House Passes Six-Month Continuing Resolution

On September 13, the House passed by a vote of 329 to 91 a six-month continuing resolution (CR), H.J. Res. 117, to provide funding for all federally funded programs during the first half of FY 2013, which begins on October 1, 2012.  As described in NCSHA’s September 12 blog post, the CR would increase funding by 0.6 percent for all federally funded programs and expire on March 27, 2013.  The Senate is expected to consider and pass the CR this week. 

 

A CR is necessary to continue providing funding for federal agencies, including HUD and USDA, because Congress has not completed work on FY 2013 appropriations bills.  See NCSHA’s July 2 blog post for more information on the status of the HUD and USDA FY 2013 appropriations bills.

 

The House also passed by a vote of 223 to 196 the National Security and Job Protection Act, H.R. 6365.  The bill would require the President to submit to Congress by October 15 a plan to avoid sequestration, or across-the-board spending cuts, scheduled for January 2, 2013.  The bill calls for the plan to propose savings to be achieved over a five-year period to replace the 2013 sequester. 

 

Additionally, the bill would lower the FY 2013 discretionary spending cap from the $1.047 trillion level agreed to in the Budget Control Act and used in the above-described six month CR to $1.028 trillion, the spending cap included in the House-passed FY 2013 Budget Resolution. 

 

As described in NCSHA’s May 9 blog post, the House has also passed the Sequester Replacement Act of 2012, H.R. 5652. The bill combines savings recommendations from six different House Committees and would alter the 2013 sequester by preventing cuts to defense programs and reducing the amount of required across-the-board cuts to non-defense discretionary programs.  The Senate is not expected to consider H.R. 6365 or H.R. 5652.  It is expected that additional proposals to address sequestration will be introduced after the election.