Last week, the government reopened after the House approved a plan to open the government by a vote of 222-209, following a Senate vote to pass its Continuing Resolution (CR) to reopen the federal government. The Senate deal differs slightly from the CR the House passed back in mid-September by funding the government through Jan. 30 instead of Nov. 19. This CR was also paired with a "minibus" of three funding bills through the next fiscal year, which would fund the Department of Agriculture, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Food and Drug Administration, the legislative branch, and military construction. The votes followed a federal government closure that ran for over six weeks, the longest shutdown ever.
The Senate CR also included a prohibition on reductions in force during continuing resolutions, a priority for Democrats, to prevent mass layoffs at federal agencies during a lapse in funding. The CR did not include an extension of the expiring Affordable Care Act premium tax credit subsidies, however, which was the primary cause of the shutdown for Senate Democrats. Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has promised a standalone vote on the subsidies before Jan. 30.
