Late Friday night, the Senate narrowly averted a government shutdown by passing another short-term continuing resolution (CR) by a vote of 63-36, and President Obama signed it into law on Saturday. The spending bill had already easily passed out of the House on Thursday, and Representatives promptly left DC for their long holiday recess.
The spending measure maintains the FY 2017 spending cap, and it includes a 0.19% across-the-board cut. The bill keeps the government funded until April 28, at which time Congress will have to figure out funding for the remainder of FY 2017. Funding the government through April allows the Republican-controlled Congress to wait to resume negotiations until after President-elect Trump assumes office. Congress returns to DC on January 3, and we will continue our fight for increased appropriations for the Independent Living Program.
Among few other changes to the previous CR, the current spending bill includes funding for programs authorized in the 21st Century Cures Act that was passed earlier in the week, including $352 million to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and $500 million to combat opiate abuse. As a reminder, NCIL opposed the 21st Century Cures Act after the addition of mental health provisions based on the Murphy bill and an Electronic Visit Verification requirement. You can read more information about our concerns in our November 29 Action Alert.
