On February 2, President Obama submitted to Congress his FY2016 budget. Released shortly after his State of the Union address, the budget provides the details of the president’s spending priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.
The budget provides $4 trillion in overall spending for FY2016, which begins on October 1. The proposed budget increases spending by $38 billion for defense and $33 billion for nondefense spending, exceeding the spending caps established in the Bipartisan Budget Act (P.L. 113-67).
In December, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill (P.L. 113-235) that funds most of the federal government through FY2015 (see FY2015 Appropriations Summary). Congress extended funding for the Department of Homeland Security through February 27.
The charts below summarize funding levels for various programs important to women and their families. The administration also outlines several priorities for women and girls in its fact sheet: “Supporting Women and Working Families.”
Department of Agriculture
The budget proposes $156 billion in overall spending in FY2016 for the Department of Agriculture. This amount includes $131 billion in mandatory spending and $25 billion in discretionary spending. The administration’s request totaled $152 billion in overall spending in FY2015.
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Food and Nutrition Service | $110.19 billion | $112.44 billion |
| Child Nutrition Programs | $21.3 billion | $21.587 billion |
| Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) | $6.623 billion | $6.623 billion* |
| Special Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) | $81.838 billion | $83.692 billion |
| Commodity Assistance Program | $278.501 million | $288.317 million |
| Foreign Agricultural Service | ||
| P.L. 480 Title II Food for Peace | $1.466 billion | $1.4 billion |
| McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition | $191.626 million | $191.626 million |
*Includes $60 million for breastfeeding peer counseling and other related activities.
Defense
The Department of Defense budget proposes a $534.3 billion base budget in FY2016. In addition, the request would allocate $50.9 billion in overseas contingency operations (OCO), bringing the overall request to $585.2 billion. The president requested $560.4 billion in FY2015, which included $496.1 billion in base funding and $64.3 billion in OCO.
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Defense Health Program | $32.5 billion | $32.9 billion |
| Military Personnel | $128 billion | $130.5 billion |
| Family Housing | $1.1 billion | $1.4 billion |
| Child Care and Youth Programs | $1.1 billion | $1.2 billion |
| Military Spouse Employment | $100 million | $100 million |
Department of Education
The administration’s request includes $70.7 billion in discretionary funds for the Department of Education. This amount represents a $3.6 billion increase over FY2015. The budget also proposes $1.3 billion for the Preschool for All program and $750 million for Preschool Development grants.
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Title I Grants to LEAs | $14.41 billion | $15.41 billion |
| Special Education Grants for Infants and Families | $438.6 million | $503.6 million |
| Child Care Access Means Students in School (CCAMPIS) | $15.1 million | $15.1 million |
| Office for Civil Rights | $100 million | $130.69 million |
Department of Health and Human Services
The administration’s FY2016 request for the Department of Health and Human Services provides $1.093 trillion in overall funding. This amount is $44.755 billion over the request for FY2015 and includes $83.795 billion in discretionary funding.
