 45 CFR 46 as of the date of the enactment of
this Act, that is derived by fertilization, parthenogenesis,
cloning, or any other means from one or more human gametes or
human diploid cells.
Sec. 509. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act
may be used for any activity that promotes the legalization
of any drug or other substance included in schedule I of the
schedules of controlled substances established under section
202 of the Controlled Substances Act except for normal and
recognized executive-congressional communications.
(b) The limitation in subsection (a) shall not apply when
there is significant medical evidence of a therapeutic
advantage to the use of such drug or other substance or that
federally sponsored clinical trials are being conducted to
determine therapeutic advantage.
Sec. 510. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to promulgate or adopt any final standard under
section 1173(b) of the Social Security Act providing for, or
providing for the assignment of, a unique health identifier
for an individual (except in an individual's capacity as an
employer or a health care provider), until legislation is
enacted specifically approving the standard.
Sec. 511. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be obligated or expended to enter into or renew a contract
with an entity if--
(1) such entity is otherwise a contractor with the United
States and is subject to the requirement in 38 U.S.C. 4212(d)
regarding submission of an annual report to the Secretary of
Labor concerning employment of certain veterans; and
(2) such entity has not submitted a report as required by
that section for the most recent year for which such
requirement was applicable to such entity.
Sec. 512. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be transferred to any department, agency, or instrumentality
of the United States Government, except pursuant to a
transfer made by, or transfer authority provided in, this Act
or any other appropriation Act.
Sec. 513. None of the funds made available by this Act to
carry out the Library Services and Technology Act may be made
available to any library covered by paragraph (1) of section
224(f) of such Act, as amended by the Children's Internet
Protection Act, unless such library has made the
certifications required by paragraph (4) of such section.
Sec. 514. (a) None of the funds provided under this Act, or
provided under previous appropriations Acts to the agencies
funded by this Act that remain available for obligation or
expenditure in fiscal year 2024, or provided from any
accounts in the Treasury of the United States derived by the
collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this
Act, shall be available for obligation or expenditure through
a reprogramming of funds that--
(1) creates new programs;
(2) eliminates a program, project, or activity;
(3) increases funds or personnel by any means for any
project or activity for which funds have been denied or
restricted;
(4) relocates an office or employees;
(5) reorganizes or renames offices;
(6) reorganizes programs or activities; or
(7) contracts out or privatizes any functions or activities
presently performed by Federal employees;
unless the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate are consulted 15 days in
advance of such reprogramming or of an announcement of intent
relating to such reprogramming, whichever occurs earlier, and
are notified in writing 10 days in advance of such
reprogramming.
(b) None of the funds provided under this Act, or provided
under previous appropriations Acts to the agencies funded by
this Act that remain available for obligation or expenditure
in fiscal year 2024, or provided from any accounts in the
Treasury of the United States derived by the collection of
fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be
available for obligation or expenditure through a
reprogramming of funds in excess of $500,000 or 10 percent,
whichever is less, that--
(1) augments existing programs, projects (including
construction projects), or activities;
(2) reduces by 10 percent funding for any existing program,
project, or activity, or numbers of personnel by 10 percent
as approved by Congress; or
(3) results from any general savings from a reduction in
personnel which would result in a change in existing
programs, activities, or projects as approved by Congress;
unless the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and the Senate are consulted 15 days in
advance of such reprogramming or of an announcement of intent
relating to such reprogramming, whichever occurs earlier, and
are notified in writing 10 days in advance of such
reprogramming.
Sec. 515. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act
may be used to request that a candidate for appointment to a
Federal scientific advisory committee disclose the political
affiliation or voting history of the candidate or the
position that the candidate holds with respect to political
issues not directly related to and necessary for the work of
the committee involved.
(b) None of the funds made available in this Act may be
used to disseminate information that is deliberately false or
misleading.
Sec. 516. Within 45 days of enactment of this Act, each
department and related agency funded through this Act shall
submit an operating plan that details at the program,
project, and activity level any funding allocations for
fiscal year 2024 that are different than those specified in
this Act, the accompanying detailed table in the Explanatory
Materials, or the fiscal year 2024 budget request.
Sec. 517. The Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education shall each prepare and submit to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Senate a report on the number and amount of
contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements exceeding
$500,000, individually or in total for a particular project,
activity, or programmatic initiative, in value and awarded by
the Department on a non-competitive basis during each quarter
of fiscal year 2024, but not to include grants awarded on a
formula basis or directed by law. Such report shall include
the name of the contractor or grantee, the amount of funding,
the governmental purpose, including a justification for
issuing the award on a non-competitive basis. Such report
shall be transmitted to the Committees within 30 days after
the end of the quarter for which the report is submitted.
Sec. 518. None of the funds appropriated in this Act shall
be expended or obligated by the Commissioner of Social
Security, for purposes of administering Social Security
benefit payments under title II of the Social Security Act,
to process any claim for credit for a quarter of coverage
based on work performed under a social security account
number that is not the claimant's number and the performance
of such work under such number has formed the basis for a
conviction of the claimant of a violation of section
208(a)(6) or (7) of the Social Security Act.
Sec. 519. None of the funds appropriated by this Act may
be used by the Commissioner of Social Security or the Social
Security Administration to pay the compensation of employees
of the Social Security Administration to administer Social
Security benefit payments, under any agreement between the
United States and Mexico establishing totalization
arrangements between the social security system established
by title II of the Social Security Act and the social
security system of Mexico, which would not otherwise be
payable but for such agreement.
Sec. 520. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act
may be used to maintain or establish a computer network
unless such network blocks the viewing, downloading, and
exchanging of pornography.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall limit the use of funds
necessary for any Federal, State, tribal, or local law
enforcement agency or any other entity carrying out criminal
investigations, prosecution, or adjudication activities.

[[Page H5766]]

Sec. 521. For purposes of carrying out Executive Order
13589, Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-12-12
dated May 11, 2012, and requirements contained in the annual
appropriations bills relating to conference attendance and
expenditures:
(1) the operating divisions of HHS shall be considered
independent agencies; and
(2) attendance at and support for scientific conferences
shall be tabulated separately from and not included in agency
totals.
Sec. 522. Federal agencies funded under this Act shall
clearly state within the text, audio, or video used for
advertising or educational purposes, including emails or
Internet postings, that the communication is printed,
published, or produced and disseminated at United States
taxpayer expense. The funds used by a Federal agency to carry
out this requirement shall be derived from amounts made
available to the agency for advertising or other
communications regarding the programs and activities of the
agency.
Sec. 523. (a) Federal agencies may use Federal
discretionary funds that are made available in this Act to
carry out up to 10 Performance Partnership Pilots. Such
Pilots shall be governed by the provisions of section 526 of
division H of Public Law 113-76, except that in carrying out
such Pilots section 526 shall be applied by substituting
``Fiscal Year 2024'' for ``Fiscal Year 2014'' in the title of
subsection (b) and by substituting ``September 30, 2028'' for
``September 30, 2018'' each place it appears: Provided, That
such pilots shall include communities that have experienced
civil unrest.
(b) In addition, Federal agencies may use Federal
discretionary funds that are made available in this Act to
participate in Performance Partnership Pilots that are being
carried out pursuant to the authority provided by section 526
of division H of Public Law 113-76, section 524 of division G
of Public Law 113-235, section 525 of division H of Public
Law 114-113, section 525 of division H of Public Law 115-31,
section 525 of division H of Public Law 115-141, section 524
of division A of Public Law 116-94, section 524 of division H
of Public Law 116-260, and section 523 of division H of
Public Law 117-103.
(c) Pilot sites selected under authorities in this Act and
prior appropriations Acts may be granted by relevant agencies
up to an additional 5 years to operate under such
authorities.
Sec. 524. Not later than 30 days after the end of each
calendar quarter, beginning with the first month of fiscal
year 2024 the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services
and Education and the Social Security Administration shall
provide the Committees on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives and Senate a report on the status of balances
of appropriations: Provided, That for balances that are
unobligated and uncommitted, committed, and obligated but
unexpended, the monthly reports shall separately identify the
amounts attributable to each source year of appropriation
(beginning with fiscal year 2012, or, to the extent feasible,
earlier fiscal years) from which balances were derived.
Sec. 525. The Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education shall provide to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate
a comprehensive list of any new or competitive grant award
notifications, including supplements, issued at the
discretion of such Departments not less than 3 full business
days before any entity selected to receive a grant award is
announced by the Department or its offices (other than
emergency response grants at any time of the year or for
grant awards made during the last 10 business days of the
fiscal year, or if applicable, of the program year).
Sec. 526. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
no funds appropriated in this Act shall be used to purchase
sterile needles or syringes for the hypodermic injection of
any illegal drug: Provided, That such limitation does not
apply to the use of funds for elements of a program other
than making such purchases if the relevant State or local
health department, in consultation with the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, determines that the State or
local jurisdiction, as applicable, is experiencing, or is at
risk for, a significant increase in hepatitis infections or
an HIV outbreak due to injection drug use, and such program
is operating in accordance with State and local law.
Sec. 527. (a) Each department and related agency funded
through this Act shall provide substantive answers to
questions submitted for the record by members of any
congressional committee within 45 business days after
receipt.
(b) There is rescinded an amount equal to $1,000 for each
day of the noncompliance period described in subsection (c)
from an account listed in subsection (d).
(c) The noncompliance period under subsection (b) means the
period beginning on the first day following the failure to
comply with the deadline described in subsection (a) and
ending on the date on which the department or agency becomes
compliant.
(d) Any rescission under subsection (b) shall be from the
applicable following account of the noncompliant department
or agency:
(1)``Department of Health and Human Services--Office of the
Secretary--General Departmental Management''
(2) ``Department of Labor--Departmental Management--
Salaries and Expenses''
(3) ``Department of Education--Departmental Management--
Program Administration''
Sec. 528. Of amounts deposited in the Child Enrollment
Contingency Fund under section 2104(n)(2) of the Social
Security Act and the income derived from investment of those
funds pursuant to section 2104(n)(2)(C) of that Act,
$13,493,000,000 shall not be available for obligation in this
fiscal year.
Sec. 529. (a) This section applies to: (1) the
Administration for Children and Families in the Department of
Health and Human Services; and (2) the Chief Evaluation
Office and the statistical-related cooperative and
interagency agreements and contracting activities of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor.
(b) Amounts made available under this Act which are either
appropriated, allocated, advanced on a reimbursable basis, or
transferred to the functions and organizations identified in
subsection (a) for research, evaluation, or statistical
purposes shall be available for obligation through September
30, 2028: Provided, That when an office referenced in
subsection (a) receives research and evaluation funding from
multiple appropriations, such offices may use a single
Treasury account for such activities, with funding advanced
on a reimbursable basis.
(c) Amounts referenced in subsection (b) that are
unexpended at the time of completion of a contract, grant, or
cooperative agreement may be deobligated and shall
immediately become available and may be reobligated in that
fiscal year or the subsequent fiscal year for the research,
evaluation, or statistical purposes for which such amounts
are available.
Sec. 530. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to carry out any program, project, or activity that
promotes or advances Critical Race Theory or any concept
associated with Critical Race Theory.
Sec. 531. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act may be made available to implement,
administer, apply, enforce, or carry out Executive Order
13985 of January 20, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 7009, relating to
advancing racial equity and support for under-served
communities through the Federal Government), Executive Order
14035 of June 25, 2021 (86 Fed. Reg. 34593, relating to
diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in the
federal workforce), or Executive Order 14091 of February 16,
2023 (88 Fed. Reg. 10825 relating to further advancing racial
equity and support for underserved communities through the
federal government).
Sec. 532. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be made available to support, directly or indirectly, the
Wuhan Institute of Virology, or any laboratory owned or
controlled by the governments of the People's Republic of
China, the Republic of Cuba, the Islamic Republic of Iran,
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Russian
Federation, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela under the
regime of Nicolas Maduro Moros, or any other country
determined by the Secretary of State to be a foreign
adversary.
Sec. 533. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used, either directly or indirectly, to conduct or support
any gain-of-function research involving a potential pandemic
pathogen by any country determined by the Secretary of State
to be a foreign adversary including the People's Republic of
China, the Republic of Cuba, the Islamic Republic of Iran,
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Russian
Federation, or the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela under the
regime of Nicolas Maduro Moros.
Sec. 534. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used for surgical procedures or hormone therapies for the
purposes of gender affirming care.
Sec. 535. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to implement, administer, apply, enforce, or carry
out any diversity, equity, and inclusion office, program, or
training.
Sec. 536. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to implement, administer, or enforce Executive Order
14076 (Protecting Access to Reproductive Healthcare Services)
or Executive Order 14079 (Securing Access to Reproductive and
Other Healthcare Services).
Sec. 537. (a) In general.--Notwithstanding section 7 of
title 1, United States Code, section 1738C of title 28,
United States Code, or any other provision of law, none of
the funds provided by this Act, or previous appropriations
Acts, shall be used in whole or in part to take any
discriminatory action against a person, wholly or partially,
on the basis that such person speaks, or acts, in accordance
with a sincerely held religious belief, or moral conviction,
that marriage is, or should be recognized as, a union of one
man and one woman.
(b) Discriminatory action defined.--As used in subsection
(a), a discriminatory action means any action taken by the
Federal Government to--
(1) alter in any way the Federal tax treatment of, or cause
any tax, penalty, or payment to be assessed against, or deny,
delay, or revoke an exemption from taxation under section
501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 of, any person
referred to in subsection (a);
(2) disallow a deduction for Federal tax purposes of any
charitable contribution made to or by such person;
(3) withhold, reduce the amount or funding for, exclude,
terminate, or otherwise make unavailable or deny, any Federal
grant, contract, subcontract, cooperative agreement,
guarantee, loan, scholarship, license, certification,
accreditation, employment, or other similar position or
status from or to such person;
(4) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise make
unavailable or deny, any entitlement or benefit under a
Federal benefit program, including admission to, equal
treatment in, or eligibility for a degree from an educational
program, from or to such person; or
(5) withhold, reduce, exclude, terminate, or otherwise make
unavailable or deny access or an entitlement to Federal
property, facilities, educational institutions, speech fora
(including traditional, limited, and nonpublic fora), or
charitable fundraising campaigns from or to such person.

[[Page H5767]]

(c) Accreditation; Licensure; Certification.--The Federal
Government shall consider accredited, licensed, or certified
for purposes of Federal law any person that would be
accredited, licensed, or certified, respectively, for such
purposes but for a determination against such person wholly
or partially on the basis that the person speaks, or acts, in
accordance with a sincerely held religious belief or moral
conviction described in subsection (a).

(rescission)

Sec. 538. Of the unobligated balances in the
``Nonrecurring Expenses Fund'' established in section 111(a)
of division B of Public Law 116-93, $11,000,000,000 are
hereby permanently rescinded.

(rescission)

Sec. 539. Of the unobligated balances available in Public
Law 117-169, $9,774,000,000 available under section
10301(1)(A)(iii) as of the date of the enactment of this Act
are permanently rescinded.
Sec. 540. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used by the Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human
Services, or Education, the Commissioner of the Social
Security Administration, or the head of any other agency
funded in this Act to fly or display a flag over a federal
facility other than the flag of the United States; the flag
of a State, territory, or the District of Columbia; the flag
of an Indian Tribal Government; the official flag of a U.S.
Department or agency; or the POW/MIA flag.
Sec. 541. (a) None of the funds appropriated in this Act,
and none of the funds in any trust fund to which funds are
appropriated in this Act, shall be made available to a
hospital or any other entity that administers any
postgraduate physician training program, or any other program
of training in the health professions, that provides training
in the performance of, or assisting in the performance of,
induced abortions, or in counseling or referrals for such
abortions, if such program--
(1) provides or requires such training for any participant
in such program without the participant first voluntarily
electing to opt-in to undergo such training; or
(2) subjects any participant in such program to
discrimination on the basis that the participant does not--
(A) voluntarily elect to opt-in to undergo such training;
or
(B) perform, assist in the performance of, or provide
counseling or referrals for, such abortions.
(b) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit
training described in subsection (a) that is not otherwise
allowed by law.

spending reduction account

Sec. 542. This Act may be cited as the ``Departments of
Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024''.

The CHAIR. All points of order against provisions of the bill, as
amended, are waived.
No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order
except those printed in part B of House Report 118-272, amendments en
bloc described in section 3 of House Resolution 864, and pro forma
amendments described in section 4 of House Resolution 864.
Each further amendment printed in part B of House Report 118-272 may
be offered only in the order printed in the report, by the Member
designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be
debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and
controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to
amendment except as provided by section 4 of House Resolution 864, and
shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
It shall be in order at any time for the chair of the Committee on
Appropriations or her designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting
of amendments printed in part B of House Report 118-272 not earlier
disposed of. Amendments en bloc shall be considered as read, shall be
debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their
respective designees, shall not be subjected to amendment, except as
provided by section 4 of House Resolution 864, and shall not be subject
to a demand for division of the question.
During consideration of the bill for amendment, the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective
designees may offer up to 10 pro forma amendments each at any point for
the purpose of debate.

