At 11:45 pm (eastern) on September 30, the Associated Press posted a Breaking News tweet announcing that President Joseph Biden had signed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will continue federal funding for 45 days while Congress tries to pass a federal budget for Fiscal Year 2024, which began on October 1, 2024. The signing of the CR into law capped a day of drama on Capitol Hill and within the House Republican Party as Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy tried once again to find a bill that could gain a majority of votes in the House and the Senate. This last-chance effort would require help from House Democrats or the federal government would shut down.
Passage of the CR will allow October NIH study sections to take place. If the government did shut down as feared, October study sections would have been canceled, forcing grantees to resubmit grant applications in early 2024 for review later in the year and funding even later in the year.
The slow-motion drama of the day was filled with questions ranging from important ones – Will they pass the bill in time? – to stupid ones – Did a congressman actually pull a fire alarm on his way to vote?
But as September came to an end at least the wheels of the federal government will continue to turn – at least for now.
About the Author:
Kevin M. Wilson serves as Director of Public Policy and Media Relations for The American Society for Cell Biology. He's worked as the Legislative Director for U.S. Congressman Robert Weygand (D-RI) and as a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI). He has a BA in Politics and American Government from the Catholic University of America. Email: kwilson@ascb.org
