Capito Secures Significant Resources for West Virginia in Final FY2019 Funding Bills

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today helped advance the final two FY2019 government funding measures as the committee completed consideration of all twelve appropriations bills. The bills considered today and approved by the committee with overwhelming bipartisan support include the Department of Defense Appropriations Act and the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) Appropriations Act. Senator Capito issued the following statement after today’s markup:
 
“Having now considered and approved all twelve appropriations bills, the committee reached an important milestone today. These last two bills will deliver necessary resources to keep our country strong militarily, while also funding programs and projects to improve the health and well-being of West Virginians and Americans across the country. I worked hard to secure resources in these measures that will help us fight the threats we face both abroad and at home, including the battle against opioid addiction.
 
“I am especially thrilled that the Labor-H bill continues to make clear that states who have been most adversely impacted by opioids should be prioritized for funding to help solve the problem. That’s something I fought for in the recent omnibus, and it is continued in the bill we passed today. I am certain this bill is going to make a difference—whether through these resources to fight the drug epidemic, the historic levels of funding for Alzheimer’s research, or fully funding my Childhood Cancer STAR Act, which President Trump recently signed into law.” 
 
The FY2019 Defense Appropriations bill includes: 

• The largest pay raise for our service members in nearly ten years.

• $900 million for the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account to modernize our reserve forces and ensure full interoperability with the active duty force. 

• Increased funding for the National Guard’s Counterdrug Program, which has proven critical to fighting the drug epidemic in West Virginia.

• Funding for medical research in areas of greatest impact to service members, including research into eating disorders.

• Full funding for personnel and funding levels included in the National Defense Authorization Act the Senate passed.

• The largest investment in research and development, which helps keeps our fighting force the most technologically advanced in the world.

 
The FY2019 Labor-H Appropriations bill includes:

• Funds for full implementation of the Childhood Cancer STAR Act, legislation Senator Capito introduced and the president recently signed into law.

• $2.3 billion for Alzheimer’s research, a $425 million increase, reaching the goal set in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease.

• A $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), totaling since 2015 an increase in funding for NIH by $9 billion or 30 percent. 

• $3.7 billion, an increase of $145 million for opioid abuse. Funds are targeted toward improving treatment and prevention efforts; finding alternative pain medications; workforce needs, especially in our rural communities; and behavioral health. Funding for opioids has increased by $3.5 billion, or nearly 1,300 percent, since FY2015. Senator Capito secured language to ensure that a $1.5 billion grant program takes into consideration the epidemic’s impact on individual states, not just population.

• A $250 million increase for Head Start, full funding for Community Health Centers, and continuation of increased levels of funding to reduce the Medicare appeals backlog.

• Funding for the Black Lung Clinic Program and the Mine, Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

• A $100 increase, or 1.6 percent, for the maximum Pell Grant award, to $6,195 for the 2018-19 academic year. The bill also continues support for Year Round Pell.

• $30 million for the dislocated worker training initiative to provide reemployment and training assistance to dislocated workers in rural areas of the country hit hardest by the recession and recovering more slowly. $5 million of these funds are directed to support workforce training activities for individuals affected by an opioid use disorder.

• $160 million, an increase of $15 million, for training programs utilizing the flexible and effective apprenticeship model. 

• $20M for Kinship Navigator programs. This program improves services available to grandparents and other relatives taking primary responsibility for children because the child’s parent is struggling with opioid addiction.

Additional Labor-H Background: Fighting Opioid Abuse 
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), opioid overdoses now surpass motor vehicle accidents as the number one cause of accidental death in the country with over 42,000 deaths from an opioid overdose in 2016. The bill provides $3.7 billion, an increase of $145 million, in funding for investments in the following activities:
 

• $200 million for Community Health Centers to support and enhance behavioral health, mental health, or substance use disorder services.

• $120 million focused on responding to the opioid epidemic in rural communities. According to the CDC, drug-related deaths are 45 percent higher in rural communities, with rural states more likely to have higher rates of overdose deaths.

• Maintains $476 million at CDC for opioid overdose prevention and surveillance, as well as a public awareness campaign. The bill also includes $5 million for a new initiative in CDC to combat infectious diseases directly related to opioid use.

• $500 million for research related to opioid addiction, development of opioid alternatives, pain management, and addiction treatment.

• $1.5 billion for SAMHSA’s State Opioid Response Grant, which continues a 15 percent set-aside for states with the highest mortality rate related to opioid use disorders and a $50 million set-aside for Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Funding replaces $500 million expiring from 21st Century CURES.

• $150 million, an increase of $50 million for Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers.

• $60 million, the same as the FY2018 level, for child abuse prevention and treatment programs to support the development and implementation of plans of infant safe care to improve and better-coordinate services for newborn children exposed to substances and their families or caregivers.

• $40 million, the same as the FY2018 level, for mental health and substance use prevention and treatment for children and families in, or at-risk of entering, the foster care system.

• In addition to these amounts specifically directed to address the opioid crisis, the bill also provides $1.9 billion for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant.

# # #