Amendments En Bloc No. 1 Offered by Mr. Aderholt of Alabama

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 864, I offer
amendments en bloc.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendments en bloc.
Amendments en bloc No. 1 consisting of amendment Nos. 3, 5, 7, 12,
14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, 30, 31, 37, 40, 41, 42,
43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 56, 57, 59, 60, 64, 65, 66,
67, 68, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 79, and 141, printed in part B of House
Report 118-272, offered by Mr. Aderholt of Alabama:

amendment no. 3 offered by ms. sherrill of new jersey

Page 28, line 21, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $5,000,000)''.
Page 128, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 128, line 10, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 128, line 15, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 5 offered by mr. harris of maryland

Page 49, line 5, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $9,500,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(decreased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 7 offered by ms. caraveo of colorado

Page 53, line 6, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $35,000,000) (increased by $35,000,000)''.

amendment no. 12 offered by ms. boebert of colorado

Page 66, line 19, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 14 offered by ms. castor of florida

Page 56, line 21, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $5,000,000) (increased by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 15 offered by mrs. miller of west virginia

Page 57, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(decreased by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 16 offered by mr. pfluger of texas

Page 57, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $1,500,000) (increased by $1,500,000)''.

amendment no. 17 offered by mr. murphy of north carolina

Page 57, line 17, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $10,000,000) (increased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 18 offered by ms. sherrill of new jersey

Page 57, line 17, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 20 offered by mr. gallagher of wisconsin

Page 58, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 21 offered by mr. gottheimer of new jersey

Page 58, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $1,000,000)(reduced by $1,000,000)''.

amendment no. 23 offered by mr. gottheimer of new jersey

Page 63, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)(reduced by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 24 offered by ms. jackson lee of texas

Page 63, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000) (increased by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 25 offered by mr. murphy of north carolina

Page 64, line 15, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $1,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $1,000,000)''.

amendment no. 27 offered by ms. perez of washington

Page 64, line 20, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $5,000,000) (increased by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 29 offered by ms. caraveo of colorado

Page 65, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $10,000,000) (increased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 30 offered by mr. gottheimer of new jersey

Page 65, line 19, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $10,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(decreased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 31 offered by ms. barragan of california

Page 67, line 15, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $1,000,000) (increased by $1,000,000)''.

amendment no. 37 offered by mr. steil of wisconsin

Page 68, line 17, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $19,000,000)''.
Page 71, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $18,000,000)''.

amendment no. 40 offered by ms. balint of vermont

Page 71, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $1,953,000) (increased by $1,953,000)''.

amendment no. 41 offered by mr. molinaro of new york

Page 71, line 12, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $10,000,000) (reduced by $10,000,000)''.

[[Page H5768]]

amendment no. 42 offered by mr. murphy of north carolina

Page 71, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 43 offered by ms. caraveo of colorado

Page 71, line 13, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $7,000,000) (increased by $7,000,000)''.

amendment no. 44 offered by mr. barr of kentucky

Page 73, line 4, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $8,000,000)''.
Page 74, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $8,000,000)''.

amendment no. 45 offered by mr. gottheimer of new jersey

Page 73, line 4, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $10,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(decreased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 46 offered by ms. pettersen of colorado

Page 73, line 4, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 47 offered by mr. molinaro of new york

Page 73, line 21, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000) (reduced by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 48 offered by mr. steube of florida

Page 79, line 15, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000) (increased by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 49 offered by mrs. ramirez of illinois

Page 81, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $10,000,000) (increased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 50 offered by mr. ciscomani of arizona

Page 84, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $750,000,000) (Increased by $750,000,000)''.

amendment no. 51 offered by ms. jackson lee of texas

Page 84, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $2,000,000) (increased by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 52 offered by mr. molinaro of new york

Page 89, line 21, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000) (reduced by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 53 offered by mr. dunn of florida

Page 93, line 3, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $400,000,000) (increased by $400,000,000)''.

amendment no. 56 offered by mr. hudson of north carolina

Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.
Page 96, line 22, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 57 offered by mrs. kiggans of virginia

Page 96, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $196,000,000) (increased by $196,000,000)''.

amendment no. 59 offered by mrs. houchin of indiana

Page 128, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $1,000,000) (reduced by $1,000,000)''.

amendment no. 60 offered by mrs. houchin of indiana

Page 128, line 10, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $1,000,000) (reduced by $1,000,000)''.

amendment no. 64 offered by mr. david scott of georgia

Page 132, line 16, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $15,000,000) (increased by $15,000,000)''.

amendment no. 65 offered by mr. molinaro of new york

Page 134, line 6, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $10,000,000) (increased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 66 offered by mr. molinaro of new york

Page 134, line 6, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $10,000,000) (increased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 67 offered by mr. steil of wisconsin

Page 134, line 6, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 134, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 145, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $5,000,000)''.

amendment no. 68 offered by mr. mcgarvey of kentucky

Page 138, line 19, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000) (reduced by $2,000,000)''.

amendment no. 72 offered by mr. molinaro of new york

Page 142, line 4, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $10,000,000) (increased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 73 offered by ms. moore of wisconsin

Page 142, line 4, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $1,000,000) (increased by $1,000,000)''.

amendment no. 74 offered by mrs. ramirez of illinois

Page 142, line 4, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $10,000,000) (increased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 75 offered by mrs. ramirez of illinois

Page 142, line 4, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $10,000,000) (increased by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 77 offered by mr. lawler of new york

Page 145, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $105,000,000) (reduced by $105,000,000)''.

amendment no. 79 offered by mr. gottheimer of new jersey

Page 167, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $10,000,000) (reduced by $10,000,000)''.

amendment no. 141 offered by mr. schweikert of arizona

Page 66, line 16, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $5,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $5,000,000)''.
The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman from
Alabama (Mr. Aderholt) and the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms.
DeLauro) each will control 10 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Alabama.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bipartisan
amendments submitted by myself and my friend Congressman Costa which
would transfer $1 million from the HHS Secretary's general department
management account to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke to begin to design the infrastructure for the Pediatric-
Onset Epilepsies Consortium.
The Consortium would enable cooperative research studies, accelerate
the development of knowledge about the epilepsies, and rapidly advance
therapeutic options and their implementation to improve treatments and
healthcare outcomes.
As a co-chair of the Congressional Epilepsy Caucus, along with
Congressman Costa, I am proud to offer this bipartisan amendment to
support millions of Americans with epilepsy.
Just to give you a few statistics. More than 3.4 million individuals
and their families are affected by epilepsy in the U.S. today, with
nearly 500,000 children having epilepsy in the United States. One in 26
individuals will be diagnosed with epilepsy during their lifetime.
As November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, we must continue to build
awareness around epilepsy, reduce the stigma applied to it, and educate
the public and physicians on epilepsy disorders.
I thank Representative Costa for his support and co-leading this
amendment. This is personal to me, as I have a child who has dealt with
epilepsy now for close to 16 years and is doing well, but I want other
individuals from across the country to do well also.
Mr. Chair, I encourage a ``yes'' vote on the amendment.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the amendments en bloc, and in
support of the amendment with regard to the CDC ALS registry, which
increases the funding for the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's National Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, Registry.
I cannot talk about ALS without acknowledging the remarkable Ady
Barkan, who died earlier this month. ALS is a cruel disease. Ady and
Brian Wallach, who continues his own battle against ALS, are two of the
amazing advocates who are changing the face of medical advocacy in this
country. I support this amendment in their honor.
The ALS Registry collects and analyzes information about persons with
ALS in the United States. It advances our understanding of the disease.
With approximately 30,000 participants, the ALS Registry has provided
crucial information to guide future research.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support the amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to gentleman from Maryland
(Mr. Harris), the chair of Subcommittee on Agricultural and also a
member of our Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services.

[[Page H5769]]

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer amendment No. 5 included
in the en bloc, to increase our investment in the health workforce and
to decrease spending for the Office of the Secretary of HHS, who has
driven this historic health workforce shortage.
In December of 2020, Congress passed the No Surprises Act, which was
the result of a yearslong effort to ban surprise medical bills in a way
that both takes the patient out of the middle and sets up a fair
process for the provider and payer to negotiate the resulting bill.
Unfortunately, the administration has implemented the policy in such
a way that has tilted the scales in favor of the big insurance
companies at every possible turn.
Historically, Medicare has reimbursed physicians for their services
at a lower rate than private insurance, which is why many providers
don't even accept Medicare. In fact, 42 percent of psychiatrists don't
accept Medicare patients. Most providers rely on private insurance to
keep their practices open.
Now, due to the botched implementation of the No Surprises Act,
private insurance companies are paying the same or less than Medicare,
which, as we unfortunately predicted, is forcing doctors to close their
practices and decreases access to patient care.
Someone told me a long time ago, if you are losing money on every
patient, you can't make up for it on volume. The fact of the matter is
that the Secretary is not enforcing the No Surprises Act as written.
Once an out-of-network bill is generated, we set up a 30-30-30-day
timeline. The doctor and insurance company have 30 days to agree on a
payment amount, or else either side can initiate the arbitration
process. The arbiter has 30 days to determine the appropriate payment,
and then the insurance company has 30 days to pay the provider.
This timeline is simply not happening in a majority of cases. On
average, it takes 236 days for a payment dispute to be resolved and
paid. A recent survey found that after arbitration, 52 percent of the
insurance companies aren't making payments at all.
Unfortunately, the Secretary has implemented this policy poorly and
without serious enforcement. As a result, doctors are leaving the
workforce in droves. Forcing doctors to provide care for which they may
never receive payment is unsustainable.
Because the Secretary is perpetuating the healthcare workforce
shortage, this amendment would decrease the Office of the Secretary of
HHS and increase the top line of the HRSA Health Workforce accounts.
Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to support this amendment, which would
penalize the Secretary for driving the health workforce shortage.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Barragan).
Ms. BARRAGAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this bipartisan en
bloc, which includes my amendment to increase funding for the Research
Endowment Program at the National Institute of Minority Health and
Health Disparities.
This program has bipartisan support. Earlier this year, Democrats and
Republicans called for an increase in funding through a letter I led to
House Appropriations.
My colleague Representative Buddy Carter in the House and Senator
Cassidy in the Senate worked hard in the last Congress to pass my bill,
the John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Revitalization Act. It was
signed into law, but now we need to increase the funding to this
program so schools like Charles R. Drew University, Moorehouse School
of Medicine, and many others, can continue to conduct critical research
into minority health disparities. Increased funding will support
existing and new grantees.
Mr. Chair, I urge support for my amendment so we can fund research to
reduce health disparities and save lives.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I rise to support another amendment in the en bloc.
This is the Congressman Gottheimer's amendment with regard to safe
school drinking water. I rise in support of the amendment, and I thank
the Representative for sponsoring the amendment and allowing this time
to talk about the importance of safe drinking water at schools.
Children are more susceptible to lead exposure because their bodies
are still rapidly developing. Approximately 400,000 schools and
childcare centers are served by a lead service line or pipes and other
fixtures.
Let me be clear. There is no amount of lead that can be tolerated in
the body. We know what happened in Flint, Michigan. Thousands of
children were lead poisoned.
I met most recently with medical staff who was trying to work with
these children, because of their brain, their slow development, et
cetera, all as a result of a political decision allowing for the
contamination of water with lead and lead poisoning so many thousands
of children in Flint, Michigan.

{time} 1215

That is why clean and safe drinking water at schools is so critically
important. That is our responsibility. The CDC funding allows health
departments to develop partnerships with schools, daycare facilities,
and early childhood education centers to strengthen blood lead testing
reporting and link lead-exposed children to recommended services. The
earlier they get their services, the more likely they are to be able to
grow and thrive.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this en bloc amendment,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Chair, pursuant to House Resolution 864, I rise
in support of the En Bloc Amendment incorporating the Jackson Lee
Amendments No. 24 and No. 51 to H.R. 5894--Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024.
I thank my colleagues on the Rules Committee for making in order
Jackson Lee Amendment No. 24 and No. 51 and for including them in the
bipartisan En Bloc Amendment.
The Jackson Lee Amendments No. 24 and No. 51 are potentially life
altering amendments in an unfortunate and distracting appropriations
bill.
The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 24 as incorporated into En Bloc
Amendment is an important amendment that seeks to increase and decrease
by $2 million the National Cancer Institute in order to research triple
negative breast cancer.
Breast cancer accounts for 12.5 percent of all new annual cancer
cases worldwide, making it the most common cancer in the world.
This issue is extremely important, especially for the brave men and
women in the military, who are up to 20 to 40 percent more likely to
develop breast cancer.
There are few people in this country whose lives have not been
touched by breast cancer.
Yet, there are persistent disparities in breast cancer incidence and
death rates.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the
United States for Black and Hispanic women.
Black women are more likely to die from breast cancer than women of
any other racial or ethnic group.
Experts believe that it's partially because about 1 in 5 Black women
is diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, more than any other
racial or ethnic group.
Compared with non-Hispanic white women, Black women are less likely
to receive guideline adherent care and have an approximate 2-fold
higher mortality incidence, resulting in a disproportionately higher
risk of death from Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
Triple Negative Breast Cancer (``TNBC'') is one of many forms of
breast cancer and accounts for about 15 to 30 percent of all diagnosed
invasive breast cancer cases in the United States.
Due to its aggressive behavior, TNBC grows quickly and is more likely
to have spread at the time it is found and is more likely to come back
after treatment than other types of breast cancer.
TNBC cells do not contain (are ``negative for'') three key receptors
that medicines typically target in other types of breast cancers;
therefore, there are limited treatment options that can be used to
treat the cancer.
Patients with an early diagnosis can often be treated with
chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery; however, the limited therapies
available specifically addressing the management of TNBC has made
treating this disease a challenge for clinicians.
Recent innovation in targeted therapies have fueled advances in the
fight against TNBC.

[[Page H5770]]

Advances in breast cancer screening and treatment over the last few
decades have reduced the overall breast cancer mortality rate, yet the
disproportionate impact of TNBC on racial and ethnic minority
communities raises considerations about the underlying determinants
driving the disparities.
It is necessary to promote TNBC education, raise awareness about the
disease-related disparities, and tackle inequities within the health
care delivery such as inadequate access to screening, diagnostic
testing, and care, to improve early detection and survival.
The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 24 would allow for more research so we
can one day hopefully learn a way to reduce the number of Americans
affected by breast cancer.
Additionally, I have introduced H.R. 225, the Triple-Negative Breast
Cancer Research and Education Act of 2023, which focuses on expanding,
intensifying, and coordinating programs for the conduct and support of
research on triple-negative breast cancer, a type of breast cancer that
is difficult to detect but disproportionately impacts African American
and Hispanic women.
The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 51 as incorporated into En Bloc
Amendment is an important amendment that seeks to increase and decrease
by $2 million the Head Start Act, including Head Start partnerships.
I think we can all agree children are our future and that we should
invest to make our future better and brighter.
As Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am extremely
passionate about the wellbeing and education of children.
One of the objectives of the Congressional Children's Caucus is to
ensure that all the children in this country have an opportunity to
receive an education, including early childhood development.
Head Start helps all children succeed, especially vulnerable
children.
If we continue to underfund education in the United States our
children will suffer, we will dismantle public education, and we will
be weaker as a nation.
This legislation would kick teachers out of classrooms.
The United States is already in a teacher shortage and this bill
would cut another 22,300 teachers from Texas schools due to cuts from
Title 1.
This bill would severely impact teachers and students all over the
state of Texas, where the Texas Education Agency has already decided to
unnecessarily takeover Houston ISD.
Houston ISD is the largest school district in the state, with a
student population of more than 200,000, according to a breakdown by
the Texas Tribune.
A TEA takeover would have a negative impact on each Independent
School District (ISD) because a board of managers are not elected, and
they don't have to answer to the constituents in those districts.
State takeovers in other districts have led to school closures,
layoffs, and no improvements in test scores.
The vast majority of school districts that have been taken over by
state agencies (TEA included) have not improved but declined.
TEA has no experience managing a district of 200k plus scholars and
we should not suffer as the guinea pigs.
Texas is behind the national average of how much the state spends per
student in the classroom.
More specifically, data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that Texas
spends $3,000 less than the national average.
We have to stop the State from intermeddling and overstepping into
our educational systems--causing further harm and damage to our
communities.
This legislation will make cuts to schools and communities that are
already suffering.
With the pandemic, burnout and the rise in the cost of living,
teachers are already struggling, and this bill will only add to that.
Without the support of our teachers, students will be left behind.
I recognize that we are in the midst of austere budgetary and
political times, however, we cannot continue to ignore the return on
investment that advanced developments in health research and education
will yield to the American public.
For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan En
Bloc Amendment incorporating my amendment, the Jackson Lee Amendments
No. 24 and No. 51.
While the negatives of this appropriations bill disappointingly
outweigh my positive amendments, I respectfully ask my colleagues to
vote in favor of this amendment notwithstanding my strong opposition
and encouragement to vote down the underlying bill.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendments en bloc offered by the
gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).
The en bloc amendments were agreed to.

