{"id":1102,"date":"2019-10-25T16:57:11","date_gmt":"2019-10-25T20:57:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regionslead.org\/?p=1102"},"modified":"2020-05-29T19:59:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T19:59:03","slug":"take-action-now-support-house-funding-levels-for-health-and-human-services-programs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/narc.org\/2019\/10\/25\/take-action-now-support-house-funding-levels-for-health-and-human-services-programs\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Action Now: Support House Funding Levels for Health and Human Services Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the next several weeks, the House and Senate will be working\non drafting a final fiscal year (FY) 2020 omnibus appropriations bill in hopes\nof meeting the November 21 continuing resolution deadline. As is so often the\ncase, the House and Senate Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (Labor\/H)\nappropriations bills differ.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, the House FY 2020 Labor\/H appropriations bill \u2013\npassed through the chamber as a part of the H.R. 2740 legislative\nminibus package<\/a> \u2013 offers more favorable funding levels for the Older\nAmericans Act<\/em> (OAA) and other key health and human services programs. It would\nincrease funding for a wide range of human services programs important to regions,\nespecially those regions that are also designated as the Area Agency on Aging\n(AAA). In contrast, the draft\nfiscal year 2020 Senate Labor\/H bill<\/a> would maintain funding at current\nlevels.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposed Senate Labor\/H appropriations bill would level fund Title III of the Older Americans Act (OAA). The House, in contrast, would increase overall funding by $151 million \u2013 a 10 percent increase over fiscal year 2019. The same is true for Title V programs. The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), a program operated by the Department of Labor, would be level funded. By contract, SCSEP funding would increase by approximately 15 percent if the House funding proposal is adopted.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other HHS programs such as the Community Services Block\nGrant and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program would also see a\nfunding increase if the House Labor\/H appropriations bill becomes law. While\nnone of the proposed increases are large, all represent movement away from last\nyear\u2019s appropriations amounts that either level funded or reduced funding to\nthese important programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A current appropriations chart developed by the National\nAssociation of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some ways you can take action now:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Send a letter to your Members of Congress. <\/strong>Use this template<\/a> to send your own messages to you members of Congress about the importance of a long-term funding bill and funding increases for OAA and health and human services programs.<\/li>
  2. Does Your representative or senator serve on an Appropriations Committee? Advocacy with Members on the <\/strong>House<\/strong><\/a> and <\/strong>Senate<\/strong><\/a> Appropriations Committees is especially important. <\/strong>If your representative or senator serves on one of these key committees, your letter should request that they share your messages with their committee leaders. At this point, many funding decisions are being made at a leadership level, and the more they hear from their committee colleagues, the more seriously they will consider these requests. You may wish to add: As a member of the {SENATE\/HOUSE] Appropriations Committee, I urge you to work with your fellow committee members to ensure that the House language is adopted.<\/em><\/li>
  3. Engage your grassroots.<\/strong> Using n4a\u2019s toolkit<\/a> or your own approach, get the word out in your networks that action is needed now! Here are some approaches you could take: