Continuing Appropriations Act, 2016

(This measure has not been amended since the Senate agreed to the House amendment with an amendment on September 30, 2015. The summary of that version is repeated here.) Highlights: This bill provides continuing FY2016 appropriations to federal agencies until December 11, 2015, or the enactment of specified appropriations legislation. It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur when FY2016 begins on October 1, 2015, because none of the twelve FY2016 regular appropriations bills that fund the federal government have been enacted. The bill funds most projects and activities at the FY2015 levels, with the inclusion of an across-the-board reduction of less than 1% to most programs. The bill also includes a number of exceptions which provide funding flexibility and additional appropriations to various programs. The bill extends several programs and laws that are scheduled to expire at the end of FY2015, including the E-Verify program and the moratorium imposed by the Internet Tax Freedom Act. (Unless otherwise indicated, all extensions referenced in this summary are for the duration of the CR.) The bill also provides $700 million in emergency appropriations for Forest Service wildland fire suppression activities. Emergency funds are exempt from limits on discretionary spending. The bill requires the Transportation Securit…

Congressional Research Service · 2015-09-30