The House voted 269-142 to pass an appropriations bill that combines the fiscal year 2008 Labor-HHS-Education (HR 3043) and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs (HR 2642) appropriations bills, the AP/Arizona Daily Star reports (AP/Arizona Daily Star, 11/7). The measure, which was approved by a House-Senate conference committee, includes increases in funding for the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Ryan White Program, CQ HealthBeat reports.
The bill would provide $300 million in funding for the Global Fund, up from $99 million for the Global Fund included in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill for FY 2007. Additional U.S. funding for the Global Fund is provided through foreign aid appropriations.
The measure also would increase funding for the Ryan White Program by $84 million, including an increase for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program of $33 million (Reichard, CQ HealthBeat, 11/6). ADAPs are federal- and state-funded programs that provide HIV/AIDS-related medications to low-income, uninsured and underinsured HIV-positive individuals (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 10/10).
The Senate is expected to vote on the legislation on Wednesday. According to CQ Today, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) will lead a Republican attempt to split the legislation back into two bills, which if successful, would send the Labor-HHS-Education measure back to the House. Senate Democrats need 60 votes to keep the bills together, CQ Today reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said if the bills are split, Congress will send the Labor-HHS-Education bill by itself to President Bush.
Bush has said he would veto the Labor-HHS-Education bill by itself or as part of the conference report, if passed by the Senate (Wayne, CQ Today, 11/6). The Labor-HHS-Education bill contains $10 billion more in discretionary spending than the Bush administration requested (AP/Arizona Daily Star, 11/7).
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