Congress passed legislation on Dec. 6 extending discretionary funding and avoiding a partial federal government shutdown until Dec. 21. Spending bills including Defense; Labor, Health and Human Services and Education; Energy-Water; Military Construction-Veterans Affairs; and the Legislative Branch, were enacted on Oct. 1 before the start of the 2019 fiscal year. The continuing resolution measure, initially scheduled to expire on Dec. 7, extended 2018 funding levels for the following appropriations bills: Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, State and Foreign Relations, Interior and Environment, Agriculture-Rural Development-U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Treasury, Commerce-Justice, and Homeland Security. A shutdown would have only affected departments and agencies contained in the CR.

Disagreements over whether to fund a border wall have raised the possibility of a partial shutdown after the new Dec. 21 deadline, with President Trump demanding $5 billion and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer committing to $1.6 billion for border security and fencing. President Trump is scheduled to meet with House and Senate Democratic leaders next week to discuss a 2019 spending deal for the remaining bills. ACC Advocacy staff will communicate further developments as they become available.

Keywords: ACC Advocacy, Federal Government, United States Food and Drug Administration, Government Agencies

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