House Passes CR; Government Funded Through Nov. 18

On Tuesday, the House of Representatives passed a short-term continuing resolution (CR) - which had cleared the Senate last week - to keep the government funded at current levels through Nov. 18.  A CR is needed because none of the 12 appropriations bills were passed and signed into law by Sept. 30, the end of FY 2011. The CR passed the House by a vote of 352-66.  Fifty-three Republicans voted against the bill, mainly because of their objection that the rate of spending in the CR for the first few weeks of FY 2012 is $24 billion more than what was adopted in the FY 2012 House-passed budget resolution.  Instead, the bill was based on the $1.043 trillion spending cap put in place by the Budget Control Act. House and Senate leaders from both parties have said they intend to stick with the $1.043 trillion spending cap number as they finish work on the remaining 12 appropriations bills.  This could lead to a more significant battle between the lower House-passed budget resolution spending cap and the higher cap set forth in the Budget Control Act. AGC continues to closely monitor this developing issue and encourage Congressional leaders to move on all FY 2012 appropriations bills to bring certainty and predictability to the numerous federal construction programs. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.