After a long drawn out process, Congress finally completed the FY13 appropriations process by passing the bipartisan Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act of 2013. A full breakdown of the legislation can be viewed here in the NACHC press release.
The House wasted no time and is moving right along with the FY14 appropriation process and individual members have until April 15th to submit their funding priorities. Currently, the bipartisan Health Center funding support letter for FY14 is being circulated by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) in the House. This letter includes does not reference specific a funding level and is a general letter of support for the Health Center Program.
A copy of the Dear Colleague which is circulating in the House and the letter can be viewed here. A fact sheet on FY14 appropriations and Health Centers can be viewed here. Members have until April 10th to sign on to the letter. We would encourage all Health Center Advocates to reach out to their Representatives to request support for Health Center funding in FY14 and to sign on to the Bilirakis-Pallone Health Center funding letter. Advocates can check to see if their Representatives have signed on to the letter here.
We expect the Senate will begin the FY14 appropriations process after their recess concludes. We will post any updates we have on the Senate process, but Health Center advocates should be prepared to also contact their Senators in the near future to request support for Health Center funding in FY14.