April 2017

Congress passed a temporary fiscal year 2018 government spending measure just ahead of a deadline of midnight on April 28, averting a government shutdown. The latest twist in the negotiations on the spending bill occurred late the week of April 24 when Republicans began discussing an effort to bring a revised Affordable Care Act repeal bill to a House floor vote during the same week as the vote on the FY2017 spending measure. Democrats objected to this move and threatened to oppose the spending measure.

The temporary spending measure will fund government programs, including the NIH, at current fiscal year 2016 funding levels until May 5, at which point Congress is expected to pass a final spending bill funding government programs through the remainder of fiscal year 2017.  The bill will also fund the ACA's subsidies for health insurance coverage and an additional $15 billion in defense spending. President Trump had threatened to cut off the ACA subsidies in an attempt to force Democrats to include funding for a border wall but the administration withdrew this issue earlier this week.