On Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to keep the federal government funded at its current level through December 11th, punting the threat of a government shutdown until after the presidential election. While referred to during negotiations as a “clean CR”, a deal on the continuing resolution (CR) comes after intense negotiations from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to include billions in nutrition assistance, trade relief payments for farmers, as well as a one-year extension of the surface transportation authorization (commonly known as the Highway Bill). The short-term funding fix now goes to the Senate, where it is expected to easily pass next week ahead of the September 30th deadline. President Trump is expected to sign this legislation into law and would subsequently postpone a slew of contentious funding fights to the lame-duck session of Congress.
Two key components of the CR in more detail are:
Surface Transportation Authorization
The extension of the surface transportation authorization comes as lawmakers were quickly approaching a coinciding September 30th funding deadline. Until Tuesday, Congress appeared far apart on any new reauthorization, making the prospect of a short-term extension more likely. House Transportation and Infrastructure Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-Missouri) noted that the extension would provide “immediate, desperately needed certainty to state DOTs and transportation and construction industry workers across the country.”
Hemp Rule Extension
Also included is a provision to extend the 2014 hemp pilot program until 2021. While the 2018 Farm Bill more broadly legalized hemp, it required the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to develop regulations for the market—and many farmers and processors have expressed concern about certain proposed rules. Industry groups, lawmakers, and producers have therefore been asking USDA to extend the earlier, 2014 Farm Bill pilot program, which they consider to be more flexible. That program is set to expire on October 31, but it would stay in effect until at least September 2021, also pushing back the implementation of USDA’s interim final rule on hemp and its derivatives.
Click here for a section-by-section summary of the legislation, click here for the bill text.