H.R. 5405: Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2025

This bill, titled the Government Shutdown Prevention Act of 2025, aims to amend federal budget laws to introduce automatic continuing appropriations. Here’s a breakdown of its key provisions:

Automatic Continuing Appropriations

The act proposes a new section (section 1311) to be added to chapter 13 of title 31 of the United States Code. The main features include:

• Continuing Appropriations: If a new appropriation law for a fiscal year is not enacted by the first day of that year, the bill would automatically provide funds to continue existing programs, projects, or activities at a specified rate. This rate would be based on the funding from the previous fiscal year.
• Funding Rate: The funds allocated would be at most 94 percent of the previous year's funding levels for the first 90 days of the new fiscal year. After the initial 90 days, the funding would gradually reduce by 1 percentage point for every additional 90-day period during which the ongoing resolution remains in effect.
• Duration of Funds: The appropriations would remain available until a new funding law is passed or until a continuing resolution is adopted.
• Apportionment of Funds: Agencies would distribute the funds available under this section based on the same proportions used in the last fiscal year.
• Restrictions on Certain Programs: For programs with high initial distribution requirements, such as those funding states or grants, the bill prohibits full funding disbursement at the start of the fiscal year. These restrictions are designed to maintain control over final funding decisions.

Conditions and Exceptions

The bill specifies that any appropriations under this new section will be subject to the same terms and conditions that applied in the previous fiscal year. It also notes that this automatic appropriation does not apply if another law provides different funding terms for the program in question, including instances where no funds are to be allocated.

Clerical Amendment

Additionally, the bill includes a clerical amendment to update the table of sections in the legal code to reflect the new section on continuing appropriations.

Implementation Timeline

If enacted, the provisions would go into effect for fiscal years following the bill's passage, aiming to prevent disruptions in funding and avert government shutdowns due to delays in passing budget legislation.

Relevant Companies