US Congress Passes Temporary Spending Measure Through February 18, Avoiding a Government Shutdown

By: Gurshaan Chattha

Congress has passed a temporary measure to continue funding the United States government through February 18, 2022. The stopgap spending measure will maintain immigration operations, including E-Verify and the Conrad 30 waiver program. President Biden is expected to sign the temporary spending bill.

background

Previously Congress passed a spending measure to avoid a government shutdown on October 1, 2021. The current stopgap measure prevents any interruption to federal operations while Congress continues to negotiate the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget. It is typical for Congress to pass temporary budget guidance to avoid shutdown.

the temporary spending measure

With the previous measure set to expire on December 3, 2021, Congress needed to pass another temporary measure or approve the budget to avoid a government shutdown. With the most recent temporary spending measure, the government will be funded until February 18, 2022. This also effectively pushes the deadline to approve the FY 2022 budget to February.

The temporary spending bill will continue to fund immigration services through February. Both the E-Verify and Conrad 30 programs were set to expire in December after the previous temporary spending measure was passed. The most recent bill will fund both programs through February 18, 2021. The Conrad 30 program serves foreign medical graduates who work in underserved areas.

conclusion

The stopgap measure ensures government operations will be funded through February 18, 2022. For now, there should be no interruptions to federal operations. To avoid a government shutdown after February 18, 2022, Congress will need to approve the FY 2022 budget or pass another temporary spending measure. The Chugh, LLP team will continue to the monitor federal government budget negotiations and provide updates as they become available.