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Food and Drug Administration | $2.597 billion | $2.744 billion |
| User Fees | $1.909 billion | $2.187 billion |
| Mammography User Fees | $20 million | $20 million |
| Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) | $6.112 billion | $6.225 billion |
| Community Health Centers (overall) | $4.901 billion | $4.902 billion |
| Maternal and Child Health Bureau | $1.254 billion | $1.352 billion |
| Maternal and Child Health Block Grant | $637 million | $637 million |
| Heritable Disorders | $14 million | $14 million |
| Universal Newborn Hearing Screening | $18 million | $18 million |
| Healthy Start | $102 million | $102 million |
| Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act | $2.319 billion | $2.323 billion |
| Ryan White Part C – Early Intervention | $201 million | $280 million* |
| Ryan White Part D – Children, Youth, Women, and Families Programs | $75.088 million | $0* |
| Family Planning | $286.479 million | $300 million |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) | $6.073 billion | $6.17 billion |
| Global Health | $447 million** | $448 million |
| HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB Prevention | $1.118 billion | $1.162 billion |
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | $29.446 billion | $30.314 billion |
| National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities | $271 million | $282 million |
| Administration for Children and Families (overall) | $51.599 billion | $59.676 billion |
| Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) | $16.737 billion | $16.739 billion |
| Child Support Enforcement | $4.038 billion | $4.215 billion |
| Refugee and Entrant Assistance (aid to victims of trafficking) | $16 million | $22 million |
| Refugee and Entrant Assistance (unaccompanied minors) | $948 million | $967 million |
| Child Care Development Block Grant | $2.435 billion | $2.805 billion |
| Children and Families Services Programs | $10.346 billion | $11.911 billion |
| Head Start | $8.598 billion | $10.118 billion |
| Consolidated Runaway and Homeless Youth Programs | $114.141 million | $123 million |
| Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment Activities | $93.818 million | $114 million |
| Abandoned Infants Assistance | $11.063 million | $11 million |
| Child Welfare Training and Services | $335 million | $338 million |
| Adoption Incentives | $38 million | $38 million |
| Family Violence/Battered Women’s Shelters | $134 million | $150 million |
| National Domestic Violence Hotline | $4.5 million | $12 million |
| Promoting Safe and Stable Families (overall) | $530 million | $435 million*** |
| Office of the Secretary | $536 million | $586 million |
| Pregnancy Assistance Fund | $23 million | $25 million |
| Teen Pregnancy Prevention Community Grants | $101 million | $105 million |
| Office for Civil Rights | $39 million | $43 million |
| Office of Minority Health | $56.67 million | $57 million |
| Office on Women’s Health | $32.14 million | $32 million |
| Minority HIV/AIDS | $52.224 million | $54 million |
*The budget proposes to consolidate funding for Ryan White Part D into Part C. “The consolidated Part C program will emphasize care across all vulnerable populations, genders, and ages, thus assuring services for women, infants, children, and youth throughout the program.”
**Includes $30 million allocated for Ebola response programs from the Continuing Appropriations Resolution (P.L. 113-164).
***The total for Promoting Safe and Stable Families includes funding for abstinence education and the Personal Responsibility Education Program.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
The administration’s request includes $49.3 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This amount is $3.963 billion over FY2015.
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS | $330 million | $332 million |
Department of Justice
The president requested $28.654 billion in discretionary funds for FY2016. This amount is $2.427 billion over FY2015 and includes $21 million for a new VAWA 20/20 initiative. According to the budget summary, VAWA 20/20 will “focus on evidence-based intervention and documenting and evaluating results.” It includes $15 million to improve law enforcement and prosecutorial responses to sexual assault and $6 million to implement a domestic violence firearms lethality initiative.
An additional $14 million was requested for the Violence on College Campuses program. The summary notes that “[t]he additional funding will be used to expand victim safety and offender accountability on college campuses and to support implementation of recommendations made by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.”
The total also includes $5 million for a new Tribal Jurisdiction program, which was authorized in the VAWA Reauthorization Act (P.L. 113-4), $41 million for the Community Teams to Reduce the Sexual Assault Kit Backlog program, and $2 million for the Girls in the Justice System competitive grant program.
