Inside (the Beltway) Scoop

By: Ellen Kuo
Thursday, September 11, 2025
Continuing Resolution Looms, Appropriators Continue Markups

As the number of legislative days winds down for the month of September, with the entire week of September 21 scheduled for both chambers to be out of session, legislators are working out how to fund the government past the September 30 deadline when funding for the fiscal year (FY) 2025 ends. Since returning on September 2, appropriators in both bodies have moved forward with marking up remaining annual appropriations bills, but hopes are not high that all twelve of them will become law and allow all the government agencies and programs to be funded. There are many factors weighing on the minds of legislators as to how to proceed. Democrats have generally been unhappy with the spending bills that have been passed by the full committee, but 60 votes are needed in the Senate to pass spending bills. Piled on top is the latest Office of Management and Budget (OMB) unilateral attempt to rescind $4.9 billion in previously enacted foreign aid funds after Congress approved the previous rescission of $9 billion in H.R. 4.

The atmosphere on Capitol Hill continues to be charged, but thankfully, OMB is not trying to rescind previously enacted funding for science agencies, which was not clear until the release of the request on August 28. This latest attempt has further energized appropriators to push back, including the Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, who said the U.S. Government Accountability Office has included this type of rescission is unlawful. Vice Chair Patty Murray also agreed. Former recognized budget and appropriations congressional staff leaders also wrote to the House and Senate leadership and appropriators in both chambers in opposition to this attempt calling saying,” Based on materials on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) website, OMB Director Russell Vought describes this proposal as a so-called “pocket rescission”, asserting that the President, under the Impoundment Control Act (ICA), has the authority to unilaterally cancel funding if Congress fails to act within 45 days of continuous session… The Government Accountability Office (GAO) already has explained, in an opinion dated December 10, 2018, that Director Vought cannot rely on the ICA to justify withholding funds long enough for them to expire without congressional action.”

On September 2, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) subcommittee Chair Robert Aderholt conducted the much-anticipated subcommittee markup of the largest non-defense spending bill in the federal government. In the Republican summary of the bill, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is provided $48 billion. The Senate Appropriations committee managed to complete the corresponding bill before the August recess, with subcommittee Chair Shelley Moore Capito announcing the amount of $48.7 billion for NIH. It was uncertain whether the House would attempt to conform to the president’s 40 percent reduction in the NIH budget for FY 2025 and attempt to restructure NIH by consolidating the institutes and centers as the president had requested. House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole said, "We are investing taxpayer dollars where they matter most - into programs that deliver real results for the American people. This bill prioritizes cutting-edge biomedical research, strengthens our medical supply chains and biodefense infrastructure, and ensures support for rural hospitals and public health programs.” 

However, during the subcommittee markup, ranking member Rosa DeLauro said, “The bill cuts NIH research funding by nearly $500 million. This comes as Russ Vought has cancelled previously awarded grants, throwing away potential life-saving cures or treatments, and wasting millions of dollars in the process. It is sad because it was not long ago that I worked on a bipartisan basis with Chairman Tom Cole — for eight straight years — to provide annual funding increases for NIH research. Biomedical research used to be a bipartisan priority in Congress. Sadly, those days seem to be gone.”