Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014

H.R.2775
Introduced: 
July 22, 2013
113
First
October 17, 2013
Became Public Law

Because Congress failed to pass 2014 appropriations before the start of the new fiscal year on 10/1/13, the government was forced to shut down. This bill, signed into law on 10/16, ended the government shutdown by appropriating funds to government agencies—including the Depts. of State and Defense—through 1/15/14, and it also raised the debt limit through 2/7/14.

Budgetary appropriations to agencies, funds, and services related to Israel, the Palestinians, and the Middle East generally fall under 2 sections of the budget: Defense Dept., and State Dept. and foreign operations. The FY 2013 budget, itself an extension of the FY 2012 budget with minor adjustments, was maintained for those 2 depts. through 1/15/14 (for FY 2013, see *H.R. 933 of 3/6/13 and *H.J. Res. 117 of 9/10/12; for FY 2012, see *H.R. 2055 of 5/31/11).

In addition to extending the budgets, this bill did not repeal the fail-safe funding cuts of the Budget Control Act of 2011, commonly known as the sequester (see *H.R. 933 of 3/6/13 for more on the sequester), so the budget approved by this bill was subject to those cuts.

The shutdown was instigated for political reasons largely irrelevant to the subject matter at hand. A small group of Republicans in the House blocked any budget bill from passing in protest against the Affordable Care Act, a healthcare reform bill which was signed into law in 2010. Their protest lasted until 10/16, the day before the debt ceiling—a legislative mechanism that Congress must agree to raise—was projected to be reached by the Treasury.

The shutdown debate did play into this journal’s subject matter in 2 noteworthy ways. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a subsidiary of the Treasury, is the primary agency charged with overseeing the implementation of sanctions on Iran. Because ‘nonessential’ federal employees were on furlough during the shutdown, and many employees of the OFAC were deemed ‘nonessential,’ the sanctions were not being fully monitored.

The other instance in which the relevant issues were impacted by the government shutdown came on 10/2, when State Dept. spokesperson Psaki was discussing the potential effects of the shutdown on U.S. military support to its allies (on 10/2/13). She said, ‘I’ll just give you one example—FY 2014 security assistance funding for Israel will be delayed until a continuing resolution or until full-year appropriation is passed. The State Dept.’s ability to provide military assistance to Israel and other allies in the timeframe that is expected and customary could be hindered depending on the length of the shutdown’

104 cosponsors (104R).

See also: *H.R. 2055 of 5/31/11, *H.R. 933 of 3/6/13, and *H.J. Res. 117 of 9/10/12.

Last major action: 10/17/13 signed into law by the president. (10/16/13 passed in Senate by yea-nay vote, 81–18; 9/12/13 passed in House by yea-nay vote, 235–191.)

Sponsor/Cosponsors:

Robert Aderholt(R-AL)Rodney Alexander(R-LA)Michele Marie Bachmann(R-MN)Andy Barr(R-KY)Joe Barton(R-TX)Daniel Benishek(R-MI)Gus Bilirakis(R-FL)Marsha Blackburn(R-TN)Charles Jr Boustany(R-LA)Kevin Brady(R-TX)Susan Brooks(R-IN)Mo Brooks(R-AL)Vernon Buchanan(R-FL)Larry Bucshon(R-IN)Michael Burgess(R-TX)Shelly Moore Capito(R-WV)John Carter(R-TX)Jason Chaffetz(R-UT)Tom Cole(R-OK)Chris Collins(R-NY)Paul Cook(R-CA)Rick Crawford(R-AR)Steve Daines(R-MT)Ron DeSantis(R-FL)Jeff Denham(R-CA)Scott DesJarlais(R-TN)Jeff Duncan(R-SC)John Duncan Jr(R-TN)Blake Farenthold(R-TX)Steven Fincher(R-TN)Chuck Fleischmann(R-TN)John C. Fleming(R-LA)Bill Flores(R-TX)Jim Gerlach(R-PA)Louis Jr. Gohmert(R-TX)Paul Gosar(R-AZ)Kay Granger(R-TX)Tim Griffin(R-AR)Brett Guthrie(R-)Andy Harris(R-MD)Joe Heck(R-NV)George Holding(R-NC)Lynn Jenkins(R-KS)Sam Johnson(R-TX)Bill Johnson(R-OH)Walter Jr Jones(R-NC)David Joyce(R-OH)Mike Kelly(R-PA)Adam Kinzinger(R-IL)Doug LaMalfa(R-CA)Raul Labrador(R-ID)Douglas Lamborn(R-CO)Leonard Lance(R-NJ)James Lankford(R-OK)Robert Latta(R-OH)Billy Long(R-MO)Kenny Ewell Marchant(R-TX)Tom Marino(R-PA)Michael McCaul(R-TX)David McKinley(R-WV)Cathy McMorris Rodgers(R-WA)Mark Meadows(R-NC)Patrick Meehan(R-PA)Luke Messer(R-IN)John Mica(R-FL)Candice Miller(R-MI)Mick Mulvaney(R-SC)Randy Neugebauer(R-TX)Kristi Noem(R-SD)Devin Gerald Nunes(R-CA)Alan Nunnelee(R-MS)Pete Olson(R-TX)Steve Pearce(R-NM)Robert Pittenger(R-NC)Ted Poe(R-TX)Trey Radel(R-FL)Tom Reed(R-NY)Dave Reichert(R-WA)James Renacci(R-OH)David "Phil" Roe(R-TN)Mike D Rogers(R-AL)Todd Rokita(R-IN)Peter Roskam(R-IL)Keith Rothfus(R-PA)Ed Royce(R-CA)Paul Ryan(R-WI)Aaron Schock(R-IL)Pete Sessions(R-TX)John Shimkus(R-IL)Steve Southerland(R-FL)Lee Terry(R-NE)Glenn Thompson(R-PA)Mac Thornberry(R-TX)Patrick Tiberi(R-OH)Scott Tipton(R-CO)Ann Wagner(R-MO)Randy K. Weber(R-TX)Brad Wenstrup(R-OH)Lynn Westmoreland(R-GA)Joe Wilson(R-SC)Robert Wittman(R-VA)Steve Womack(R-AR)Rob Woodall(R-GA)Ted Yoho(R-FL)

More info

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