On Thursday, September 18, 2014, with the end of the current fiscal year (FY 2014) looming on September 30, 2014, the U.S. Senate passed a continuing resolution (CR), H.J. Res. 124, to extend federal funding in FY 2015 through December 11, 2014. The 78 to 22 vote followed the bipartisan passage of the bill on September 17, 2014 by the House of Representatives. The CR falls within the guidelines of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013, funding the government at a total of $1.012 trillion.

In order to add several new funding priorities, including $88 million to fight the Ebola virus, current program funding levels will be slightly reduced by a 0.0554% across-the-board cut. The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative (TPPI) and the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), as well as the Competitive Abstinence Education (CAE) grant program, will be subject to this rescission, but the implications of the short-term funding adjustment are unknown.

Passage of the CR postpones further debate over final FY 2015 funding levels until after the November 4, 2014 elections. To date, the House had only passed seven of twelve FY 2015 appropriations bills and the Senate has yet to pass any.

While the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee released a draft bill in June 2014, no further committee action is anticipated. On the House side, a LHHS bill is not expected from the LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman. Earlier this week, however, Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) introduced the Democrats’ FY 2015 LHHS funding bill, H.R. 5464. Both bills propose the elimination of discretionary spending on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs, though the CR maintains this funding. Further comparisons of the Senate funding bill, Congresswoman DeLauro’s bill, and the CR’s impact on TPPI and DASH is provided in the table below.

Congressional negotiations will resume again during the lame duck session, though the results of the election will impact the timing and type (CR versus an omnibus package of appropriations bills) of federal funding past December 11, 2014.

For more information or for questions, please contact Jesseca Boyer, Director of Public Policy, at jboyer@siecus.org or 202-265-2405 x331.

FY 2015 Funding Bill Comparison Table
(in millions)