The Administration continues its messaging about significantly reducinge the size of the federal government. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney indicated he will meet with Agency leaders in the near future to work on eliminating programs they believe to be redundant or unnecessary for the federal government. In his April 12 announcement, Director Mulvaney noted that the reductions in government would be completed in part through layoffs. Agencies are instructed to begin drafting plans to restructure their operations and to submit recommendations to OMB by June. On a related note, the federal hiring freeze was lifted by the OMB last week but on April 14, the Department of Health and Human Services reportedly stated that all its hiring restrictions remain in place.
What we know for sure: the FY 2017 budget is operating under a continuing resolution (CR) that expires on April 28. On March 27, the Administration sent appropriators a list of proposed cuts for Congress to include when it finalizes the FY 2017 budget, including spending cuts of more than $1.2 billion to NIH, $314 million to CDC, $1.2 billion to the Department of State and $1.1 billion directly to USAID. What we don’t know for sure, but anticipate: Congress will not heed this funding proposal, given the limited time to pass an FY 2017 budget before the CR expires and support from Republican leaders (like House Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole) who have stated their support for NIH and CDC, noting that reductions in funding would leave the nation less secure.
As mentioned in last month’s newsletter, the FY 2018 budget process is underway. On March 16 President Trump gave his topline recommendations to federal agencies. The budget had drastic cuts for global health and foreign assistance programs. It calls for cuts of $10 billion (more than 30 percent) to the Department of State and USAID, and reducing funding for HHS by $15 billion, including nearly $6 billion from the NIH. The Fogarty International Center, a significant element in the U.S. government’s global health research and development initiatives, is eliminated in this budget. ASTMH members reacted strongly to these cuts in emails to their Members of Congress.
The nomination process for Dr. Scott Gottlieb as Commissioner of the FDA continues, with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee holding a hearing for Dr. Gottlieb on April 5. A timeline for voting on Dr. Gottlieb’s confirmation is unclear at this point. There has been no movement on a permanent NIH or CDC Director.