House and Senate Approve Continuing Resolution Through December 20
This week’s Analysis and Commentary is entitled: “We Got the FY 25 CR Story Right, What’s Next?”
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House and Senate Approve Continuing Resolution Through December 20. The House and Senate on Wednesday approved a Continuing Resolution (CR) that funds operations of the federal government through December 20, 2024. The House vote was 341-82, and the Senate vote was 78-18. This means that there will not be a shutdown on October 1. FDA is funded at FY 2024 levels through December 20, with no anomalies provided for its operations.
Congress in Recess Until November 12, Then Has Five Weeks to Complete Work. With the approval of the CR, both the House and Senate have recessed until November 12. For now, the focus is totally on the election, with a new administration of either party and the possibility of changes in the majorities in the House, the Senate, or both.
There are about eight legislative days from November 12 until Thanksgiving week. The Senate returns from Thanksgiving on December 2 has three five-day weeks before they are scheduled to leave town on December 20. The House comes back December 3 for three four-day weeks. The House is scheduled to adjourn for the year on December 19.
Next Steps for FY 2025 Appropriations: Individual Bills or Minibuses. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) claims there will not be a 12-bill omnibus nor smaller minibus packages come December. “We have broken the Christmas omni, and I have no intention of going back to that terrible tradition. So there won't be a Christmas omnibus. Will there be minibuses? We don’t want any buses. We’re not going to do any buses.”
With only 8 legislative days on the House calendar in November and 12 in December, doing individual bills will be a significant challenge. The Senate has 8 legislative days in November and 15 in December.
This week’s Analysis and Commentary, entitled “We Got the FY 25 CR Story Right, What’s Next?”, looks at possible next steps for Congress on appropriations.
Budgets and Transitions. Though negotiations over the Continuing Resolution and speculation about the contours of year-long funding bills are front and center among most policy observers right now, there’s much more happening behind the scenes as we enter the weeks ahead. Of course, OMB is coordinating with cabinet agencies to lay the groundwork for FY’26 budgets. And in a Presidential election year, a formal process set forth under the Presidential Transitions Act is playing out at the highest levels of agencies to get ready for the (hopefully) peaceful transition of power. More on the nuts and bolts of the Presidential Transitions Act can be found here.
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