WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee, issued the following statement regarding the Appropriations Committee’s approval of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2017:

“Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed our ninth funding bill out of the full committee. This bill is one of the most impactful for West Virginia as it funds numerous programs and initiatives to combat the drug epidemic. It also provides a record increase in resources for the National Institutes of Health, funds Black Lung Clinics and Community Health Centers, restores year-round Pell Grants, promotes telemedicine, advances our efforts on Alzheimer’s disease for both the patient and caregiver, and helps unemployed coal workers obtain training,” said Senator Capito.

West Virginia priorities included in the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2017:

 

  • Provides $261 million to combat the opioid epidemic – nearly double last year’s funding. These funds will support research at the Centers for Disease Control and Substance Abuse, Mental Health Service Administration grants for data collection and recovery, as well as drug treatment services and first responder training.

  • Increases funding for Alzheimer’s disease research to a historic total of $1.39 billion. The bill also includes Senator Capito’s Health Outcomes, Planning, and Education (HOPE) for Alzheimer’s Act, which requires Medicare to pay for care planning sessions that provide Alzheimer’s patients and their families information about the disease and potential treatment options. This is important to the nearly 40,000 West Virginians living with Alzheimer’s. 

  • Increases funding within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget for the Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program, which is a critical partner for West Virginia’s research and development institutions. Last August, Senator Capito hosted NIH officials at West Virginia University to highlight the biomedical research taking place in West Virginia with the help of investments from the IDeA program. 

  • Funds the Black Lung Clinic Program at $6.7 million. The bill also directs the Department of Health and Human Services to review its misguided policy capping the amount of money individual grantees can receive. The existing cap has been harmful to West Virginians whose need for the funding exceeds the cap’s limitations.

     
  • Within the Department of Labor’s Employment Training Office, $19 million has been set aside to assist dislocated workers in the coal community with job training assistance. 

  • By restoring year-round Pell Grants, an estimated one million students will benefit by being able to attend colleges, universities and community colleges year-round and complete their degree programs sooner. 

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