House Passes Legislation To Block Funding for School Health Clinics
On Wednesday, House Republicans continued their efforts to dismantle the federal health reform law by passing a bill (HR 1214) to repeal a provision in the overhaul that provides funding for school-based health clinics, the New York Times' "The Caucus" reports (Steinhauer, "The Caucus," New York Times, 5/4).
The House voted 235-191 to pass the measure, with three Democrats joining all but four GOP lawmakers in support of the bill.
The provision is designed to provide $50 million in annual federal grants to states between fiscal years 2010 and 2013 for construction and renovation projects, equipment upgrades and other purchases at school-based clinics.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, HR 1214 would reduce spending by $100 million over 10 years.
Before the final vote, the House rejected two Democratic amendments and a motion to recommit that would have required HHS to publish online the names and locations of the individual school health clinics that applied for the federal grants.
The measure is unlikely to pass in the Senate, which has rejected most of the House-approved measures to repeal or defund the overhaul.
Earlier this week, the White House issued a statement of administration policy stating its opposition to House Republicans' attempts to "erode the important provisions" of the health reform law (Symes, CQ Today, 5/4).
HR 1214 is the second overhaul defunding measure to pass the House this week. On Tuesday, lawmakers passed legislation (HR 1213), which would block mandatory funding for state-based health insurance exchanges created under the law ("The Caucus," New York Times, 5/4).
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