Deal Reached on Six-Month Spending Bill, Vote in September

Before Congress left town this week for their summer recess, they struck a deal on funding for the government through the first quarter of 2013.  The six-month continuing resolution (CR), which will be voted on during one of the eight legislative work days in September, is necessary because Congress has failed to enact any of their FY 2013 appropriations bills. The House has passed seven bills, but the Senate has passed none. The agreement allows lawmakers to avoid engaging in ugly spending fights before the upcoming election and during what is already expected to be a hectic lame duck session following the election.  The CR is expected to fund the government at prorated 2013 spending levels set by the Budget Control Act last August.  It does nothing to avert the automatic cuts that would take place under sequestration if a long-term budget deal is not reached by Jan. 2. This deal punts the real spending fight to March 2013.  Two years ago, Congress passed a six-month CR before enacting an omnibus appropriations bill which cut a total of $40 billion in spending – $20 billion of which came from federal construction programs.  During the next 6 months AGC will continue to advocate for and educate members of Congress on the economic benefits of continued investment in federal construction accounts. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.