The House of Representatives will vote Dec. 9 on a one-week extension of the continuing budget resolution (CR) which is set to run out on Dec. 11 – avoiding an imminent Federal government shutdown for a lack of funding.
House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Nita Lowey, D-New York, introduced the text of the short-term CR legislation – the “Further Continuing Appropriation Act, 2021” – on Tuesday afternoon. Congress has yet to reach an agreement on a full omnibus bill to fund the government for Fiscal Year 2021. The short-term CR would give Congress another week to either reach a full budget agreement or pass another short-term continuing resolution.
The one-week CR bill does not include any COVID-19 relief but does include funding for social services and public health programs key to managing the spread of the virus. While there are still disagreements to be hashed out about COVID-19 relief, passing the continuing resolution would ensure that a government shutdown doesn’t take place amid a spiking pandemic.
