Congressional Republicans Working to Advance Bill to Conclude FY2025

Earlier this week, the House passed on a largely party-line vote (217-213) a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2025, sending the bill to the Senate where it will need at least seven Democrats to overcome the legislative filibuster and pass. At this point, it is unclear if Democrats, who have expressed concerns that the legislation gives the Administration additional discretion in funding government agencies and programs, will support the measure. But there are few other options to avoid a government shutdown, particularly as the House has recessed and left town, ahead of the expiration of the current CR on March 14. Below is additional information on the House-passed measure and we will keep you updated on developments.

House-passed FY25 Funding bill 

Although FY25 began October 1, 2024, Congress has repeatedly punted final spending decisions, most notably after the November election when leaders elected to delay into this year to give the new Administration and Congress the opportunity to influence the final spending agreement. However, the early and comprehensive moves by the Administration to shrink the federal workforce and eliminate funding in certain areas by executive action substantially complicated bipartisan negotiations and led President Trump and House leadership to this seven-month funding bill. The bill provides $1.658 trillion in overall discretionary spending for FY25, including a $6 billion increase in discretionary spending on defense and a rescission of $20 billion in mandatory funding for IRS enforcement. It is worth noting that the full-year CR does not adhere to the 2023 Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), the bipartisan framework that established spending levels for FY24 and 25 and would have permitted a larger increase in both defense and nondefense spending for FY25. That said, Congressional Republicans and the Administration have determined that the full-year CR satisfies the FRA’s statutory requirement for Congress to enact full year appropriations by April 30, 2025, to avoid sequestration, or a mandatory across-the-board cut in discretionary spending.

Overall Discretionary Spending (in billions)

*Nondefense includes “side deals”

Ordinarily, annual appropriations bills provide specific funding directives to department, agencies, and programs that are further detailed in accompanying explanatory statements and funding tables. The full-year CR – except otherwise specifically provided – establishes only high-level funding levels giving the Administration considerable discretion to determine spending priorities within these high-level allocations for the rest of the fiscal year. For example, while the bill provides a funding level for the Departments of Commerce and Justice and for “Science,” there is no detail available for the National Science Foundation. Similarly, there is a funding level for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, but no detail is available for the Centers for Disease Control and for student aid programs, including the Pell grant. For NIH, the full-year CR appears to reduce funding by $280 million due to a reduced transfer from the previously enacted 21^st Century Cures Act, which designated funding for the BRAIN initiative and precision medicine, but that is the only detail for the agency. The chart below illustrates these high-level allocations.

High-Level Spending (in billions)

*Adjusts for transfers, changes in mandatory spending, and other increases

On defense, the full year CR more closely resembles an annual spending bill, providing specific funding levels for military personnel, procurement, shipbuilding, etc. Of interest to universities, the full-year CR bill provides funding levels for DOD’s Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDT&E) account, disaggregated by service agency (see chart below), but it does not differentiate basic research from the more applied research programs and technologies in this account. Additionally, the full-year CR appears to cut DOD’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, which supports biomedical research in response to the needs of servicemembers (including traumatic brain injury, PTSD, and military related toxic exposures) by 57 percent, from $1.57 billion in FY24 to $650 million for FY25. Finally, it provides authority to initiate new activities, although that appears to be limited to defense only.

Defense RDT&E

Contact

Harvard’s DC-based federal-relations office remains closely engaged with policymakers and partners in Washington to advocate for research university priorities across the board. As attention turns to the upcoming FY26 appropriations process, they will continue to stay in touch with the latest significant updates and analysis. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Suzanne Day (suzanne_day@harvard.edu), Kara Haas (kara_haas@harvard.edu), or Peter DeYoe (peter_deyoe@harvard.edu).