Appropriations update: Countdown till next CR deadline

Update – March 1, 2024: Today the Senate followed the House in passing a fourth continuing resolution which extends FY 2024 federal government spending to March 8 for four appropriations bill and March 22 for the remaining eight bills. This prevents a partial government shutdown from happening today. Congressional leaders announced earlier this week that they have finalized six of the FY 2024 funding bills (although not the Labor-HHS-Education bill and five others). The hope is that this fourth temporary extension of funding will allow time to release the legislative text of the first six bills this weekend and for Congress to vote on the package of bills next week. The six bills in the first “minibus” spending package will be Agriculture, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA, Transportation-HUD, Interior, and Commerce-Justice-Science bills.  

Update – Jan. 18, 2024, 5PM ET: This afternoon the Senate and then the House passed a stopgap spending bill to officially keep all federal agencies funded through early March, sending the measure to President Biden’s desk where he is expected to sign the continuing resolution into law. The continuing resolution passed the House in a bipartisan 314-108 vote.

With twenty-four hours until the first of the ‘two-tiered’ continuing resolution (CR) deadlines on January 19, 2024, (for Military Construction-VA, Agriculture, Energy and Water, and Transportation-HUDs spending bills) and less than a month until the February 2, 2024 deadline (for all other federal agencies including the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services), the fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations process is back in the headlines. After avoiding federal government shutdowns by passing continuing resolutions in September and again in November, Congress is working to negotiate a bipartisan approach to passing all 12 individual spending bills this winter. Challenges remain, however.  

On January 7, Congressional leaders announced a bipartisan, bicameral deal on total defense and non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending levels for FY 2024. The NDD level is almost the same as the FY 2023 level, which means an increase for one program requires an offsetting cut for another. The newly agreed upon levels are similar to the levels set when Congress passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act (HR 3746) last summer, which raised the federal debt limit for two years and imposed spending limits for FY 2024 and FY 2025.

Congress will need to pass another temporary continuing resolution (CR) to provide additional time to negotiate the details of the four spending bills that expire on January 19, as well as those expiring soon thereafter. The House and Senate are expected to approve a bipartisan Continuing Resolution that extends funding through:

• March 1 for the four appropriations bills that expire Friday: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development; Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies.
   
• March 8 for the remaining eight appropriations bills: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Defense; Financial Services and General Government; Homeland Security; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; Legislative Branch; and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

While there is bipartisan support for the new CR, a number of House Republicans remain opposed to any more continuing resolutions. Last week, Freedom Caucus Republicans in the House stalled all House floor activity as a show of opposition to the spending deal, raising at least the possibility of  a partial government shutdown on January 19. Only the agencies funded by the four spending bills: Military Construction-VA, Agriculture, Energy and Water, and Transportation-HUD would be impacted.. Most afterschool programs should not see any impact from a partial shutdown on January 19. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) would be affected, but the child nutrition programs are largely mandatory funding so afterschool meals, school lunches and school breakfast should not be negatively impacted. Programs funded through the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) CHOICE Neighborhood grants also should be ok, although again any federal agency staff support at HUD or USDA would be impacted.

If a partial government shutdown takes place on February 2, the Department of Eucation (ED) and Department of Health and Human Service (HHS) would be impacted, however programs supported by key afterschool funding streams at each agency, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) and Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), should not be directly affected as they are forward funded.  That said, shutdowns affect agency staff support at the federal level and generate uncertainty for state and local school districts engaged in budget planning.

While Congress works to finish FY 2024 spending, the FY 2025 appropriations process is expected to begin soon. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has invited President Biden to deliver his State of the Union (SOTU) to a joint session of Congress on March 7 – about a month and a half later than is customary. This speech generally includes some indication of what will be in the administration’s upcoming budget request, and the president’s FY 2025 budget request should be released soon after the SOTU, which is also slightly later than previous years.

Federal government shutdowns add to the uncertainty that afterschool programs seeking sustainable funding face, and could impact the work of state agencies that support local afterschool programs. Friends of afterschool and summer learning can weigh in with Congress about the importance of continuing robust investments in afterschool funding, which provides support for local school and community-based organizations that serve more than 1 million children.