November 16, 2022

Budget Negotiations Resume as Congress Heads into Lame Duck Session

Midterm election results are still being tallied and the party in control of the House is up in the air. Nevertheless, members of Congress must return to budget negotiations over FY’23 funding. Readers may recall that Congress agreed to a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would keep the government opened until after the election. But that CR is set to expire on December 16. The Biden Administration is expected to request supplemental funding for domestic and global COVID-19 pandemic relief, as well as funding for hepatitis C and monkeypox.

There are many political factors that will determine how Congress proceeds on the budget, but the Academy is pushing for a lame duck budget deal that reflects an investment in ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S. Some of the actions we’ve taken part in include:

• As a member of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership’s AIDS Budget & Appropriations Coalition, the Academy urged House and Senate appropriators to pass a budget that includes increased funding for domestic HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, and related programs in the final FY2023 appropriations packages. We have the tools, science, and support to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, but without adequate funding, we cannot meet that goal. The full letter can be viewed here.

• The Academy joined the National HIV/AIDS Housing Coalition and others in requesting that appropriators fund the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program by appropriating at least $600 million. The Biden administration had proposed $455 million, and the Senate proposed $468 million. Unfortunately, those proposals are inadequate to keep pace with the increases of eligible clients in the HOPWA program and the rising cost of housing in the United States. HOPWA is the only program dedicated exclusively to people with HIV/AIDS and is predicated on the understanding that stable housing has a tremendous effect on the health of people with HIV.
• The Academy joined the Coalition on Human Needs and over 400 other organizations urging Congressional appropriators to maintain funding levels for non-defense discretionary programs. Reducing funding for domestic and international programs below the House-proposed levels would jeopardize the country’s ability to respond to urgent human needs and to support recovery from the multiple disasters people have faced or may face in the year ahead. The full letter can be viewed here.