THE POLICIAL BATTLE FOR A CONTINUING RESOLUTION

Lawmakers have yet to negotiate and pass key defense authorization and appropriations bills, despite a looming deadline for the upcoming fiscal year (FY) on October 1. Most appropriations bills have not been passed in the House, and the Senate has passed none, including the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Acts for FY 2025 – (S.4927) and (H.R.8997).

As such, Congress will temporarily fund the government at FY2024 levels via a continuing resolution (CR). 

The CR could fund the government through March 28, nearly six (6) months into the FY2025, which would favor Republicans hoping to earn congressional majorities in the upcoming election. Democrats, who are currently in control of the administration and Senate, are aiming to strike a compromise on a shorter CR that would only extend for three (3) months into mid-December. DOE’s EM, NE, Office of Science, LM, NNSA and other programs that most ECA members follow are not at risk for funding and are not the high-profile issues being negotiated at this point.  However, how the CR is set up is important as OMB typically does not permit spending at the full CR amount, and each will be impacted (as they are every year) during the CR on the spending. 

One sticking point for passage of the CR is an attempt by House Republicans to attach a bill, (H.R.8281), known as the SAVE Act, that would require individuals to show documentation of US citizenship when they register to vote and requires states to purge noncitizens from their voter rolls. For Democrats, attachment of the bill is a non-starter, and would kill the CR. Without passage of a CR, the federal government will experience a shut down. Any shutdown of the government for even a short amount of time could negatively impact DOE’s Environmental Management (EM) program and curtail vital research throughout the complex and at national laboratories. Shutdowns can have dire economic consequences for our communities, including the loss of businesses, jobs, and revenues needed to provide local services. 

A shutdown is unlikely, however. Republicans may not want to be seen as the cause of a shut-down prior to the election. Even if the House passes the resolution with the SAVE Act attached, the Democrat-majority Senate will be able to cut the bill from the resolution.  

Even with a CR passed, it may be some time before Congress does pass $833 billion worth of FY2025 funding. Since it is an election year, lawmakers may delay final decisions on 2025 spending until a new Congress has taken office in January. 

ECA looks forward to discussing FY2025 funding at the 10th Annual National Cleanup Workshop. For more information on the appropriations process, see ECA’s website.

For more information on the battle for a Continuing Resolution, see the articles below:

AXIOS - Scoop: White House, Dems plot 3-month funding plan

Defense One - Congress will land on $833B defense budget—and a CR of unknown length, top HASC lawmaker says.