Administration and Congressional leaders agreed to suspend mandatory discretionary budget cuts included in the Budget Control Act of 2011, cuts that would have gone into effect starting Sept. 30.  Negotiators also agreed to suspend the federal statutory debt ceiling through July 31, 2021.  Absent any agreement, the debt ceiling was expected to be breached later next month.

This budget agreement means that cuts to credit union priorities will likely be averted.  Such priorities include funding for the Small Business Administration, the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund and NCUA’s Community Development Revolving Loan Fund.

The product of these negotiations was the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2019 (H.R. 3877), which passed the House in a bipartisan vote of 284-149.  The Senate is expected to pass this legislation and the president has agreed to sign it into law.

The legislation will spend $1.37 trillion in fiscal year (FY) 2020, and raise spending for military and non-military programs by $320 billion in FY 2020 and 2021.

While the House-passed legislation provides a legal framework for the budget deal, the Congress and the Administration still must complete the FY 2020 and 2021 appropriations process. 

Additional details can be found at CUNA’s Removing Barriers Blog.