House and Senate leaders today agreed on the outlines of a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will fund federal programs for the first six months of FY 2013 – from October 2012 through March 2013.
With the start of FY 2013 on October 1 looming and no agreement in sight on the 12 annual appropriations bills, congressional leaders chose the path of least resistance and avoided the possibility of a government shutdown in the weeks leading up to elections or during a post-election “lame duck” session.
The Senate had been considering its FY 2013 spending bills using an overall discretionary spending cap of $1.047 trillion, the level that had been agreed to in the 2011 debt limit/deficit reduction law. House Republicans, however, had been insisting on a spending cap that was $19 billion below that level.
Today’s agreement between House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) will use the $1.047 trillion cap.
Congressional staff will work on the details of the package during the August recess with the goal of September approval. Reid indicated that the CR will be “clean,” or free of amendments and policy directives.
