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As one of its last acts before a late adjournment, Congress passed the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill for fiscal year (FY) 2006. In brief, discretionary spending in the bill for many programs is below last year's level. The funding amounts noted below do not include the 1% across-the-board cut of all non-defense domestic discretionary programs that was included in the Department of Defense's fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill.
AUDIOLOGY DIRECT ACCESS
The conference report accompanying the bill contains language that would direct the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Congress with "A determination as to the current legal authority to permit direct access to licensed audiologists under similar terms and conditions used by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management. A report shall be submitted to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees by April 2006." This essentially requires CMS to identify any statutory changes necessary to give audiologists direct access under Medicare.
EHDI
Roughly $10 million in 2006 funding will be provided for the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening program of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is scheduled to receive $6.6 million next year. With the 1% across-the-board cut, these programs are essentially level funded from 2005.
Because of this federal funding, state initiatives, and the concerted efforts of state EHDI programs, over 90% of all newborns are screened for hearing loss before they leave the hospital. This is remarkable progress from 1999 when only about 20% of hospitals screened for newborn hearing loss. ASHA is now working with congressional leaders, consumers and other provider groups to develop new federal legislation that would focus on early intervention and expansion of pediatric audiology programs.
EDUCATION
The Department of Education is funded at $56.5 billion, $299 million above the President's request and $59 million below last year's level. This funding level ends the historical growth in federal education spending. IDEA Part B, State Education Grants are funded at $10.7 billion, $100 million above FY 2005, the smallest increase in a decade, forcing a backwards step from 18.6 percent to 18.0 percent in the federal commitment to fully fund special education.
In the No Child Left Behind program, Title I grants to states total funding is $12.8 billion, an increase of $100 million or less than 1% over FY 2005, the smallest increase in 8 years and $503 million less than the President's request. Early Reading First and Reading First programs are level funded at $104 million and $1 billion respectively, the same as the President's request..
NIH
The National Institutes for Health (NIH) will receive $28.6 billion in funding in FY 2006 - a 1% increase over FY 2005 funding levels. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) received a similar increase. Again, this program will essentially be level funded from 2005 with the 1% across-the-board cut to all non-defense discretionary programs.
For further information, please contact Reed Franklin, director of ASHA's Capitol Hill office, via e-mail at rfranklin@asha.org or by phone at 800-498-2071, ext. 4473.
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