FY 2021 Begins Under a CR; COVID Relief Negotiations Up in the Air
Federal fiscal year (FY) 2021 officially began on October 1. As previously reported, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) last month keeping the government operating past the November elections until December 11; the President has since signed the CR into law. What this means for FY 2021 science funding is unknown. The lame-duck Congress will return after the election and may attempt to finalize FY 2021 spending, or pass another CR kicking the responsibility to the next Congress that will be seated in January. The fate of funding largely lies in the outcome of the Congressional and Presidential elections and which party will hold the majority in Congress and the White House come January. You can follow COSSA’s coverage of FY 2021 science funding, including actions taken to date, on our website.
In other news, negotiations on the next round of COVID-19 relief have all but fallen apart, with the President calling on his surrogates to end negotiations with Congress until after the elections, and then reversing course and urging passage of a large relief package. Democrats and Republicans remain at odds over the amount of supplemental funding needed, signaling that a deal before the November elections is unlikely. You can follow COSSA’s COVID-19 coverage on our website.