March 26, 2024
On Saturday, March 23, 2024, President Biden signed HR2882, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, into law, providing funding for the remaining six regular Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) appropriations bills through the end of the fiscal year, until September 30, 2024.
In the early morning on the same day, the U.S. Senate passed the six-bill appropriations package, which had already been passed by the House of Representatives, by a vote of 74-24, working into the weekend to prevent a partial government shutdown that was set to begin at midnight on March 22, 2024.
The six appropriations bills included in the package were:
- Defense Appropriations Act, 2024
- Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act, 2024
- Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2024
- Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024
- Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2024
- State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024
As reported by the National Council on Mental Wellbeing, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024 included an $18 million increase in funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, along with a $1 million increase to the Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration (PBHCI) grant technical assistance program. Additionally, the bill includes a $75 million increase for mental health research conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Notable mental health and substance use disorder FY2024 funding totals include:
- $385,000,000 for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) (level with FY2023)
- $986,532,000 for the Mental Health Block Grant, which includes maintaining an existing 5 percent set-aside of the total for evidence-based crisis care programs that address the needs of individuals with serious mental illnesses, children with serious emotional disturbances, and individuals experiencing mental health crises (level with FY2023)
- $153,000,000 for Behavioral Health Workforce and Training, including $40,000,000 for the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program (level with FY2023)
- $1,575,000,000 for State Opioid Response (SOR) Grants (level with FY2023)
- $1,928,879,000 for Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery (SUPT) Grants (level with FY2023)
