Congress Unveils Short-Term Funding Bill to Avoid End-of-Year Government Shutdown

The bill will enable government funding to March 14 after Congress failed to enact permanent bills on time, continuing a trend since 1997.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) speaks to the press at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 17, 2024. Allison Robbert/AFP via Getty Images

WASHINGTON—House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Dec. 17 unveiled a bipartisan bill that would keep the government funded until March 14, punting the issue of permanent funding to the incoming 119th Congress in the early days of President-elect Donald Trump’s second term.

This bill is known as a continuing resolution, or CR. It would keep government funding at current levels, hedging off a government shutdown that would otherwise begin at 12 a.m. ET on Dec. 21.