WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee has introduced legislation that would continue funding government programs and services until Dec. 11, preventing a federal government shutdown before the midterm elections.
Under the "continuing resolution," H.J. Res. 124, the funding would be provided at the current annual rate of $1.012 trillion. The House is expected to vote on the resolution Thursday.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is not expected to release its version of a continuing resolution until the end of this week or next week, according to a panel spokesperson.
Current federal discretionary spending expires on Sept. 30, the end of the federal government's 2014 fiscal year. Last year, a continuing resolution and appropriations bills were not enacted before the end of the fiscal year, leading to a federal government shutdown from Oct. 1 through Oct. 16.
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said the House resolution is fairly straight forward and should not be controversial.
"We have reached the point where a continuing resolution is necessary to keep the government functioning and avoid another shutdown. It is a critical piece of legislation, and my committee has crafted the bill in a responsible, restrained way that should draw wide support in the House and Senate," he said in a news release. "This bill is free of controversial riders, maintains current levels, and does not seek to change existing federal policies."
While there are no large policy changes in the legislation, the CR includes some changes to existing law to prevent problematic changes to government programs, address national and global crises and ensure good government, according to the release.
One of these changes is to extend the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which forbids state and local governments from taxing consumer internet access, to Dec. 11.
The internet access tax moratorium is set to expire on Nov. 1 and is unpopular with the National Governors Association. "This federal prohibition on state taxing authority is contrary to federalism and the sovereign authority of states to structure and manage their own fiscal systems," the NGA said in a statement in July, after the House voted to make the ban permanent.
Other provisions in the CR that make changes to existing law relate to foreign affairs, the Veterans Affairs Department, immigration, the Ebola crisis and the Export-Import Bank.
