SOPHE Banner
Advocacy Update
The House passes a $1.5 trillon legislative funding package
Washington, DC - March 10, 2022 - The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.5 trillion government funding package late Wednesday evening that will fund the government through the end of the current fiscal year, September 30. House Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) announced the formation of the legislative package yesterday.

SOPHE is grateful that the package tackles longstanding public health challenges and significantly invests in our public health infrastructure to combat emerging public health outbreaks and future pandemics.

SOPHE is pleased that the government-funded package represents a win for the health education profession, as there are significant provisions aimed to overhaul the public health workforce.

Among these provisions includes $1.3 billion for HRSA’s Bureau of Health Professions programs and $61 million for public health workforce initiatives at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
 
Please see additional appropriations updates below for SOPHE’s policy priorities:
 
K-12/School Health
  • $6.2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, an increase of $254 million
  • $11 billion for Head Start, an increase of $289 million
  •  $290 million for Preschool Development Grants, an increase of $15 million
  • $161 million for Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) State Grants and Community Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) programs, an increase of $10 million
  • $30 million, an increase of $25 million, to support school-based health centers at the Health Resources and Services Administration
  • $81.8 million for the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative, an increase of $10 million
  • $10 million for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, an increase of $2 million
  • 38.8 million for Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention grants, an increase of $2.3 million
  • $120 million for Project AWARE, an increase of $13 million
 
Maternal health
  • An increase of $30 million to support research on maternal morbidity and mortality through the IMPROVE initiative.
  • $748 million, an increase of $35 million for the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant.
  • $12 million, an increase of $3 million for the Alliance for Maternal Health Safety Bundles.
  • $29 million, an increase of $6 million for State Maternal Health Innovation Grants.
  • $4 million, an increase of $1 million for the Maternal Mental Health Hotline.
  •  $132 million, an increase of $4 million for Healthy Start.
  • $6.5 million, an increase of $1.5 million for the screening and treatment for maternal depression and related disorders.
  • $6 million, an increase of $1 million, for the Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) program.
 
Opioid use disorder epidemic
  • $491 million, an increase of $15 million for opioid overdose prevention and surveillance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • $3.9 billion, an increase of $99.8 million including continued funding for opioid prevention and treatment, recovery, and tribal-focused treatment efforts at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
 
Gun violence prevention
$12.5 million to continue firearm injury and mortality prevention research.

As the legislative package was unveiled on Wednesday morning, the bill contained critical $15 billion funding for states’ depleted COVID-19 funds. This critical funding was not included in the final package.

We call on Congress to reconsider passage of COVID-19 funding in a separate legislative package as states continue to tackle coronavirus mitigation.

We call on SOPHE members to contact their senators to emphasize the importance of passing this government funding package to ensure the continuity of critically important public health programming and funding. 
Sincerely,
The SOPHE Advocacy Team