Congress Passes New “Laddered” Continuing Resolution in Advance of November 17 deadline
On November 15, the Senate passed an “innovative laddered” Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Continuing Resolution (CR) that keeps the government operating past the expiration of the current CR on November 17. The measure now heads to the White House, where President Biden is expected to sign the bill. The Senate passed the CR by a vote of 87-11, and comes a day after the House approved the bill by a vote of 336 to 95. The CR keeps the government funded at the same levels as in FY2023..
The CR was passed by a similar margin to the current CR which passed in September but cost Kevin McCarthy (D-CA) his position as Speaker.
The CR will extend government funding to January 19 for four less contentious appropriations bills (Agriculture; Military Construction and Veterans Affairs; Energy and Water; and Transportation), and February 2 for the remainder. Funding for the eight remaining spending bills (including the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill, which includes funding for the National Institutes of Health and the National Eye Institute) will expire in February, giving Congress more time to secure funding for the remainder of FY2024 which started on October 1, 2023 and expires September 30, 2024.
The CR will extend funding through January 19 for several health programs that expired on September 30 and were extended through November 17 under the current CR:
- Community Health Center Fund, which provides the bulk of federal funding for community health centers
- National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarships and loans to medical students
- Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program
- Special Diabetes Program
- Special Diabetes Program for Indians
- Personal Responsibility Education Program
- Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Program
The House continued to debate its Labor-H bill yesterday, with work continuing on amendments through the evening and a vote on final passage potentially expected this week.