Amendment No. 1 Offered by Mrs. Miller of Illinois

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 1 printed in
part B of House Report 118-272.
Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 23, line 8, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $536,922,000)''.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentlewoman from
Illinois (Mrs. Miller) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Illinois.
Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my
amendment to defund Joe Biden's radical Occupational Safety and Health
Administration.
Under Joe Biden, OSHA attempted to fire 84 million Americans if they
didn't take an experimental vaccine or show their private medical
documents to their employer.
The Supreme Court had to step in and tell Joe Biden he did not have
the authority to force Big Pharma's experimental vaccine on the
American people.
It shouldn't take the Supreme Court to stop OSHA from attempting to
force an experimental vaccine on 84 million Americans.
I had the opportunity to question the OSHA Assistant Secretary during
an Education and the Workforce Committee hearing. I asked him if he
agreed with the court decision and would commit to never attempting to
force a vaccine mandate again. He refused.
We must rein in OSHA, which is exactly what this amendment does.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
The CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for 5
minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to this
amendment.
For over 50 years, the mission of the Department of Labor's
Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been to assure safe
and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting
and enforcing standards by providing training, outreach, education, and
assistance.
OSHA is responsible for making sure employers provide safe
workplaces. Since OSHA was created in 1971, the number of workplace
deaths and the rate of on-the-job injuries has declined by 65 percent--
with a workforce twice as large.
During that time, OSHA issued lifesaving standards for asbestos,
lead, carcinogens, chemical exposure, and blood-borne pathogens. Do we
not want standards for those illnesses and disasters?
The agency has enforced these standards and provided assistance to
employers to keep American workers safe on the job.
Make no mistake, by eliminating all funding for OSHA, this amendment
results in an unconscionable spike in workplace injury, illness, and
death.
In the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report, there were 2.8
million nonfatal workplace injuries in 2022. This is up 7\1/2\ percent
over 2021. In 2021, there were 5,190 workplace fatalities. That is up
8.9 percent.
This is a reckless amendment. This says we don't care what kind of
conditions workers are working in and that we ought to go back to the
industrial revolution. It should be clear. This is a reckless
amendment, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, what is reckless is trying to
force 84 million American workers to take an experimental vaccine. OSHA
needs to be reined in. It took the Supreme Court's action to stop them.
Mr. Chairman, I support this amendment to hold the Biden
administration accountable, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I oppose the amendment, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller).
The question was taken; and the Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.

[[Page H5771]]

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on
the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Illinois will be
postponed.

Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr. Higgins of Louisiana

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 2 printed in
part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 26, line 4, after the dollar amount, insert
``(decreased by $1,000,000)''.
Page 32, line 23, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $1,000,000)''.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman from
Louisiana (Mr. Higgins) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Louisiana.
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, over the past few months a
salt mine in my district, Morton Salt's Weeks Island Mine, a salt mine
that has been in operation for many, many years, has been unrighteously
targeted by the Mine Safety and Health Administration, MSHA.
In particular, there is a singular MSHA inspector who appears to have
a personal vendetta. These concerns have been brought to my attention
and MSHA's leadership has also been advised. This has been an ongoing
issue between MSHA and Morton Salt.
These are justified concerns, yet they have fallen on deaf ears at
MSHA. MSHA's handling of this matter isn't just about one company or
one mine, I would say to my colleague across the aisle. It is about the
integrity of our regulatory institutions and the protection of due
process rights.
In this case, the evidence has been brought to me that shows a
concerning pattern where enforcement actions may have been influenced
by conflicts of interest and retaliatory motives, specifically
involving MSHA Inspector Brandon Olivier.
These allegations are not just troubling, they indicate a potential
breach of trust. This trust is placed in Congress for the oversight
role of our regulatory bodies.
Furthermore, when Morton Salt raised these valid concerns to MSHA's
district manager, Mr. William O'Dell, their grievances were seemingly
ignored, contributing to a breakdown in the fair and impartial
resolution process that should be a cornerstone of our regulatory
system.
I am sure my colleagues on both sides of the aisle would agree with
that general premise. In response to these findings and to ensure
accountability within MSHA, I am proposing several amendments.
These are not just punitive measures. They are essential steps toward
restoring trust and ensuring that such lapses in judgment and
responsibility do not recur.
Amendment No. 2 that we are currently discussing will be reducing
MSHA's salary and expense account and redirecting funds to the
Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General account.
Mr. Chair, I rise in favor of amendment No. 2. With the cuts in
salary that I have offered in amendments 112 and 113, this amendment
would reduce MSHA's salary and expense account by $1 million and
reallocate it to the Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General,
which reflects Congress' commitment to accountability, given issues
that have arisen in the Morton Salt case.
Congress should demand ethical enforcement from our agencies.
Failures, as in this case, must have oversight and consequences. This
reallocation strengthens oversight, enhancing the Inspector General's
capacity to investigate and ensure fair, unbiased regulatory actions.
This measure shows Congress' dedication to integrity in Federal
institutions, ensuring regulatory bodies like MSHA maintain high
standards of conduct.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
The CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for 5
minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, this amendment and the prior one are
indicative of the majority's willingness to put workers' health and
safety at risk.
Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. Public
servants should be commended and not demonized.
Our Federal Government needs talented, intelligent, hardworking
people who are willing to bring their skills to public service.
Proposing to eliminate the salaries of hardworking public servants is
petty. It really is beneath the dignity of this body. It is not how we
should solve differences of opinion on policy.
For 45 years, the mission of the Department of Labor's Mine Safety
and Health Administration has been to ensure that miners can return
home from work every day to their families and their communities safe
and healthy.
When MSHA was created in 1977, the fatality rate in the mining
industry was more than four times greater than the average for all
industries in the United States. Since then, mining fatalities have
dropped sharply as MSHA has established and enforced workplace safety
standards and worked together with all stakeholders to prevent
fatalities.
For fiscal year 2024, MSHA is prioritizing additional actions to
reduce accidents, injuries, and fatalities involving customer and
contract truck drivers, falls from heights, and lack of use of personal
protective equipment.
Taking out the agency's top enforcement official, as this amendment
seeks to do while MSHA completes this important work, would be reckless
and irresponsible.
In addition, it is particularly shameful that this amendment targets
a nonpolitical Federal employee who is part of our Federal civil
service.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this vindictive
amendment, which I believe is small and is petty, and I reserve the
balance of my time.

{time} 1230

Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, may I inquire how much time I
have remaining.
The CHAIR. The gentleman has 1 minute remaining.
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana. Mr. Chair, I respect the gentlewoman's
opposition, but I take exception to the nature of the gentlewoman's
opposition.
My amendment specifically addresses the health and safety of the
American workers within that mine because the health and safety of
every American family begins with economic security. To have their jobs
threatened by the targeted and vindictive actions and the abused
authority of one regulator, and for Congress not to act when this has
been brought to our attention, would be truly shameful.
Mr. Chairman, I respectfully submit to the gentlewoman that I am
using the mechanisms of Congress constitutionally, specifically to
address the health and welfare of the American citizens whom I serve.
Mr. Chairman, I urge full support of my amendment, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I oppose the amendment, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from Louisiana (Mr. Higgins).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 4 Offered by Mr. Cloud

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 4 printed in
part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 45, line 9, strike ``Treasure Island Job Corps
Center'' and insert ``Gary Job Corps Center''.
Page 45, line 20, strike ``Job Corps Program on Treasure
Island'' and insert ``Job Corps Program in San Marcos,
Texas''.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman from Texas
(Mr. Cloud) and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Chair, my amendment makes a technical fix to what
seems to be a copy and paste drafting

[[Page H5772]]

error in the bill, replacing ``Treasure Island Job Corps'' in section
114 of the bill, which was the language signed into last year's bill,
to ``Gary Job Corps Center,'' which was supposed to be in this year's
bill.
The Gary Job Corps facility in San Marcos, Texas, is one of the
largest in the country and, as such, has a great deal of excess land.
This land is located adjacent to the fast-growing San Marcos Regional
Airport.
For several years now, the city of San Marcos has been working
closely with the Gary Job Corps Center and the Department of Labor on
ways for the city to make better use of that excess land to the benefit
of its citizens. This area of San Marcos is a key cog in the regional
growth plan for the city and region, and the use of such additional
land will ensure that the trend continues as the area brings in more
and more economic investment.
This amendment will simply allow the Department of Labor to negotiate
directly with the city on dispersal of such land at fair market value
without having to go through the yearlong GSA Federal land dispersal
process. It replicates an effort that was done last year with the
Treasure Island facility in California, so there is strong precedent.
By removing some bureaucratic red tape, the amendment, which has the
blessing of the Department of Labor, will ensure that San Marcos,
Texas, continues its efforts to be an economic engine for the region.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of my amendment,
which provides a small technical fix to this bill.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for 5
minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. First of all, Mr. Chair, let me correct the record here.
The Job Corps provision was not a drafting error.
I rise in strong opposition to this amendment.
Treasure Island, a former naval installation island between Oakland
and San Francisco, was closed in the 1990s and is undergoing a major
redevelopment.
Treasure Island Job Corps is one of the best-performing sites in the
country and serves over 430 students with outdated and crumbling
buildings. It is located on a sizable piece of land in the middle of
the island.
The Department of Labor and Treasure Island Development Authority,
TIDA, are jointly examining the possibility of selling or exchanging
land from the Department of Labor to the Treasure Island Development
Authority to allow for additional housing development on the island in
exchange for building a brand-new campus for Job Corps within a smaller
portion of their current site.
Longstanding language on this matter has been included in
appropriations bills since 2018. This language waives potential
barriers to an exchange, allowing the Department to retain the proceeds
from a sale to rebuild a more compact Job Corps site within its current
boundaries.
There is no cost--let me repeat--no cost to the Federal Government.
For years, Congress has recognized this as a win-win: a new Job Corps
facility without additional appropriations and badly needed additional
housing in the area.
This amendment strikes the reference to Treasure Island in a general
provision specific to that Job Corps site and inserts the name of a
different Job Corps site from the author's State of Texas.
This amendment is silly and nonsensical, and it breaks from years of
precedent around this language.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the amendment, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Chair, I will repeat that Treasure Island Job Corps
was in last year's bill, and as the majority drafted this year's bill,
I think we know what needs to be in the bill. Let me also point out
that President Biden's Department of Labor supports this amendment.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I continue to oppose the amendment, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Cloud).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Meuser

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 6 printed in
part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 49, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $10,000,000)''.
Page 66, line 8, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $19,000,000)''.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Pennsylvania.
Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of my amendment No. 6 to H.R.
5894.
My amendment would increase the health workforce account in the
underlying bill by $10 million. This increase is completely offset by a
decrease in funding for the National Institute of Nursing Research by
$19 million. While the National Institute of Nursing Research provides
funding for important research, the nursing workforce shortage is at a
critical point, Mr. Chair, and must be addressed immediately.
The increase in funding for the health workforce account is intended
to provide additional funding to Nurse Corps programs, which would
bring the total funding amount for this program to $102 million for
fiscal year 2024.
This critical HRSA workforce program provides scholarship and loan
repayment opportunities for nurses working in either a hospital or a
community-based setting located in a critical shortage facility.
Increasing scholarship and loan repayment opportunities will help
encourage nurses to serve at facilities that are facing nursing
shortages.
As we all know, there is a shortage of healthcare professionals
across our country, especially amongst the nursing workforce. The
nursing workforce shortage is especially felt in rural communities,
including those in my district.
This fact was recently reinforced when I visited the Guthrie Robert
Packer Hospital in Sayre last month. During this visit, I was able to
see the great work that the hospital was doing to incorporate new
technologies to combat some of this nursing shortage.
Nevertheless, the American people deserve this Congress to support
such a critical profession, and we must keep in mind that this
amendment, again, is fully offset and will aid in our efforts to
resolve the nursing shortage workforce that exists.
Nurses are the backbone of our hospitals and our healthcare in
general, Mr. Chair, and, again, we must support this crucial
profession.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for 5
minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, the amendment would cut funding for the
National Institute of Nursing Research by $19 million. I support $10
million for health workforce training, but I am in total opposition to
a $19 million cut to the National Institute of Nursing Research.
The National Institute of Nursing Research supports research that
develops the scientific basis for nursing practice. For example, the
NINR is supporting a research initiative to assess changes in
organizational factors that could mitigate or prevent nurse burnout,
which we know to be one of the primary causes of a nursing shortage and
of people leaving the profession.
NINR also supports initiatives such as the AIM of care initiative to
address high rates of maternal morbidity and mortality and to prevent
adverse maternal health outcomes. Again, we know what a serious issue
this is in our Nation with maternal morbidity and mortality. Women are
dying. They look at these efforts to try to give us the best
information and data possible.
The National Institute of Nursing Research supports training
opportunities to develop doctorly trained nurse

[[Page H5773]]

scientists at schools of nursing throughout the United States.
By cutting funding for the National Institute of Nursing Research,
this amendment would reduce funding for nursing faculty, which would
result in schools of nursing turning away many qualified applicants.
Let me just say that, in 2020, over 80,000 qualified applicants were
not accepted at schools of nursing primarily due to a shortage of
clinical sites, faculty, and resources.
This institute is already underfunded and underappreciated, which is
true of all nursing professions. Maybe that is why HRSA estimates that
the nursing shortage will grow from 56,000 to 78,000 by 2025.
More importantly, this amendment demonstrates, once again, that
overall funding in this bill is grossly insufficient. I support $10
million for training but not a $19 million cut.
We need to properly fund health workforce training and the National
Institute of Nursing Research. We should not be forced to choose
between nurses and nursing research.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MEUSER. Mr. Chair, with all due respect to my colleague, this
amendment was developed and created with the assistance of the nursing
community from rural hospitals as well as more urban.
We have in our country a finite level of resources. We cannot
continue to do things the same way they have always been done. We need
to properly dedicate resources where they will deliver the most good
for the most people.
This bill, by reallocating and having such an offset, will improve,
enhance, and augment the nursing pipeline for the critical needs and
value that nurses bring to our hospitals, particularly in rural
communities.
We have a win-win. We have a reduction in the excessive spending that
takes place. This bill brings accountability, and it fortifies the all-
important professional nursing pipeline now and for the next
generation.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I continue to oppose the amendment, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).
The amendment was agreed to.

{time} 1245

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.
The CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for 5
minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Massachusetts (Ms. Clark), the Democratic whip and former member of the
Appropriations Committee and of the subcommittee, I might add.
Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman
from Connecticut, The Nutmeg State, The Constitution State, for all her
work and for yielding this time.
Mr. Chair, a budget is a reflection of our values, and what a low
value the majority places on women and children in these bills.
In the 2 minutes allotted to me, 40 Americans will be physically
abused by a partner, but instead of standing with those survivors, MAGA
Republicans are defunding the Violence Against Women Act and they are
taking away survivors' access to legal counsel. Those are the GOP's
values.
MAGA ideology is about controlling people--their health, their lives,
their bodies, and in these bills, they are continuing their march
toward a national abortion ban, defunding family planning programs,
banning providers from talking to patients about abortion care, and
banning medical students from even learning how to provide safe
abortions. Those are their values.
Millions of parents sent their kids to school today not knowing if
they will come home safe. The Republicans' response? Unleash more guns
onto the streets, including untraceable ghost guns. Those are their
values.
In these bills, they are gutting public education and childcare. They
are even defunding programs for missing and exploited children.
We see the extreme values of the GOP in these bills. These values are
not shared by the American people. We are here to serve people. These
bills work against them.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Amendment No. 8 Offered by Ms. Boebert

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 8 printed in
part B of House Report 118-272.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 54, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 54, line 20, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentlewoman from
Colorado (Ms. Boebert) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment that will
transfer funds from government bureaucracy to the Small Rural Hospital
Improvement Grant Program.
The rural hospital closure crisis continues to intensify.
Unfortunately, over 138 rural hospitals have closed since 2010 and over
450 additional facilities are vulnerable to closure.
While recent innovations in healthcare, such as the implementation of
telehealth technology, show promise to rural communities, rural America
is facing crises that are leading to dwindling access to essential
care.
Competitive grant programs like the Small Rural Hospital Improvement
Grant Program play a large role in ensuring that Americans living in
rural communities can access quality, cost-effective healthcare.
This program supports small rural hospitals in meeting value-based
payment and care goals for their respective organizations through
purchases of hardware, software, and training.
While current spending for rural health discretionary programs is
relatively small in the largest discretionary spending bill, it plays a
critical role in solidifying the fragile healthcare infrastructure and
workforce in rural communities.
Americans, especially in rural communities, continue to struggle with
affordable coverage, yet Joe Biden has done nothing to actually lower
costs.
Let's empower our rural communities to keep providing high-quality
healthcare and eliminate red tape and useless bureaucracy that is
standing between doctors and patients. This amendment takes an
important first step to accomplish both of these goals.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment that will
transfer funds from the HHS bureaucracy to the Small Rural Hospital
Improvement Grant Program. Again, I urge colleagues to support this
amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 9 Offered by Ms. Boebert

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 9 printed in
part B of House Report 118-272.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 54, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 55, line 1, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentlewoman from
Colorado (Ms. Boebert) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my straightforward
amendment that seeks to provide more resources in the bill for
telehealth services for veterans in rural areas.
Colorado's Third Congressional District has over 100,000 veterans who
call our beautiful State home. I am committed to ensuring that our
veterans receive the care and respect they have earned for their
service and sacrifice.

