On Dec. 20, the Senate Appropriations Committee released the text of the $1.7 trillion fiscal year (FY) 2023 omnibus appropriations bill. The package includes $858 billion in defense spending, a $76 billion or approximately 10% increase from FY2022 levels, and $772.5 billion in nondefense funds, a $42.5 billion or 5.5% increase over FY2022. The Senate passed the omnibus package today in a 68-29 vote, sending the package to the House for approval as soon as tonight or early Friday morning. The bill must be advanced through both chambers before the current continuing resolution expires on Friday to avoid a government shutdown. If passed, the bill will fund the government through September of 2023.
This alert provides a high-level overview of the higher education, early childhood education and nutrition programs included in the bill, along with approximate proposed funding level changes from FY2022. Overall funding for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies was $209.9 billion—a $14.8 billion or 7.1% increase from FY2022 levels. The overall funding does not include new funding for the implementation of the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan, or for the Office of Federal Student Aid, as the Department of Education has used existing money in the office’s account over the past year to implement Biden’s plan.
