FY 24 Appropriations update: Continuing Resolution, education spending bills, and… shutdown averted?

Update – Nov. 16, 2023: Last night the ‘two-tiered’ Continuing Resolution that will keep federal funding intact until Jan. 19, 2024, (for Military Construction-VA, Agriculture, Energy and Water, and Transportation-HUDs) and until Feb. 2, 2024, (for all other federal agencies including the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services), passed the Senate on 87-11 and is expected to be signed by the President a day before the previous deadline. Yesterday as well, the controversial FY 2024 Labor HHS Education spending bill was pulled from the House floor before a vote due to lack of support for the bill, which among other things would have cut federal education spending by 28 percent.

After avoiding a federal government shutdown by passing a continuing resolution (CR) before midnight on September 30, lawmakers face another deadline for action: midnight on Friday, November 17, 2023. That’s when the CR will expire. In order to keep the government running, the House of Representatives and the Senate must pass—and President Joe Biden must sign all 12 funding spending bills or a continuing resolution by then.

FY 2024 Education Spending Bill

The House started debating the FY 2024 Labor Health and Human Services, Education spending bill on Tuesday, November 14, even though the bill was never considered by the full Appropriations Committee. As a reminder, the House education spending bill cuts federal education spending by 28 percent. The bill cuts Title I funding by 80 percent — money that supports schools in poverty-stricken communities and that can be used for afterschool and summer programs. The bill also eliminates supports for teachers and other educators that are provided via Title II of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and eliminates the Federal Work Study program which can support college students working in nonprofit organizations including afterschool programs. Funding for Title IV, part B – 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which funds afterschool and summer learning programs, would be level funded in the House bill at $1.329 billion. The House Rules Committee passed a rule allowing 146 of the 335 amendments filed to be offered during floor debate of the bill. Votes on the amendments and perhaps the bill are expected on Wednesday, November 15.

The education spending bill is one of the most contentious regarding both policy and funding. Democrats are expected to unanimously oppose the bill, and it has been reported that a number of Republicans won’t support the measure, either. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) has had to pull a number of spending bills from the floor recently due to the inability to pass them. Many expect the same to be true for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill. Regardless of the bill’s prospects this week, lawmakers will have to decide about education funding eventually, and friends of afterschool can reach out to their members of Congress regarding the bill. 

Continuing Resolution Making Progress

With the host of challenges facing the regular spending bills, this week House Speaker Johnson  released a temporary spending bill, commonly known as a continuing resolution (CR), to extend government funding at current rates, with two expiration dates: on January 19, 2024, funding would expire for Military Construction-VA, Agriculture, Energy and Water, and Transportation-HUD, and funding for the remaining 8 spending bills would expire on February 2, 2024.  While the CR faced opposition from a number of House Republicans because it does not include any funding cuts, and also opposition from some Democrats, the bill passed the evening of November 14. Lawmakers voted 336-95 on the stopgap measure, with 127 Republicans joining with 209 Democrats to support it. The Senate needs to pass the bill by Friday to keep the government funded. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has indicated he supports the measure. The CR is a compromise in that it doesn’t cut funding the way some conservatives want nor does it include controversial policy riders; nor does it include a quicker deadline and additional emergency funding priorities that have been championed by Senate Democrats.

While all signs point to the CR passing in time, if the House and Senate are unable to pass the temporary spending bill by Friday, the federal government could be forced to shut down on November 18^th. Given that possibility, it is important to review what that could mean for afterschool programs, particularly those supported by federal funding.

What a shutdown could mean

Due to the lack of consensus around overall spending levels and the political challenges around passing a continuing resolution, agencies are once again preparing for a possible government shutdown.  The impact of a November 18 shutdown will largely be felt by federal agencies and employees. Each agency has a shutdown “contingency plan” that describes which functions would continue and which would be suspended. Some agencies share the specific numbers of employees who would remain at work and how many would be sent home on unpaid furlough; others don’t. Constitutional checks and balances mean that a shutdown wouldn’t stop Congress from working, but each Congressional office would determine who would continue to work and whether constituent meetings would continue. (The U.S. Capitol Police would be affected by a shutdown, likely limiting public access to Congressional buildings.)

A shutdown should not impact federal grants like 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (21^st CCLC), Child Care Development Block Grant vouchers, or school meals. Funds for these programs have been delivered to providers, so there is no reason to be concerned with the disruption other federal programs might experience. Federal offices that support programs, like U.S. Department of Education staff, Corporation for National and Community Service staff who oversee VISTA and AmeriCorps, and others, will not be accessible by phone, email or in-person during a shutdown. Questions or support needed from these offices will have to wait until the government is funded again. For state education agencies navigating federal grants, including American Rescue Plan ESSER funding, the inability to reach federal Department of Education staff could pose challenges. Similarly, any pending federal funding opportunities or guidance may be delayed by a shutdown.

With regard to education funding, Impact Aid to schools, Department of Defense schools, and Head Start Centers could feel the direct negative impacts of a shutdown, as was the case during the 2018-2019 and 2013 federal government shutdowns. In 2019, afterschool programs housed at federal properties, including military bases, museums, U.S. Department of Interior and/or National Park Service facilities, were forced to close for the duration of the shutdown. Programs that are funded directly though federal grants should consider reaching out reach out to their program officer at the federal level in September with any questions on possible impact of a shutdown.

Federal government shutdowns add to the uncertainty facing afterschool programs seeking sustainable funding, and could impact the work of state agencies that support local afterschool programs. Friends of afterschool and summer learning can weigh in with Congress about the importance of continuing robust investments in afterschool funding, which provides support for local school and community-based organizations that serve more than 1 million children.