[[Page H5774]]

That is why I am here today to talk about the importance of
telehealth for veterans in rural areas. Telehealth is the use of
technology to deliver healthcare services remotely, such as through
video, phone, or online platforms.
Telehealth can help veterans access quality care from the comfort and
convenience of their homes or nearby locations without having to travel
long distances or face transportation barriers.
Telehealth is especially important for veterans who live in rural or
highly rural areas like many of the veterans in my district.
According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are 2.8
million rural veterans who are enrolled in and rely on VA healthcare
systems. However, these veterans often face challenges in accessing
timely and quality care due to provider shortages, limited facilities,
and geographical isolation. These challenges can result in poor health
outcomes, such as higher rates of chronic diseases, mental health
issues, and, unfortunately, even suicide.
For instance, rural veterans are more likely to be diagnosed with
diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart conditions than veterans
living in more urban areas. Rural veterans are also 65 percent more
likely to die from suicide than those residing in urban areas.
These statistics are unacceptable. They are absolutely heartbreaking.
Our veterans deserve better. They deserve to have access to the best
care possible regardless of where they live.
I will continue to advocate for these programs and for the expansion
of telehealth access for rural veterans. I believe that telehealth is
not only a matter of convenience, but a matter of necessity. It is a
matter of honoring our veterans and fulfilling our promises to them.
Let's pass my amendment so we can increase telehealth services for
veterans in rural areas.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 10 Offered by Ms. Boebert

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 10 printed in
part B of House Report 118-272.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentlewoman from
Colorado (Ms. Boebert) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment that will
transfer funds from the Federal bureaucracy to the Rural Emergency
Hospital Technical Assistance Program. Programs like the Rural
Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance Program play a large role in
ensuring that Americans living in rural communities can access quality,
cost-effective healthcare.
The program works to ensure rural hospitals and the communities they
serve have the information and resources needed to make informed
decisions as to whether rural emergency hospitals are the best model of
care for their communities and facilitate a successful implementation
of REH requirements for those hospitals converting to this new provider
type.
This program provides hospitals and rural communities considering
this new model assistance across a broad range of issues, including
financial analysis, workforce or staffing planning, establishment of
referral relationships and processes, determining REH service lines,
community health needs, and impact on the community health system
including emergency medical services.
I will keep working for responsible healthcare policies that respect
the dignity of individuals, support rural communities, decrease
healthcare costs, and restore free market competition to the healthcare
industry.
Let's empower our rural communities to keep providing high-quality
healthcare and eliminate red tape and useless bureaucracy that is
standing between doctors and patients. This amendment takes an
important step to accomplish both of these goals.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment that will
transfer funds to the Rural Emergency Hospital Technical Assistance
Program, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 11 Offered by Ms. Boebert

The CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 11 printed in
part B of House Report 118-272.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 54, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 55, line 10, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 94, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

The CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentlewoman from
Colorado (Ms. Boebert) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment that will
transfer funds from government bureaucracy to the Rural Residency
Planning and Development Program to support physician workforce
expansion in rural areas.
On top of closures, the healthcare workforce shortages continue to
plague rural communities. Over 75 percent of rural counties are
designated Health Professional Shortage Areas.
Programs like the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program
support the development of new rural residency programs in family
medicine, internal medicine, and psychiatry to address the physician
workforce shortages and challenges faced by rural communities.
Rural residency programs are accredited medical residency training
programs that train residents in rural settings for greater than 50
percent of their total time in residency and focus on producing
physicians who will practice in rural communities.
This program also contributes jobs to rural economies, provides
access to a range of medical services, and strengthens communities
throughout rural America.
Competitive grant programs, like the Rural Residency Planning and
Development Program, play a large role in ensuring that Americans
living in rural communities can access quality, cost-effective
healthcare.
Let's support our rural communities instead of handicapping them with
one-size-fits-all mandates as the Biden administration has done.
In September, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed
a rule to mandate increased nursing home staff ratio which will put
nursing homes, particularly in rural areas, in an impossible dilemma as
they grapple with how to manage current occupancy levels with the
insufficient workforce available to meet the requirements.

{time} 1300

Rules like this fail to adequately balance the needs of both patients
and healthcare staff in rural communities in the face of the current
staffing shortage gripping our Nation.
This is why we should focus on giving our rural communities the
resources and support that they need to provide low-cost, high-quality
healthcare.
I urge my colleagues to support my amendment that will transfer funds
to the Rural Residency Planning and Development Program to support
physician workforce expansion in rural areas.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Fitzgerald). The question is on the amendment
offered by the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 13 Offered by Ms. Boebert

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 13
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.

[[Page H5775]]

Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.
Page 96, line 22, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentlewoman
from Colorado (Ms. Boebert) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today to offer my amendment to redirect $2 million in this
bill to the Office of Inspector General to combat waste, fraud, and
abuse.
As a proud member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, I
am a firm believer in holding our government accountable to the people
we serve. Honest, hardworking American citizens should be able to trust
that their tax dollars are being spent responsibly. To achieve this
goal, the Office of Inspector General must have the funding they need
to ensure that the Department of Health and Human Services is using our
tax dollars efficiently and for their intended purpose.
Inspectors general across the Federal Government have saved taxpayers
billions of dollars and exposed numerous instances of criminal
wrongdoing. According to the most recent report from the HHS on
healthcare fraud and abuse: ``In FY 2021, investigations conducted by
HHS's Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) resulted in 504 criminal
actions against individuals or entities that engaged in crimes related
to Medicare or Medicaid, and 669 civil actions, which include false
claims and unjust enrichment lawsuits filed in the Federal district
court, and civil monetary penalty (CMP) settlements. HHS-OIG also
excluded 1,689 individuals and entities from participation in Medicare,
Medicaid, and other Federal healthcare programs. Among these were
exclusions based on criminal convictions for crimes related to Medicare
and Medicaid or to other healthcare programs, for beneficiary abuse or
neglect, and as a result of State healthcare licensure revocations.''
Mr. Chair, the American people believe the government is corrupt and
rife with fraud. The only way to address these concerns is to promote
accountability in the Federal Government and ensure that their tax
dollars are used responsibly for their intended purpose.
My commonsense amendment will ensure that the HHS Office of Inspector
General has the funding and resources they need to keep this agency in
line. Two million dollars is a small sum to pay to restore faith in our
institutions and to potentially uncover billions and billions in fraud.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment to promote
accountability and oversight in the Department of Health and Human
Services, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 19 Offered by Mr. Mills

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 19
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 58, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $158,100,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Mills) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
This amendment cuts back spending for the Office of Public Health
Scientific Services by more than $158 million to return us back to our
FY19 funding levels. This reins back the irresponsible, ballooned
spending that we have seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The House of Representatives has to hold itself accountable to fiscal
responsibility. We cannot continue to spend money that we do not have,
entrenching our country into more debt that future generations will be
unable to pay back.
Our public health offices, particularly during COVID-19, have proven
they do not effectively follow scientific method. In fact, I would
argue that this body only follows political science, not medical
science. While some of these offices certainly played roles in helping
to research the effects of COVID, others like the Office of Public
Health Scientific Services, were ineffective and do not serve their
purpose.
We do not need another redundant public health office to advance the
politicized work of the Federal Government's public health operations.
Furthermore, as a businessowner, I know the value of industry driving
policy and not policy driving industry. These cuts encourage increased
collaboration with the private sector to leverage external resources
and expertise to support the public health initiatives.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, this amendment would reduce the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Scientific Services
account by $158 million.
Bringing this account to the FY 2019 level, think about what it would
eliminate: significant advancements in public health, negatively
impacting the National Center for Health Statistics, laboratory
science, and public health data modernization efforts.
I have personal propriety on data modernization. I championed the
establishment of a public health data modernization initiative in
fiscal year 2020, just prior to the pandemic, I might add. This massive
undertaking is moving public health away from the fax machine and into
the 21st century.
Think about what happened during the pandemic, with all of the
laboratories around the country. I think about Connecticut, nearly shut
down. It couldn't do its work because it didn't have the equipment, the
modernization, the ability to collect data that makes it incredibly
important for us to deal with a pandemic or any other disease.
I might add, this modernization initiative provides funding directly
to 64 jurisdictions, including States, territories, large cities, and
Tribes. Eliminating this funding impacts the entire country.
I suspect that my colleague on the other side of the aisle would
agree with me that the local jurisdictions of public health need to
have the capacity to do their job. This funding is critical to
improving jurisdictions' public health decisionmaking capabilities.
Some have very highly rated and forward-thinking decisionmaking
capabilities, and they have what they need, but we have a lot of
communities with minimal capacity.
This is really pretty extraordinary. We have people entering records
by hand. They are writing their records out by hand or using software
not designed for tracking outbreak data, to being able to publish
provisional national death data on a weekly basis. Some places have no
capacity to do this, and they are not reporting the data so that we
have no idea what is happening.
We all want to know the scope of a foodborne or infectious disease
outbreak in our community. I suspect my colleague wants that
information for himself, his family, and for his constituents. We all
do. However, that does not happen without the data first identifying
the cases. Our public health data systems, laboratory resources, and
the National Center for Health Statistics are already far behind where
we need them to be, and this amendment would only make matters worse.
We should have learned a very, very big lesson from the pandemic,
where our public health infrastructure in many instances crashed
because of the lack of technology, the lack of data collection, the
lack of modernizing their ability to collect that data.

[[Page H5776]]

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the gentlewoman actually stepping
up. She asked two key questions that I really liked. First off, what
would it eliminate was one of the questions. Well, what it would
eliminate is the wasteful and fraudulent spending that has gone to the
NIH, as well as to those who have actually continued to pursue things
like gain of function under Fauci, and we saw how that worked out.
The other thing she also questioned, what should we have learned.
Well, what we have learned is that we are actually spinning ourselves
into an economic abyss; the fact that we are actually leading the
Nation when it comes to continually frivolous spending. I love how only
in Washington can we call something emergency spending levels but then
maintain it throughout the period in which we are going to move
forward.
We have to acknowledge the fact that in 2019, pre-COVID spending
levels, if you did a 3\1/2\ percent adjusted rate, that would get us to
an actual spending cap of $1.477 trillion today, not the $1.586
trillion, not the $1.786 trillion, and certainly not the $2 trillion
that the Democrats want to continue to spend.
The bottom line, Mr. Chair, is this: We are not saying that we will
not have the necessary spending for our public health sectors and
others to continue to do their job. What we are saying is that we
should return our spending levels to pre-COVID, pre-emergency levels
that would be in sync with what we have always done, at a 3\1/2\
percent adjusted rate.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I oppose the amendment. I think it is not
just for the emergency. We need to have a very, very strong public
health infrastructure.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, in closing, it is very clear that the only
thing that D.C. continues to do successfully is spend American taxpayer
funding. We did not do what was necessary to mitigate these risks.
There was always this 2 weeks to slow the curve. I wish there were 2
weeks to slow our spending. We need to get back to where we were before
so that we can get control, start looking at economic growth, start
looking at what is best and having industry drive the actual policy,
not policy drive the industry. We need to reduce and limit the
government's reach into the public sector to ensure that they have what
they need driven by them, for them.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills).
The amendment was agreed to.

{time} 1315

Amendment No. 22 Offered by Mr. Grothman

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 22
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 62, line 3, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $1,000,000) (increased by $1,000,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Wisconsin.
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment, which is
an increase/decrease in prioritized money for the CDC to do a study on
the effectiveness of vitamin D against COVID-19.
Vitamin D has long been associated with a healthy immune system,
particularly when combating viral and respiratory infections. It is
evident that maintaining adequate vitamin D levels can dramatically
improve outcomes for patients who are infected with COVID.
I was incredibly disappointed during the entire COVID scare, when
over a million Americans died, that the public health establishment did
very little to encourage people to take vitamin D.
There are many studies out there--they vary from one to the other--
from Spain, from Harvard, from the University of Chicago. In some, they
say that the chance of death can be reduced by 60 percent. In others,
they say for people with adequate vitamin D levels, 2.3 percent pass
away compared to 25.6 percent. In other words, you are 10 times better
off with vitamin D.
In any event, the public health establishment did very little to push
this. In my heart--I have read a lot of this stuff--I believe we could
have cut the deaths by over 80 percent had they done it, which is why I
want to require some sort of study out of the CDC to show this.
The other thing that should have been done during this COVID thing is
if you went in for a checkup, you should have had your vitamin D
checked. That should have been automatic. If you would have had levels,
say, under 20, your doctor could have said that you are in much worse
shape now and that you have to take vitamin D right away. They didn't
do that, I think, because they couldn't make enough money on it and
because, today, the medical establishment is too money driven.
Hopefully, if we do a study and something like this comes back, we
can put our public health establishment a little bit more on the ball.
I think it was an identical thing to COVID. I think it would reduce the
number of deaths by over 80 percent.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, let me just preface my comments by saying we
are not scientists, and we are not doctors. Maybe some are. We may have
one or two, but we are not in the business of scientific research or in
the medical profession, for the most part.
This amendment calls for the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to conduct an exploratory study on the topic of a
supplement, vitamin D deficiencies, and COVID mortality rates.
To make recommendations, Federal agencies leverage the results of
multiple randomized control trials that form the same conclusion, which
builds the scientific evidence for recommendations.
The National Institutes of Health and academic peers have
consistently found that there is insufficient evidence for a
recommendation either for or against the use of vitamin D for the
prevention or treatment of COVID-19.
Supplements are not a replacement for preventive measures like a
vaccination. Studies are being conducted on more effective linkages
between COVID-19 infection and preventive measures, including
vaccination and ventilation. The CDC should be receiving additional
investments for these studies, not being told to conduct a study on
this supplement.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Chair, let me point out that there are many
scientists in different countries who feel overwhelmingly that vitamin
D would have reduced the number of deaths.
I believe, sadly, that both our research establishment and medical
establishment kind of tilt toward something that will be more
profitable.
If they would have gotten vitamin D out there in the almost year
before vaccines were available, I think it would have saved a lot of
lives, and it would have probably saved lives even after vaccines
became available.
It is a mystery to me why the public health establishment does not
get involved and, quite frankly, encourage people to take vitamin D
well beyond the normal supplement level. You should probably take four
or five times the amount of the supplement.
In any event, it is frustrating it wasn't done. It is frustrating we
wouldn't check vitamin D levels when the cost to check them is, from
what I could tell, if you go through a mail order thing, like, 50 bucks
to check.

Nevertheless, it wasn't worthwhile for the medical establishment to
do that. I don't see any harm in doing a

[[Page H5777]]

study, and it could result in a massive benefit.
Let me also point out that, disproportionately, people of color were
dying from this disease, and a lot of people feel the reason they were
dying far in excess of the population as a whole was because people
with darker skin don't have as much vitamin D. In particular, it would
have helped people of color.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Norcross).
Mr. NORCROSS. Mr. Chair, I thank the ranking member for recognizing
me.
Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the Republican Labor-HHS
appropriations bill, which, among other cuts, would slash funding for
DOL's Wage and Hour Division by nearly 30 percent.
Among other functions of the Wage and Hour Division, it enforces the
Davis-Bacon Act, which ensures that workers are fairly compensated. It
has been around since 1931.
Davis-Bacon requires that workers on Federal construction projects
are paid a prevailing wage, which prevents workers from being undercut,
not being paid the correct amount of money for their work.
For this reason, at the appropriate time, I will offer a motion to
recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules permitted, I
would have offered the motion with an amendment to increase funding for
the Wage and Hour Division to improve the full force of Davis-Bacon.
Mr. Chair, I hope my colleagues will join me in voting for this
motion to recommit.
Mr. Chair, I include in the Record the text of my amendment.
Mr. Norcross moves to recommit the bill H.R. 5894 to the
Committee on Appropriations with the following amendment:
Page 18, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $155,953,000)''.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I strongly oppose the amendment, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Chair, I have nothing more to say other than that I
hope the amendment passes, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).
The amendment was agreed to.
The Acting CHAIR. The Chair understands that amendment No. 26 will
not be offered.

Amendment No. 28 Offered by Mr. Good of Virginia

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 28
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 64, line 24, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced b y $10,000,000)''.
Page 195, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $10,000,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Good) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chair, today, I ask for my colleagues'
support for my amendment to cut $10 million from this appropriations
bill and contribute those funds instead toward deficit reduction.
This particular $10 million is set aside to increase diversity in
biomedical research.
The Federal Government has an addiction to growth and expansion. Find
a problem? Just create a new program and assign a few bureaucrats to
handle it, and that will somehow allegedly fix the problem.
Under this administration, you don't have to set aside special money
to support diversity. President Biden has made it very clear through
nearly every executive action that he takes that every agency should
look at every issue through a diversity lens.
The Biden administration makes everything about race anyway. We
should not believe they need a few more million in taxpayer dollars
just to make a difference in this aspect.
At some point, the Biden administration needs to stop dividing
everyone based on the way they look and instead focus on actual health
solutions for all Americans in need.
Americans are tired of everything being about race. When it comes to
the future of biomedical research, we want to know that the best of the
best are researching ways to cure cancer, fight heart disease, and help
us lead longer and healthier lives. None of those are racial problems.
They are human problems.
Throughout our history, American innovation has been at the top of
the charts for finding breakthrough cures and therapeutics.
This year, through this bill, we are already set to invest in that
research, and we can spare the $10 million that focuses on diversity
and instead spend it on something that helps every American--
contributing to the spending reduction account that would actually
decrease our deficit.
Mr. Chair, I hope my colleagues will join me in this simple cost-
saving amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.
Let me tell you a brief story. I arrived at Congress in 1990. At the
time--and this is on a bipartisan basis, and this had to do with
women's health--what we discovered at the National Institutes of Health
was that all the clinical trials on illnesses and diseases in the
country, all the research, all science, and all of these diseases, the
clinical trials had included only men--only men.
I don't think anyone would view that this is rocket science, that
women are physiologically different than men.
On a bipartisan basis, the women--Nancy Johnson, Barbara Kennelly,
Nancy Pelosi, Nita Lowey, and Marge Roukema--banded together and said
this was crazy.
Women and minorities need to be included in clinical studies so that
we do not just extrapolate data from clinical trials for men and apply
it to women. Women and minorities deserved to be in those trials so
that we could find out what was the best treatment, what was the best
cure, and what was the best way to treat their health issues.
This is an amendment that would cut $10 million to the National
Institute of General Medical Sciences at the NIH. One of the basic
missions of NIGMS is to support the next generation of scientists. This
amendment would reduce support for scientific trainees across every
stage of their career trajectories, from supporting undergraduate and
community college students in research experiences, to Ph.D. and
clinician-scientist training, to postdoctoral training and the
transition to a first scientific position.
Eliminating an office of diversity in biomedical research takes us
backward when we moved forward all those years ago to talk about how
biomedical research and discovery to cure had to include in the
scientific endeavor, yes, men but also women and minorities.
This amendment would limit early stage investigators, who are a
pipeline to a next generation of researchers for future scientific
discoveries.
Mr. Chair, with all deference and respect for my colleague, this
amendment is shortsighted and counterproductive, and I urge my
colleagues to oppose the amendment.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, we have made progress today. I am
glad to hear the gentlewoman from the other side of the aisle
recognizes there are differences between men and women. We may next
actually be able to define what a woman is and what a man is. I am glad
to hear that recognition from my friends on the other side of the
aisle.
If President Biden were serious about helping people, he would cut
our spending. He would renew American energy. He would secure the
southern border. In fact, there are millions of illegals pouring across
our border, costing taxpayers $150 billion a year.
While every issue is not a racial issue, as the administration would
have you think, and every issue is not a climate issue, as the
administration

[[Page H5778]]

would have you think, today, every issue is a border issue and a
spending issue. Yet, President Biden focused on woke initiatives like
the Justice40 Initiative that promotes equity across the Federal
Government.

