H.R. 5552: Eliminate Shutdowns Act

This bill, titled the "Eliminate Shutdowns Act," aims to provide a framework for automatic continuing appropriations for government programs, projects, and activities to prevent government shutdowns resulting from lapses in funding. Here’s a summary of the key components:

Automatic Continuing Appropriations

The bill introduces provisions to ensure that if a lapse in appropriations occurs at the beginning of a fiscal year, funding will automatically continue based on the previous year's appropriations, under specified conditions. A lapse in appropriations is defined as the period when no new budget law has been enacted for a program that was previously funded.

Key Definitions

• Lapse in Appropriations: This occurs when a full-year funding law has not been passed for a program, project, or activity that was funded in the previous year.
• Preceding Applicable Appropriation Act: Refers to the last appropriation law enacted that funded the program or project, either as a continuing resolution or a full-year funding law for the previous fiscal year.

Provisions for Funding Continuation

When a lapse occurs:

• Automatic funding will be appropriated at the same rate as in the last applicable appropriation Acts for up to 14 calendar days. If the lapse continues, this funding will be renewed every 14 days automatically.
• Mandatory payments and entitlements will continue at the level necessary to maintain the current law as per the last applicable appropriation Act.

Limitations and Conditions

The bill includes several limitations:

• Expenditures made during the lapse will be charged to the current fiscal year's appropriations as soon as they are enacted or if a continuing appropriation Act is passed.
• The bill does not allow funds under this new provision to initiate or resume programs that were specifically prohibited from being funded during the previous year.
• Agency heads have the authority to transfer a limited amount of funds between appropriation accounts, but they must report these transfers to Congress.

Implementation and Compliance

The provisions outlined in this bill will be implemented to allow minimal funding necessary to continue operations while ensuring that they comply with existing laws regarding fund apportionment.

Budgetary Effects

The budget implications of this bill will be classified as discretionary appropriations under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, impacting the way budget resources and limits are calculated and enforced.

Effective Date

The provisions in this bill will take effect on September 30, 2025.

Relevant Companies

• None found