Overview
On Friday, September 30th, the U.S. House passed the short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, on a 230-201 vote, which would avert a partial government shutdown and extend FY 2022 funding for federal government agencies and programs through December 16, 2022. The bill, H.R. 6833, Continuing Appropriations and Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, passed the U.S. Senate on Thursday, on a 72-25 vote, after Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) agreed to remove controversial language aimed at securing a contested pipeline permitting provision. The continuing resolution is a “stop-gap” measure, which will give congressional negotiators on the Appropriations Committees time to negotiate a more comprehensive funding solution for a long-term FY 2023 government-spending bill. Early opposition to the continuing resolution mainly centered on Republican efforts to retaliate against Senator Manchin for backing the White House’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August. Both progressive Democrats and conservative Republicans largely opposed Senator Manchin’s permit overhaul with the former believing the provision’s measures went too far in undermining climate and environmental measures to reduce fossil fuel production, and the latter believing the proposed reform measures did not go far enough to encourage expanded production. The President is expected to sign the continuing resolution in time to avert the October 1, 2022, funding deadline.
Key Provisions Addressing Local Governments
National Flood Insurance Program. Extends authorization for the National Flood Insurance Program through December 16, 2022. Administered through FEMA, this program aims to reduce the impact of flooding on private and public structures and is the main vehicle for providing affordable flood insurance to homeowners.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Authorizes the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to implement a higher spending rate for its 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This will allow the program to expand its suicide prevention services using call, text, and chat messaging, and behavioral health services.
Offsetting the Costs of Heating and Extreme Weather Events. Provides $1 billion to offset the costs of home heating and cooling for lower-income families through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). Also includes funding to address extreme weather events.
TANF. Extends funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program through December 16, 2022, which will allow the Department of Health and Human Services to make first-quarter payments to states.
Mark to Market Program Extension. Extends the Project-Based Rental Assistance Mark-toMarket Program to ensure that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) can continue to perform certain affordable housing preservation activities set to expire on October 1, 2022. This program aims to preserve affordability and availability of low-income rental multifamily properties through federally insured funds. The purpose is to reduce rents to market levels by restructuring existing debt to levels supportable by these rents.
Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR). Provides $2 billion toward long-term housing, infrastructure, and economic recovery needs for areas impacted by a natural disaster in 2021 or 2022. HUD Deficiency. Allows HUD to use available prior year Project-Based Rental Assistance funding to pay obligations that were previously incurred as a means by which to support low-income senior citizens.
National Infrastructure Investments. Allows the Department of Transportation to extend the availability of funding awarded for National Infrastructure Investment grants, which are set to expire on September 30, 2022. This provision will extend these grants for one additional year to help state, local, and tribal governments and other recipients to complete their planning or capital infrastructure projects.
Other Key Provisions
The continuing resolution extends the funding of government programs and initiatives from the previous year to allow the continued operation of various federal agencies. Key additions within the bill, which diverge from extension of the previous year’s funding, are enumerated below.
Military Aid to Ukraine. Overall, this bill will provide $12 billion of funding assistance aimed at providing training, equipment, weapons, logistics support, supplies and services, salaries and stipends, sustainment, and intelligence support to the military and national security forces of Ukraine. These funds will also be used to replenish depleted stocks of US weapons and equipment, provide support to US troops deployed within the region, provide bilateral economic assistance for Ukraine’s continuity of government, and allow the Inspector General to monitor the defense articles sent to Ukraine.
National Nuclear Security Administration, Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation. Provides $35 million to prepare for and respond to potential nuclear and radiological incidents which may be exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine.
Improved Security at U.S. Courthouses and Federal Facilities. $112.5 million to improve security at these facilities.
Addressing the Jackson, Mississippi Water Crisis. Provides $20 million to construct infrastructure that will alleviate a water crisis that has left 160,000 residents of Jackson, Mississippi without clean drinking water
*This analysis was prepared by the Broward County Intergovernmental Affairs Team and can be accessed in its original format via PDF in the link above.
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