Monthly Archives: March 2009
President Obama Hosts Healthcare Forum
On Thursday, President Barack Obama held a White House summit on health care reform. At the summit, President Obama made his intentions clear that an overhaul of the nation’s healthcare system should be completed by the end of this year. The President addressed a room full of lawmakers, healthcare providers, labor unions, and journalists calling healthcare reform a “fiscal imperative” vital to restoring the nation’s economic status.
Appropriations Update
The Fiscal 2009 Omnibus Appropriations (H.R. 1105) bill stalled once again in the Senate on Thursday night. The chamber’s plan to return on Friday to complete work on the $410 billion dollar spending bill was stopped short by the inability of Democrats to secure enough votes to invoke cloture and limit debate on the measure, thus making it ineligible for a final vote.
LATE-BREAKING NEWS!
According to CQ, Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture late Friday morning, signaling that he feels confident that there are now sufficient votes to end debate and pass the bill. Reid reported that negotiations had led to an agreement tp permit votes on 12 GOP amendments to the bill before an anticipated stopgap continuing resolution expires next Wednesday, March 11.
The current plan now is to have the Senate vote on the amendments Monday night and then vote to clear the bill Tuesday.
BIAA will continue to monitor these important developments. If any action is needed we will notify advocates at that time.
Presidential Budget
On Tuesday, February 24, 2009, President Obama addressed Congress and the Nation to announce an overall plan to spend $634 billion on healthcare reform.
The President’s address simply provided a general overview of his budget that will be released in its entirety later this spring. Given that this was just an overview, no specific traumatic brain injury funding levels were released, however, BIAA will continue to monitor the situation this spring when the full detailed budget is presented.
FY09 Omnibus Appropriations
On February 25, the House passed the FY 2009 omnibus spending bill covering the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of Education. These agencies are currently being funded at 2008 levels under a continuing resolution that is set to expire on March 6, 2009. The Senate is expected to consider the bill this week.
Department of Education
The FY09 omnibus bill allocates nearly $108 million for the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) which supports disability research, demonstration projects, and related activities for individuals with disabilities.
