October 5, 2022

Congress Reaches Short-Term Spending Deal, Averting Government Shutdown

As anticipated, Congress passed and the president signed, a continuing resolution (CR) that would avert a government shut down and push budget negotiations until after the midterm elections. The short-term spending deal keeps HIV-related funding at status quo, rather than boosting to levels proposed by the Biden Administration and by the House. In what has become a regular practice in Congress, negotiations over spending levels were complicated by the politicking of the upcoming election. This short-term deal will keep the government operating until December 16, presumably when members are more motivated to focus on appropriations than on the election. While the CR does include billions in additional Ukraine aid and disaster relief, it does not include needed funds for COVID-19 or monkeypox response – two issues the Academy has been working to advance.