Charleston Leader

On August 2, 2024, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), announced that priorities for West Virginia were included in the bipartisan Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Labor-HHS funding bill. The legislation passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support by a vote of 25-3.

The committee's advancement of the Senate bill marks a critical step in the process toward funding the government for FY 2025. However, several steps remain before it becomes law and funds can be distributed. Following committee approval, the bill will be considered by the full Senate. If passed by the Senate, it will then be on track to be included in the final Appropriations package for FY25.

"As the top Republican on Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, I am proud that Chair Baldwin and I were able to once again craft an effective bill that maintains provisions that are critical to the departments our subcommittee oversees and does not include any new controversial riders," said Ranking Member Capito. "Additionally, this bill continues our bipartisan record from last year by including a number of priorities from both sides of the aisle like investments in America’s biomedical research, child care, mental health, workforce, biodefense, our efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, and more."

Included in the legislation are Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) measures authored by Ranking Member Capito after consulting with entities and organizations across West Virginia.

Highlights of items beneficial to West Virginia include:

- National Institutes of Health: $50.2 billion, including an increase of $2 billion above FY 2024 enacted level for biomedical research investments.

- Alzheimer’s: $4.1 billion for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research.

- Cancer: $7.5 billion for the National Cancer Institute.

- Mental Health: $2.6 billion for National Institute of Mental Health activities.

- Diabetes: $2.36 billion for National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

- Women’s Health Research: $152 million for Office of Research on Women’s Health.

- Opioid Epidemic: $4.6 billion for prevention, treatment, and recovery services related to opioids.

Further allocations include:

- More than $6 billion for mental health research, treatment, and prevention.

- $3.8 billion for Health and Human Services Preparedness.

- $386 million for rural health programs under HRSA.

- $232 million for family caregiving programs under ACL.

- Significant funding increases across early education initiatives such as Child Care Development Block Grant ($10.3 billion) and Head Start ($13 billion).

- Career development funding including $1.5 billion for Career Technical Education.

Additional appropriations address rural education programs ($230 million), apprenticeship funding ($290 million), Pell Maximum Award increase ($100), public broadcasting ($535 million advance funding), among others.

The bill also maintains long-standing riders such as Hyde Amendment protections and needle exchange prohibitions.