Both the House, 336-95, on Nov. 14, and Senate, 87-11, on Nov. 15, voted to send the president a continuing resolution (CR, H.R. 6363) to keep federal agencies operational past the expiration of funding on Nov. 17. President Joe Biden signed the measure late Thursday evening. The CR extends fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding levels for four of the annual spending bills, including the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs bill, to Jan. 19, 2024, while continuing FY 2023 funding for the other eight spending bills, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Defense spending bills, until Feb. 2. The funding extension allows additional time for lawmakers to negotiate federal agencies’ final funding levels for FY 2024 without risking a government shutdown.
The bill also delays scheduled cuts to the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program until Jan. 20, continues mandatory appropriations for the Teaching Health Centers Graduate Medical Education program, the National Health Service Corps, and Community Health Centers through Jan. 19, and extends authorizations for other programs, including pandemic preparedness.