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Office on Violence Against Women | $430 million | $473.5 million |
| Grants to Combat Violence Against Women (STOP Grants) | $195 million | $193 million |
| Transitional Housing Assistance | $26 million | $25 million |
| Research and Evaluation on Violence Against Women | $3 million | $3 million |
| Sexual Assault Victims Services | $30 million | $27 million |
| Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement | $33 million | $33 million |
| Violence on College Campuses | $12 million | $26 million |
| Civil Legal Assistance | $42.5 million | $52.5 million |
| Elder Abuse Grant Program | $4.5 million | $4.25 million |
| Grants to Support Families in the Justice System | $16 million | $16 million |
| Education and Training for Disabled Female Victims | $6 million | $5.75 million |
| Research on Violence Against Indian Women | $1 million | $1 million |
| Indian Country Sexual Assault Clearinghouse | $500,000 | $500,000 |
| National Resource Center on Workplace Responses | $500,000 | $500,000 |
| Consolidated Youth-Oriented Program | $10 million | $10 million |
| Office of Justice Programs | $1.619 billion | $1.649 billion |
| Victims of Trafficking Grants | $42.25 million | $10.5 million |
| Prison Rape Prevention and Prosecution | $13 million | $10.5 million |
| Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) | $6 million | $6 million |
| DNA Initiative | $125 million | $105 million |
Department of Labor
President Obama requested $49.8 billion in overall spending for FY2016. This amount is $700 million over FY2015 and includes $13.2 billion and $36.6 billion in discretionary and mandatory funding, respectively.
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Dislocated Worker’s Assistance | $1.236 billion | $1.262 billion |
| Women in Apprenticeships | $994,000 | $0* |
| Women’s Bureau | $11.536 million | $11.788 million |
| International Labor Affairs | $91.125 million | $94.517 million |
*“Although this program is intended to address a critical need, these needs will be addressed more efficiently and effectively through the new Apprenticeship Grants program [$100 million in FY2016] and other department and administration efforts aimed at expanding registered apprenticeship opportunities, including to underrepresented populations like women.”
Department of State
The administration proposes $50.3 billion for the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in FY2016. This amount includes $7 billion for overseas contingency operations and is an increase over the $49.26 billion enacted in FY2015.
The total includes $250 million for the Let Girls Learn initiative. The summary notes that the program “will improve access to quality education and healthcare, and help address violence and other barriers to education that adolescent girls face.”
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Diplomatic and Consular Affairs | $6.461 billion | $7.096 billion |
| International Peacekeeping | $2.119 billion | $2.93 billion |
| Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons | $7.5 million | $20.723 million |
| U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) | $1.276 billion | $1.626 billion |
| Migration and Refugee Assistance | $931.886 million | $1.635 billion |
| Global Health and Child Survival (State and USAID) | $8.454 billion | $8.181 billion |
| President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) | $5.67 billion | $5.426 billion |
| Child Survival and Maternal Health | $715 million | $770 million |
| Vulnerable Children | $22 million | $14.5 million |
| Family Planning/Reproductive Health | $523.95 million | $538 million |
| Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria | $1.35 billion | $1.107 billion |
| HIV/AIDS – USAID | $330 million | $330 million |
| Microbicides | $45 million | $45 million |
| U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) | $132 million | $132 million |
| U.N. Women (formerly UNIFEM) | $7.5 million | $7.7 million |
| U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) | $35 million | $35 million |
Department of Veterans Affairs
The administration requests $168.8 billion in overall funding for FY2016, which includes $70.2 billion and $95.3 billion in discretionary and mandatory funds, respectively. This amount is $5.2 billion over FY2015 and includes funding for gender-specific care for women veterans.
The summary notes that “VA is anticipating and preparing not only for the increase in the number of women veterans, but also for the accompanying complexity and longevity of treatment needs they will bring with them.”
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Women Veterans | $412 million | $446 million |
Other Agencies
In addition to the departments listed above, the budget request includes funding for several independent federal agencies, including the Small Business Administration, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Commission on Civil Rights, and the Legal Services Corporation.
| Program/Agency | FY2015 | President’s FY2016 Request |
| Small Business Administration | $887.604 million | $860.13 billion |
| Women’s Business Centers | $15 million | $16 million |
| National Women’s Business Council | $1 million | $1 million |
| Microloan Technical Assistance | $22.3 million | $25 million |
| Small Business Development Centers | $115 million | $115 million |
| Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | $364.5 million | $373.112 million |
| Commission on Civil Rights | $9.2 million | $9.413 million |
| Legal Services Corporation | $375 million | $452 million |
