BPS in the Beltway | December 22, 2020
In Brief
Congress Reaches Deal on Stimnibus
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Food and Drug Administration
National Institutes of Health
National Science Foundation
Stimulus Checks Coming
Congress Reaches Deal on Stimnibus
Late Monday night, the House and Senate passed a massive stimnibus (stimulus+omnibus) spending bill. The funding package includes $1.4 trillion in government funding for fiscal year (FY) 2021 and $900 billion in COVID-19 relief. The bill passed both chambers easily by a vote of 359-53 in the House and 91-7 in the Senate.
As part of the votes on the stimnibus, Congress also passed a one-week CR to avoid a lapse in federal funding while the 5,000+ page bill is printed and prepared for President Trump's signature—a process that can take several days. The President has given every indication that he will sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk.
While House Leadership acknowledges that the stimulus is a long-overdue and insufficient measure, there is considerable work still to be done on COVID-19.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
- FY21 omnibus: $338 million
- FY20 enacted level: $338 million
- Difference: No change
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- FY21 omnibus: $6.963 billion
- FY20 enacted level: $6.839 billion
- Difference: +$124 million
- COVID-19 Relief: +$8.75 billion to support federal, state, local, territorial and tribal public health agencies to distribute, administer, monitor, and track coronavirus vaccination.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
- FY21 omnibus: $906.627 billion
- FY20 enacted level: $828.343 billion
- Difference: +$78.284 million
Food and Drug Administration
- FY21 omnibus: $23.395 billion
- FY20 enacted level: $23.178 billion
- Difference: +$217 million
- COVID-19 relief: +$55 million to facilitate the development and review, both pre-market and post-market, of medical countermeasures, devices, therapies, and vaccines to combat the coronavirus
National Institutes of Health
- FY21 omnibus: $42.934 billion
- FY20 enacted level: $41.459 billion
- Difference: +$1.475 billion
- COVID-19 Relief: +$1.25 billion to support research and clinical trials related to the long-term effects of COVID-19
National Science Foundation
- FY21 omnibus: $8.487 billion
- FY20 enacted level: $8.3 billion
- Difference: +2.5% increase
See below for the omnibus bill text, explanatory statement, and health-related funding highlights.
Stimulus Checks Coming
Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin announced Monday that the next wave of individual stimulus checks will go out to Americans as early as next week. People who qualify for the direct payments, which are part of the new COVID-19 relief deal, are going to see this money at the beginning of next week. The Secretary added that the next round of checks will also help small businesses and stimulate the economy.