President Biden on Friday released his fiscal year (FY) 2022 discretionary funding request. According to the request introductory letter from Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Shalanda Young, the discretionary request would restore non-defense discretionary funding to 3.3 percent of GDP; it proposes $769 billion in non-defense discretionary funding in FY 2022, a 16 percent increase over the FY 2021 enacted level, and $753 billion for national defense programs, a 1.7 percent increase.
As part of the FY 2022 discretionary funding request, the administration notes that it is looking to build upon efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and improve the public health infrastructure, including in research and development. Below is a summary of the topline funding levels and requests included in the document, but additional details are expected in the coming weeks.
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
The FY 2022 funding request provides the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with $131.7 billion, a $25 billion or 23.5 percent increase from the 2021 enacted level. Among the funding recommendations for programs within HHS are the following:
- Improving Readiness for Future Public Health Crises. The discretionary request includes $8.7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—the largest budget authority increase in nearly two decades—to restore capacity at the public health agency.
- Launching Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). The request includes an investment of $6.5 billion [part of a total $51 billion request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)] to launch ARPA-H, which would provide significant increases in direct federal research and development spending in health. According to the document, the initial focus would be on cancer and other diseases, such as diabetes and Alzheimer’s.
- Making a Major Investment to Help End the Opioid Epidemic. The request includes a historic investment of $10.7 billion in to support research, prevention, treatment, and recovery support services for the opioid epidemic, an increase of $3.9 billion over the 2021 enacted level.
- Promoting Health Equity by Addressing Racial Disparities. The request provides additional funding to increase the diversity of the health care workforce and expand access to culturally competent care. Additionally, it includes $153 million for CDC’s Social Determinants of Health program, an increase of $150 million over the 2021 enacted level, to support states and territories in improving health equity and data collection for racial and ethnic populations.
- Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic. The request includes $670 million within HHS to help aggressively reduce new HIV cases while increasing access to treatment, expanding the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and ensuring equitable access to services
President Biden’s FY 2022 discretionary funding request can be read in full online. The “Investing in Public Health” summary begins on page 1, and the HHS request summary begins on page 10. AADR will share additional details of the president’s budget as they are released.
For questions, email AADR Assistant Director of Government Affairs Lindsey Horan.