On March 23, President Trump signed a $1.3 trillion spending deal that would fund federal government operations through the end of September and complete the appropriations process for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. President Trump announced his intent to sign the legislation during an impromptu press conference hours after threatening to veto the bill. Congress reached an agreement on the bill on Wednesday evening, and it passed smoothly through the House on Thursday in a 256-167 vote. Early Friday morning, the Senate approved the bill with a 65-32 vote, after overcoming objections from a number of Senators that had put the timing of the vote in question.

The legislation includes funding increases from FY17 levels in several key ACC focus areas, including a $3 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health, as well as increases for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will receive $2.9 billion in discretionary funding in the bill, $135 million more than was enacted in 2017. Additionally, Congress recommended a $10 million increase in discretionary funding for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Fortunately, proposed House policy changes that would have exempted "large and premium cigars" from FDA oversight and change the "grandfather date" to exempt e-cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products from required FDA product review were excluded from the omnibus.

The bill's steady funding increases for programs most closely aligned with the College's mission are encouraging. ACC Advocacy staff are already at work on FY19 appropriations, and will continue to submit funding requests over the coming weeks.

Below is a full breakdown of funding levels for ACC appropriations priorities:

Program	FY17 Enacted	FY18 Omnibus	FY19 Request
National Institutes of Health	$34 billion	$37 billion	$38 billion
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute	$3.2 billion	$3.383 billion	$3.5 billion
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke	$1.784 billion	$2.1 billion	$2 billion
CDC Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention	$130 million	$140 million	$160 million
CDC Million Hearts	$4 million	$4 million	$5 million
CDC WISEWOMAN	$21.12 million	$21.12 million	$37 million
CDC Office on Smoking and Health	$205 million	$210 million	$216.5 million
CDC Congenital Heart Disease Research	$4 million	$4 million	$7 million

Keywords: ACC Advocacy, Federal Government, Tobacco, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (U.S.), United States Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health (U.S.), Financial Management, Politics, Tobacco Products, Smoking, Heart Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S., Health Services Research, Stroke

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