乐播传媒

December 27, 2024

Before the holiday break Congress passed and President Biden signed a continuing resolution averting a government shutdown. This measure keeps the government operating at FY 2024 funding levels along with more than $110 billion in disaster relief and a one-year farm bill extension, providing support to farmers and communities recovering from natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.

The bill keeps the federal government open until March 14, 2025, when Congress will again need to pass another continuing resolution or enact the FY 2025 budget, which began October 2024.

The resolution did not address the federal debt ceiling, which is the artificial limit that Congress imposes on the federal budget for authorized spending. Unless the debt ceiling is raised in January, the U.S. will default on its debt obligations, jeopardizing the 鈥榝ull faith and credit鈥� of the U.S. government and its ability to pay its bills.

FY 2025 Budget

The (FRA) limits the total base discretionary spending to $1.606 trillion for FY 2025, which is 1% above the FY 2024 limits. Base defense spending is limited to $895 billion and base nondefense spending is limited to $711 billion. Lawmakers will need to address "side deals" agreed to alongside the FRA in June 2023 and revised in January 2024.

Compared to actual enacted FY 2024 spending, which included additional non-defense spending through an unwritten 鈥渟ide-deals,鈥� these spending levels represent a 1% increase in defense spending and a 6% cut to non-defense spending.

U.S. House of Representatives Status

In May the U.S. House Appropriations Committee adopted their FY 2025 by a party-line vote of 30-22. The $1.605 trillion topline spending level guiding the House Committee is aligned with the statutory discretionary spending caps established by the FRA. Although the U.S. House Appropriations Committee cleared all 12 appropriation bills out of committee by July, the House Floor vote had only passed 5 of the 12 bills as of December.

U.S. Senate Status

In July, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee approved the committee鈥檚 by a party-line vote of 15-12. Committee leadership reached a bipartisan agreement on an additional $34.5 billion in emergency spending - $21 billion for defense and $13.5 billion for non-defense - for a total of approximately $1.61 trillion in discretionary spending in FY 2025. The topline defense and non-defense levels guiding the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee differ to those guiding their counterparts in the U.S. House.

After the full Senate votes on these budgets, they will need to negotiate with their House counterparts to determine final FY 2025 budget levels.

For more information, contact Government Affairs Director Doug Farquhar.