The Senate has approved the interim funding bill to fund federal agencies until mid-December. Government funding is set to expire tonight at midnight and the continuing resolution would maintain current levels of spending and extend funding through December 16th, giving both chambers extra time to hammer out details for a broader budget deal. The legislation passed 72-25. It includes $12 billion in aid for Ukraine, $2.5 billion to aid New Mexico in its recovery from a wildfire, $1 billion in funding a low-income home heating program, and $20 million in emergency aid to address the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi. The bill also allows for the reauthorization of FDA user fees for another five years. The legislation does not include funding for vaccines, testing and treatment for the coronavirus or monkeypox that the White House had requested. Last minute additions to the package include Senator Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) request for disaster relief assistance for coastal Alaskan communities slammed by flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Merbok, arguing that the state should receive the same kind of disaster relief that was granted to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona.
The House convened at 9:00 A.M. and is expected to pass the CR, Senate Amendment to H.R. 6833 – Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the CR later today.
The House is also expected to complete work on H.R. 8987 – Fairness for 9/11 Families Act. House leaders unexpectedly advanced the nearly $3 billion measure late Thursday afternoon which aims to level up compensation payments to more than 5,000 9/11 victims, spouses, and their dependents. Advocates for the 9/11 health program have been pressing Congress since early last year to plug a $3 billion deficit projected to hit the World Trade Center Health Program, which provides care and monitoring to some 118,000 people exposed to the toxins of Ground Zero.
Both chambers now head into recess until after the November 8th midterm elections. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) confirmed Thursday that the Senate’s next roll call vote will be on November 14th, though some senators will return October 11th for a non-voting day to discuss this year’s National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Once the Senate acts, both chambers still have to reconcile their two versions of the bill, adding to the long lame duck to-do list. Leader Schumer said Thursday on the Senate floor “Proceeding to the NDAA will save us valuable time and enable us to get more done. But members should be prepared for an extremely — underline extremely — busy agenda in the last two months of this Congress.”
