On Friday, March 14, 2025, the Senate advanced the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (H.R. 1968), a continuing resolution (CR) that funds the federal government until Sept. 30, 2025. The House advanced the bill 217-213, and the Senate 54-46 The bill now heads to the president for his signature.
The CR is largely an extension of fiscal year (FY) 2024 funding levels, with the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimating the bill would set overall funding levels for FY 2025 at $1.6 trillion, with $893 billion for defense and $708 billion for non-defense spending. The measure increases defense spending by $6 billion compared to FY 2024 levels and boosts funding for immigration enforcement, while reducing nondefense spending by $13 billion overall—mainly due to the removal of earmarks. The measure also includes smaller shifts in funding between appropriations titles with Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies (-$0.1 billion), Legislative Branch (-$0.1 billion), Military Construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies (-$7.3 billion), and Transportation, Housing, Urban Development and Related Agencies (-$3.1 billion) experiencing minor decreases in funding. The remainder of the titles have minor increases in funding compared to FY 2024 levels. Importantly, the CR claws back another $20.2 billion in Internal Revenue Service (IRS) funding and extends expiring health provisions and several other programs.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) released the CR text on March 8, quickly gaining support from President Trump, who urged Republicans to vote in favor of the measure. The House advanced the bill on March 11 and adjourned, leaving it to the Senate, where Republicans needed to secure at least eight Democratic votes to reach the 60-vote majority required for passage. However, Senate Democrats struggled to unify around a single strategy, with some opposed and others willing to vote in favor of the CR in exchange for a vote on a four-week alternative that would extend the deadline to April 11. Ultimately, 10 Democrats voted to invoke cloture in a 62-38 vote, lowering the threshold for the final vote to a simple majority. Four amendments – offered by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rand Paul (R-KY) – were rejected, with the Democrat’s four-week alternative not among those put to a vote.
CR Provisions
While the CR largely preserves FY 2024 funding levels, there are notable differences in funding amounts across appropriations titles between the CR and FY 2024 levels:
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies
The CR increases funding for the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Related Agencies from $26.2 billion in FY 2024 to $26.6 billion. This includes a more than $500 billion increase for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program (SNAP) for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), bringing its funding to $7.6 billion – a boost originally requested by the Trump administration.
Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies
The CR increases funding for the Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, Science and Related Agencies from $66.5 billion in FY 2024 to $67.8 billion. The measure includes a reduction in funding for research at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to $857 million, down from $1 billion in FY 2024. The measure further allocates $88 million for NIST’s research facility construction, a sharp decrease from the $168 million provided last year. Additionally, the CR cuts spending for state and local law enforcement programs, primarily due to the removal of earmarks. The bill boosts funding for the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Federal Prisoner Detention account amid rising costs and expanded immigration enforcement.
Department of Defense
The CR boosts overall defense spending by $6 billion compared to FY 2024 levels, driven by increases in funding for military personnel ($171 billion) and operations and maintenance ($290.3 billion). A key component of this increase is a 14.5% pay raise for junior troops, authorized by the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The measure also enhances funding for certain Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition programs, such as Army aircraft and missile procurement, while reducing funding for others, leading to a net decrease in DoD’s procurement account. Notably, the CR allocates $3.3 billion to the Navy’s shipbuilding program. The CR also cuts Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) funding from $1.509 billion to $650 million.
Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
The CR largely maintains funding levels for Energy and Water Development and related agencies, with a slight decrease from $58.2 billion in FY 2024 to $58.1 billion. For the Department of Energy (DOE), the bill removes $84 million in funding previously allocated for FY 2024 projects.
Financial Services and General Government
The CR increases funding for Financial Services and General Government from $13.7 billion in FY 2024 to $15.9 billion. This includes $90 million allocated to Washington D.C. for emergency planning and security costs, with the city required to revert to FY 2024 spending levels. Notably, the Senate advanced a measure on Friday that would reverse some of the budget cuts to Washington, D.C. included in the CR, this bill requires a future House vote to take effect. The measure also boosts funding for the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) disaster loan program, providing $406 million for loan adjustments and oversight.
