The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014 (; ) is a law used to resolve both the
United States federal government shutdown of 2013
From October 1 to October 17, 2013, the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government entered a Government shutdown in the United States, shutdown and curtailed most routine operations because neither Appropriations b ...
and the
United States debt-ceiling crisis of 2013
In January 2013, the United States reached the $16.394 trillion debt ceiling that had been enacted following a crisis in 2011. The debt ceiling had been routinely raised previously on a bipartisan basis without conditions and without additio ...
. After the
Republican-led
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
could not agree on an originating resolution to end the government crisis, as had been agreed, the
Democratic-led
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
used bill H.R. 2775 to resolve the impasse and to satisfy the
Origination Clause
The Origination Clause, sometimes called the Revenue Clause,Wirls, Daniel and Wirls, Stephen. The Invention of the United States Senate', p. 188 (Taylor & Francis 2004). is Article I, Section 7, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. The clause says ...
requirement of
Article One of the United States Constitution
Article One of the Constitution of the United States establishes the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal government, the United States Congress. Under Article One, Congress is a bicameral legislature consist ...
, which requires that revenue bills must originate in the House of Representatives. Traditionally, appropriation bills also originate in the House of Representatives.
The original bill, H.R. 2775, was introduced into the House of Representatives on July 22, 2013 as the No Subsidies Without Verification Act. It sought to declare that no
premium tax credit
The premium tax credit (PTC) is a mechanism established by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) through which the United States federal government partially subsidizes the cost of private health insurance for certain lower- and middle-income individual ...
s or reductions in
cost-sharing Costs are shared when more than one party pays towards the total costs, or accounted for separately across a number of activities or projects.
In health care, cost sharing occurs when patients pay for a portion of health care costs not covered by ...
for the purchase of qualified health benefit plans under the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...
(PPACA, often informally known as "Obamacare") shall be allowed before the
Secretary of Health and Human Services
The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...
(HHS) certifies to Congress that there is a program in place, consistent with PPACA requirements, that verifies the household income and coverage requirements of individuals applying for such credits and cost-sharing reduction.
The bill passed the House on September 12, 2013.
On October 16, 2013, the Senate amended the bill, renaming it the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014, adding a
continuing resolution
In the United States, a continuing resolution (often abbreviated to CR) is a type of appropriations legislation, which allocates money to specific federal government departments, agencies, and programs. The money provides funding for operation ...
to fund the government until January 15, 2014, and suspending the
U.S. debt ceiling until February 7, 2014, in addition to other matters, while retaining the House's original PPACA verification provision. The Senate passed the bill that evening on an 81–18 vote. The House also passed it on the same day by a 285–144 margin, and President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
signed the bill shortly after midnight, on October 17.
Original version
H.R. 2775 was originally introduced into the House of Representatives on July 22, 2013, under the name "No Subsidies Without Verification Act". The bill was only about a page long at that time (see th
text as introduced.
H.R. 2775 would declare that no premium tax credits or reductions in cost-sharing for the purchase of qualified health benefit plans under PPACA shall be allowed before the
Secretary of Health and Human Services
The United States secretary of health and human services is the head of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all health matters. The secretary is ...
(HHS) certifies to Congress that there is a program in place, consistent with PPACA requirements, that verifies the household income and coverage requirements of individuals applying for such credits and cost-sharing reduction.
Section 1411 of the PPACA establishes requirements for a program to determine whether someone meets the income and coverage qualifications for such premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies (among other things).
The House passed this version of the bill on September 12, 2013.
CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have estimated that the original H.R. 2775 would not affect direct spending or revenues.
A program is currently being put in place to verify income and coverage qualifications for the tax credits and subsidies, and that program appears to CBO and JCT to be in accordance with section 1411.
The CBO expects that the Secretary would certify before the beginning of 2014, when premium tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies would first be paid, that the requirements in H.R 2775 are satisfied.
Pay-as-you-go procedures (PAYGO) do not apply to the original H.R. 2775 because the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues in CBO and JCT's estimation.
H.R. 2775 does not contain any intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995.
Provisions of the final version
On October 16, 2013, the Senate significantly amended the bill, as follows:
* The Act includes a continuing resolution to fund the federal government until January 15, 2014.
The funding level is the same, on a pro rata basis, as had been for the FY2013 year.
* The Act suspends the U.S. debt ceiling until February 7, 2014.
* The Act retains the original House PPACA requirement for verification, setting up a process that will verify the incomes of people who apply for health insurance subsidies.
No other changes to PPACA were made.
* The two parties and two houses of Congress agreed to the creation of a joint budget conference to work on possible compromises and report back to Congress by December 13, 2013.
* The Act allows Congress to enact a "disapproval" resolution that would end the suspension of the debt ceiling. The same provision had been included in the previous suspension of the debt ceiling in the
No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013
The No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 (; ) is a law passed during the 113th United States Congress. The Act temporarily suspended the US debt ceiling from February 4 to May 18, 2013. It also placed temporary restrictions on Congressional salaries.
...
.
The Act also made a number of further appropriations, not limited to the January 15, 2014 cutoff:
* The Act authorized back payment to the 800,000 government workers who were furloughed during the 16-day government shutdown.
* The
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...
received an authorization increase of $2.2 billion in funding to improve a series of locks and dams on the Illinois-Kentucky border.
