On Wednesday, September 30th - the last day of Fiscal Year 2015 - the House of Representatives will consider a Continuing Resolution maintaining government funding at its current spend rate through Dec. 11, 2015.
The Continuing Resolution does not include language restricting federal Medicaid reimbursements or Title X family planning grants to Planned Parenthood.
FUNDING LEVEL
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores a Continuing Resolution slightly above the Budget Control Act sequester cap for FY2016. Although sequestration only takes effect after Congress adjourns sine die in January, the CR addresses the matter with an across-the-board cut of 0.2 percent of all accounts, defense and non-defense.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
The CR includes standard language:
* Ensuring funding for appropriated entitlements continue at a rate maintaining program levels under current law;
* Allowing the State Department, USAID, BBG, and related agencies to expend funds in the absence of an authorization, and authorizing continuation of certain intelligence activities; and
* Directing agencies to spend conservatively, prohibiting new starts, and prohibiting the Department of Defense from entering into multi-year contracts or increasing production rates.
FAILING TO REAUTHORIZE CRITICAL BIPARTISAN PROGRAMS
* The Export-Import Bank provides critical financing assistance - at no cost to taxpayers - to small, medium, and large-sized U.S. businesses, helping them to create jobs at home and sell products overseas. The CR does not reauthorize Ex-Im, which the Republican majority allowed to expire on June 30th.
* The Land and Water Conservation Fund is a bipartisan, popular, 50-year program that uses royalties from federal oil and gas leases for land acquisition and parks across the country. The program supports more than 6 million U.S. jobs connected with outdoor recreation at no cost to taxpayers. Without action by Congress, LWCF will expire on September 30th.
ENDING FY2015 EMERGENCY FUNDING
The CR includes language to ensure last year’s emergency funds for Ebola and emergency Agriculture disaster relief will not be repeated in FY2016.
ANOMALIES BY SUBCOMMITTEE
The CR includes many anomalies, or changes to current funding rates or policy. Many of these changes were requested by the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB). Some of OMB’s requests were not included.
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** Ensuring the Rental Assistance program can meet certain higher costs and contracts.
** Allowing the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to spend at a higher rate to cover expected need.
Commerce, Justice, Science
* Allowing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to maintain acquisition milestones for polar orbiting satellite program.
* Allowing the Department of Justice to spend at higher rate for Federal prisoner detention and end FY2015 required transfer from Asset Forfeiture Fund.
* Extending availability of funding for NASA to close out Space Shuttle accounts.
* Extending availability of broadband technology funding originally appropriated through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Defense
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** Extending authority for Security Cooperation in Iraq.
** Extending authorization for offering rewards to catch terrorists.
** Denying OMB’s request to decrease Overseas Contingency Operation (OCO) funding to President’s FY2016 request level, and requiring the President to designate “all or none" of what Congress designates as OCO.
Energy & Water
* Allowing the Department of Energy to spend at a rate to avoid disruptions in ongoing decontamination and decommissioning projects, avoiding potential contractor layoffs.
Financial Services
* Providing authority for the District of Columbia to spend its own revenue through the duration of the CR.
* Allowing the Small Business Administration (SBA) funding flexibility to accommodate demand for 7(a) business loans.
* Allowing the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to dissolve.
* Extending the Internet Tax Freedom Act.
Homeland Security
* Providing special acquisition authority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to work with non-traditional government contractors for ongoing research and development projects.
* Extending authorization for E-Verify, allowing private businesses to determine eligibility of potential employees.
* Extending Immigrant Investor (EB-5) Regional Center Program
* Extending a waiver of foreign residence requirements for physicians working in underserved areas.
* Extending authority to provide special immigrant status for religious workers other than ministers.
Interior
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** Providing an additional $700 million in emergency funding to pay costs of suppressing wildland fires and to repay land management accounts, which had been raided to pay for higher suppression costs.
** Providing full Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) funding in 2015.
** Extending Department of the Interior authority to collect recreation fees.
** Continuing authority for the Department of the Interior to offer higher pay rates for oil and gas development professionals.
** Extending authorization of the Dwight Eisenhower Memorial Commission but denying the use of funds for construction.
Labor, HHS, Education
* Extending Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) authority to construct a replacement freezer to store critical biological specimens.
* Extending authorization for the Department of Education to include teachers pursuing alternative methods of certification in the definition of Highly Qualified Teacher (HQT).
* Extending authorization of National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI).
* Crediting the FY2016 CR with full offsetting reduction from Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) rescission from FY2015 law.
Legislative Branch
* Providing death gratuity payment to family of Rep. Alan Nunnellee (R-MS).
Military Construction and VA
* Allowing Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) to maintain increased staffing levels to help eliminate the disability claims backlog.
* Crediting the FY2016 CR with full offsetting reduction from VA rescissions included in FY2015 law.
* Authorizing transfer of an additional $625 million for construction of Denver Replacement Medical Center.
State & Foreign Operations
* Providing flexibility for various accounts to sustain assistance and authority for loan guarantees for Ukraine and former Soviet states to counter external, regional aggression and influence.
* Extending authorization of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.
* Extending authorization of U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.
Transportation HUD
* Allowing HUD to transfer certain management and procurement responsibilities to the Treasury, as part of New Core shared services project.
Source: U.S. Department of HCA
