Eliminate Shutdowns Act

Summary#

This bill adds a new section to federal budget law that creates automatic continuing appropriations when regular funding for a program, project, or activity lapses. A "lapse in appropriations" means Congress has not enacted the full-year appropriation or a continuing appropriation for a program that had funding in the prior year. If a lapse happens, the bill automatically makes available the sums needed to continue the program at the same rate and under the same authorities and conditions as the prior applicable appropriation act.

The automatic funding is available in 14-calendar-day periods. If the lapse continues, the funding automatically extends for additional 14-day periods until Congress enacts an appropriation act or a continuing appropriation act for that account. Entitlements and other mandatory payments, and programs under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, are funded at levels needed to maintain program levels under current law. The bill limits initial large distributions (for example, big up-front state or grantee payments) and prohibits starting or resuming programs that Congress specifically denied funding for in the previous fiscal year.

The bill also allows agency heads, with Office of Management and Budget approval, to transfer up to 5 percent of an account made available by this section to another account within the agency. Agencies must notify the House and Senate Appropriations Committees of any such transfers. The bill says funding provided under this section will be charged to the applicable appropriation when a regular appropriation or continuing appropriation for that account is eventually enacted. The bill becomes effective on September 30, 2025.

What it means for you#

• If Congress does not pass full-year funding, many federal programs and mandatory payments that had funding in the prior year would continue temporarily, so services and benefits may keep running without an immediate interruption.
• The automatic protections apply in 14-day blocks and continue until Congress passes funding for that account.
• Some large, front-loaded payments and new grant awards may be limited under the bill, and programs that Congress expressly denied funding for last year would not get restarted.
• Agencies can move small amounts of automatic funds between accounts (up to 5 percent) with OMB approval and must inform congressional appropriations committees.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on specific dollar costs or total budgetary impact is provided in the bill text. The bill directs that its budgetary effects be estimated and treated in particular ways for budget enforcement: it requires that the provisions be estimated as if they are discretionary appropriations for purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985; it treats the automatic resources as continuing appropriations for baseline calculations; and it treats the resources as part-year appropriations for enforcing discretionary spending limits. The bill also adjusts the due date for certain budget reports during a lapse in appropriations.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.