Government Shutdown Avoided with Passage of Short-Term Funding Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate passed legislation on September 30 to fund the government through December 11 and avoid a federal shutdown. The legislation, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), funds the government at fiscal year (FY) 2015 levels minus .21 percent to ensure that funding does not exceed statutory budget caps.

The path forward for the remainder of the fiscal year is in question and the threat of a government shutdown after December 11 continues. Congress may take one of two approaches: It could pass a CR for the remainder of the fiscal year at an amount less than FY 2015 levels, or could develop a new budget agreement that allows for future increases in agency budgets, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Endocrine Society and the medical and scientific communities support a budget deal that would provide some spending increases and are advocating against passage of a CR for the remainder of the fiscal year, as this will lock in sequestration and trigger an automatic, across-the-board cut to all agencies’ budgets.

Thank you to all Society members who joined the Society’s online advocacy campaign. Your messages made a difference and helped to avoid an imminent shutdown that would have severely impacted medical research. Watch for future alerts and further details from the Society as congressional budget negotiations continue.