HR 1968: Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025

HR 1968 in plain English: This bill provides full-year continuing appropriations for federal agencies for the remainder of FY2025, funding most programs at FY2024 levels while adjusting funding up or down for specific programs. It also extends a wide range of expiring programs and authorities, including TANF, the National Flood Insurance Program, Medicare and Medicaid programs, and the DEA's fentanyl scheduling order, preventing a government shutdown after the prior continuing resolution was set to expire on March 14, 2025.

Stated purpose

To provide continued funding for the federal government through the end of fiscal year 2025 and extend various expiring federal programs, preventing a government shutdown after the previous temporary funding measure was set to expire on March 14, 2025.

Key points

• Funds most federal programs at FY2024 levels through the end of FY2025 to prevent a government shutdown
• Provides $22,100,000,000 for Supplemental Security Income and $261,063,820,000 for Medicaid payments to states
• Sets military personnel funding including $51,181,397,000 for Army, $38,813,378,000 for Navy, and $37,023,437,000 for Air Force
• Extends expiring programs including TANF, the National Flood Insurance Program, and Medicare and Medicaid authorities
• Adjusts certain accounts, such as reducing one account from $4,309,000,000 to $160,000,000 and increasing another from $1,250,000,000 to $1,471,000,000

Arguments supporters make

• Keeping the government funded prevents a shutdown that would harm federal workers, delay benefit payments, and disrupt services that millions of Americans depend on every day.
• Extending expiring programs like Medicare telehealth, community health centers, and TANF ensures vulnerable people do not lose access to critical health care and financial support while Congress works on longer-term solutions.
• Continuing funding at prior-year levels provides stability and predictability for agencies, contractors, and the public without making dramatic new spending decisions before full budget negotiations are complete.

Arguments opponents make

• Relying on a continuing resolution instead of passing a full budget means Congress is again avoiding the hard choices about spending priorities, essentially locking in last year's funding levels without proper review or debate.
• Funding most of the government at FY2024 levels does not account for inflation or changed circumstances, which critics say effectively cuts real purchasing power for many programs and agencies.
• Bundling dozens of unrelated program extensions into one must-pass bill reduces transparency and limits Congress members' ability to vote on each issue on its own merits, making meaningful oversight harder.

Tradeoffs

Avoiding a government shutdown comes at the cost of bypassing a detailed annual budget process, meaning funding levels and policy choices from the prior year are largely carried forward without thorough debate; programs get continuity, but Congress trades away the opportunity to make deliberate, up-to-date spending decisions.

Current status in Congress: Became law.

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