{time} 1330

Certainly today we would not criticize biomedical research. As a
matter of fact, we recognize the value that it brings to our country,
and I am thankful for those in the field who are doing their best to
help all Americans.
We want the research done by the best researchers for all Americans,
regardless of what any of them look like.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia
will be postponed.

Amendment No. 32 Offered by Mr. Good of Virginia

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 32
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 67, line 15, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $524,395,000)''.
Page 195, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $524,395,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Virginia (Mr. Good) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chair, today I ask for my colleagues'
support for my amendment to transfer $524.4 million from the National
Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to the spending
reduction account that would reduce our national debt and our current
deficit.
The way we throw around trillions of dollars and billions of dollars,
I guess $524 million doesn't seem like a lot here in Washington, but to
average Americans, that is real money.
Well, this office--formerly created by ObamaCare--brags about being a
leader in the scientific community's focus on socioeconomics, politics,
discrimination, of course, culture, and environment in relation to
health disparities.
I have heard enough there. Americans don't want politicized science.
We want scientific science. We don't want health research that divides
by race. We want health research that unleashes American ingenuity on a
horrific disease.
Let's talk about some of the studies that are associated with this
particular office: A report on how various racial groups have faced
COVID-19 discrimination; a program to address how--COVID-19
discriminates, of course. Didn't you know that?
Another program is a program to address how access to safe spaces--
safe spaces--impacts health, and of course, a program on how climate
change in and of itself is somehow racist.
I submit to my colleagues today that any actual scientific health
innovations that come out of this office could develop in one of the
other offices or projects that the $43 billion--with a b--NIH budget
supports.
We don't need to set aside $524 million to focus on race once again
and publish more politically charged studies that do nothing to
contribute to meaningful health outcomes.
I hope my colleagues will join me to reduce spending, reduce the size
of government, and support the best possible health research that is
not done on a racist basis.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I rise in vehement opposition to this
amendment. This amendment would eliminate all funding to the National
Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, which would
eviscerate funding for research on minority health.
This is a lack of understanding of scientific discovery or discovery
to cure. Frankly, it is appalling and disgusting. I will be calling for
a roll call vote on this amendment. I want to know exactly which
Members of the House of Representatives want to eliminate funding for
research on minority health and health disparities.
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
supports research on diseases and conditions that disproportionately
affect minority populations--minorities, writ large.
The United States continues to experience persistent and preventable
adverse health effects with a disproportionate burden on minority
communities.
To take one example, chronic diseases are among the leading causes of
death in the United States. Some racial or ethnic minority groups
experience a higher prevalence of multiple chronic conditions. We need
to continue research on interventions to reduce mortality from multiple
chronic diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, sickle cell disease, maternal mortality, obesity, asthma,
heart disease, cancer, which continues to disproportionately affect
minority communities.
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities also
supports researchers from backgrounds who are underrepresented in the
biomedical research workforce.
I urge my colleagues to think about this amendment and how it lacks
scientific understanding and the ability to use biomedical research as
a discovery for a cure.
Oppose this amendment. I look forward to seeing the results of the
recorded vote.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chair, it continues to be clear that our
friends on the other side just cannot tolerate or abide by the absence
of racist initiatives or disparate treatment based on race, but
Americans are done with the politicization of science, especially after
the tyrannical government mandates that shut down the economy during
the coronavirus.
President Biden promised a few years ago a return to normalcy, but
his administration has only weaponized the government against the
American people even more.
I wish the Biden administration would focus as much on cutting the
reckless spending, securing our border, and putting Americans first as
they do on dividing people along racial lines.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I can't state strongly enough how much I
oppose this amendment, which thwarts biomedical research to save
people's lives. That is what is done in this area. That is what the NIH
does. That is what the National Institute on Minority Health and Health
Disparities reviews. It is about saving lives. We have no more noble
cause in this institution than to help to save people's lives, whoever
they are.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia
will be postponed.

Amendment No. 33 Offered by Mr. Rosendale

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 33
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 67, line 19, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $95,162,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman

[[Page H5779]]

from Montana (Mr. Rosendale) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Montana.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Chair, my amendment No. 33 prohibits funding for
the John E. Fogarty International Center saving approximately $95
million.
Our Nation is over $33 trillion in debt, with an expected annual
deficit this year of nearly $2 trillion. We need to find innovative
ways to reduce spending. While many would consider this small potatoes,
we must begin with the most blatant violations of the public trust, and
that is what we consider this.
My amendment builds off of President Trump's first budget request,
which called for eliminating the Fogarty International Center.
According to their website, the Fogarty International Center is
dedicated to advancing the mission of the National Institutes of Health
by supporting and facilitating global health research conducted by the
U.S.
However, the center emphasizes a perverted view of ``global health
equity'' and partners with the World Health Organization.
The World Health Organization is a corrupt organization that worked
with the Chinese Communist Party to cover up the origins of the COVID-
19 pandemic. The Fogarty Center should not be working with the World
Health Organization.
Moreover, a large amount of the grants funded by the Fogarty
International Center are counterproductive to our interests.
One such egregious project that received funds in the Philippines is
titled: Stigma Reduction and Gender Affirmation to Promote HIV
Prevention/Testing in Trans Women. That is what your tax dollars are
being used for. The project is a joint partnership between Brown
University and the University of the Philippines Manila.
There are biological women and biological males, as stressed by the
other side of the aisle in the previous amendment. They have finally
recognized that. I find it ironic that we are funding projects in the
name of science that ignores basic biology.
Funding these woke, ridiculous projects hurt our standing in the
Philippines and globally.
Christianity is the dominant faith in the Philippines, making up
approximately 90 percent of the population. This project is a slap in
the face to anyone in the Philippines who holds traditional Christian
beliefs.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment. This
amendment would eliminate funding for the Fogarty International Center
at the National Institutes of Health.
This amendment is shortsighted. It would undermine our ability to
prevent and mitigate disease outbreaks around the world.
The Fogarty International Center has supported research training
programs which have been vital to fighting emerging infectious diseases
including Ebola and Zika.
Now, we dealt with Ebola in 2014, and we dealt with the Zika crisis
in 2016. I know that the gentleman was not here at that time and really
didn't experience what was happening both here in the U.S. and also
internationally. The very fact is that Fogarty helped to train the
people who were involved with on-the-ground responders to the Ebola and
to the Zika crisis.
Moreover, Fogarty supports training programs for scientists in the
United States and abroad who are engaged in prevention and treatment of
diseases, such as malaria, dengue fever, and tuberculosis, all of which
now have affected parts of the United States.
Fogarty programs have provided research training to 6,000 scientists
worldwide. It contributes to biomedical innovation. It supports the
next generation of researchers across the globe.
In addition, health innovations developed with foreign partners can
be adapted to help solve health issues in the United States.
I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the
balance of my time.

{time} 1345

Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Chair, if we are going to send funds overseas,
they should project our values. I agree with the overwhelming majority
of Americans and Montanans stating this center doesn't project our
values.
A grant that received funds through the Fogarty International Center
in Uganda is titled: ``HIV Self Testing to Empower Prevention Choices
in Sex Workers.'' If you want to protect men and women from drug abuse
and sex crimes, my colleagues should begin by helping me and my
colleagues on this side of the aisle by securing the southern border
and helping us to locate the approximately 100,000 children who have
been released into our country and most likely condemned to a life of
sex slavery.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, in my continued opposition to this amendment,
I suspect that my colleague is not interested in saving lives in West
Africa, in Brazil, or in Haiti.
Once again, with prior amendments that were listed here today, the
issue of the work of science and research in the pursuit of saving
lives is what this institution should be about. We are not talking
about helicopters, roads, bridges, or anything else. Fundamentally, we
are addressing the issue of using the biomedical research which we have
scientists engaged and involved in both for the United States and
internationally. If it happens internationally, it happens in the
United States. That is our job. There is no higher calling than to save
lives here and abroad.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Montana has 1\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Chair, again, if we are going to invest funds
overseas and here domestically, we should make sure that it projects
our values.
Another grant that received funds through the Fogarty International
Center in Ukraine, where we have seen billions of dollars squandered,
was titled: ``Using latent class analysis to understand the role of
layered stigma on engagement in care among HIV positive women who use
drugs in Ukraine.''
They have a battle going on. They have a war in Ukraine. We hear
about it daily. Yet, the Fogarty International Center is not going to
try to figure out a way to bring those parties to the table to achieve
peace. They want to find out about drugs being used by women who
participate in the sex trade.
Mr. Chair, again, for this and many reasons, I hope my colleagues can
support this amendment. We need to protect our values oversees, and the
Fogarty International Center does not do so.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rosendale).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Montana will
be postponed.

Amendment No. 34 Offered by Mr. Pfluger

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 34
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. PFLUGER. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 68, line 17, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $3,748,715)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Texas (Mr. Pfluger) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. PFLUGER. Mr. Chair, I rise today to present an amendment that

[[Page H5780]]

holds the key to accountability and transparency in the aftermath of
the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
The amendment I am proposing to the fiscal year 2024 Labor, Health
and Human Services, and Education appropriations bill targets a
critical issue within the National Institutes of Health, NIH, Office of
the Director. Specifically, it aims to reduce funding by $3,748,715.
That is an amount equivalent to the grant awarded to EcoHealth
Alliance, Incorporated, for their research on ``Understanding the Risk
of Bat Coronavirus Emergence'' at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
The gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic cannot be overstated. Lives were
lost, businesses shuttered, and families torn apart. It is a collective
responsibility to address the origins of this crisis, and my proposed
amendment aligns with three fundamental principles that I have
consistently emphasized while being in Congress.
First, we must uncover the truth of the pandemic's origins. This
shouldn't be a Republican or Democrat thing. This is an American thing.
Second, we must hold those involved responsible and accountable. Last,
we must provide the American people with full transparency.
After nearly 4 years of investigation, substantial evidence now
points to the Wuhan Institute of Virology as the source of the COVID-19
virus. Disturbingly, it has come to light that the Wuhan lab conducted
this research funded by the United States Government. While the
Department of Health and Human Services has taken action against the
institution, it is evident that more must be done.
The HHS Office of Inspector General released a report in January of
this year, January of 2023, revealing that the NIH failed to
effectively monitor or address EcoHealth's compliance with certain
requirements. Shockingly, the NIH only began investigating the Wuhan
Institute's role in the pandemic at the outset of the crisis. This lack
of foresight is unacceptable, especially considering the potential
consequences of such research.
Moreover, the investigation brought to light EcoHealth's delayed
submission of a critical report containing evidence of a virus with
enhanced growth, a report that should have been reported immediately.
This is just one instance of the NIH's failure to exercise proper
oversight.
In light of these findings, it is imperative that we hold the NIH
accountable for its shortcomings. The American people deserve an
assurance that our agencies are performing their duties diligently and
responsibly, especially when the consequences are as far-reaching as
the global pandemic was.
The HHS's report highlights a series of lapses in NIH's monitoring
and oversight. Given these documented failures, I strongly believe that
the NIH should face consequences for its role in the mishandling of
funds and lack of oversight. Our amendment sends a clear message that
we, as representatives of the American people, will not tolerate
negligence that results in such catastrophic outcomes.
In conclusion, let us come together to pass this crucial amendment,
demonstrating our commitment to accountability, transparency, and the
well-being of the American people. It is time to act decisively and
ensure that our agencies fulfill their responsibilities to prevent
future crises of this magnitude.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the
amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to this amendment.
Unfortunately, this amendment is nothing more than a political stunt.
It would cut funding to the National Institutes of Health's Office of
the Director as a penalty for a research grant awarded years ago.
The grant awarded by NIH was subject to rigorous peer review and
judged by reviewers to be a high priority due to the previous emergence
of SARS-CoV in a bat population.
The grant application did not propose research to enhance
coronaviruses to be more transmissible or virulent in humans. The NIH
determined that the award did not involve research with enhanced
potential pandemic pathogens.
The bat coronavirus sequences under this grant award showed that the
viruses studied at the Wuhan Institute of Virology under the NIH-funded
grant were evolutionary, distant from SARS-CoV-2, and could not have
been the source of SARS-CoV-2.
Essentially, this is a cut of $3.7 million as a penalty for funding
research and thereby taking funds away from the NIH as well, which are
sorely needed.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Mr. PFLUGER. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Texas has 2 minutes remaining.
Mr. PFLUGER. Mr. Chair, I disagree with my colleague from
Connecticut. The American people want the NIH to succeed. We need the
NIH to succeed, but the American people are also saying, show us
transparency. Tell us what is going on.
When the government is trusted, then we can actually get results and
do good things for the American people. This is about trust. In fact,
$3.7 million, I think that is a small price to pay when it comes to the
price that Americans paid.
Yes, I urge this to be a bipartisan amendment, that we have
transparency. If you are on the side of the American people, who
deserve better from government agencies, this should be an easy
amendment.
Mr. Chair, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 35 Offered by Mr. Mills

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 35
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 68, line 17, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $160,384,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Florida (Mr. Mills) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, my amendment is pretty simple. This would cut
back on the spending for the office of the NIH Director by more than
$160 million to return us back to the fiscal year 2019 funding level.
This amendment ensures appropriate accountability for the NIH's recent
failures while also advancing the urgent need for better fiscal
responsibility of the House.
When the Republicans took over the majority, we promised to rein in
inflation and government spending. We must do more than talk. We must
start to act.
The NIH resoundingly failed to do its due diligence to prevent gain-
of-function research at Chinese labs, and this failure was fundamental
to the existence of the virus that caused the pandemic.
To date, there has been absolutely no accountability for these
failures and others, and Congress would be failing its duty to ensure
accountability by doing nothing and continuing this irresponsible
funding to the NIH.
We must stop Fauci's experimental process, start holding
accountability, get research into finding out exactly what the leading
cause was, and make sure we have the necessary prevention.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the
amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, this amendment would cut funding by $160
million to the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of
Health.
During the time that I had the opportunity, for the 4 years that I
served as chair of this subcommittee, we increased funding for NIH
research by $8.4 billion, an increase of 21 percent above the 2019
level, and I might add, something I am really extremely proud of.
As chair and with Ranking Member Cole, we agreed on a bipartisan
basis

[[Page H5781]]

for the increases to the NIH. I, again, feel very, very proud of the
role that I was able to play with my colleague in providing additional
funding for lifesaving research at the NIH, including research to
develop cures or treatments for cancer, Alzheimer's, ALS, diabetes, the
funding to develop a universal flu vaccine, and the funding to ensure
that women are represented in clinical trials.
This amendment would undermine the progress that we made on a
bipartisan basis over the last 4 years, and I urge my colleagues to
please oppose this amendment.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chair, I appreciate the gentlewoman for her
acknowledgment that we have increased spending by $8.4 billion, of
which some of that funding led to additional trillions of dollars in
spending and thousands of lives lost, as we funded things like the gain
of function under Fauci, which led to the spread of COVID.

