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House Democrats reject Trump cuts to NIH, Special Olympics with Labor-Health spending bill proposal

by Niv Elis - 04/29/19 4:45 PM ET

House Democrats are proposing adding nearly $12 billion in spending to the Labor, Health, Human Services and Education appropriations bill, according to legislative text released Monday.

The $189.8 billion measure, the largest of 12 annual spending bills except for Defense, is $11.7 billion higher than 2019 levels, and would surpass President Trump’s budget request by $47.8 billion.

The proposal rejects Trump’s proposed cuts to a number of services and programs, including the National Institutes of Health, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Special Olympics, among others.

“Not only does this bill resoundingly reject the proposed cuts in President Trump’s budget that would have hurt working families, it provides a robust increase in funding for important national priorities that create jobs and grow the economy, improve health security, and build a stronger future for all Americans,” House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

{mosads}The bill’s release marks a turning point for House Democrats on spending after weeks of infighting prevented the party from passing a budget resolution or setting new spending caps. Fiscal hawks worried about the deficit implications of increased spending, while progressives lamented the continued disparity between defense and non-defense spending.

The spending levels in the bill conform with the figures Lowey and House Budget Chair Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) had offered in the spending caps bill, which would raise defense spending by $17 billion and non-defense spending by $34 billion in comparison to current levels.

The bill, which will be marked up in committee on Tuesday, resoundingly rejects Trump’s proposals.

For example, it increases spending on the National Institute of Health by $2 billion instead of cutting funds by $4.9 billion, as the president requested.

It also allocates $25 million to fund research on how to prevent gun-related injury and death, increases the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s budget by $50 million, instead of eliminating it altogether as Trump proposed and adds $4.4 billion to the Department of Education, which Trump proposed cutting dramatically.

The bill would also increase funding to Special Olympics education program by $3.5 million. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos came under fire earlier this year for defending Trump’s request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics. Trump eventually backtracked and broke with his Education chief, saying that he opposed the program’s elimination.

“Through billions in smart, increased investments, our bill will help people across the country at every stage of their life. I look forward to passing it into law,” said Subcommittee Chair Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Ct.)