March 21, 2022

Omnibus Spending Bill Includes Increases for Social Security Administration, Senior Nutrition, and the CDC

On Tuesday President Biden signed into law H.R. 2471, the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022,” a $1.5 trillion spending bill for the current fiscal year that began over five months ago. Until a deal was reached, funding levels had been set at levels enacted under the previous administration.

The legislation contains all 12 fiscal 2022 spending bills, as well as $13.6 billion in supplemental appropriations to address the crisis in Ukraine and numerous other provisions. It passed the House 249-180 on March 9. The Senate then passed it 68-31 on March 10.

The 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies portion of the funding bill provides $213.6 billion, an increase of $15.3 billion – 7.7 percent – above 2021. It includes $13.3 billion for the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) operating expenses, an increase of $411 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.

“The combination of SSA’s previous underfunding and the pandemic have been enormous hurdles for the agency to overcome,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance. “SSA’s work force has done a tremendous job under very difficult circumstances, but the new level of funding was badly needed.”

The legislation also provides a total of $45 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of $2.25 billion above the FY 2021 enacted level. That amount includes $6.9 billion for the National Cancer Institute and $3.5 billion for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia research.

The omnibus includes a total of $8.5 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an increase of $582 million (7%) above the FY 2021 enacted level. That is designed to allow a more flexible structure for faster response to new issues. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority would see a 25% boost to support further research and development of vaccines and therapeutics.

The legislation funds the Administration for Community Living (ACL) at $2.3 billion. This amount includes $967 million for Senior Nutrition programs, an increase of $15 million above the FY 2021 enacted level.