House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-N.J., introduced a bill last week to reauthorize funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program and fund the government through Jan. 19, 2018, preventing a shutdown on Dec. 22.
"This [continuing resolution] is not the preferred way to do the nation's fiscal business," Mr. Frelinghuysen said in a statement. "However, this resolution will allow time for the leadership of the House and Senate and the White House to come to agreement on a topline spending level for this fiscal year."
The stopgap measure, H.J. Res. 124, would reauthorize CHIP for five years and continue community health center funding for two years. Federal funding for CHIP expired on Sept. 30. Congress passed a different stop-gap measure at the beginning of the month to fund the government through Dec. 22, and this measure allowed CMS to redistribute unused CHIP funds to states with emergency shortfalls. However, this short-term funding bill did not authorize additional funding, it simply lifted restrictions on how unused funds are allocated, and 16 states are still expected to exhaust funds for the program by the end of January if no action is taken.
"Families across the nation rely on [CHIP] to help sick kids get better and to ensure healthy and happy futures. This legislation includes a measure that would extend this important program throughout the year," Mr. Frelinghuysen said of H.J. Res. 124.
The bill would also fund national defense programs through fiscal 2018.
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