On Friday, December 9, the Senate passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) extending fiscal year 2016 funding until April 28, 2017, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown. The bill passed by a vote of 63 to 36 after having passed the House on Wednesday. The CR had been expected to pass the Senate easily but was temporarily delayed last week when Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) objected to limiting the extension of health benefits for miners to the duration of the CR rather than for a full year. Democrats, faced with shutting down the government, elected to drop their objections and voted to move the bill forward.
Under the CR, federal government spending will remain at the same levels it has for the past year (roughly $1.07 trillion per year in discretionary, non-entitlement spending). The CR also funds a number of new priorities and provides $4.1 billion for disaster relief to rebuild areas damaged by Hurricane Matthew and other storms, including $1.8 billion in block grants to rebuild communities, $1 billion for projects to avert future storm damage, and $1 billion for highway reconstruction. The CR also provides $170 million to aid communities with lead-contaminated drinking water ($100 million for Flint, Michigan, $50 million for healthcare for children who suffered lead poisoning, and $20 million to forgive old drinking water loans). The measure also includes $827 million to implement the 21st Century Cures Act and additional money for treatment of opioid addiction.
However, a number of proposed initiatives failed to make the final text, including language allowing the Export-Import Bank to resume approving loan guarantees exceeding $10 million and popular tax breaks known as tax extenders.
Takeaway: With the government funded until April 28, 2017, the incoming Trump Administration now has the opportunity to shape both the FY2017 appropriations process and the upcoming FY2018 process, which will begin in the spring of next year.
