President Trump today signed the first appropriations package for fiscal year 2019. H.R. 5895 contains three annual appropriations bills: Energy-Water, Milcon-VA, and Legislative Branch. Congress is preparing to send the president a second spending package the week of Sept. 24, hoping to avoid a government shutdown.

On Sept. 18, the Senate passed, 93-7, the spending package (H.R. 6157) that covers funding for Defense and Labor-HHS-Education. It also includes a continuing resolution (or “CR) that will keep the rest of the federal government running through Dec. 7 – these are the agencies that won’t receive their full FY 2019 funding before the end of the fiscal year.

The House will vote and pass H.R. 6157 the week of Sept. 24.