House Appropriations Committee Recommends Increased Funding for Maternal Health Programs

By Shalini Wickramatilake, MHS

On July 15th, the House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee considered and passed its fiscal year (FY) 2022 (October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022) Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) funding bill. Building upon the work of the L-HHS Subcommittee on July 12th, the full Committee, which is led by Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and “Ranking Member” Kay Granger (R-TX), recommends increased funding for many mental health, maternal health, substance use, and other public health programs.

The Senate must also go through the process of marking up and passing their own L-HHS bill. If House and Senate lawmakers do not reach a final FY 2022 appropriations deal before October 1, 2021, they will need to pass a stopgap funding measure, called a continuing resolution, to keep the government funded at FY 2021 levels until they are able to pass a final FY 2022 bill. In the absence of a final FY 2022 deal or continuing resolution by October 1st, there is risk of a government shutdown.

2020 Mom will continue to track federal appropriations for crucial programs that serve moms and address mental health issues.

Below are some of the highlights from the funding bill. If you would like to view detailed recommendations from the Committee about these federal programs, please click here, where we offer quotes from the accompanying Appropriations Committee report.

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): $9.16 billion (+$3 billion compared to FY 2021)

  • Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) Block Grant: $1.582 billion (+$825 million compared to FY 2021) to support mental health service delivery

  • Perinatal Suicide Prevention: “Perinatal suicides, which occur during pregnancy or up to one year postpartum, are a leading cause of maternal mortality in the United States. The prevalence of suicidal ideation among pregnant and postpartum individuals was five times higher in 2017 than in 2006, and during that period, Black pregnant and postpartum individuals experienced larger increases in suicidality than other racial and ethnic groups. Given these trends, the Committee urges SAMHSA to develop and implement perinatal suicide prevention programs, including culturally appropriate resources and programs for Black and other at-risk pregnant and postpartum individuals.”

  • Project AWARE: $155 million (+$48.5 million compared to FY 2021) to support mental health services for youth

  • National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative $100 million (+$28 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: $25 million (+$17 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Children’s Mental Health program: $150 million (+$25 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Zero Suicide: $26.2 million (+$5 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Suicide Lifeline: $113.6 million (+$89.6 million compared to FY 2021)

  • American Indian and Alaska Native Suicide Prevention: $3.4 million (+$469 thousand compared to FY 2021)

  • Mental Health Crisis Response Partnership Pilot Program: $100 million (+$100 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Interagency Task Force for Trauma-Informed Care: $1 million

  • Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant: $2.8 billion (+$1 billion compared to FY 2021)

  • State Opioid Response (SOR) Grants: $2 billion (+$500 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Pregnant and Parenting Women: $49.4 million (+$16.5 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Children and Families within SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT): $30.2 million (+$592 thousand compared to FY 2021)

• Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA):

  • Maternal and Child Health Block Grant: $869 million (+$156 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Alliance for Maternal Health Safety Bundles: $14 million (+$5 million compared to FY 2021)

  • State Maternal Health Innovation Grants: $53 million (+$30 million above the FY 2021)

  • Maternal Mental Health Hotline: $5 million (+$2 million above the FY 2021)

  • Pregnancy Medical Home Demonstration: $25 million ($25 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Screening and Treatment for Maternal Depression and Related Disorders: $10 million (+$5 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS): $10 million (+$5 million compared to FY 2021)

• Administration for Children and Families (ACF):

  • Child Care and Development Block Grant: $7.4 billion (+$1.5 billion compared to FY 2021)

  • Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA): $257 million (+$71 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Family Violence and Prevention Services Act (FVPSA): $463 million (+$281 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Domestic Violence Hotline: $26 million (+$13 million compared to FY 2021)

• National Institutes of Health (NIH):

  • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH): $2.223 billion (+$119 million)

  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA): $1.86 billion (+$380 million)

  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): $582 million (+$27.5 million)

  • Increase of $30,000,000 for the Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative

  • Office of Research on Women’s Health: $61 million (+$18 million compared to FY 2021)

• Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS):

  • Office of Minority Health: $76 million (+$14 million compared to FY 2021)

  • Office on Women’s Health: $42 million (+$7 million compared to FY 2021)

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

  • Safe Motherhood/Infant Health: $119 million (+$56 million)

  • Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies: $15 million (+$5 million)

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