Consideration of Funding Bill Delayed

On Wednesday, House Republicans decided to delay consideration of a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded after the end of the fiscal year – Sept. 30.  The decision was made following President Obama’s request to add language to the bill related to activities in the Middle East.  House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) explained that a delay in the vote was necessary because “everybody should be given time” to consider the president’s request.  The president is looking for congressional support for activities against ISIL.  While he is not yet seeking additional spending authority, he could seek as much as $500 million more to train and equip troops to fight ISIL after the election. At this point, it appears the House will vote next week on the bill that funds the government through Dec. 11 at current discretionary levels of $1.012 trillion.  The CR would fund federal construction accounts at their 2014 levels but would prohibit any the start of any new federal construction projects.  Congress must pass this CR because they have failed to pass any of the individual annual appropriations bills. For more information, please contact Sean O’Neill at (202) 547-8892 or oneills@agc.org.