Congress Passes Continuing Resolution to Keep Government Running Until March 11

On February 17, the Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR) funding the federal government through March 11, giving Congress more time to finalize Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills. President Biden is expected to sign the bill by midnight tonight, February 18, to keep government programs running without interruption. The CR continues funding all agencies at their FY 2021 funding levels.

Congress is making progress on a full-year funding package. Last week, House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders announced an agreement on a framework for FY 2022 appropriations. Funding totals and other details of the framework have not been released, but the framework paves the way for House and Senate Appropriations Committees to negotiate details and enact an omnibus appropriations bill by March 11.

The House of Representatives passed an omnibus appropriations bill (H.R. 4502) in July 2021. The Senate Appropriations committee released text for nine of 12 FY 2022 appropriations bills in October 2021, including the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill. Both the House-passed omnibus and the Senate THUD appropriations bill include increases in funding for many Department of Housing and Urban Development programs, although there are differences in funding levels for individual programs.

NCSHA and our allies continue to press Congress to finalize FY 2022 appropriations bills quickly and enact the highest possible funding levels for housing programs.