{time} 1400

Now, when you talk about the cut of $160 million, the only response
that I can think of is you are welcome. You are welcome to the American
people for us saving money and for us actually doing our job to be
fiscally responsible once again.
You are welcome that we won't allow continuation of funding for gain
of function that would lead to another pandemic, as we saw across the
world. You are welcome that we are actually, in the Republican Party as
the majority, taking a stand to stop the out-of-control and runaway
spending that has been irresponsible and driving generations and
generations into future debt.
Mr. Chairman, this is pretty simple. Without that funding there
probably would have been no pandemic. Unless we are going to get
accountability and do the necessary research, I cannot continue to
sponsor Fauci and NIH and their efforts to go ahead and spread and lead
to another COVID.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I don't know if the gentleman knows this
but, as another point, I will extol the virtues of Dr. Anthony Fauci
and his scientific background and experience of what he has done to
resolve issues of disease and cures in the United States of America and
overseas.
Maybe the gentleman doesn't know, Dr. Fauci is no longer at the NIH.
It is unbelievably stunning to me that we are listening to someone talk
about how COVID came out of the NIH. What happened to all your other
theories?
Mr. Chairman, this is really a conspiracy theory that we are
generating here. For that reason, and probably for many, many other
reasons that have no basis in science or in reality, I continue to
oppose this amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chairman, I love how our colleagues on the left refer
to every conspiracy as a conspiracy until it is found to be factual,
which is 99 percent of the time.
I am also aware that Mr. Fauci is no longer there and we are very
thankful for that. His accountability on what he had done with helping
to fund gain of function, which was actually something that led to
spreading the Wuhan virus, which was also in partnership with China--
this is something that still needs accountability research and the
necessary review within Congress.
I am aware that we are continuing to spend at emergency COVID levels
and we need to get back to where we were before. This is simple
mathematics. If emergency-level spending is meant to be only during a
time of emergency, then why do we continue to make that the new
benchmark of spending moving forward.
The whole point is, is that we would bring it back to the pre-COVID
spending levels, which is what the American people are looking at. They
are looking for us to stop the irresponsible spending and actually get
to what the root cause is, which is the U.S. Congress.
I hate to say it in this way, but the bottom line is that I will not
continue to fund these types of things.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support me in this, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Florida will
be postponed.

Amendment No. 36 Offered by Ms. Boebert

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 36
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I rise as the designee of the gentleman from
Georgia (Mr. Clyde), and I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 63, line 14, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $710,415,900)''.
Page 63, line 22, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $398,234,500)''.
Page 64, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $52,016,300)''.
Page 64, line 10, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $230,072,100)''.
Page 64, line 15, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $258,892,500)''.
Page 64, line 24, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $315,467,900)''.
Page 65, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $174,907,800)''.
Page 65, line 11, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $89,654,900)''.
Page 65, line 16, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $91,397,900)''.
Page 65, line 19, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $440,762,300)''.
Page 65, line 24, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $68,546,500)''.
Page 66, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $53,433,000)''.
Page 66, line 8, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $19,769,300)''.
Page 66, line 13, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $59,531,800)''.
Page 66, line 16, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $166,269,500)''.
Page 66, line 19, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $211,284,300)''.
Page 66, line 23, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $66,320,000)''.
Page 67, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $44,062,700)''.
Page 67, line 10, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $17,038,400)''.
Page 67, line 23, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $49,754,800)''.
Page 68, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $92,332,300)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentlewoman
from Colorado (Ms. Boebert) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chairman, I rise to urge all of my colleagues to
support this amendment, which would provide for additional funding
reductions for NIH.
If we have learned nothing else from the executive branch's
involvement and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, at the very least,
we learned just how corrupt and money hungry the NIH as an organization
truly is.
It has been over 3\1/2\ years since the initial COVID lockdowns and
the NIH continues to cover up and downplay its gain-of-function
research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.
Earlier this year, the Inspector General's report found that between
2014 and 2021, the NIH did not adequately follow its policies with
respect to three grants totaling about $8 million to the EcoHealth
Alliance.
The EcoHealth Alliance had a relationship with the Wuhan Institute of
Virology in which it subawarded $600,000 to research coronaviruses in
the years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NIH terminated the EcoHealth grant in April of 2020, then later
reinstated it, only to suspend it again after setting conditions for
resumption that EcoHealth claimed it could not meet.
The NIH permanently terminated the award in August 2022 for
compliance issues, including the Wuhan Institute of Virology's failure
to provide NIH with laboratory notebooks related to the funded
experiments.
Then again, in May of this year, the NIH reinstated grants to renew
its ``collaborative research to understand the risk of bat coronavirus
spillover emergence.'' Seriously?
In late last year, the NIH issued a new grant to EcoHealth Alliance
for a project titled: ``Analyzing the Potential for Future Bat
Coronavirus Emergence in Myanmar, Vietnam, and

[[Page H5782]]

Laos.'' The grant provides EcoHealth Alliance with $653,392 covering a
period until August 31, 2027.
Why is an organization that failed to comply with reporting
requirements continuing to receive more and more American tax dollars?
Even more disturbing, earlier this year, the acting director of NIH,
Dr. Tabak, testified before the House Appropriations Committee. I asked
him whether gain-of-function research was conducted at the Wuhan
Institute of Virology, and he responded ``no.''
In an October 20, 2021, letter to then-Oversight and Reform Committee
Ranking Member James Comer, the NIH admitted to funding gain-of-
function research on bat coronaviruses at the WIV. Ironically, Mr.
Tabak authored this letter in which he stated that the limited
experiment tested whether spike proteins from naturally occurring bat
coronaviruses circulating in China were capable of binding to the human
ACE2 receptor in a mouse model. This is classic gain of function and
this is unacceptable.
Americans deserve to know the truth, especially when their tax
dollars are funding these dangerous practices.
As if that were not enough evidence to justify a budget cut, the
Biden administration has also inappropriately used the NIH as an
extension of the President's radical, unethical policies. For instance,
in April of 2021, the NIH reversed restrictions governing Federal-
funded research to allow the use of fetal tissue obtained from elective
abortions.
I am grateful the underlying bill includes several guardrails for
fiscal year 2024, such as prohibiting funding for unethical human
embryo and aborted fetal tissue research, prohibiting any support to
the Wuhan Institute of Virology, and prohibiting gain-of-function
research in an adversarial country. These are good provisions, but they
are simply not enough.
I recognize that the underlying bill has reduced the NIH's funding by
about 12\1/2\ percent, but I strongly believe a larger cut is warranted
if we want the NIH to realign its priorities with congressional intent.
Not only would a larger budget cut force the NIH to eliminate
irresponsible spending and research, but it would also send a strong
message to the Biden administration that Congress does not approve the
NIH's actions.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chairman, I am having trouble listening to a series
of science deniers here this afternoon. That is really troubling.
The amendment would cut funding to the National Institutes of Health
by an additional $3.6 billion.
The base bill already cuts NIH funding by $2.8 billion below what we
are talking about in 2023. That is 2.8 and another 3.6. I think there
was another amendment that took additional money, which means that this
amendment would bring the overall funding cut to the NIH of $6.4
billion at the current funding levels.
That would mean drastic cuts to lifesaving research on cancer,
Alzheimer's disease, ALS, diabetes, infectious diseases, and the list
goes on and on and on.
This amendment would cut funding to the National Cancer Institute by
an additional $710 million.
I am a 36-year survivor of ovarian cancer. I had the benefit of
biomedical research. Why shouldn't other women have the benefit of
biomedical research to save their lives with ovarian cancer, one of the
biggest killers of women in the Nation?
This bill would also cut funding to the National Institute of Child
Health and Human Development by $175 million.
It would cut funding to the National Institute on Aging by $441
million. Let's tell that to all of our elder Americans with the issues
that they have as they age. Let's cut back that research.
It would cut funding to the National Institute on Drug Abuse by $166
million. I continue to hear from my colleagues on the other side of the
aisle about how upset they are about addiction and drug abuse and the
increase of that. What are we doing about it? This research addresses
that issue.

It would cut funding to the National Institute of Mental Health by
$200 million. Do we not understand that we had a crisis in mental
health in this country before the pandemic, and we are in a serious
crisis with mental health at all ages post-pandemic?
We want to cut the money for the research for mental health?
Put simply, this amendment would mean a drastic cut to scientific
breakthroughs, cures to diseases, and lifesaving treatments.
Did you know that the United States has been the leader in the world
in health and advancement. We have the NIH, the CDC, and the FDA. These
are crown jewels in what health is about in the United States and the
cures here and abroad. Why would we want to roll back our advancements
in health, science, and medical achievements?
This does go backwards. Like I have said in prior amendments, our job
with these bills is to save lives, not to be engaged in political
diatribes.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

{time} 1415

The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 38 Offered by Mr. Harris

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 38
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 70, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $59,000,000)''.
Page 92, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $50,000,000)''.
Page 93, line 3, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $50,000,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Maryland (Mr. Harris) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland.
Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment to
increase funding for Project BioShield from $820 million to $870
million, with the funds coming from taking money from the recurring
expense fund for buildings and facilities at HHS.
Mr. Chairman, medical countermeasures are important. We know that the
chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats are real in
this world and that there is no natural market incentive for private
industry to invest in developing countermeasures despite their critical
importance to national security. That is exactly why Congress
authorized Project BioShield almost 20 years ago, in 2004, which
incentivizes industry to invest in these products despite the fact that
there is no natural market incentive.
The program provides multiyear funding to support advanced research,
clinical development, manufacturing, and procurement. BioShield
responds to national security threats identified by the Department of
Homeland Security's material threat determination process.
According to the Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures
Enterprise, or PHEMCE, their multiyear budget, BARDA's Project
BioShield would need $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2024 to develop and
support the candidates in the smallpox, radiological, nuclear, broad-
spectrum antimicrobials, Ebola, and chemical countermeasure portfolios.
That is in contrast to the $820 million that is in the underlying bill.
Again, the experts have said we need $1.7 billion.
Additionally, last year, the House included report language in the
fiscal year 2023 omnibus that asked BARDA to compile a procurement
strategy for novel antimicrobials. BARDA then included this objective
in their 5-year strategic plan, but it was, of course, way underfunded.
This amendment would allow them to move forward with these activities
to provide additional funding, which could be used for the procurement
of new antimicrobials.
Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to support this amendment, which would
increase funding for Project BioShield to $870 million, and I reserve
the balance of my time.

[[Page H5783]]

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, let me say a couple of things because I am a
strong supporter of BioShield.
Within the 2023 budget, I might add, there is $850 million. I am for
emergency preparedness. The gentleman every year puts in requests for
increases, and we put in increases every year for Project BioShield.
However, what I am concerned about, which I will address, is the $59
million cut. I think we should continue to increase money every year
for Project BioShield, but the amendment cuts funding for the buildings
and facilities at the NIH by $59 million.
NIH currently has a backlog of nearly $4 billion in needed repairs,
and during the 4 years that I served as chair of the subcommittee, we
increased funding for the NIH buildings and facilities account from
$200 million in 2019 to $350 million in 2023 to begin to address the
long-term backlog in a responsible way. This amendment would undermine
the progress we have made.
I might add, once again, this was on a bipartisan basis over the last
4 years that we agreed to the increases in the NIH buildings and
facilities account as well as the increases in Project BioShield.
Cutting funding for NIH's buildings and facilities would exacerbate
the backlog of repairs, potentially affecting NIH's intramural research
projects if laboratories and facilities are degraded.
More importantly, this amendment demonstrates, once again, that
overall funding in this bill is grossly insufficient. That is one of my
biggest concerns about this bill. We need to properly fund Project
BioShield and the National Institutes of Health. We should not be
forced to choose between research facilities and emergency
preparedness.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chair, to pay for this, we take money from the NIH
buildings and facilities. That is true. However, Mr. Chairman, you know
that the way CBO works is that we had to take it from that fund because
we expect that money to be replaced from the nonrecurring expense fund
at HHS. The CBO won't score it as a savings, but they will score it as
a savings if you take it from NIH.
Mr. Chair, I get it. Nobody understands how CBO works. It makes no
sense. Nevertheless, that money could be backfilled easily because, Mr.
Chair, that nonrecurring expense fund at HHS is a slush fund with $1.8
billion in it unspent with moneys each year authorized in the bills to
be rolled over to the next year, so there is $1.8 billion sitting at
HHS.
Mr. Chair, that money would be much better spent on countermeasures.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I continue to oppose the amendment, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chair, may I inquire how much time is remaining.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Maryland has 1\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chair, the dangers in the world are immense. China
and North Korea both, obviously, are nuclear and nonconventional
weapons threats. We are looking at a war in Israel right now with the
possibility that Iran could make a dirty bomb. There are nuclear
threats. We need countermeasures. We need to spend money on
countermeasures.
Just as we are spending $880 billion on what I call kinetic defense,
we need to spend money on nonkinetic defense. One of the things we need
to do is fund Project BioShield because that is where we develop these
countermeasures.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of this amendment. It would take $59
million that HHS would transfer out of a $1.8 billion fund that they
have unspent and use that money for countermeasures.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 39 Offered by Mr. Harris

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 39
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 70, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(reduced
by $119,000,000)''.
Page 92, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $100,000,000)''.
Page 93, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $100,000,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Maryland (Mr. Harris) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland.
Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chairman, this amendment is similar to the last one.
It takes money from the NIH buildings and facilities funds, which,
under authorization of law, can be transferred back from HHS'
nonrecurring expense fund and transfers $100 million of that to the
Strategic National Stockpile.
The Strategic National Stockpile is the only program dedicated to
having civilian medical countermeasures on hand to respond to chemical,
biological, radiological, and nuclear threats that may occur on U.S.
soil.
From what we are seeing in Israel now to the current Marburg virus
outbreak in Equatorial Guinea, these threats are real and growing.
Again, according to the PHEMCE multiyear budget, in fiscal year 2024,
the stockpile would need $1.96 billion, almost $2 billion, to meet
current stockpiling needs. Yet, in the bill is less than $1 billion.
The sharp increase that they feel is necessary--again, these are the
experts in these countermeasures--is largely due to needed investment
in the anthrax, Ebola, and smallpox portfolios. When we underfund that
stockpile, then risky decisions have to be made. A prior annual review
proposed reducing anthrax vaccine and antibiotic holdings. This
amendment provides funds that will help meet the goals that have been
identified by these experts.
I appreciate the Appropriations Committee including my requested
report language directing the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and
Readiness in coordination with the intelligence community to provide
annual classified threat briefings to Members of Congress.
Mr. Chairman, I urge all Members to support this amendment, which is
vital to our national security, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Perry). The gentlewoman from Connecticut is
recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. As with the prior amendment, Mr. Chair, I support the
National Strategic Stockpile very strongly, and I might say I strongly
support it, so I don't oppose it.
As the chair of the subcommittee in the past, I have increased
funding on a yearly basis for the stockpile. I know that the gentleman
has made requests for increases, and we have met those increases with
regard to the stockpile.
The question, once again, for me is cutting the buildings and
facilities at the NIH by $119 million. I will repeat this: NIH has a
backlog of nearly $4 billion in needed repairs. In the 4 years that I
served on the subcommittee as chair, we increased the NIH building and
facilities account from $200 million in 2019 to $350 million in 2023 to
begin to address the backlog and build up in a responsible way.
I might add that I am particularly proud that we did this on a
bipartisan basis, and we have done that over the last 4 years while
recognizing the gentleman's concerns in this area and responding in a
positive way to the increases that have been requested.
Cutting the funding for NIH buildings and facilities exacerbates the
backlog of repairs. It affects their intramural research projects if
the laboratory and the facilities are in disrepair.
More importantly, as I said just a few moments ago, the amendment
demonstrates that overall funding in this bill is grossly insufficient.
I know that there are some who want to cut it even further, so we begin
to deal with robbing Peter to pay Paul here.

[[Page H5784]]

Nonetheless, we need to properly fund the Strategic National
Stockpile. That is in our national interest and the interest of the
National Institutes of Health.
However, it is my colleagues on the other side of the aisle who are
always telling me that we have hard choices to make and that we do have
to make choices--and we do--but we should not be forced to choose
between research facilities and emergency preparedness.
Nevertheless, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle believe
that we should starve the bill and then, for the issues that may be
critically important, take money from another critically important bill
or program.
Let us fund this bill where it should be to meet the needs of the
National Strategic Stockpile as well as allowing the NIH to be able to
have laboratories and buildings in good repair so that our scientists
can perform in an environment that allows them to be more creative,
more innovative, and do more about the discovery to cure.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I yield
back the balance of my time.

