September 30, 2013
Last week, NASBO published information and links to resources on what a possible federal government shutdown could mean for states and for the country. Since that time, the likelihood of a shutdown has increased significantly. With no agreement in sight between the two chambers on a continuing resolution (CR), a government shutdown, one lasting a few days, will be difficult to avoid at this point. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has published updated shutdown contingency plans for federal agencies on its website. Also, Federal Funds Information for States (FFIS) prepared a Budget Brief for FFIS subscribers discussing how a federal government shutdown would affect major grant programs of importance to states.
The federal fiscal year begins tomorrow, October 1, and unless Congress can pass a short-term CR before then, the government will shut down at midnight tonight. This would temporarily stop non-essential functions and require furloughs of non-essential employees. More details on what activities are “essential” (or "excepted") and “non-essential” (or "non-excepted") can be found in federal agencies’ contingency plans.
On Friday, the Senate passed a straightforward “clean” CR, by a vote of 54-44 along party lines, which would fund most federal government programs at fiscal 2013 post-sequestration levels until November 15. Before voting on the final bill, the Senate amended the House-passed CR (H J Res 59) to remove a provision that would have defunded the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The bill returned to the House, where it was amended so that it would delay implementation of ACA for one year and repeal the medical devices tax, which partially funds the health care law. The House also revised the CR so that its end date reverted back to December 15, 2013, the original end date included in the original version passed by the House on September 20. The one-year delay of ACA is a nonstarter with Senate Democrats and the White House, and the Senate is expected to reject the latest round of House amendments and again pass a “clean” spending bill later today. The path forward for the CR after this expected action in the Senate remains uncertain.
More information and analysis on the looming government shutdown will follow in NASBO’s Washington Report publication later today.