Congress Considers Weeklong Extension of Government Funding to Prep Year-End Omnibus

By Hugh T. Ferguson, NASFAA Senior Staff Reporter

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are currently making their way through what appears to be a final short-term extension for government funding as negotiators seek to wrap up stalled spending levels for fiscal year 2023 by as soon as next week.

The latest spending bill is another continuing resolution that would extend government funding through December 23 and enable Congress to finalize an omnibus. The measure is expected to make it to President Joe Biden’s desk before a December 16 shutdown is slated to begin.

The impending weeklong extension will offer Congress more time to wrap up negotiations on all 12 spending bills, one of which, the Labor-HHS-Education bill, funds the Department of Education (ED).

The large spending package that is currently taking shape will need to reconcile the differences between the Senate’s drafted spending plan that contains $87.3 billion in base discretionary funding for the Department of Education (ED), with the House’s $86.7 billion package for the agency.

Senate leaders have said if these negotiations fall apart by the end of next week that they will instead rely on a year-long continuing resolution. That fallback legislation would keep funding at the same level as fiscal year 2022, which contained $24.6 billion for federal student aid programs, and set the maximum Pell Grant award to $6,895 for the 2022-23 award year.

Stay tuned to Today’s News for more updates on the ongoing appropriations process.

Publication Date: 12/16/2022

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Congress Considers Weeklong Extension of Government Funding to Prep Year-End Omnibus

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