On December 21, 2017, the Senate passed a short-term extension of federal funding to keep the government from shutting down for three more weeks, thereby by pushing a number of policy battles into 2018. This emergency funding bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 66 to 32 and the House by a vote of 231 to 188, will keep the government open at current levels of spending through January 19, 2018.

One of the most noteworthy provisions in the stopgap measure waives a budget rule that would trigger automatic cuts to Medicare and several other federal programs because of the deficit impact of the tax overhaul passed on December 20, 2017. In addition, the continuing resolution funds the popular Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) until March.

The operative word here is "temporary." Government contractors should pay attention to developments on this front and prepare themselves, to the maximum extent possible, for the possibility of a government shutdown. (Pub. Law No. 115-96, 12/22/2017)

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