Federal Update: Bipartisan Budget Deal Clears Congress

October 30, 2015

Early this morning, the Senate approved the bipartisan budget deal which now goes to the President for his expected signature in the next few days.  This will successfully avert any threat of federal default by suspending the federal debt limit until March 15, 2017.  In addition, the bill provides an additional infusion of discretionary dollars that provides an improved outlook and framework for Congressional appropriators to develop final funding bills for FY16 and a clearer path for FY17.  Details on the specifics of the deal can be found in our update from earlier this week, available here

After threats of a filibuster through the weekend, Senators were able to turn back those efforts on procedural votes early this morning and move quickly to passage on a vote of 64 to 35.  The President has already issued statements of support for the bill, highlighting the important resources it will provide for investments in research and education.

The next step in the process – crafting the final funding bill or bills – remains critical in realizing these gains for the NIH, NSF, other research agencies and student aid and education.  Our efforts will continue to be focused on these goals and we will stay in touch on further developments.

As always, please feel free to be in touch with Suzanne Day (Suzanne_day@harvard.edu) or Jon Groteboer (jon_groteboer@harvard.edu) in Harvard's DC office with any questions or concerns.