{time} 1430

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Chair, I agree with the gentlewoman from Connecticut
when she said we need to fund the SNS. That is the bottom line. Mr.
Chair, you read the Constitution like I read it. National Defense is
one of the things outlined for Congress in the Constitution.
We don't have adequate defense stockpiles in the Strategic National
Stockpile.
Let's talk smallpox, for example. We had 200 million doses back in
2018. A lot of those have expired. The bottom line is that anthrax has
a 30 percent mortality rate. We need a vaccine for every American,
everyone living in the United States.
It is that simple, because anthrax, Mr. Chair, is not something you
have to develop in the Wuhan Institute of Virology. God knows they can
develop dangerous weaponry. It can be stolen from somewhere and
duplicated. It doesn't take a First World country to be an anthrax
threat.
Now with regard to the buildings at NIH, as I explained before, Mr.
Chair, there is a $1.8 billion building slush fund over at HHS. They
have accumulated $1.8 billion in what they call their nonrecurring
expense fund.
Mr. Chair, I will remind you, because of Bidenomics and a 5 percent
interest rate, that is $90 million a year we are paying on interest on
their slush fund.
Mr. Chair, what I am proposing is we take the money out of NIH--and I
will join with the gentlewoman from Connecticut in writing a letter to
Secretary Becerra asking him to backfill that money from his slush
fund.
Enough with slush funds--$22 billion in Commerce, the Commodity
Credit Corp, in USDA; $1.8 billion slush fund, nonrecurring expense
fund in HHS.
Mr. Chair, we can't afford it. We also can't afford to be without a
Strategic National Stockpile. We need to make sure that we have the
antimicrobials, that we have the vaccines in there that are necessary
to protect against the next threat from China, North Korea, Russia, or
Iran.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense
amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 54 Offered by Mr. Carter of Georgia

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 54
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 93, line 9, before the semicolon insert the following:
``: Provided, That $15,000,000 of the funds made available
under this paragraph shall be used to carry out section 2409
of division FF of Public Law 117-328''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Georgia (Mr. Carter) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I rise today to speak in support of
my amendment, which will allow States to build or maintain their own
medical stockpiles and encourage regional coordination of those
stockpiles.
Over the past few years, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed
vulnerabilities in our Strategic National Stockpile, leading to a
shortage of critical drugs, vaccines, and medical supplies. We all
remember the scramble among States and the Federal Government for
limited supplies of diagnostics, PPE, treatments, and other critical
medical countermeasures.
Each State had different priorities and needs: while one needed
ventilators, another needed masks. In my home State of Georgia,
healthcare providers and patients struggled to access critical medical
supplies and personal protective equipment. That is why it is important
to not only ensure that the Strategic National Stockpile is robust, but
also to provide ways for States to stockpile treatments and products
for their specific needs. To be clear, this amendment would supplement,
not replace, the Federal Strategic National Stockpile.
This amendment would empower States to build and maintain their own
medical stockpiles so they can respond quickly to emerging infectious
diseases in the future. That is why I encourage my colleagues to
support this amendment before us here today.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the
amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, this amendment would direct $15 million from
the Strategic National Stockpile to allow States to build or maintain
their own medical stockpile.
The 2023 appropriation bill authorized a demonstration program for
State Strategic National Stockpiles but did not include funding. This
amendment would reduce funding for the Federal Strategic National
Stockpile to support State efforts. You have one amendment that wants
to go to $100 million, one who wants to take $15 million away from the
national stockpile.
It is important to note that the authorization specifically stated
that authorized funds were intended to supplement rather than supplant
the maintenance and use of the Federal Strategic National Stockpile.
Redirecting SNS funds as this amendment does is in conflict with the
intended purpose of the law. We are not adding on to, we are taking
away from and moving someplace else.
I would suggest that with regard to our public health and our
national security, that through these efforts what we should do is to
focus in on dealing with public health infrastructure in the strongest
possible way, and that means making the investments in data
modernization and data collection.
There ought to be the authority to report data that the CDC should
have to get this information, so we know what is happening in real
time. We ought to take a look at the State laboratories and look at how
we are supporting State laboratories, which many crashed, the whole
infrastructure during COVID, the public health infrastructure nearly
crashed.
This amendment is in conflict with the intended purpose of the law.
Once again, it takes money rather than adding to. It is intended to
supplement, but what it does is it supplants.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Chair, in response I would just say that
this is simply to supplement the National Strategic Stockpiles. It is
not to replace them. It is not to do anything but give the States the
opportunity to have their own stockpiles. This is not a cookie-cutter-
type situation that you have here. Different States have different
needs. We all understand that, and this is what that addresses.
Mr. Chair, this is a commonsense bill and commonsense amendment, and
I would ask and encourage my colleagues to vote in favor.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I stand in continued opposition to the
amendment. It is hard to fathom the logic of supplanting versus
supplementing. If you are taking money from the stockpile, you are
taking away the funds

[[Page H5785]]

that are there, but you are not adding funds to what they already have
so, in fact, you are taking money from the SNS for this other effort
which is contrary to what the law states.
I agree different States have different needs, et cetera. That is why
I think that what you ought to do is to buttress what we are doing in
State laboratories, dealing with data modernization, to make our public
health infrastructure as strong as possible. This really takes money
away from the SNS.
Mr. Chair, I oppose it, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 55 Offered by Mr. Good of Virginia

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 55
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 94, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $28,000,000)''.
Page 195, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $28,000,000)''.

{time} 1445

The minority HIV/AIDS prevention initiative supports HIV prevention,
as well as treatment in minority communities to help address that
disparity.
While we have made significant advances in recent decades against the
HIV epidemic, it continues to be a crisis in many racial and ethnic
minority communities. Almost three out of four new HIV diagnoses are
among racial and ethnic minorities.
This amendment to eliminate funding for the minority HIV/AIDS
prevention initiative would take us back to a time when the Federal
Government turned a blind eye to the spread of HIV, especially in
minority communities.
Let me be clear: Not only is this amendment unacceptable, but the
funding cut of more than 50 percent in the base bill is unacceptable.
When we go to conference with the Senate, after this House bill goes up
in flames, I will ensure that these disastrous funding cuts are not
included in the final bill.
I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I reiterate, there are over a dozen
agencies that focus on this issue, and this amendment reduces by one-
tenth of 1 percent the amount that is allocated toward AIDS research
and prevention in our country today. This is the portion which is race
based, which of course my friends across the aisle cannot tolerate any
reduction or elimination of any program that is race based because
their policies seek to divide the country.
This $28 million may seem like a drop in the bucket of what does need
to be cut from our Federal spending, but this is a start.
I urge my colleagues to support ensuring funding allocation that is
based on need and not based on race and to vote in favor of this
amendment.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I continue to oppose this amendment. I also
might add, if you take the base bill which my Republican colleagues
have come forward with, which is really unacceptable, the base bill
ends the HIV initiative. These are programs that have been eliminated.
It eliminates the HIV initiative here.
This amendment would further cut the opportunity for treating AIDS in
the minority community. What is going on here that we are not moving
toward ending the HIV epidemic? We are close to it, which is why we
dealt with this initiative on a bipartisan basis over the last 4 years.
This, once again, is my colleagues turning their backs on saving
people's lives. What more important effort should we be involved in in
this Congress?
Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Chairman, we have the opportunity today to
stop treating people differently based on race and to cut our spending
together in one amendment. I support it, and I urge passage of it.
Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Virginia
will be postponed.
The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 58,
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.

Amendment No. 61 Offered by Ms. Boebert

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 61
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.

[[Page H5786]]

Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 132, line 16, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 132, line 20, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
Page 145, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentlewoman
from Colorado (Ms. Boebert) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Colorado.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment that
transfers funds from government bureaucracy to charter school grants.
As a mom raising four boys, I understand that families across this
country want the best education possible for their children. One size
does not fit all when it comes to education and our Nation's youth, and
education matters are best handled at the State, local, and especially
family levels.
Charter schools are an important part of the public education
landscape because they empower parents to choose a high-quality
educational environment for their child regardless of income or ZIP
Code. The unique educational experience of attending charter schools
ensures more children have a chance to achieve the American Dream.
During the first two full school years of COVID, nearly 240,000
additional students enrolled in public charter schools. Charter schools
were the only sector of public education to grow during the COVID
lockdowns. They also serve our Nation's marginalized children.
A 2021 analysis of research on charter school effects and competitive
influence by the National Bureau of Economic Research highlighted
trends from three decades of research on charter schools. They found
that charter schools boost student test scores, particularly for Black,
Hispanic, and low-income students, and that attending charter schools
increases college enrollment and civic engagement.
The competitive impact of charter schools on traditional public
schools suggests a beneficial influence on neighboring schools' student
achievement.
The Charter Schools Program is the only program at the Department of
Education that supports school choice and allows parents to place their
children in a school that works for their unique needs. Parents know
how to raise their children better than government bureaucrats and
teachers' unions.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment that
transfers funds from the government bureaucracy to charter school
grants, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this amendment
because for me this amendment continues that road that has been laid
out in this Labor-HHS bill where the majority is moving to really
eliminate public education in the United States.
This bill decimates public education by cutting the Department of
Education by $22.5 billion, 28 percent. It seeks to plus-up one of the
only education programs that received an increase, the Charter Schools
Program. They cut everything else in public education but increased the
charter schools in this bill.
We have had some spirited discussions about charter schools on the
Labor-HHS subcommittee, and there are certainly some differences of
opinion around the role that they should play in our public education
system and whether they have historically received appropriate
oversight by the Department of Education.
The Charter Schools Program provides seed money to open new charter
schools around the country. We should be in agreement on one point:
This program has far more money than the Department of Education knows
what to do with.
In 2019, months after Secretary DeVos pleaded with our subcommittee
for a $60 million increase to the Charter Schools Program, the
Department approached us with warnings that demand for funding was low.
Sure enough, before the end of the year, the Department was unable to
use the full appropriation and transferred $12 million to other
education accounts. That was almost 3 percent of the program's
appropriation.
In addition, over the years, our committee discussed issues raised by
the inspector general, including findings that States have mismanaged
charter school closures and that the Department failed to provide any
adequate guidance or oversight on the issue. I know my colleagues on
the other side of the aisle want oversight, and that is why we need to
continue our oversight of the Charter Schools Program with respect to
accountability, transparency, and success. Many open, many close. Many
take people, and then they disgorge people.
I support charter schools, but not at the risk of eliminating public
education in this country, which is one of the issues that is on the
agenda of the Republican majority in this Labor-HHS bill. This
amendment provides a wasteful increase that would be better directed at
restoring some of the underlying bill's disastrous cuts.
Let's take a look at those cuts that are disastrous in education.
Let's make sure that we are supporting title I. Let's make sure that we
are supporting the development of teachers. Let's make sure that we are
looking at Promise Neighborhoods. Let's make sure that we are dealing
with the social and emotional learning of our kids instead of plussing-
up a program that has enough money to make it and has not had the kind
of oversight it needs in order to make sure that it is doing its job.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I also have an amendment to add funding to
the IG's account, and this amendment takes no funds from public
schools. This is simply giving more choice to families throughout our
Nation.
Transparency is good, and the argument that we just heard was not so
good. Parents know how to raise their children better than government
bureaucrats and politicians. We certainly experienced that during the
COVID lockdowns. The restrictions that we saw to our children's
education and the educational experiences that were lost during those 2
years or more of COVID lockdowns were a travesty.
I cannot reiterate enough that parents know how to raise their
children better than politicians, better than bureaucrats, better than
teachers' unions. We want to strengthen the Charter Schools Program,
and that is what this amendment does.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I continue my opposition of this amendment.
As I understand it, this is an increase for the inspector general. As I
mentioned a few moments ago, the inspector general has done intensive
investigation of the charter school movement. They have findings that
the States mismanaged charter school closures, and the Department
failed to provide adequate guidance or oversight on this issue.
Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).
The amendment was agreed to.

{time} 1500

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr.
Hoyer), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Financial Services
and General Government.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
This bill perhaps will pass this House. It certainly will not pass
the Senate, and it will not see the light of day on the President's
desk.
We spend our time here arguing a bill that violates the agreement
made by

[[Page H5787]]

314 of us in this body, 165 Democrats and 149 Republicans. A majority
of both parties said that we are going to have a funding level,
otherwise known in our jargon as a 302(a) number; we will mark to that
number; the Senate will mark to that number; and we will be able to get
a bill.
We have not done that, nor is there any intention to do that because
compromise is out of the question and confrontation is the order of the
day.
I do not rise solely to talk about this Labor-HHS bill. I rise
because I just came from a rally. It was an American rally on behalf of
Israel, on behalf of the people of Israel, and in opposition to terror,
murder, genocide, and the willingness of some to claim the destruction
of Israel and its people as their objective.
Yet, what do we do here in the House of Representatives? We sound an
uncertain trumpet. If Speaker Johnson, who spoke at the rally today in
support of Israel, would bring that bill to the floor to help fund that
effort, it would pass with over 400 votes. Yet, it lies slumbering
somewhere between the House and the Senate, and the Senate won't
consider it.
In addition, we are here disagreeing but disagreeing peacefully.
Unfortunately, the citizens of Ukraine do not have that luxury. They
stand. They fight for freedom, for democracy, against a Russian
criminal attack on a free and sovereign nation.
What do we do? We argue about a bill that is going nowhere, another
uncertain trumpet of our conviction that the defense of democracy and
freedom is worthy of our votes.
Mr. Chair, 400 votes for Israel, over 300 votes for Ukraine, and it
does not come to the floor.
How strong a voice does America send to not only our enemies but to
our allies as to our commitment to democracy, to freedom, and to
international law? How muddled our voice seems to be on the
international scene.
Mr. Chair, I hope you bring those two bills to the floor, not as a
political deal, not as a tit for tat, but as a statement of America
that we stand for those who fight for freedom and democracy and a world
of law.
Bring those bills to the floor. We have already voted eight or nine
times on Ukraine, 300 votes every vote, and Israel, over 400 votes.
Please do that, Mr. Chair. Please do it for our own ideals. Do it for
the defense of democracy and freedom and survival in Israel and freedom
and democracy and sovereignty in Ukraine. America ought to do no less.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Amendment No. 62 Offered by Ms. Boebert

The Acting CHAIR (Mr. Van Drew). It is now in order to consider
amendment No. 62 printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

On page 130, line 15, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
On page 131, line 17, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
On page 145, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

Amendment No. 63 Offered By Ms. Boebert

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 63
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Ms. BOEBERT. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

On page 132, line 4, after the first dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,000,000)''.
On page 145, line 7, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,000,000)''.

[[Page H5788]]

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Boebert).
The amendment was agreed to.

Amendment No. 69 Offered by Mr. Biggs

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 69
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 140, line 6, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $9,250,000,000)''.
Page 195, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $9,250,000,000)''.

{time} 1515

This cuts a Pell grant to every single Pell recipient. If this
amendment passes, the Pell grant program would have less funding than
required to sustain the current maximum award and existing eligibility
parameters.
Faced with this reality, House Republicans will have two choices--cut
the Pell grant maximum award or kick students out of the Pell Grant
Program.
At a time when students and families are struggling to cover rising
college costs, it was already unconscionable that House Republicans
would eliminate Federal Work-Study for 660,000 students and eliminate
the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants for another 1.7 million
students nationwide. It was already cruel when House Republicans
offered no relief to rising college costs by freezing the maximum Pell
grant for the first time in 12 years.
If this amendment passes, House Republicans will go one step further
by cutting the maximum Pell grant or kicking students out of the
program. This is truly a new low.
Does anyone in this Chamber remember Senator Claiborne Pell? I
remember him. Claiborne Pell was from Rhode Island to the manner born,
affluent, but he had a vision. He understood that the sons and
daughters of working men and women of middle-class families, of
vulnerable families, had a right to an education just as every rich
person in this country does, and therefore, he created this program,
the Pell Grant Program.
If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle pass this amendment,
then, in fact, they are on that road that I have said over and over and
over again is eliminating public education in the United States of
America, eliminating opportunity for people to succeed in this country.
Why would you want a legacy or a legend that follows you with that
kind of effort?
The United States is the land of opportunity. It should be,
particularly where it comes to education for our children. It is the
way to the future.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this misguided amendment, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, as it stands today, Americans owe over $1.7
trillion in student loan debt, more than 5 percent of the Nation's
total $33 trillion debt.
The annual cost of attendance for students living on campus at a
public 4-year State institution is 26 grand, or over $104,000 for a 4-
year degree. Out-of-State students pay $27,000, or over $108,000.
Private nonprofit university students pay 55 grand, or more than
$225,000.
Do you know what is a new low? Do you know what is cruel? Do you know
what is unconscionable? It is sending kids out with worthless degrees
with debt that they can never sustain.
It is a new low to oppose something like this because you know what
is driving this? It is the exponential growth of children and kids who
are coming up who cannot afford education because your grants, your
continued giving of taxpayer funding to the universities has actually
increased the number of people who have to get assistance.
Why? Because tuition has spiked. It is growing multiples of the
inflation rate. That is what is cruel. That is what is unconscionable.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the
Chair.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield the balance of my time to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the distinguished ranking member
of the Education and the Workforce Committee.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the
amendment and the underlying bill. House Republicans' partisan bill is
an attack on students, workers, and families.
For 2024, the bill would cut close to $64 billion, roughly 28 percent
from the Department of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and
Related Agencies. The last time it was this low was in 2008.
Inequity in America's education system persists. Significant funding
disparities among neighboring schools continue to rob students of equal
access to quality education, and this bill cuts title I significantly.
Moreover, the bill cuts other programs like completely eliminating
the Federal Work-Study that allows students to work their way through
college; the Teacher Quality Partnership; the Job Corps, completely
eliminated.
There are essential programs that workers in our districts rely on,
and if this becomes law, those programs would be eliminated. This
amendment would cut Federal student aid, making it more likely that
they would have to take out student loans.
The underlying bill is bad enough. It is the first time in over a
decade that the Pell grant wouldn't increase.
Also, our Nation is facing disturbing child labor law violations, and
House Republicans are slashing the OSHA budget. Despite actively
negotiating bipartisan reauthorization for the

[[Page H5789]]

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, we are proposing cuts in
adult and youth job training programs.
Finally, the bill is an insult to families. It cuts Head Start
programs so drastically, if this bill were to become law, 50,000
children would lose access to childcare.
Mr. Chair, I would ask that we oppose the amendment and the
underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, what is driving the increased costs of tuition?
Well, most of that is because the bureaucratization of academia. That
drives costs higher every year.
Let's go back to that 2017 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York. The average tuition increase associated with expansion of student
loans is 60 cents for every dollar. So when your tuition is going up a
buck, 60 cents of it is because of expansion of student loan programs.

The Biden administration's efforts to eliminate student loan debt is
wrong--wrong because they force everyday Americans to pay for the
student loans taken out by others and wrong because they doubled down
on a failed public policy that incentivizes price increases. You
incentivize tuition to go up. Why would a university ever reduce its
tuition or its costs? They know that they have the Federal Government
to backstop every student who wants to go in.
The way to curb the rise in both college tuition and student debt is
to get the Federal Government out of the student loan business. The
result will bring about more fiscally responsible citizens and a more
fiscally responsible Federal Government. This would make the loan
market more responsible and cause colleges to rein in their costs and
reduce tuition so fewer students would need Pell grants or private aid.
Private lending would also limit taxpayers' exposure to billions of
dollars in student loan defaults. Did I say billions? I meant to say
trillions because that is where we sit.
Now, I want to respond in the time I have left to the cynical
statement by the previous speaker who was talking about aid to Israel.
We passed aid to Israel by a 226-196 vote. How did that happen? Mr.
Chair, 196 of my friends across the aisle did not want to provide aid
to Israel in that circumstance.
Mr. Chair, I urge people to adopt this amendment, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Arizona will
be postponed.

