With Seconds on the Clock, Congress Pulls Out Surprising Budget Win: A Brief Summary of the FY18 Federal Spending Compromise

For further information, contact:

Mark Richert, Esq.
Director, Public Policy, AFB
(202) 469-6833
MRichert@AFB.net

March 23, 2018, 1:30 pm ET

This week, the U.S. Congress passed sweeping legislation to set spending limits for the federal government for the remainder of the current federal fiscal year ending on September 30, 2018. The legislation has been heralded by congressional leadership from both major political parties as a significant achievement and a robust compromise ending, for now, a track record of failure to pass spending proposals keeping the federal government open for any meaningful period of time.

Advocates have been very concerned about the protracted process leading up to this latest congressional compromise because of very real worries over potentially dramatic cuts to critical programs. However, on balance, programs and services of particular interest to the vision loss community have avoided budgetary losses and in some cases gained ground.

A detailed chart, prepared by Sarah Malaier of AFB's policy and research team, sets out the new spending levels for a host of programs of significant concern. The chart is below, and we also link to the congressional materials in full for a complete picture of current federal spending.

As a few examples of programs that have gained some ground, the American Printing House for the Blind has received a $2 million increase, and the Helen Keller National Center a $2.16 million increase. The National Library Service (manager of the talking book program) received a $1.25 million increase. The AbilityOne Commission, formerly known as the Committee for Purchase from People who are Blind or Severely Disabled (the independent federal agency managing the Javits-Wagner-O'Day program) received a bump of $250,000 over its previous funding level.

While a number of programs intended to benefit older Americans dodged bullets and gained a bit of ground, of particular concern has been the Independent Living Services for Older Individuals who are Blind (OIB) program, which is level-funded, no increase nor decrease. The special education personnel preparation program is also level-funded.

For those programs that have received the same or increased funding, Congress's spending compromise, which is only valid through September, nevertheless sets new and valuable funding levels for these programs for the future. Putting it another way, it would be unusual for the next Congress, should it continue to be controlled by Republicans, to appreciably cut funding for these programs next time when they have just protected and/or increased them now. Obviously, however, anything can happen, from political upsets to domestic or international affairs, that could very well be destabilizing.

Advocates will continue to push Congress to recognize the importance of those key programs and services critical to people with disabilities and to people living with vision loss in particular. In a very real practical sense, federal spending discussions are never ending, meaning that it is always a good time to educate policymakers about the needs and capabilities of people who are blind or visually impaired and the investment that our country must make in order to honor these needs and capabilities. With that, see the summary chart below and links to additional material.

Summary Chart

Table Legend

• FY – Fiscal Year (October 1 through September 30)
• FY 2018 Request – President’s Budget request for fiscal year 2018
• FY 2018 Final Bill – Bill passed by Congress on March 23, 2018, to fund the Federal Government for fiscal year 2018
• Bill vs. Enacted – Amount in FY 2018 Final Bill minus Amount enacted for FY 2017
• Bill vs. Request – Amount in FY 2018 Final Bill minus Amount requested in President’s Budget
• APH – American Printing House for the Blind
• HKNC – Helen Keller National Center
• OIB - Independent Living Services for Older Individuals Who Are Blind
• CMS – Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• NIDILRR - National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research
• Committee for Purchase - Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled
• SSI - Supplemental Security Income
• ODEP – Office of Disability Employment Policy
• NLS - National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
• HHS - Department of Health and Human Services

Full Bill Text and Explanatory Statements

Full text: House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. 1625 (Rules Committee Print 115-66—Showing the text of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018)

Explanatory Reports:

• Introduction
• Division A
• Division B
• Division C
• Division D
• Division E
• Division F
• Division G
• Division H
• Division I
• Division J
• Division K
• Division L
• Division S