Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) examined the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) proposed 2016 budget with Secretary Sylvia Burwell today. Secretary Burwell testified before the subcommittee responsible for funding HHS today, on which DeLauro is the Senior Democrat, in Burwell’s first appearance before an Appropriations subcommittee.
In her opening remarks, DeLauro highlighted two areas:
The success of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which is helping millions of families across America. DeLauro also questioned Secretary Burwell on this during the question and answer portion of the hearing, noting that the rate of growth in health care costs has been declining since ACA implementation began.
The Department’s measured response to the Ebola outbreak, during which HHS helped coordinate the government-wide response. That response has helped turn the tide of infection in West Africa and protected public health in America.
DeLauro also noted that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Head Start program, which is administered by HHS, and asked Secretary Burwell about plans to expand Head Start services. DeLauro’s opening remarks also noted the need to ensure sufficient resources to meet demand and inflation. The President’s budget requests an increase in Head Start funding and child care services, along with a proposal to consolidate the federal agencies responsible for food safety.
The below remarks are as delivered before the subcommittee:
“Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Good morning Madame Secretary. Congratulations Mr. Chairman I look forward to working with you on the efforts of the subcommittee. Before I begin, let me mention that Congresswoman Barbara Lee has asked me to pass on her regrets for her absence today. I think we know that her mother recently passed away just a few days ago, and she is in California attending to family matters. I know our thoughts are with Congresswoman Lee and her family at this difficult time.
“Madam Secretary, welcome to you in your first hearing with this subcommittee. I would like to express my gratitude for the work you and your Department do. I know your job can be a thankless one. Everyday successes are overlooked while the mistakes get magnified.
“I want to highlight two areas of your work. First, your efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is helping millions of families across our country. Americans can no longer be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. Preventive screenings, maternity care, pediatric care are now covered. Women’s health has been put on an even footing. Millions of low-income children have healthcare through CHIP. Insurers can no longer subject families to lifetime caps on coverage.
“And as we heard from HHS yesterday, the Affordable Care Act is making prescription drugs more affordable for seniors every year. As a result, 9.4 million people on Medicare have saved over $15 billion since 2010. Premiums are down. Enrolment is up. Nearly 20 million more Americans will have health insurance this year thanks to the Affordable Care Act. This growth in coverage is particularly strong among historically under-served communities like African-Americans and lower-income Americans.
“The Congressional Budget Office recently cut its estimate of the cost of expanding coverage, a saving of $140 billion compared to previous estimates. That speaks to the strength of your department’s leadership.
“Second, I want to recognize your measured response to the Ebola outbreak. Instead of bowing to pressure for travel bans and quarantines, you and your colleagues listened to the public health experts. You helped to coordinate a government-wide response that is both turning the tide of infection in West Africa and protecting the public health here at home.
“The Ebola crisis is a horrific reminder of the need to provide adequate funding for public health institutions under the jurisdiction of this subcommittee, like the CDC, the NIH, and BARDA, which brings me to the topic of today’s hearing: the HHS budget request for fiscal year 2016.
“Programs funded through this budget provide lifelines to millions of Americans. LIHEAP frees working families from the impossible choice of whether to heat their homes or put food on their table. The National Institutes of Health pursue lifesaving treatments. A 30-year cancer survivor myself, I know the value of biomedical science.
“Another crucial HHS program, Head Start, is 50 years old this year. And during that time, it has helped level the playing field for over 30 million low-income preschoolers. As the father of Head Start, Ed Zigler, put it, ‘My politics is children.’ And I’m very proud of Ed Zigler since he is a constituent of the Third District of Connecticut.
“As our population grows, so does demand for vital programs like Head Start, LIHEAP, and the NIH. We need to provide them with resources that keep pace both with need and with inflation. After years of neglect, your budget request begins to get us back on the right track. I would argue that it does so too slowly, but I recognize that the overall budget must walk a fine line in that regard.
“There is a lot of good in this request. It substantially increases funding for early childhood education through Head Start. It includes $500 million for a multi-agency effort against antibiotic-resistant superbugs. It provides an additional $1 billion for NIH, including funding for a new Precision Medicine Initiative.
“Current levels of funding across HHS programs remain woefully inadequate. This is largely the result of what in Washington is called ‘sequestration’ - a disastrous policy of arbitrary cuts and spending caps. Applied to the HHS budget, these cuts and caps are jeopardizing the health of millions of Americans. As is too often the case, low-income families are the hardest hit.
“Since 2010, after adjusting for inflation, the Labor-HHS budget has lost almost $20 billion. These cuts mean less money for medical research, less money for public health, and less money for other critical priorities across the Labor-HHS bill.
“The inflation-adjusted numbers for the past five years tell a dismal story. The Health Resources and Services Administration has seen its discretionary budget cut by a quarter, reducing services for more than 25 million low-income patients who rely on Community Health Centers. Between them, the NIH and the CDC have been cut by more than $4.8 billion. That is a disaster for American public health.
“We must do better. We need to eliminate the sequester caps once and for all, and return to adequate levels of funding to support our nation’s health. This budget request starts to do that. We must invest in the NIH, to accelerate breakthroughs against diseases like cancer. We must invest in Head Start, to bring the benefits of full-day, year-round services to the young children whose need is greatest. We must invest in public health, to strengthen our country in the fight against measles, meningitis, Ebola, and the obesity epidemic. These are a few examples of critical programs that help to improve the health of our nation. We can, and we must, find the resources to support them.
“I do not agree with every proposal in the President’s Budget. I am disappointed to see reductions in cancer screening and graduate training in children’s medicine. Level funding of the LIHEAP program. But this request does, at least, show what is possible if we come to our senses and reverse these short-sighted sequester cuts. For the good of all Americans, we need to do this, and soon.
“Thank you. I look forward to the discussion."
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
