Should we allocate increased funding for government services?
This bill provides appropriations, totaling 237.5 billion dollars, for numerous government agencies for the fiscal year 2022. These include the Department of Labor, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, the National Labor Relations Board, the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the Social Security Administration. Notably, the bill includes an increase of 22.9 billion for the Health and Human Services Department, an increase of 29.3 billion for the Department of Education, and an increase of 2.18 billion for the Department of Labor. Collectively, the bill’s expenditures amount to a 28% increase in funding from the fiscal year 2021.
Source: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Democrat, Connecticut, District 3)
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Opponents say
• "[The bill would] add several provisions that will significantly harm many seasonal businesses by preventing them from meeting their workforce needs through the H-2B program. These provisions would cause a tremendous amount of business disruption, with the most negative impacts being inflicted upon small businesses. Specifically, these provisions would: (1) Ban the construction industry and other industries hit hard by COVID from hiring H-2B workers, unless the workers sought by these companies are union members; (2) Impose onerous wage requirements upon H-2B employers that are woefully disconnected from market conditions and bar companies from utilizing private wage surveys."
Source: US Chamber of Commerce *while the Chamber of Commerce has taken a stance against this provision, among others in H.R. 4502, they have not indicated if they support or oppose the bill as a whole.
• "Charter schools are under attack in a new education funding bill proposing (H.R. 4502) to cut off ALL federal funding—including funding for students from low-income communities and students with disabilities—for charter schools that contract with businesses. All schools—district, charter, magnet, and private—contract with businesses to provide students with services and supplies that they need. Charter school leaders would be forced to choose between accessing the federal funds their students are entitled to or working with businesses to provide the supplies and services their students need."
Source: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Proponents say
• "I am proud that this bill provides $253.8 billion in funding, a historic increase of 28 percent. Through this funding, we are fulfilling our debt to the generations, families, and communities we serve and tipping the scales for the hard-working middle class and the vulnerable… With $7.4 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, $12.2 billion for Head Start, and $450 million for Preschool Development Grants, we are cultivating a nation that supports working families and nurtures our children… Building on the investments this Committee has made over the past six years in a bipartisan way in biomedical research, this bill increases funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $6.5 billion— including a $3.5 billion increase for biomedical research at existing NIH institutes and centers— and to provide an across-the-board five percent increase for each Institute and Center."
Source: Rep. Rosa DeLauro (Democrat, Connecticut, District 3)
• "[The Bill] (1) creates and sustains good-paying American jobs through investments in job training, apprenticeship programs, and worker protection; (2) grows opportunity with transformative investments in education, including record funding for high-poverty schools and students with disabilities, and strong increases for programs that expand access to post-secondary education; (3) … bolsters our public health infrastructure with more resources for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and for states and local governments to strengthen infrastructure and capacity; (4) addresses our nation’s most urgent health crises, including maternal health, mental health, gun violence, and opioid abuse while making strides to reduce persistent and unacceptable health disparities. "
Source: House Appropriations Committee
- Fiscal Year 2022 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Funding Bill (Press Release)
- CBO report for H.R. 4502 (CBO Report)
- U.S. Chamber Letter on FY22 Labor and HHS Appropriations (US Chamber of Commerce)
- Public charter schools group blasts proposed Democratic cut (The Hill)
