119-hr5552

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5552 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 5552

 To provide for automatic continuing appropriations.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 September 23, 2025

Mr. Johnson of South Dakota (for himself and Mr. Steil) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, 
 and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
 of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
 concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To provide for automatic continuing appropriations.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Eliminate Shutdowns Act''.

SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Subchapter I of chapter 13 of title 31, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``

Sec. 1311. Automatic continuing appropriations
 ``

    (a) For purposes of this section--
 ``

    (1) the term `lapse in appropriations' means a time 
 period during which--
 ``
        (A) the applicable full-year appropriation Act 
 for a program, project, or activity has not been 
 enacted for the current fiscal year;
 ``
        (B) the program, project, or activity was 
 provided funding in the preceding applicable 
 appropriation Act; and
 ``
            (C) no continuing appropriation Act is in effect 
 for such program, project, or activity; and
 ``

    (2) the term `preceding applicable appropriation Act' 
 means--
 ``
        (A) the most recent continuing appropriation Act 
 enacted; or
 ``
        (B) if no continuing appropriation Act has been 
 enacted for the current fiscal year, the most recent 
 applicable full-year appropriation Act (including a 
 full-year continuing appropriation Act) enacted for the 
 immediately preceding fiscal year (excluding any 
 supplemental appropriation Act).
 ``

    (b)

    (1) On and after the first day of each fiscal year, if a lapse 
in appropriations occurs with respect to a program, project, or 
activity, there are appropriated such sums as may be necessary, at the 
rate for operations as provided in the preceding applicable 
appropriation Acts under the authorities and conditions provided in 
such Acts, for continuing programs, projects or activities (including 
the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees) that were conducted 
under such Acts and for which appropriations, funds, or other 
authorities were made available in such Acts.
 ``

    (2)
        (A) Appropriations and funds made available and authority 
granted under paragraph

    (1) shall be available for a period of 14 
calendar days.
 ``
        (B) If, at the end of the first 14 calendar-day period during 
which appropriations and funds are made available and authority is 
granted under paragraph

    (1) , and the end of every 14 calendar-day 
period thereafter, a lapse in appropriations with respect to a program, 
project, or activity continues, the appropriations and funds made 
available and authority granted under paragraph

    (1) with respect to the 
program, project, or activity shall be extended for an additional 14 
calendar-day period.
 ``

    (3) For entitlements and other mandatory payments whose budget 
authority was provided for in preceding applicable appropriation Acts, 
under a law other than this section providing full-year continuing 
appropriations for the preceding fiscal year, or under this section, 
and for activities under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, 
appropriations and funds made available for a fiscal year under 
paragraph

    (1) shall be at the rate necessary to maintain program levels 
under current law, and under the authority and conditions provided in 
the preceding applicable appropriation Act.
 ``
            (c) Appropriations and funds made available, and authority 
granted, for any fiscal year pursuant to this section for a program, 
project, or activity shall be available, in accordance with subsection

    (b) , for the period--
 ``

    (1) beginning on the first day of any lapse in 
 appropriations during such fiscal year; and
 ``

    (2) ending on the date of enactment of an appropriation 
 Act for such fiscal year with respect to the account for such 
 program, project, or activity (whether or not such Act provides 
 appropriations for such program, project, or activity) or a 
 continuing appropriation Act providing funding for the program, 
 project, or activity, as applicable.
 ``
            (d) Expenditures made for a program, project, or activity for any 
fiscal year pursuant to this section shall be charged to the applicable 
appropriation, fund, or authorization whenever an appropriation Act for 
such fiscal year with respect to the account for a program, project, or 
activity or a law making continuing appropriations until the end of 
such fiscal year for such program, project, or activity is enacted.
 ``

    (e) Appropriations and funds made available by, or authority 
granted pursuant to, this section may be used without regard to the 
time limitations for submission and approval of apportionments set 
forth in 

section 1513 of this, but nothing in this section shall be 
construed to waive any other provision of law governing the 
apportionment of funds.
 ``

