December 20, 2009 - President Obama signed into law an omnibus fiscal year 2010 spending bill that combined six different appropriations bills which provide funding for a large swath of the federal government's functions. H.R. 3228 combines the funding from numerous appropriations bills into one bill totaling more than $446.8 billion and incorporating the spending among numerous government agencies including the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Veterans Affairs, State, Commerce, and Justice.
Although the 2010 federal fiscal year began on October 1, 2009, the government has been operating under a series of temporary spending bills called "continuing resolutions." The current continuing resolution expires on December 18, 2009. Funding in H.R. 3228 allows the government to continue normal operations through September 30, 2010.
The federal government's support of education programs for 2010 is generally flat with no new major spending increases. Both Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA/NCLB) and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) received level funding for the year. This is both good and bad news. Good, because no major cuts to core programs were approved; and bad, because funding from the stimulus bill will run out at the end of the fiscal year.
Likewise, the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EDHI) programs will remain level funded for 2010, receiving $10,888,000.
Congress did provide $250 million for a new comprehensive literacy initiative, under the Striving Readers program, to help struggling students from pre-K through grade 12 build their reading and writing skills.
Funding for the National Institutes of Health will increase by $692 million over FY2009 bringing total funding for all twenty-six institutes to over $31 billion. For example, the National Institute of Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD) will receive $418,833,000 for FY2010, which represents an increase of $11,574,000 or 2.8% over the comparable FY2009 non-ARRA appropriation.
For questions or further information about this FY2010 funding bill, please contact Neil Snyder, ASHA's Director of Federal Advocacy, at 800-296-5700, ext. 5614, or nsnyder@asha.org.
Taken from www.asha.org/.
