House Passes CR, Congress Signals Bipartisan Agreement on Full Year Appropriations
The House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution on Tuesday, averting a government shutdown on February 18, 2022. The proposal was unveiled by House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) on Monday and is currently being considered in the Senate. The measure would allow the government to remain funded through March 11, 2022.
Earlier this week, House Appropriations Chair DeLauro and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) also announced that bipartisan, bicameral negotiators have agreed on a framework for fiscal year 2022 appropriations.
Lawmakers had been struggling to reach a consensus on several issues, including a balance of defense and nondefense spending, a top-line number for the bill, and disagreements over legislative riders. The continuing resolution passed in the House Tuesday sought to extend the timeline for settling the disputes on these issues.
Earlier this week, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) announced the House would consider a CR to prevent a government shutdown as negotiators try to reach an omnibus agreement for the rest of the fiscal year. Likewise, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), Ranking Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, asserted that Congress may need to pass another stopgap bill to keep the government funded after the current funding expires at the end of the month.
“Negotiations are very vigorous and I think that we're going to get agreement both on the top line, how much spending is going to be in, and how it will be spent—but it's not there yet,” Rep. Hoyer stated, “I expect to do a continuing resolution to continue the authorization for government to operate and be funded this coming week and hopefully the Senate will do the same.”
Then on Wednesday, Rep. DeLauro announced the negotiations had led to agreement and Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees would begin hammering out the details on individuals spending numbers.
“I am pleased that we have reached agreement on a framework, which will allow our subcommittees to get to work finalizing an omnibus. We will now proceed with great intensity to enact legislation making transformative investments to create good-paying American jobs, grow opportunity for the middle class, support the vulnerable who work hard, and protect our national security,” Rep. DeLauro stated.
In accordance with the current CR passed in December, the government will continue to operate under fiscal year 2021 spending levels until February 18. If there is a continuing resolution passed in the Senate and signed by the President in the coming weeks, it will be the third passed for 2022 since the fiscal year began in October.
Federal agencies have expressed concerns about the consequences of failing to pass full year appropriations legislation. The Office of Management and Budget previously noted that failing to pass appropriations would create a staff shortage at the Social Security Administration (SSA). Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would lose $1.6 billion in funding, and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) would have difficulty maintaining enough Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) employees at its meat and poultry plants.