Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024

Further Additional Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024

This bill provides continuing FY2024 appropriations for federal agencies. The bill also extends several expiring programs and authorities, including several public health programs.

DIVISION A--FURTHER ADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024

Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024

(Sec. 101) This section provides continuing FY2024 appropriations for federal agencies. It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur if the FY2024 appropriations bills have not been enacted when the existing CR expires.

The CR provides funding through March 1, 2024, for agencies and programs that were funded in the following four FY2023 appropriations acts:

• the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023;
• the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023;
• the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023; and
• the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2023.

(Under the current CR, these agencies and programs are funded through January 19, 2024.)

For most other federal agencies and programs, the CR provides funding through March 8, 2024. (Under the current CR, these agencies and programs are funded through February 2, 2024.)

The CR generally funds most programs and activities at the FY2023 levels with several exceptions that provide funding flexibility and additional appropriations for various programs. For example, the CR includes exceptions for the National Nuclear Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration.

In addition, the CR allows the Department of Defense to obligate specified funds from the Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy account for the procurement of one Columbia Class Submarine.

The CR also extends the authority for the U.S. Parole Commission.

DIVISION B--OTHER MATTERS

TITLE I--HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Subtitle A--Public Health Extenders

(Sec. 101) This section extends through March 8, 2024, funding for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program, the Community Health Center Fund, and the National Health Services Corps. (The program supports education and training of medical students in primary care residency programs in community-based ambulatory patient care centers. The fund supports (1) grants for outpatient health care facilities that serve medically underserved populations; and (2) the National Health Service Corps, which provides scholarships and student loan repayment awards to health care providers who agree to work in areas with health care provider shortages.)

(Sec. 102) This section extends funding through March 8, 2024, for the Special Diabetes Program for Type I Diabetes and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians. (The Special Diabetes Program for Type I Diabetes supports research on the prevention and cure of Type I diabetes, and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians supports diabetes treatment and prevention for tribal populations.)

(Sec. 103) This section extends through March 8, 2024, the authority that allows states and tribes to request the temporary reassignment of state and local health department personnel who are funded through certain federal programs to immediately address a public health emergency.

It also extends through March 8, 2024, provisions that prohibit the disclosure of information about Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) programs that could compromise national security (e.g., information regarding biomedical threats).

The section extends provisions that authorize HHS to engage with developers of medical countermeasures, and that provide for related antitrust exemptions, for the purpose of furthering product development.

Additionally, the section extends through March 8, 2024, the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters, the National Advisory Committee on Seniors and Disasters, and the National Advisory Committee on Individuals with Disabilities and Disasters.

It also extends through March 8, 2024, the authority of HHS to directly appoint candidates to positions within the National Disaster Medical System if HHS determines the number of personnel in the system is insufficient to address a public health emergency or potential public health emergency.

(The National Disaster Medical System is a partnership between HHS, the Department of Defense, and other federal departments that responds to public health and other emergencies, including by deploying medical response teams.)

Subtitle B--Medicaid

(Sec. 121) This section delays reductions to Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) allotments until March 9, 2024. (DSHs are hospitals that receive additional payments under Medicaid for treating a large share of low-income patients.)

(Sec. 122) This section reduces the amount of funding available to the Medicaid Improvement Fund for activities relating to mechanized claims systems beginning in FY2028.

Subtitle C--Medicare

(Sec. 131) This section extends through March 8, 2024, certain minimum adjustments to the work geographic index with respect to payments for physician services under Medicare.

(Sec. 132) This section reduces funding for the Medicare Improvement Fund.

Subtitle D--Human Services

(Sec. 141) This section funds through March 8, 2024, programs that support child welfare services and activities. Specifically, it funds the (1) Stephanie Tubbs Jones Child Welfare Service Program, which provides grants to states and Indian tribes to support preventive interventions and other activities to keep families together; and (2) the MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, which supports efforts to prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families, improve quality of care and services to children and their families, and ensure permanent living arrangements for children (e.g., parental reunification or adoption).

(Sec. 142) This section extends funding through March 8, 2024, for the Sexual Risk Avoidance Education Program. This program supports projects to implement sexual risk avoidance education that teaches participants to voluntarily refrain from nonmarital sexual activities.

(Sec. 143) This section extends funding through March 8, 2024, for the Personal Responsibility Education Program. This program provides grants to states to educate young people about abstinence and contraception for prevention of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The program also supports pregnant and parenting youth

TITLE II--COMPACTS

(Sec. 201) This section extends through March 8, 2024, provisions that provide grants and other financial assistance to the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

TITLE III--COUNTER-UAS AUTHORITIES

(Sec. 301) This section extends through March 8, 2024, the authority of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to take certain actions to mitigate a credible threat to certain facilities or assets from an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). These include certain facilities that are located in the United States and identified as high-risk and a potential target for unlawful UAS activity.

TITLE IV--BUDGETARY EFFECTS

(Sec. 401) This section exempts the budgetary effects of this division from (1) the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (PAYGO Act), (2) the Senate PAYGO rule, and (3) certain budget scorekeeping rules.