APLU Hails Final Agreement on Fiscal Year 2019 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill

Washington, DC – Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) President Peter McPherson today released the following statement regarding the deal a House-Senate conference committee reached on a final version of the Fiscal Year 2019 Labor-HHS-Education bill.

We applaud the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees for working in a bipartisan fashion to produce a funding bill that boosts investment in pathbreaking medical research and support for low-income students pursuing higher education. While we still need to review the bill in detail to provide a more complete analysis, we applaud Congress for positioning itself to pass the Labor HHS bill before the end of the fiscal year for the first time in more than two decades.

“By putting forward a $2 billion increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health, the bill builds upon recent progress to further advance lifesaving treatments for patients desperately in need of medical innovation. Universities join patients and their families in appreciation of the continued strong trajectory of funding for the NIH. After a period of several years with flat or reduced funding, Congress has steadily provided significant increases in support for the world’s premier biomedical research agency.

“On student aid, the $100-increase in the maximum Pell Grant award helps ensure the program is at a minimum keeping pace with inflation. While we firmly believe campus-based aid programs should receive increases that aren’t included in this bill, APLU will continue to advocate for these important programs – which support access, affordability, and student success.

“We are thankful to Chairmen Blunt and Cole and Ranking Members Murray and DeLauro for their leadership in working across the aisle to craft a funding bill as well as their commitment to investing in our nation’s long-term prosperity.”