Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025
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This law funds the federal government through the rest of fiscal year 2025, largely at 2024 spending levels, avoiding a shutdown after the prior stopgap expired, while adjusting funding for defense, veterans' health, and dozens of other accounts.
It also extends a long list of expiring health, law enforcement, and immigration authorities, including Medicare telehealth flexibilities, community health center funding, the National Flood Insurance Program, and the DEA's fentanyl scheduling order, keeping them running through September 30, 2025.
What this law does
What it does
The law provides continuing appropriations for federal departments and agencies for the remainder of fiscal year 2025, generally continuing fiscal year 2024 funding levels while making numerous specific adjustments—raising or lowering amounts for hundreds of individual accounts across defense, homeland security, agriculture, transportation, housing, veterans affairs, and other agencies. It sets veterans' medical and benefits funding for fiscal year 2026 in advance, appropriates additional funds for defense operations and the Cost of War Toxic Exposure Fund, and rescinds a number of unobligated balances. Separately, it extends dozens of expiring authorities and programs, including community health center and National Health Service Corps funding, Medicare telehealth and hospital payment provisions, the National Flood Insurance Program, TANF, the CFTC whistleblower program, DHS drone-mitigation and cybersecurity authorities, the U.S. Parole Commission, and the DEA's temporary fentanyl-analogue scheduling order, generally through September 30, 2025.
Key provisions
- 1Would continue, and now provides, appropriations for most federal agencies for the rest of fiscal year 2025 generally at fiscal year 2024 levels, with numerous account-specific adjustments.
- 2Sets advance fiscal year 2026 funding levels for veterans' medical care and benefits accounts and appropriates additional funds for compensation, pensions, and toxic exposure programs.
- 3Provides additional defense funding, including $8 billion for military personnel, operations, and maintenance related to Central Command and European Command operations.
- 4Extends numerous public health and Medicare authorities—including telehealth flexibilities, community health center funding, and hospital payment adjustments—through September 30, 2025.
- 5Extends the National Flood Insurance Program's borrowing and program authorities through the date this Act specifies.
- 6Extends the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and delays scheduled Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital payment reductions.
- 7Extends the CFTC whistleblower program, DHS drone-mitigation and cybersecurity authorities, the U.S. Parole Commission, and the DEA's fentanyl-analogue scheduling order through September 30, 2025.
Who is affected
Nearly every federal agency and program funded through annual appropriations, plus recipients of extended programs such as community health centers, Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth, veterans receiving VA medical care and benefits, flood insurance policyholders, TANF recipients, and state and local law enforcement grant recipients.
Why it matters
By continuing funding, the law avoids a government shutdown and keeps federal agencies operating, while its targeted funding adjustments and program extensions determine specific funding levels and whether beneficiaries keep access to programs like telehealth, flood insurance, and health center services through the fiscal year's end.
What changed
Changes to existing law
Reauthorizes National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (Sec. 1709)
Extends the flood insurance program's borrowing and related authorities from their prior expiration to the date this Act specifies.
Amends Social Security Act (Medicare telehealth and hospital payment provisions)
Pushes back expiration dates for telehealth flexibilities, low-volume and Medicare-dependent hospital payments, and ambulance add-on payments to September or October 2025.
Reauthorizes Social Security Act, part A of title IV (TANF) (Sec. 1912)
Continues TANF activities in the manner authorized for fiscal year 2024 through the date specified in this Act.
Amends Social Security Act § 1923 (Medicaid DSH payments) (Sec. 2401)
Delays scheduled Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital allotment reductions and extends the relevant time period through 2028.
Reauthorizes Public Law 117-25 (CFTC whistleblower program) (Sec. 3101)
Extends whistleblower program authorities from March 14, 2025 to September 30, 2025.
Reauthorizes Homeland Security Act of 2002 § 210G (counter-drone authority) (Sec. 3102)
Extends DHS and DOJ authority to counter credible unmanned aircraft threats through September 30, 2025.
Reauthorizes Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act (Sec. 3105)
Extends the DEA's temporary order placing fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I through September 30, 2025.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Most continuing appropriations remain available
- Advance veterans' medical and benefits appropriations become available
- Extended Medicare telehealth and related health provisions run
- Department and agency spending plans due to Appropriations Committees
- OMB obligation reports due monthly to Appropriations Committees
Funding and costs
- $261,063,820,000
Advance first-quarter FY2026 Medicaid payments to states
- $22,510,000,000
FEMA Disaster Relief Fund for major disasters
- $8,000,000,000
Additional Defense Department funds for Central Command and European Command operations
- $30,242,064,000
Additional VA Compensation and Pensions benefits
- $6,000,000,000
VA Cost of War Toxic Exposure Fund
- $2,135,835,616
Community health centers funding for April-September 2025
- $9,308,000,000
General Services Administration Federal Buildings Fund
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates that H.R. 1968 would provide discretionary appropriations for fiscal year 2025 totaling roughly $1.7 trillion, about $13 billion less than the annualized level provided by the continuing resolution then in effect.
Division A of H.R. 1968 would fund all 12 regular appropriations bills for the remainder of fiscal year 2025. CBO estimated that discretionary outlays under the bill would be approximately $13 billion lower than those under an extension of the prior continuing resolution, primarily due to an across-the-board reduction of about 1 percent applied to most discretionary spending. The bill also includes various extensions of expiring programs and authorizations (Division B and beyond), which CBO found would have modest effects on direct (mandatory) spending and revenues. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill that would exceed the statutory thresholds under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
How it works
Agencies generally continue operating under fiscal year 2024 terms and conditions unless the law specifies a different amount or condition for a particular account. Several sections require agencies—including the Department of Defense, State Department, and others—to submit spending or operating plans to the Appropriations Committees within 45 days, and the Office of Management and Budget must report monthly on obligations through November 2025. Many provisions amend expiration dates in existing statutes by substituting new dates, allowing agencies to continue programs without further congressional action until the new deadlines.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Became Public Law No: 119-4.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill provides continuing FY2025 appropriations for federal agencies and extends various expiring programs and authorities.
Specifically, the bill provides continuing FY2025 appropriations to federal agencies for the remainder of FY2025. It is known as a continuing resolution (CR) and prevents a government shutdown that would otherwise occur if the FY2025 appropriations bills have not been enacted when the existing CR expires on March 14, 2025.
The CR funds most programs and activities at the FY2024 levels. It also includes several additional provisions that increase or decrease funding for various programs compared to FY2024 levels.
In addition, the bill extends several expiring programs and authorities, including
- several public health, Medicare, and Medicaid authorities and programs;
- the National Flood Insurance Program;
- authorities related to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission whistleblower program;
- the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) National Cybersecurity Protection System;
- authorities for DHS and the Department of Justice to take certain actions to mitigate a credible threat from an unmanned aircraft system;
- the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program;
- several immigration-related programs and authorities;
- the special assessment on nonindigent persons or entities convicted of certain offenses involving sexual abuse or human trafficking;
- the temporary scheduling order issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration to place fentanyl-related substances in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act;
- the authorization for the U.S. Parole Commission; and
- the Department of Agriculture livestock mandatory price reporting program.
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