Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025

It avoids a government shutdown, maintains major public services and benefits, and gives agencies full-year funding generally based on fiscal year 2024 levels.

What the law does ​

• Funds most federal departments and programs through fiscal year 2025, with targeted increases, reductions, transfers, rescissions, and advance funding.
• Sets specific funding for defense, veterans, disaster relief, nutrition, rental assistance, aviation, wildfire response, and other priorities.
• Extends community health center, health workforce, diabetes, Medicare, Medicaid, telehealth, hospital-at-home, and health security policies through September 2025.
• Delays scheduled Medicaid hospital payment cuts and revises their schedule through fiscal year 2028.
• Extends whistleblower, counter-drone, cybersecurity, fentanyl scheduling, and criminal assessment authorities through September 2025.
• Requires agency spending plans and monthly Office of Management and Budget reports to Congress while excluding prior-year earmarks.

Who it affects ​

• Federal agencies, employees, contractors, veterans, service members, and communities relying on disaster and wildfire response.
• Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, hospitals, community health centers, healthcare workers, and patients using telehealth or hospital-at-home services.
• Families receiving nutrition, housing, disability, child support, foster care, and other federal assistance.
• Financial-market whistleblowers, protected federal facilities, cybersecurity operators, and people subject to fentanyl-related or criminal enforcement rules.

Context ​

Most programs continue under fiscal year 2024 funding terms unless the law specifies a different amount or rule.

Breakdown ​

DIVISION A, FULL-YEAR CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2025 ​

This division funds most federal departments and programs through September 30, 2025, generally using fiscal year 2024 funding levels and rules while setting different amounts for many specific accounts. It also provides targeted increases, reductions, advance funding, transfers, and rescissions across defense, veterans, disaster relief, agriculture, health, transportation, housing, energy, and other federal activities.

Key takeaways

• Most federal programs continue through fiscal year 2025 under their fiscal year 2024 funding terms unless this division provides a specific exception.
• The division sets detailed funding levels for major agencies and programs, including the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, FEMA disaster relief, WIC, rental assistance, aviation operations, and wildfire response.
• It provides advance funding for fiscal year 2026 benefits and services, including Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, foster care, child support programs, disabled coal miner benefits, and veterans programs.
• Fiscal year 2024 earmarks do not apply to the funds provided by this division.
• Federal departments and agencies must submit detailed fiscal year 2025 spending plans, and the Office of Management and Budget must report monthly to Congress on obligations and compare them with fiscal year 2024 spending.
• The division rescinds selected unused funds, permits specified transfers and reprogramming, and preserves emergency or disaster designations for qualifying funds.

DIVISION B, HEALTH ​

This division extends funding and authority through September 30, 2025, for a range of public health, Medicare, Medicaid, and human services programs. It supports community health centers, health workforce and diabetes programs, preserves several Medicare payment and telehealth policies, continues health security authorities, and delays scheduled Medicaid hospital payment reductions.

Key takeaways

• It provides approximately $2.14 billion for community health centers, $173 million for the National Health Service Corps, and $87.7 million for teaching health center graduate medical education for April through September 2025.
• It provides approximately $79.8 million each for the Type 1 diabetes program and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians, with the funds available until spent.
• It extends specified national health security authorities through September 30, 2025.
• It continues through September 2025 several Medicare policies, including low-volume and Medicare-dependent hospital payments, ambulance add-on payments, the work geographic index floor, telehealth flexibilities, hospital-at-home waivers, and temporary Part D coverage of authorized oral antivirals.
• It increases or extends funding for Medicare quality measures, assistance for low-income beneficiaries, the Medicare Improvement Fund, sexual risk avoidance education, personal responsibility education, and family-to-family health information centers.
• It postpones scheduled Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payment reductions and revises their schedule through fiscal year 2028, while also changing the timing of Medicare sequestration adjustments.

DIVISION C, OTHER MATTERS ​

This division extends several federal programs, authorities, and requirements through September 30, 2025. It also excludes the budget effects of Divisions B and C from specified federal budget enforcement calculations and scorecards.

Key takeaways

• The Commodity Futures Trading Commission whistleblower program is extended through September 30, 2025.
• Federal authority to protect certain facilities and assets from unmanned aircraft is extended through September 30, 2025.
• The additional special assessment on certain convicted individuals is extended through September 30, 2025.
• Authorization for the National Cybersecurity Protection System is extended through September 30, 2025.
• The temporary scheduling order for fentanyl-related substances is extended through September 30, 2025.
• The budget effects of Divisions B and C are excluded from specified statutory and Senate PAYGO scorecards and other budget enforcement calculations.