The post Congress Passes Short-Term CR; Budget Talks Loom appeared first on Parkinson's Action Network.
The House and Senate have passed a short-term continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown as the new fiscal year begins October 1.
The CR, which is necessary because Congress has yet to pass any of the 12 annual appropriations bills and send them to the president’s desk, will fund the government at Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 levels through December 11, 2015. A 0.21 percent across the board cut in funding for all discretionary programs will also be triggered during this period because continued funding would slightly exceed the budget caps set for FY 2016.
Outgoing Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have opened broader budget talks with President Barack Obama in an effort to prevent a contentious year-end fight on spending and find a path forward to raise the spending caps under current law at least through next year’s presidential election.
Despite avoiding a disastrous government shutdown for the moment, the long-term future of medical research for programs and agencies important to the Parkinson’s community, including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense Parkinson’s research program, and the Food and Drug Administration remains in question.
PAN will monitor the ongoing debate and provide opportunities for the Parkinson’s community to engage with their elected officials as conversations continue.