As lawmakers wrap up the final weeks of the 118th Congress, two key tasks still remain: passing FY25 appropriations and the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Both “must-pass” bills provide critical funding to the government.
Congress has until Dec. 20 to prevent a partial government shutdown. Lawmakers are still negotiating an end date for the stopgap spending bill, as well as the dollar amount for a disaster-relief package that will be added to the stopgap. Negotiations, however, are still ongoing and no final decisions have yet been made. Many policymakers expect a continuing resolution, if passed, to run through the middle of March 2025.
On Wednesday, the House passed the $884 billion NDAA, and the Senate will now take the bill under consideration. The package includes $849.9 billion for Department of Defense programs and $33.3 billion for national security programs at the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.