Referred to the House Committee on Appropriations.
The bill (End Government Shutdowns Act) adds a new continuing appropriations provision to Title 31 of the U.S. Code that automatically provides funding for programs, projects, and activities if regular appropriations or a continuing resolution are not enacted by the start of a fiscal year. Funding is provided at up to 99 percent of the prior year’s rate of operations (or the most recently enacted continuing resolution amount) for the first 30 days, and then is reduced by 1 percentage point for each subsequent 30-day period the lapse continues.
Whether automatic funding undermines Congressional leverage and accountability (centrists and conservatives worry more; liberals are concerned but focused on program protections).
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill establishes a substantive change to appropriations law by creating automatic continuing appropriations with explicit percentage rates and periodic reductions.
The bill (End Government Shutdowns Act) adds a new continuing appropriations provision to Title 31 of the U.S. Code that automatically provides funding for programs, projects, and activities if regular appropriations or a continuing resolution are not enacted by the start of a fiscal year.
Funding is provided at up to 99 percent of the prior year’s rate of operations (or the most recently enacted continuing resolution amount) for the first 30 days, and then is reduced by 1 percentage point for each subsequent 30-day period the lapse continues.
The automatic funding continues until the applicable regular appropriation or continuing resolution becomes law, carries forward across fiscal years if a lapse persists, is subject to the prior year’s terms and conditions, and excludes programs already covered (or specifically excluded) by other law.
On policy merits the idea of preventing shutdowns has cross-cutting public appeal, and the bill is administratively targeted rather than creating new entitlements. However, it makes a consequential, systemic change to the appropriations process that removes a lever frequently used in budget negotiations. Such institutional reforms typically require broad, often difficult compromise and detailed negotiations (including scoring, offsets, and constitutional review). The bill as written lacks detailed fiscal scoring, enforcement nuance, and sunset or pilot provisions that often help secure the broad majorities needed for enactment.
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill establishes a substantive change to appropriations law by creating automatic continuing appropriations with explicit percentage rates and periodic reductions. The operative rules for triggering and calculating the funding level are specified, but many operational, fiscal, and oversight details necessary to implement and manage such a significant change are not addressed in the text.
Whether automatic funding undermines Congressional leverage and accountability (centrists and conservatives worry more; liberals are concerned but focused on program protections).
These are examples from the analysis, not a ranked list of the most-affected groups.
Whether automatic funding undermines Congressional leverage and accountability (centrists and conservatives worry more; liberals are concerned but focused on program protections).
A mainstream liberal would welcome the bill’s aim to prevent disruptive government shutdowns that hurt workers, beneficiaries, and public services, but be wary of the automatic percentage reductions over time.
They would note the protection that prior-year terms and conditions carry forward, which preserves program rules, but would worry the 1 percentage point monthly cuts could meaningfully shrink funding if a lapse persists and be used politically to whittle away social programs.
They may also be concerned about how the policy would affect services delivered to low-income communities, federal employees’ pay and benefits, and enforcement of civil rights or environmental rules during a prolonged lapse.
A mainstream centrist would view the bill positively for addressing the real-world harms of government shutdowns and for creating an incentive structure (gradual reductions) to encourage timely passage of appropriations.
They would appreciate the balance between automatic continuity and a declining funding rate that nudges Congress to act, but would also worry about automaticity removing useful negotiation leverage and the legal/administrative complexities that could arise.
Centrists would look for technical clarifications and guardrails to ensure budgetary transparency and to prevent gaming of baseline calculations.
A mainstream conservative would be skeptical of automatic continuing appropriations because it shifts power away from Congress and could perpetuate funding for programs conservatives prefer to cut.
Although the built-in 99% start and 1 percentage point monthly declines might appeal as a fiscal restraint mechanism, many conservatives would object that the bill guarantees baseline funding for programs without specific votes and reduces legislative leverage to force spending reforms.
There would also be concern that automatic funding protects the existing status quo of federal programs rather than enabling reforms or targeted cuts.
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Reached or meaningfully advanced
Still ahead
Still ahead
Still ahead
On policy merits the idea of preventing shutdowns has cross-cutting public appeal, and the bill is administratively targeted rather than creating new entitlements. However, it makes a consequential, systemic change to the appropriations process that removes a lever frequently used in budget negotiations. Such institutional reforms typically require broad, often difficult compromise and detailed negotiations (including scoring, offsets, and constitutional review). The bill as written lacks detailed fiscal scoring, enforcement nuance, and sunset or pilot provisions that often help secure the broad majorities needed for enactment.
The bill has not accumulated any surfaced votes yet.
Whether automatic funding undermines Congressional leverage and accountability (centrists and conservatives worry more; liberals are concer…
On policy merits the idea of preventing shutdowns has cross-cutting public appeal, and the bill is administratively targeted rather than cr…
Relative to its intended legislative type, this bill establishes a substantive change to appropriations law by creating automatic continuing appropriations with explicit percentage rates and periodic reductions. The ope…
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