Yesterday, March 26, President Obama signed into law a continuing resolution (HR 933) to fund the federal government through the remainder of fiscal 2013 (ending September 30). The measure prevents the potential government shutdown that would have occurred if Congress did not authorize spending beyond the current continuing resolution, which expires today, March 27. The measure leaves the March 1, 2013 sequester in place, but does make some funding adjustments to soften the impact of spending cuts under sequestration for certain programs. The bill also complies with the total discretionary spending cap of $1.043 trillion (before sequester), as defined by the Budget Control Act (BCA). This means total discretionary spending for fiscal 2013, after applying the sequester, will be reduced to $984 billion. Since the bill meets the BCA cap requirement, a “second sequester” to bring spending levels into compliance with the caps will not be triggered. The final measure passed by Congress includes five full-year fiscal 2013 appropriations bills for Defense, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science and Homeland Security. The remainder of government appropriations – Energy and Water, Financial Services, Interior-Environment, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative, State and Foreign Operations, and Transportation-HUD – are funded by a straightforward CR through September 30, 2013. For more information on the legislation, see the March 25, 2013 issue of NASBO’s Washington Report.

Link(s): HR 933; White House Statement; NASBO Article on CR