Congress Approves Stopgap Gov’t Funding in Final Vote of 2017

Congress cast its final votes of the year Thursday night, approving a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown that provides funding through January 19, 2018 before departing the Capitol to spend the holiday season back in their home districts.

The continuing resolution evolved over the course of the week, initially containing a five-year reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and $81 billion in disaster relief, along with funding the Dept. of Defense for the rest of fiscal year 2018. There had also been discussion of including a four-year reauthorization of surveillance activities under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Ultimately, attaching a smorgasbord of policy priorities to the bill proved too much for lawmakers to stomach, so the version they ended up voting on was noticeably slimmed down.

The $81 billion in disaster relief was passed by the House as a standalone bill, and will await consideration by the Senate in the new year. Funding for defense and the reauthorization of Section 702 will only run through January 19 like other government programs, while Congress included a rule change for CHIP that will allow states experiencing shortfalls to access funding in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, much as it did in the first.

Here’s a quick preview of the issues that could await lawmakers when they return on January 3, 2018:

• Funding the government from January 20 through the rest of fiscal year 2018, which will require an agreement on top-line spending levels.

• The Senate’s consideration of the $81 billion disaster relief package.

• Reauthorizing and potentially reforming FISA Section 702 before the surveillance authority lapses on January 19.

• Negotiating a long-term funding solution for CHIP.

• Considering a bill to address the situation of the "Dreamers", as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has said there’ll be a vote in January if a deal is struck.

• Potentially considering a bill to stabilize health insurance markets.

Tell your reps what you think of the job they did in 2017, and what you want them to prioritize in 2018 using the Take Action button.

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— Eric Revell

RELATED READING

• Funding the Gov’t & Allowing Sec. 702 Surveillance Until Mid-January WHile Providing Short-Term CHIP Funding

• Making $81 Billion in Additional Disaster Relief Funding Available

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