House Rejects Continuing Resolution Through March 28
This week’s Analysis and Commentary is entitled: “Remembrance of October 1’s Past.”
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House Rejects Continuing Resolution Through March 28. By a vote of 202 to 220, the House on Wednesday, September 18, rejected HR 9494, a Continuing Resolution (CR) that would fund the federal government through March 28, 2025. The bill also included the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE Act, providing that only American citizens may register to vote in federal elections. Fourteen Republicans opposed the bill, with two voting present. Only three Democrats supported passage.
House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) continued to argue for negotiations on a CR that can gain the support of Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate.
If the negotiators fail, federal government programs would be shut down to varying degrees on October 1. Within a couple of days into the new fiscal year, the FDA would be operating with perhaps 80% (or less) of its current workforce and with limited authority to undertake new initiatives. This is covered in more depth in a subsequent story on the HHS contingency staffing plan.
The Alliance Sent Letters to Appropriations Leaders Encouraging FDA Funding. This week, the Alliance sent letters to the “Four Corners” (Senate and House Appropriations Chairs/Ranking Members), copying subcommittee heads and encouraging strong funding to fully support the responsibilities of FDA in FY 2025.
Among the thoughts we conveyed included: “A well-funded FDA is essential to fulfilling FDA’s core mission to protect and promote public health by ensuring the safety and effectiveness of human and veterinary medicines, biologics, and medical devices, and the safety of food and cosmetics. FDA’s public health mission also has an economic impact, by giving consumers at home and abroad the confidence to utilize and invest in American products.”
The Alliance continued: “[The current] predicament comes on the heels of FY 2024 spending restraints for FDA. Those restraints forced the agency to use its core budget to offset inflation and cover increased pay costs, while working to address a range of new responsibilities and program expansions, including drug and device product shortages, a new law regulating cosmetics, and upgrades to food safety programs.”
Find one of these letters here.
Next Steps in CR Effort. Following Wednesday's vote, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA-4) said “we’ll draw up another play, and we’ll come up with a solution.” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK-4) said the Speaker has taken a shutdown off the table.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said “We now have only a few days left for House Republicans to come to their senses, come to the table, and come together with Democrats to craft a bipartisan agreement.”
Roll Call is reporting that the House will take up a bipartisan package excluding the SAVE Act early next week, with the details being completed this weekend. A CR through December 13 is likely.
Hanging over all of this, both the House and Senate currently plan to adjourn next Friday, September 27, in order for Members to go back to their districts to campaign.
FDA’s Previous Shutdown Plan. Even though Chairman Cole suggested that the Speaker has taken a shutdown off the table, we expect interest from Alliance members as to what might happen if there is a shutdown.
Earlier this year, when there was a threat of a shutdown over extension of the FY 24 Continuing Resolution, the Alliance issued an updated version of its “Shutdown Toolkit.” A more abbreviated version is our commentary What Happens to FDA If There is a Shutdown.
When asked this week about the impact of a shutdown, there has been a lot of pointing to the contingency staffing plan that was in effect for each of the HHS agencies for FY 24. By middle to late next week, we expect that HHS will issue an updated contingency plan for FY 25. The contingency plan for FDA has changed significantly over the years, so it is likely that the FY 25 plan will differ in some important regard from the previous plan.