* $450 million was allocated to help repair the damage in
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
from the
2013 Colorado floods.
* The
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...
was allocated $36 million and the
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
was allocated $600 million to cover fighting forest fires and their damage.
* Bonnie Lautenberg, the widow of Democratic Senator
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg (; January 23, 1924 June 3, 2013) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician who served as United States Senator from New Jersey from 1982 to 2001, and again from 2003 until his death in 2013. He was ori ...
(who died during 2013), was allocated a $174,000 death benefit.
* The Act extends the sunset date on the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act by one year, to December 8, 2015.
* The Act does not block President Obama's proposal for a one percent pay increase for most federal civilian employees on January 1, 2014. The raise — which comes after a three-year federal pay freeze — was proposed by President Obama in August 2013, and according to existing law, automatically goes into effect unless blocked by Congressional budget legislation.
Procedural history
H.R. 2775 was introduced in the House on July 22, 2013, by
Rep. Diane Black (R, TN-6).
It was referred to the
United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce
The Committee on Energy and Commerce is one of the oldest standing committee (United States Congress), standing committees of the United States House of Representatives. Established in 1795, it has operated continuously—with various name chang ...
, the
United States House Energy Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Jurisdiction
The House Subcommittee on Health has general ju ...
, and the
United States House Committee on Ways and Means
The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progr ...
.
On September 12, 2013, the House voted i
Roll Call Vote 458to pass the bill 235-191.
On October 16, 2013, the Senate significantly changed the content of the original bill and changed the name of the bill to the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014. The Senate passed the bill around 7:56 p.m., i
Recorded Vote 219 with a vote of 81-18.
Democrats supported the bill 54–0, while Republicans supported it 27–18.
Those 18 Republicans against included Senators
Ted Cruz
Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...
,
Rand Paul
Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011.
A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...
, and
Marco Rubio
Marco Antonio Rubio (; born May 28, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...
, all considered potential
Republican candidates for president in 2016.
The House voted around 10:18 p.m. on the same day i
Roll Call Vote 550to pass the new Senate version 285-144.
Democrats supported the bill 198–0, while Republicans opposed it 87–144.
Speaker of the House
John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. representative ...
allowed the vote to go forward, despite continued Republican opposition, in order to avoid default.
This constituted a violation of the informal "
Hastert Rule", which Boehner had previously tried to adhere to on this matter.
Boehner, as well as House Majority Leader
Eric Cantor
Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Mino ...
and House Majority Whip
Kevin McCarthy
Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...
all voted in favor of it, while House Budget Committee Chair and 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee
Paul Ryan
Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...
voted against it.
A bizarre moment occurred at the end of the vote when a stenographer for the House began shouting paranoid religious messages and had to be removed from the well.
President Obama signed the bill into law on October 17, 2013, at around 12:30 a.m.
Debate and discussion
Debate about original version
The original bill was designed in response to hundreds of pages of regulations about Obamacare, which included a shift to an "honor system" for judging eligibility for Obamacare subsidies.
After it was introduced, the White House released a statement indicating that the President will veto the bill if it was passed by Congress.
Debate about the final version
Some Republicans were unhappy with the final deal. Senator Cruz referred to the Senate bill as a "terrible deal."
Two of the conservative organizations that had pushed for the attempt to defund the health law,
Heritage Action
Heritage Action, founded in 2010 as Heritage Action for America, is a conservative advocacy organization. Heritage Action, which has affiliates throughout the United States, is a sister organization of the Heritage Foundation, a Washington, D. ...
and the
Club for Growth
The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues.
Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass a ...
, opposed it.
Republicans did not get a delay on the medical device tax, a concession they wanted that had been included in the
Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 (H.J.Res 59).
Republicans also did not get a limitation on the
U.S. Treasury Department's ability to enact "emergency measures" to avoid default once a debt ceiling limit is reached.
The inclusion of the dam monies for Kentucky brought on some criticism. Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell
Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
of Kentucky was a prime architect of the overall deal, and the
Senate Conservatives Fund called the addition a "Kentucky Kickback".
But Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2 ...
defended it as actually saving the federal government money overall.
The Lautenberg bequest also attracted some attention as he had been one of the richest members of Congress.
After the deal
Following the conclusion of the deal that led to passage of the bill, Boehner said, "We fought the good fight. We just didn't win."
Republican Senator
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Olin Graham (; born July 9, 1955) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from South Carolina, a seat he has held since 2003. A membe ...
commented, "This package is a joke compared to what we could have gotten if we had a more reasonable approach."
President Obama said, "We've got to get out of the habit of governing by crisis."
The fact that the deal only pushed out the need for another continuing resolution or debt ceiling increase a few months, without resolving any of the fundamental underlying debates about the U.S. budget or debt, led a number of politicians and other observers to say that Congress was once again just "kicking the can down the road".
The federal government was opened again on October 17.
See also
*
List of bills in the 113th United States Congress
The bills of the 113th United States Congress list includes proposed federal laws that were introduced in the 113th United States Congress. This Congress lasted from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015.
The United States Congress is the bicamer ...
References
External links
Congress.gov H.R. 2775GovTrack.us H.R. 2775OpenCongress.org H.R. 2775House Republican Conference legislative digest on H.R. 2775Congressional Budget Office's original report on H.R. 2775Congressional Budget Office's estimate of the amended H.R. 2775
{{US government sources
United States federal appropriations in the 113th Congress
Acts of the 113th United States Congress