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Congress passes the American Relief Act of 2025 Avoiding a Federal Government Shutdown
On December 20, Congress passed the American Relief Act of 2025 just minutes before the deadline. After House members voted to pass the bill and send it to the Senate, President Biden expressed his intent to sign upon its passage in the Senate. The bill text is available here.
The legislation includes a short-term extension to current government funding through March 14 and $110 billion in disaster relief, farming aide, and other provisions. The package also extends several key public health programs facing a December 31 reauthorization deadline, including the Special Diabetes Program for Indians.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is one of the federal agencies funded through March 14 in the continuing resolution. The Indian Health Service (IHS) received FY 2025 advance appropriations on most accounts in the 2024 minibus spending package passed in March of this year; this means most IHS Services accounts are protected from disruptions in FY 2025. The passage of the continuing resolution does mean that IHS accounts such as the EHR Modernization, Indian Healthcare Improvement Fund, Sanitation Facilities Construction and Healthcare Facilities Construction will continue to have funding available. Additionally, the extension of funding into the new calendar year ensures Tribes and Tribal organizations with ISDEAA contracts or compacts running on calendar year cycles will be able to access contract support costs and section 105(l) lease payments for the full year. Any increases to IHS funding will occur when Congress passes the full-year FY 2025 funding package next year in the 119th Congress.
The Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) is extended through March 31, 2025, at $39,261,745 million, held flat at its $160 million annual funding level. This would bring FY 2025 total funding to $79,590,512 million. On March 9, the program received a $10 million increase included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 (P.L. 118-42). This was the first increase the program had received in over 20 years.
Medicare Telehealth Flexibilities and Hospital-at-Home Program are extended through March 31, 2025.
If you have any questions about the continuing resolution, please contact NIHB’s Director of Government Relations, Caitrin Shuy (cshuy@nihb.org), or NIHB’s Congressional Relations Director/Interim Federal Relations Director Winn Davis (wdavis@nihb.org).
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