The House and Senate have passed a continuing resolution that will prevent another government shutdown when the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
The legislation — which will now be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature — will ensure continued funding for all federal programs at the current annual cap rate of $1.012 trillion through Dec. 11. The resolution also provides $58 million in additional funding to HHS for fiscal year 2015 to advance the research and development of Ebola treatments. The bill also includes $30 million to fund Centers for Disease Control and Prevention efforts to fight the outbreak in Africa.
Last fall, the government shut down temporarily after lawmakers were unable to reach an agreement on a government funding bill, with Republican lawmakers pushing for an appropriations bill that defunded the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Although Congress eventually reached an agreement to reopen the government and extend the debt ceiling while still maintaining the PPACA, the shutdown took approximately $24 billion out of the economy, according to S&P.