On Friday, the Biden-Harris Administration released their budget outline for FY 2022. The Administration proposed a $118 billion (8.4 percent) increase in spending relative to the FY 2021 level. The non-defense portion of discretionary spending would be increased by $106 billion (16 percent) while defense spending would be increased by $12 billion (1.7 percent). The proposal includes $102.8 billion for the Department of Education, a $29.8 billion (41 percent) increase over the 2021 enacted level. The discretionary request increases the maximum Pell Grant by $400, the largest one-time increase since 2009. This investment is one piece of a more comprehensive proposal to double the maximum Pell Grant. The President’s request includes $131.7 billion for HHS, a $25 billion (23.5 percent) increase from the 2021 enacted level. The proposal includes includes $8.7 billion for CDC, an increase of $1.6 billion over the 2021 enacted level, and provides $1.6 billion, more than double the 2021 enacted level, for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant. The discretionary request provides additional funding to increase the diversity of the healthcare workforce and expand access to culturally competent care. The discretionary request also includes $153 million for CDC’s Social Determinants of Health program, an increase of $150 million over the 2021 enacted level, to support all States and Territories in improving health equity and data collection for racial and ethnic populations. More budget details are expected to be released later this Spring.
A summary of the President’s discretionary funding request is available here. A press release is available here.