Earlier today, after six months of wrangling and hardship, Congress finally passed a final spending package that funds the government for the current fiscal year and prevents a partial shutdown.
Roughly 70% to 80% of government offices were headed for closure after midnight. The remaining 20% was already approved in a $460 billion spending package earlier this month.
Each fiscal year, Congress must approve 12 major expenditures to fund federal agencies. The 2023-24 academic year began on October 1st.
The appropriations approved today include funding for the Departments of State, Justice, Defense, Commerce, and Labor, as well as the Department of Health and Human Services. About half of the package will go toward homeland security. The 1,000-page spending bill was introduced Thursday. The House of Representatives on Friday morning circumvented the rule that typically requires 72 hours between introducing a bill and voting on it. The Senate approved it shortly after the midnight deadline.
If Congress had failed to approve spending or pass stopgap legislation, parts of the government would have been shut down for more than a few hours. That would mean some federal employees would be furloughed while others would have to continue working without pay. For example, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will technically continue to function, but many employees will be furloughed and services may be delayed. However, programs such as Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will continue uninterrupted.
how did we get here?
As a refresher, last year a sharply divided Congress passed two continuing resolutions extending fiscal year 2023-24 funding at 2022-23 levels to ensure government operations are unimpeded. However, the November continuing resolution split the spending (approximately 80% and 20%) and set two separate deadlines: January 19th and February 2nd.
The January 19 deadline was for the transportation, housing and urban development, agriculture, and energy sectors. The Feb. 2 deadline covered the Departments of State, Justice, Defense, Commerce, Labor, and Health and Human Services.
Before the first deadline of January 19th arrived, Congress passed a third continuing resolution extending both deadlines from January 19th to March 1st and from February 2nd to March 8th. It was approved. Another closure was avoided, but not for long. On March 1st, the deadlines were changed again, from March 1st to March 8th and from March 8th to March 22nd.
On March 8, Congress finally reached a partial agreement and sent six spending bills to President Biden for his signature. These expenditures fund about 20% of the government, including the Department of Transportation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture, and military and veterans programs. The bundle also includes spending on energy and water development and related agencies.
The government is currently fully funded for the 2023-2024 financial year. However, the time to catch your breath is short. Six months later, in the midst of election season, the process of approving spending for the next fiscal year will begin again.
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The article “Government Shutdown Threats Finally Stopped — For Now” originally appeared on NerdWallet.
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