Meeting our greatest challenges

From the White House press office:

Under the President's leadership, we have turned our economy around and created 14 million jobs. Our unemployment rate is below five percent for the first time in almost eight years. Nearly 18 million people have gained health coverage as the Affordable Care Act has taken effect. And we have dramatically cut our deficits by almost three-quarters and set our Nation on a more sustainable fiscal path.

Yet while it is important to take stock of our progress, this Budget<https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/Overview> is not about looking back at the road we have traveled. It is about looking forward and making sure our economy works for everybody, not just those at the top. It is about choosing investments that not only make us stronger today, but also reflect the kind of country we aspire to be - the kind of country we want to pass on to our children and grandchildren.

The Budget makes critical investments in our domestic and national security priorities while adhering to the bipartisan budget agreement signed into law last fall, and it lifts sequestration in future years so that we continue to invest in our economic future and our national security. It also drives down deficits and maintains our fiscal progress through smart savings from health care, immigration, and tax reforms.

The Budget shows that the President and the Administration remain focused on meeting our greatest challenges - including accelerating the pace of innovation to tackle climate change and find new treatments for devastating diseases; giving everyone a fair shot at opportunity and economic security; and advancing our national security and global leadership - not only for the year ahead, but for decades to come.

The Budget supports and expands opportunity for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community by:

Civil Rights Enforcement and Hate Crime Prevention.

The Budget supports activities at the Department of Justice to ensure the protection of civil rights. For 2017, the Civil Rights Division will enhance efforts to improve policing practices, protect the rights of service members, and enforce the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Protecting LGBT Workers from Discrimination.

As part of a commitment to expanding opportunity for all hardworking Americans, in 2014 the President signed an Executive Order prohibiting Federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT employees and prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in Federal employment, adding to existing prohibitions on discrimination based on sexual orientation in Federal employment.  The Budget provides $114 million for the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to ensure robust enforcement of protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and other protected classes.

Supporting the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

The Budget invests $2.3 billion in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to provide treatment and care completion services for people living with HIV, and includes $900 million for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program to ensure that people living with HIV have access to life-saving antiretroviral (ARV) treatments. By helping people living with HIV remain in care and on their medications, the Ryan White program plays a critical role in preventing the spread of the HIV epidemic, as recent research has shown that ARV treatment reduces HIV transmission by 96 percent. The Budget also includes funding for a new initiative to increase screening and expands access to Hepatitis C care and treatment among people living with HIV.

Increasing Funding for HIV/AIDS Prevention.

The Budget expands access to HIV prevention and treatment activities for millions of Americans through the continued implementation of the updated National HIV/AIDS Strategy, with a focus on key elements of the Strategy. The updated Strategy calls for providing more people with highly effective prevention services such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce new HIV infections. PrEP has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection by up to 92 percent in people who are at high risk. The Budget includes $20 million for a new innovative pilot program to increase access to PrEP and allow grantees, as the payer of last resort, to use a portion of funds to purchase the medication and other related healthcare services. In addition, the Strategy calls for prioritizing HIV/AIDS resources within high-burden communities and among high-risk groups, including gay and bisexual men, transgender women, Blacks/African Americans and Latino Americans, which is reflected throughout the Budget.

Supporting Housing Assistance for People Living with HIV/AIDS.

The Budget provides $335 million for HUD's Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program to address housing needs among people living with HIV/AIDS and their families. The program provides States and localities with the resources to create comprehensive strategies for providing housing assistance that gives patients the stability needed for effective treatment. In partnership with other Federal agencies, HUD is working to promote greater achievements in viral suppression through the coordination and alignment of housing support with medical care. The Administration is also proposing legislative reforms that would update HOPWA's grant formula to distribute funds based on recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on persons living with HIV, rather than the cumulative number of AIDS cases.

Preventing and Treating Prescription Drug Abuse and Heroin Use.

More Americans now die every year from drug overdoses than in vehicle crashes, and the majority of these overdoses involve opioids-a class of drugs that includes prescription pain medication and heroin. Prescription opioid-related overdoses alone cost an estimated tens of billions in medical and work-related costs each year. The Administration has supported and expanded efforts to prevent drug use, pursue "smart on crime" approaches to drug enforcement, improve prescribing practices for pain medication, increase access to treatment, reduce overdose deaths, and support the millions of Americans in recovery. However, too few Americans are getting treatment, and opioid related overdose deaths reached their highest level in 2014. Individuals who want treatment but do not get it often report cost and lack of access as reasons.

The President's FY 2017 Budget includes $1 billion in new mandatory funding over two years to expand access to treatment for prescription drug abuse and heroin use. This funding will boost efforts to help individuals with an opioid use disorder seek treatment, successfully complete treatment, and sustain recovery. This funding includes:

  *   $920 million to support cooperative agreements with States to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders. States will receive funds based on the severity of the epidemic and on the strength of their strategy to respond to it. States can use these funds to expand treatment capacity and make services more affordable.
  *   $50 million in National Health Service Corps funding to expand access to substance use treatment providers. This funding will help support approximately 700 providers able to provide substance use disorder treatment services, including medication-assisted treatment, in areas across the country most in need of behavioral health providers.
  *   $30 million to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs employing medication-assisted treatment under real-world conditions and help identify opportunities to improve treatment for patients with opioid use disorders.

This investment, combined with other efforts underway to reduce barriers to treatment for substance use disorders, will help ensure that every American who wants treatment can access it and get the help they need.

The President's Budget also includes an increase of more than $90 million to continue and build on current efforts across the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand state-level prescription drug overdose prevention strategies, increase the availability of medication-assisted treatment programs, improve access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, and support targeted enforcement activities. A portion of this funding includes support for rural areas, where rates of overdose and opioid use are particularly high. To help further expand access to treatment, the Budget includes an HHS pilot project for nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder treatment, where allowed by state law.

Also, the budget will focus on expanding access to health coverage, addressing health care disparities, maintaining affordable, high-quality primary and preventive care, improving access to services under the Violence Against Women Act, encouraging state paid leave initiatives, making a high-quality college education more affordable, promoting affordability and completion, innovation in higher education and ensuring that students are well-served in school and by the student aid system.

The Gayly- 2/9/2016 @ 1:05 PM CST