Amendment No. 70 Offered by Mr. Biggs

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 70
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 140, line 15, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $1,769,207,000)''.
Page 195, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $1,769,207,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, I rise to speak in support of my amendment that
would strike funding for the Student Aid Administration.
The Student Aid Administration provides funding for the government to
administer student financial assistance programs, including funding for
the office responsible for ensuring accountability for higher education
institutions who receive Federal dollars.
Unfortunately, under this administration, this regime, the Department
of Education has developed a pattern of attacking large, higher
education institutions that have a religious affiliation.
I will give you two of these today.
The Department of Education has repeatedly gone after Grand Canyon
University, the largest private Christian university in the country.
The Department of Education levied a $37.7 million fine. This is the
largest fine in the Department's history.
GCU was a nonprofit from its inception in 1949 until 2004 when they
partnered with private investors in order to avoid closing.
In 2018, GCU returned to its nonprofit status and is recognized by
the IRS, the Higher Learning Commission, the State of Arizona, Arizona
Private Postsecondary Board, and the NCAA. However, despite all this,
the Department of Education has refused to acknowledge GCU's nonprofit
status for purposes of Federal student financial aid.
By not acknowledging GCU's nonprofit status, the Department of
Education is able to target GCU and others as ``bad actors due to the
disproportionate number of Americans who attend those schools and then
default on Federal student loans.''
However, GCU provides much higher levels of transparency than are
legally required, and it is considered a leader in education
transparency. The Department of Education, for instance, only requires
universities to provide cost estimates for the first year in college--
for first-year, first-time students, and only for undergraduate
programs, but GCU goes beyond these requirements by providing cost
estimates for each year of the program study and for all of its degree
programs, including the doctoral level.
Rather than apply what GCU has done, the Department has attacked
them, making this fine all the more troubling. The Department of
Education is trying to make the claim that GCU lied to students about
the cost to attend doctorate programs, but that is inaccurate.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, this is one more amendment on the road to
eliminating public education in the United States of America.
I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. I am shocked by this
amendment's intent to eliminate all funding to the Department of
Education's Office of Federal Student Aid. What will this mean for the
17.5 million students who need to fill out a Free Application for
Federal Student Aid, the FAFSA? What will this mean for the 6.4 million
students who rely on Pell grants to pay for college? What will this
mean for nearly 43 million individuals, one in six adult Americans who
are working to repay their Federal student loans?
Make no mistake, this amendment signals an intent to destroy
postsecondary education in this country. The House Republican Labor,
HHS, Education bill already follows through on the other side's intent
to break and dismantle public and postsecondary education for American
students and families. This amendment just takes that destruction to
another level.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, GCU's degree program calculator provides the
total estimated cost for a 60-credit doctoral program the exact same
way it does for other degree programs. That is not required under the
Department of Education, but the Department of Education still goes
after them.
GCU in its effort for clear transparency in red print above the
calculator makes clear both the average number of continuation courses
and cost for continuation courses that students may need to complete a
doctoral dissertation.
The Department of Ed even acknowledges that GCU provides this
disclosure, but nonetheless, continues to go after them. GCU graduates
are incurring less debt than the national average due to its affordable
tuition rates, and still, the Department of Ed goes after them.
A GAO report found that 91 percent of American colleges have
misleading information in their financial aid offers, but GCU is the
only nonprofit university being attacked from the Department of
Education.

[[Page H5790]]

At the same time, Liberty University is being threatened with a
similar $37 million fine by the Department of Education, alleging Clery
Act violations based on a preliminary report in May of this year.
Liberty University has fully cooperated with the Department's
investigation and found the Department made significant errors,
misstatements, and unsupported conclusions in their findings.
Why is Liberty University getting threatened with what would be
another $37 million fine from the Department of Education when they are
fully cooperating?

{time} 1530

These two big universities are two of the largest Christian
universities in America. Is that why they are being attacked by this
Department of Education? It certainly seems to be the case.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Virginia (Mr. Scott), the distinguished ranking member of the Education
and Workforce Committee.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Chair, we know that the most effective way
for young people to get into the middle class is with an education.
Those without an education are going to have challenges. Whatever
station of life you come from, if you get a good education, you have
got a good shot at the American Dream.
When President Johnson signed the Higher Education Act back in 1965,
he said that essentially any student in any State could apply to any
college or university and not be turned away because their family is
poor. This amendment essentially eliminates that powerful promise.
What is the vision for administering the opportunity to get an
education? How are you going to get a Pell grant if you don't have
anywhere to apply? How are you going to administer student loans?
This just eliminates the opportunity for young people to get the
education they deserve. I would hope that we would not adopt this
amendment and, in fact, not even adopt the underlying bill. We need to
make sure those opportunities are there.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, I ask my friends: Do you support a tax on
private Christian universities by the Department of Education, the very
Department that I am trying to defund?
When you talk about the American Dream, student loan debt is crushing
graduates, which is why when you look at polling, it indicates very
clearly that young graduates do not believe they will attain the
American Dream that their parents had access to. They are coming out
with crushing student debt at the same time that that same Department
is trying to crush very fine universities.
Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to how much time is
remaining?
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut has 2\1/4\ minutes
remaining.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, the gentleman wants to cut and wants to
privatize higher education. He wants to send students to the for-profit
colleges where there is a raft of information about how they are
harming college students, and he wants to provide funding for the for-
profit online program management companies, profiteers. That is who
these folks are. It is everywhere. We know it.
The data is rife with how they have created terrible situations for
young people, and even those who are older, by shutting down, leaving
these people with a bill, about not providing a credential so that
people can get jobs. They are a menace on our education system.
The gentleman here, as I understand it, will cut the Department of
Education's Office of Federal Student Aid in order----
Mr. BIGGS. Will the gentlewoman yield?
Ms. DeLAURO. No, I am sorry, I won't.----in order to be able to
support an online, for-profit industry that is bilking America's
students and, in many instances, America's veterans. It is really
pretty incredible the direction that the majority will go in destroying
public education in this country.
Mr. Chair, may I inquire as to the time remaining?
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut has 15 seconds
remaining.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, with that 15 seconds, I will repeat what I
said. We are looking at something that is scurrilous, supporting
institutions that have been putting our students and our veterans at
great risk.
Mr. Chair, I oppose this amendment, and I yield back the balance of
my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Arizona will
be postponed.

Amendment No. 71 Offered by Mr. Biggs

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 71
printed in part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 142, line 4, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $2,767,239,000)''.
Page 142, line 25, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $10,000,000)''.
Page 195, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $2,767,239,000)''.

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 864, the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) and a Member opposed each will control 5
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, I am going to respond to the ``scurrilous''
comments made in the last statement. Nothing in my amendment addressed
online, for-profit private colleges, postsecondary. That was a
deliberate mischaracterization of what I said, because the two
universities I talked about are both nonprofit universities, recognized
as postsecondary education institutions.
GCU is recognized by the IRS as nonprofit, Higher Learning
Commission, State of Arizona, and the Arizona Private Postsecondary
Board. Liberty University is equal in their classification.
To say what was said for 2\1/2\ minutes, to actually misdirect and
try to misattribute my purpose, was an ascribing of motivations which
should have been taken down.
Mr. Chair, I rise now to speak in support of my amendment, which
would strike funding for the higher education account. It appropriates
over $2.7 billion. This account provides appropriations for grant
programs that provide direct taxpayer support to higher education
institutions.
The effect of government subsidy and control has been more damaging
than anyone has yet realized. Coupled with student assistance programs,
direct government assistance to institutions has led to increased
education costs and administrative costs.
Let's think of it. College costs are out of control. Harvard, the
total cost of attending for 4 years is now around $300 grand. College
costs have risen to this level because D.C. is heavily subsidizing
tuition through Federal grants and loans, leaving colleges and
universities free to increase their prices because they know the
Federal Government is going to pick up the tab in between.
In FY 2023, we enacted a level of $2.994 billion, $600 million more
than fiscal year 2019.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, just as a point of reference, Grand Canyon is
online and nonprofit in name only.
I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. I am shocked by this
amendment's intent. To eliminate all Federal education funding for
Historically Black Colleges and Universities,

[[Page H5791]]

HBCUs, and minority-serving institutions, it is staggering, truly
staggering. $400 million for HBCUs, eliminated. $228 million for
Hispanic-serving institutions, eliminated. $100 for historically Black
graduate institutions, eliminated. $52 million for Tribal colleges and
universities, eliminated. Public education, eliminated.
This colossal cut also eliminates countless other programs that help
students access a postsecondary education and receive expanded economic
opportunities.
$1.2 trillion for the Federal TRIO program, eliminated. How far we
have come. I have been on this Appropriations Committee for almost 28
years and been on the Labor-HHS subcommittee, and I can remember my
Republican colleague Ralph Regula. Some of my colleagues on the other
side will remember Ralph. There was no bigger supporter of the TRIO
program or for the GEAR UP program. He understood the relevance of
these economic and educational opportunities for youngsters.
It was not just Ralph Regula. I can go down the line in a bipartisan
way of individuals who have supported the TRIO program. It is
eliminated. $388 million for the Federal GEAR UP program, eliminated.
Once again, the House Republican goal in this bill is crystal clear:
Destroy postsecondary education opportunity for students and for
families nationwide. This amendment makes that goal explicit.
Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, it is a shame that people make aspersions on
the floor when they don't know anything about a subject.
I think of Grand Canyon University and the 35,000 students on campus,
on a physical plant, in Phoenix, Arizona. I just heard that they are an
online school. Go tell those people who commute or live in the dorms at
one of the fastest growing physical plant campuses in the country.
It is like saying the University of Arizona is an online school, with
their 35,000 students, because they have an online program where you
can get a bachelor's degree without ever setting foot on campus, or ASU
or BYU, or any of the hundreds of other campuses.
How can you misdirect and try to attack an amendment when you simply
don't know what is going on with what you are saying? It is astounding.
It is astounding.
Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I just had a quick look. At Grand Canyon,
86,000 students are online, so let's put that aside.
The essential point of this amendment is what it would do to
education and educational opportunities. As I mentioned, for the
historically Black colleges, eliminated; Hispanic-serving institutions,
eliminated; historically Black graduate institutions, eliminated;
Tribal colleges--where else do you want to go to revoke education for
youngsters in this country?
I go back to an unbelievable man of vision, Claiborne Pell, who said,
let's make postsecondary education available to all, not just the rich.

{time} 1545

I said it before on this floor. I am the daughter of an immigrant
family who shared the dream that I would be here someday. The road for
me was education--tough. My mother worked as a garment worker in the
old sweatshops in the city of New Haven. My father was an insurance
agent. They pieced together what they could to give me the best
education that I could have so I could have success. I am successful. I
am here and grateful for it.
All those young people out there who are going to be denied a chance
to get a college education because somewhere deep inside the psyche of
the Republican majority now--this hasn't been in the past; there has
been bipartisan support on these issues--but right now deep in that
psyche is that we have to rid ourselves of public education.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chairman, nobody wants to revoke postsecondary
education. What we want to do is acknowledge what the Federal
Government has done to distort the cost of education.
The New York Fed itself has said it is eating it up, and 60 percent
of every tuition increase is coming because of this aid. We want to get
it down so it is affordable again. We want nobody leaving college
crushed by the student debt that they have. That is what is going on
here.
The fiscal year 2023 enacted level was $3 billion. That is $600
million more than just a few years before in 2019. The 2024 number is
slightly less, but it doesn't do enough to cut spending when we are
$35.5 trillion in debt.
Let's talk about what is happening. Universities are discriminating
against conservative-leaning students. We see that. We had a hearing on
that just last week. A recent University of North Carolina study found
that conservative students within the UNC system face distinctive
challenges when it comes to free speech and expression.
Nearly 68 percent of conservative students are at least slightly
concerned about possible social consequences that may come from voicing
one's true opinion in class. It is a massive problem that higher
education fosters.
It is time that we move the Federal Government out of this business
because they don't have any constitutional authority to be there in the
first place.
Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Arizona will
be postponed.

Amendment No. 76 Offered by Mr. Biggs

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 76
printed part B of House Report 118-272.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:

Page 144, line 21, after the dollar amount, insert
``(reduced by $707,372,000)''.
Page 195, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert
``(increased by $707,372,000)''.

[[Page H5792]]

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for
5 minutes.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong opposition to this
amendment.
This amendment highlights the extreme lengths that House Republicans
will go in order to dismantle public education for students and
families nationwide.
The Institute of Education Sciences', IES', mission is to provide
scientific evidence on which to ground education practice and policy
and to share this information and make it accessible to educators,
parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public.
IES is independent. IES is nonpartisan. They are the statistics
research and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education.
What would happen if this amendment is successful? Well, it would
mean the end of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, NAEP.
That is the assessment of what students in the United States are able
to do in various subjects. That has been administered since 1969.
It would mean the end of regional educational laboratories, which
provide evidence-based technical assistance to school districts and
States across the country.
It would mean the end of new advances in education research and
development, including exciting initiatives to expand high-risk, high-
reward transformational research.
This amendment would be the death of our Federal investment in
education research.
We just saw a little while ago that we were going to end our
investment in biomedical research. Now, we are ending our investment in
educational research. Simply, I cannot accept that outcome.
Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, under the Institute of Education Sciences, they
will establish two research networks, the pre-kindergarten through
grade 12 recovery research network and the community college recovery
research network to study pandemic events. It is a grant that pertains
to gender-integrated classrooms to see if boys and girls are better
equipped to learn together or separately in the classroom.
The fiscal year 2019 enacted level was over $615 million, but 2024 is
currently set at over $707 million. That is a $90 million increase in
just 5 years. This rate of growth is not sustainable.
This program is part of what we could safely call the educational-
industrial complex. Over the years, our predecessors created a
constituency and expanded on it every year by giving more money. They
justify it by putting more mandates and doing more studies that don't
mean anything. They come back and do it again and again.
Thus, we are well over $33 trillion in national debt. Our structural
deficit last year was over $2 trillion. Fiscal year 2024 looks like it
is going to be about the same, except we are going to be north of $35
trillion, $36 trillion in national debt. That is crushing.
Mr. Chair, I take my colleagues back to the New York Fed and its
study. Of every dollar of tuition that increased, 60 percent of that,
60 cents of that, goes to the fact that the Federal Government is
meddling in postsecondary education. That is what is happening here.
That is the educational-industrial complex.
In December 2020, the Trump administration nominated Steve Hanke and
John Yoo, both professors, to the advisory board for the IES. Education
Secretary Miguel Cardona refused to acknowledge the appointments,
deliver their credentials, or facilitate statutorily required board
meetings.
That is the educational-industrial complex that we are facing today.
It is crushing. It is crushing our students who want an education.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I continue to oppose this amendment, but I
want to provide a framework here for a moment.
I was looking through the various amendments over the last little
while. Amendment No. 69 from Mr. Biggs slashes the Pell grant funding.
Amendment No. 70 from Mr. Biggs eliminates funding to give out Pell
grants and to be able to collect student loans. Amendment No. 71 from
Mr. Biggs eliminates funds for HBCUs, MSIs, TRIO, GEAR UP, and Tribal
colleges. Amendment No. 76 from Mr. Biggs eliminates education,
research, and funding. The most recent one is eliminating the funding
by the Department of Education for the Institute of Education Sciences.

There are two others, amendment No. 104 that eliminates the salary of
the Department of Education Secretary, and amendment No. 92 from Mr.
Crane that cuts education staff by $38 million.
This is the litany of this battery of amendments where I make my
point that the Republican majority is really in the business, within
this bill, of eliminating public education. These amendments come on
top of the underlying bill, which makes a 28 percent cut in education.
Do we think we have a reasonable understanding of where the
Republican majority wants to go with public education? Let's do it in.
Mr. Chairman, I say to Mr. Biggs that he has the lion's share of
taking education and public education to the graveyard. Is that what we
are to do?
The greater strength of this institution is its potential to help
make a difference in people's lives and to provide opportunity. That is
what we are supposed to do in the United States Congress and in the
House of Representatives.
Mr. Chair, this battery of amendments would destroy educational
opportunity, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Chair, the greatest strength of this body is that we
represent constituents who send us here knowing that we are constrained
in protecting their rights because we are limited by what we can and
cannot do by that great document, the Constitution.
I stand here willing to learn and find out where in the Constitution
there is any specific authority for this body to meddle in
postsecondary educational choices of the American people. That is the
educational-industrial complex at work, for what we are seeing in the
arguments against my amendments today.
I support postsecondary education. I do not support the Federal
Government meddling in the choices of individuals to get that education
and how they are going to get it and the institutions that are
providing it--the harassment that some of those institutions are
receiving from this administration.
Mr. Chair, I urge the adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Arizona will
be postponed.

{time} 1600

Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.
The motion was agreed to.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Van
Drew) having assumed the chair, Mr. Calvert, Acting Chair of the
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5894)
making appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes, had come to no
resolution thereon.

____________________