SUMMARY: House passes a CR to keep government funded through December 11th.

With government funding set to expire with the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1, the House passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) today by a vote of 359-57-1 that would extend funding until December 11, 2020. The CR is relatively “clean,” having few policy riders attached to the bill. It does contain language in section 112, which allows additional funding as needed to agencies to prevent furloughs provided that the relevant agency take all necessary actions to reduce or defer non-personnel-related administrative expenses. This is important given the impact the economy has had on those agencies that rely on user fees, such as CBP Office of Field Operations. The Senate is expected to consider the bill in the coming days.

While it was expected that Congress would defer action on appropriations bills until after the elections, it remains unclear if December will bring another CR or if Congress and the White House can reach an agreement on full-year funding. To date, the House has passed 10 of the 12 appropriations bills while the Senate has not even released any of the bills to be considered by the Senate Appropriations Committee, let alone the full Senate.

As Congress and the White House continue to work on the outstanding appropriations bills, NTEU will continue to advocate against a shutdown and to press for adequate funding for our agencies as well as for a pay increase for federal employees. I will keep you updated with any developments.

Anthony M. Reardon

National President