President Obama Signs Continuing Resolution

WASHINGTON - President Obama on Friday signed a continuing resolution that will allow government programs and services to be funded until Dec. 11.

Obama's signing of the resolution, H. J. Res. 124, ensures that there will not be another federal government shutdown before the midterm elections in November. Without enactment of the CR, federal discretionary spending would expire on Sept. 30, the last day 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 16-day federal government shutdown in October.

The House passed the resolution last Wednesday, and the Senate followed suit a day later. The CR continues federal funding at the current annual rate of $1.012 trillion.

"This is a critical measure that ensures that hard-working Americans continue to have access to the government programs and services they rely on, and helps avoid the unnecessary uncertainty and economic harm caused by the threat of a government shutdown," House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers, R-Ky., said in a release.

Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., said that she views the legislation as a bridge to an omnibus spending bill for fiscal 2015 that Congress can negotiate and pass before the CR expires.

The measure also extends the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which forbids state and local governments from taxing consumer internet access, to Dec. 11. The internet access tax moratorium had been set to expire on Nov. 1.

The National Governors Association has said it does not like the moratorium because it hampers states' abilities to "structure and manage their own fiscal systems." However, the NGA, as well as other state and local groups, support the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would allow states to compel online retailers to collect sales tax if the states simplify their sales tax laws.

The MFA was approved by the Senate in May 2013. In July, a bipartisan group of Senators introduced a bill that combines a slightly revised version of the MFA with a ten-year extension of the ITFA.

But Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., opposes linking the two measures. "Anyone who votes for passing MFA alongside ITFA is voting to repeal the Internet Tax Freedom Act," Wyden said in a statement.

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