    (f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, except 
for subsection
            (c) , for those programs that would otherwise have high 
initial rates of operation or complete distribution of appropriations 
at the beginning of the applicable fiscal year because of distributions 
of funding to States, foreign countries, grantees, or others, such high 
initial rates of operation or complete distribution shall not be made, 
and no grants shall be awarded for such programs funded by this section 
that would impinge on final funding prerogatives.
 ``

    (g) This section shall be implemented so that only the most 
limited funding action of that permitted under this section shall be 
taken in order to provide for continuation of programs, projects and 
activities.
 ``

    (h) This section shall not apply to a program, project, or 
activity during a lapse in appropriations if any other provision of law 
(other than an authorization of appropriations or an appropriation Act 
for a prior fiscal year making carryover funds available)--
 ``

    (1) makes an appropriation, makes funds available, or 
 grants authority for such program, project, or activity to 
 continue for such period; or
 ``

    (2) specifically provides that no appropriation shall be 
 made, no funds shall be made available, or no authority shall 
 be granted for such program, project, or activity to continue 
 for such period.
 ``
            (i) (1) Subject to paragraph

    (2) , the head of an agency may, with 
the approval of the Office of Management and Budget, transfer funds 
made available to such agency for an appropriation account pursuant to 
this section to any other appropriation account of such agency.
 ``

    (2) Not more than 5 percent of any appropriation account may be 
transferred to another appropriation account under paragraph

    (1) .
 ``

    (3) The authority provided by this subsection to transfer 
appropriated funds--
 ``
        (A) may be used only to provide funds for items relating 
 to activities necessary for a program, project, or activity 
 that has a higher priority than the programs, projects, or 
 activities carried out using amounts from the accounts from 
 which the funds are transferred; and
 ``
        (B) may not be used to provide funds for an item for 
 which Congress has specifically denied funds.
 ``

    (4) The head of an agency executing a transfer under this 
subsection shall promptly notify the Committee on Appropriations of the 
Senate and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
Representatives of any transfer of funds to or from any appropriation.
 ``

    (j) No appropriation of funds made available or authority granted 
pursuant to this section shall be used to initiate or resume any 
program, project or activity for which appropriations, funds, or other 
authority were specifically prohibited during the previous fiscal year 
under the appropriation Act.''.

    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter 13 of 
title 31, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to 

section 1310 the following:

``1311. Automatic continuing appropriations.''.

SEC. 3. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    (a) Classification of Budgetary Effects.--The budgetary effects of 
this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall be estimated as if 
this Act and the amendments made by this Act are discretionary 
appropriation Acts for purposes of 

section 251 of the Balanced Budget 
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901).

    (b) Baseline.--For purposes of calculating the baseline under 

section 257 of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985 (2 U.S.C. 907), the provision of budgetary resources under 

section 1311 of title 31, United States Code, as added by this Act, for an 
account shall be considered to be a continuing appropriation in effect 
for such account for less than the entire current year.
            (c) Enforcement of Discretionary Spending Limits.--

    (1) In general.--For purposes of enforcing the 
 discretionary spending limits under 

section 251

    (a) of the 
 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 
 U.S.C. 901

    (a) ), the budgetary resources made available under 
 

section 1311 of title 31, United States Code, as added by this 
 Act, shall be considered part-year appropriations for purposes 
 of 

section 251

    (a)

    (4) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency 
 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901

    (a)

    (4) ).

    (2) Report.--If a report under 

section 254

    (f) of the 
 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 
 U.S.C. 904

    (f) ) is required during a lapse in appropriations, 
 the due date of such report shall be the later of the date 
 specified in 

section 251

    (a)

    (1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 901

    (a)

    (1) ) 
 or 30 calendar days after the first day of the lapse in 
 appropriations.

SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.

 This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on 
September 30, 2025.
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