President Trump expected to sign the measure before midnight deadline

The Senate voted 74-20 on November 21 on a bill (H.R. 3055) to keep the government funded through December 20, sending the measure to the President who is expected to sign it before the deadline at midnight tonight. The short-term spending measure provides four more weeks for Congress and the White House to come up with a broader spending agreement before the threat of another shutdown, although there is no guarantee they will reach a compromise on any of the 12 annual spending bills before the new deadline.

The bill would extend the previous continuing resolution (CR) to December 20 and includes the following measures:

• Ex-Im Bank, Flood Insurance. The bill would extend the charter of the Export-Import Bank through the same date as well as the expiration of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), giving negotiators an additional month to agree on long-term reauthorizations of both programs. It would also further extend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program and several other items expiring on December 20.
• Health care extenders. The bill would extend funding for expiring health care programs, including Community Health Centers, the National Health Service Corps, and teaching health centers that operate graduate medical education program. It also includes additional delay to $4 billion in payment reductions to Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) and a provision to further prevent a Medicaid funding cliff for Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. Additionally, the bill (i) includes funding for other public health programs and Medicaid and Medicare Extenders; (ii) would reduce the Medicaid Improvement Fund from $2.487 billion to $1.96 billion; (iii) would extend funding for the Health Profession Opportunity Grant (HPOG) demonstration program; and (iv) includes up to $30 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Ebola preparedness and response efforts.
• Other measures. Other measures included in the bill would prevent an automatic $7.6 billion cut to highway funding from states in FY 2020; extend certain elements of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) through March 15; provide the military with a 3.1% pay increase; allocate $7.28 billion for the Census Bureau to carry out operations for the 2020 census; allocate $27.8 million for the Indian Health Service to staff and operate new or recently renovated facilities; revise the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund; and, provide a customary payment of $174,000 for the widow of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD).

For more information:

• Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2020, and Further Health Extenders Act of 2019 (also attached)
• Section-by-Section Summary (attached)

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ATTACHMENT

H.R. 3055

Further Continuing Appropriations Act