Department of Homeland Security
The CR increases funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) title from $61.8 billion in FY 2024 to $65.0 billion. The measure provides a total of $10 billion for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), $10.6 billion for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and $10.4 billion for the U.S. Coast Guard. The CR also includes $22.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund. It also removes $163 million in unobligated balances from DHS.
Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
The CR boosts funding for the Interior and Environment title from $38.6 billion in FY 2024 to $40.9 billion. The measure slightly reduces funding for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resource and land management operations, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management. The bill also slightly increases funding for the National Park Service by $6 million and increases funding for a variety of wildfire management programs. The bill increases funding for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) environmental programs and management account while reducing funding for its state and tribal assistance grants program. The measure increases funding levels for federal wildfire response and management efforts, with $2.4 billion provided for the U.S. Forest Service and $1.1 billion for interior-wide fire management efforts.
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies
The CR increases topline funding for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education title from $194.4 billion in FY 2024 to $198.2 billion. The measure includes a $6 million increase in the State Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and increases salaries and expenses for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by $6 million. Additionally, the CR reduces funding for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) innovation account by $127 million, rescinds $160 million in obligated funds under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and rescinds $1.5 billion from HHS’s nonrecurring expenses fund. The measure also increases the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) fraud and abuse control account by $26 million.
Legislative Branch
The CR slightly decreases funding for the Legislative Branch from $6.8 billion in FY 2024 to $6.7 billion. The measure includes minor increases in total funding for House and Senate personal offices, while making minor decreases to administrative offices.
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies
The CR cuts funding for the Military Construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by nearly 5.0% from FY 2024, reducing allocations from $153.9 billion to $146.6 billion. The measure includes slight increases for a variety of discretionary and mandatory funding programs. However, the bill excludes $22.8 billion in FY 2026 advanced funding for the Toxic Exposures Fund. The bill does not make any changes to funding for the Toxic Exposures Fund for FY 2025.
Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related Operations
The CR boosts topline funding for the Department of State and Foreign Operations title from $55.8 billion in FY 2024 to $56.8 billion. The bill makes cuts to various foreign aid programs, including reduction in funding for the Asian Development Fund and the US and Mexico International Boundary and Water Commission construction account. The bill included an amendment that removes an increased cap on Special Immigrant Visas for Afghan nationals, included in the original bill.
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies
The CR reduces funding for the Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) title from $89.5 billion in FY 2024 to $$86.4 billion. The measure removes funds for earmarked projects, and provides approximately the same amount of funding for rail, port, highway and transit infrastructure programs. The bill would also provide $3.4 billion for the Community Development Block Grant Program (CBDG), maintaining the same funding level from FY 2024.
Additional Provisions and Extensions
The CR includes numerous healthcare extenders through Sept. 30, including funding for Community Health Centers (CHCs), the National Health Service Corps, the Special Diabetes Program and teaching health centers that operate graduate medical education (GME) programs. The measure also extends numerous expiring Medicare and Medicaid provisions through Sept. 30. Other extensions through Sept. 30 include:
- The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program
- FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
- The DHS National Cybersecurity Protection System
Next Steps
The CR extends government funding until Sept. 30, 2025, at which time either another CR or an FY 2026 funding package would need to be enacted to avoid a shutdown. Republicans are expected to begin their FY 2026 appropriations process later in the spring, alongside budget reconciliation efforts. Additionally, President Trump has not yet released his FY 2026 budget, which will provide insight into his top policy priorities and information on how these priorities will impact federal deficits, economic growth and more. House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) stated that the budget may be delayed to late April or early May.
Congress will also need to address the debt limit, either as part of a budget reconciliation bill or in a separate measure. The Treasury Department began to deploy “extraordinary measures” on Jan. 21 to avoid breaching the debt ceiling. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is slated to release its estimate for the “X date” – the date the debt ceiling would be breached – in the coming weeks.
Brownstein is in a unique position to help those interested in learning more and engaging in the government funding process. For more information, please contact a member of the Brownstein team.
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