This week, congressional leaders and the Administration reached a two-year bipartisan agreement to lift austere spending caps that would have required significant funding reductions to virtually all federal programs. The deal increases non-defense spending, including for health programs, and extends the debt ceiling until July 2021. The House passed the budget agreement by a vote of 284-149, with two-thirds of House Republicans opposing the agreement.  The Senate is expected to vote on the agreement shortly, and the President has indicated his support.

The budget agreement also outlines a process for Congress to finish the fiscal year (FY) 2020 spending bills through omnibus spending legislation. Congress and the Administration have until Sept. 30, 2019, the end of the current fiscal year, to enact FY2020 spending bills and prevent a government shutdown. The bipartisan budget agreement provides the spending flexibility to support the $2 billion funding increase included in the FY2020 health spending bill passed by the House in June. The Senate appropriations subcommittee will now need to pass individual bills out of subcommittee and full committee, at which point the bills are expected to be folded into omnibus spending packages to be passed by the House and Senate before the September deadline.