|
APAPAC Events
Congress out for Spring Recess (April 18-29) |
|
DGR Telephone:
703-907-7800 | |
Follow APA Advocacy on Twitter!
The APA Department of Government Relations is now on Twitter! Now you can find out about APA Advocacy activities, Congressional hearings, mark-ups, and floor votes in real time.
Please click on the following link to start following APA Advocacy Twitter:
http://twitter.com/apa_
advocacy
Questions about the Twitter page or how to set up an account? Please contact Kyle Folsom at advocacy@psych.org. |
|
|
|
|
FY 2011 Appropriations Final Agreement Now Law
After eleventh-hour negotiations and a series of short-term continuing resolutions, on April 14, the Senate easily approved a FY11 spending bill, H.R. 1473 with $38 billion in cuts that will keep the government open through September. All domestic spending programs were cut by 0.2 percent and some programs further reduced or eliminated altogether. The compromise was ironed out last week by President Obama, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in a race against the clock to avoid a government shutdown. The Senate passed H.R. 1473 on an 81-19 vote, after the Senate rejected, as expected, a resolution that would have de-funded Planned Parenthood and a resolution that would have de-funded the health care overhaul law on a party-line vote. Four Senate Democrats and fifteen Senate Republicans voted against the bill's passage. The House passed the measure earlier on April 14 with a bipartisan 260-167 vote.
Impact on APA funding priorities
For National Institutes of Heath:
H.R. 1473 provides $30.7 billion for NIH in FY11, approximately $320 million (1 percent) below the FY10 level. The funding decrease will come from a $210 million pro rata reduction of all institutes, centers, and the Office of the Director and a $50 million decrease to the intramural buildings and facilities account. It also reflects a 0.2 percent across-the-board decrease to all non-security discretionary accounts. H.R. 1473 also includes $300 million in funding for the Global Fund, but does not include funding for the Cures Acceleration Network or language governing grant numbers and size as seen in H.R. 1.
For SAMHSA:
The three preceding CRs and H.R.1473 equate to a $52 million reduction (from FY10) in funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, far less than the over $200 million originally requested by the House. The legislation does not identify specific SAMHSA programs that must be cut, meaning that SAMHSA will have to determine where to make the spending reductions in its budget within 30 days. The Senate and House will be in recess April 18 through the 29, with a showdown over the fiscal 2012 budget and a debt limit increase awaiting them when they return. |
FY 2012 Funding Battle Looming
On April 15, the House passed Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-OH) H. Con. Res. 34 "Path to Prosperity" which sets the starting mark for federal funding in FY12. The measure calls for a 13.5 percent cut to all discretionary health programs. The measure is not likely to pass in the Senate. In addition to cutting federal agencies by 13.5 percent, H. Con. Res 34 would turn Medicare into a "voucher" program where individuals would be responsible for finding providers who would accept the vouchers. Medicaid would be converted to a block grant program, capping the federal government's share of Medicaid spending and making states responsible for meeting all additional costs. The result would be a $1 trillion reduction in Medicaid funding over the next 10 years. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for mental health services. If cuts of this magnitude go into effect, it is likely that our nation's most vulnerable families and children would have significant problems obtaining vital healthcare services. DGR will keep you updated on emerging details to SAMHSA's FY11 reductions and Congressional movement on FY12. |
Advocacy Day a Success!
DGR hosted this year's Advocacy Day event in Washington, DC on April 11 through 13. This year, over 70 members from 42 states joined the program. On Monday, April 11, participants received updates on key legislative issues such as federal mental health funding cuts, assistance for returning military and their families, and Medicare issues such as the 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient care in psychiatric hospitals, physician payment, and the effort to include psychologists as "physicians" under Medicare. Members also reviewed regulatory developments on the implementation of mental health parity and comprehensive health care reform legislation. On Tuesday and Wednesday, April 12-13, Advocacy Day participants visited over 230 congressional offices to advocate on behalf of APA members and their patients, and hosted a congressional reception Tuesday night for Members of Congress and their staffs.
Robert Cabaj, MD, Chair of the Council on Advocacy and Government Relations, Eugene Cassel, Director of the Division of Advocacy, and Nicholas Meyers, Director of the Department of Government Relations, and their staff brought a valuable program to this year's participants. To learn more about the issues covered at this year's event, please follow this link to the advocacy materials:
|
|
|
|
|
