I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5552 
To provide for automatic continuing appropriations. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 23, 2025 
Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota (for himself and Mr. STEIL) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Appropriations, 
and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for automatic continuing appropriations. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Eliminate Shutdowns 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. AUTOMATIC CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 13 of title 
31, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
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‘‘§ 1311. Automatic continuing appropriations 
‘‘(a) For purposes of this section— 
‘‘(1) the term ‘lapse in appropriations’ means a 
time period during which— 
‘‘(A) the applicable full-year appropriation 
Act for a program, project, or activity has not 
been enacted for the current fiscal year; 
‘‘(B) the program, project, or activity was 
provided funding in the preceding applicable ap-
propriation Act; and 
‘‘(C) no continuing appropriation Act is in 
effect for such program, project, or activity; 
and 
‘‘(2) the term ‘preceding applicable appropria-
tion Act’ means— 
‘‘(A) the most recent continuing appropria-
tion Act enacted; or 
‘‘(B) if no continuing appropriation Act 
has been enacted for the current fiscal year, the 
most recent applicable full-year appropriation 
Act (including a full-year continuing appropria-
tion Act) enacted for the immediately preceding 
fiscal year (excluding any supplemental appro-
priation Act). 
‘‘(b)(1) On and after the first day of each fiscal year, 
if a lapse in appropriations occurs with respect to a pro-
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gram, project, or activity, there are appropriated such 
sums as may be necessary, at the rate for operations as 
provided in the preceding applicable appropriation Acts 
under the authorities and conditions provided in such 
Acts, for continuing programs, projects or activities (in-
cluding the costs of direct loans and loan guarantees) that 
were conducted under such Acts and for which appropria-
tions, funds, or other authorities were made available in 
such Acts. 
‘‘(2)(A) Appropriations and funds made available and 
authority granted under paragraph (1) shall be available 
for a period of 14 calendar days. 
‘‘(B) If, at the end of the first 14 calendar-day period 
during which appropriations and funds are made available 
and authority is granted under paragraph (1), and the end 
of every 14 calendar-day period thereafter, a lapse in ap-
propriations with respect to a program, project, or activity 
continues, the appropriations and funds made available 
and authority granted under paragraph (1) with respect 
to the program, project, or activity shall be extended for 
an additional 14 calendar-day period. 
‘‘(3) For entitlements and other mandatory payments 
whose budget authority was provided for in preceding ap-
plicable appropriation Acts, under a law other than this 
section providing full-year continuing appropriations for 
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the preceding fiscal year, or under this section, and for 
activities under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, ap-
propriations and funds made available for a fiscal year 
under paragraph (1) shall be at the rate necessary to 
maintain program levels under current law, and under the 
authority and conditions provided in the preceding appli-
cable appropriation Act. 
‘‘(c) Appropriations and funds made available, and 
authority granted, for any fiscal year pursuant to this sec-
tion for a program, project, or activity shall be available, 
in accordance with subsection (b), for the period— 
‘‘(1) beginning on the first day of any lapse in 
appropriations during such fiscal year; and 
‘‘(2) ending on the date of enactment of an ap-
propriation Act for such fiscal year with respect to 
the account for such program, project, or activity 
(whether or not such Act provides appropriations for 
such program, project, or activity) or a continuing 
appropriation Act providing funding for the pro-
gram, project, or activity, as applicable. 
‘‘(d) Expenditures made for a program, project, or 
activity for any fiscal year pursuant to this section shall 
be charged to the applicable appropriation, fund, or au-
thorization whenever an appropriation Act for such fiscal 
year with respect to the account for a program, project, 
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or activity or a law making continuing appropriations until 
the end of such fiscal year for such program, project, or 
activity is enacted. 
‘‘(e) Appropriations and funds made available by, or 
authority granted pursuant to, this section may be used 
without regard to the time limitations for submission and 
approval of apportionments set forth in section 1513 of 
this, but nothing in this section shall be construed to waive 
any other provision of law governing the apportionment 
of funds. 
‘‘(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec-
tion, except for subsection (c), for those programs that 
would otherwise have high initial rates of operation or 
complete distribution of appropriations at the beginning 
of the applicable fiscal year because of distributions of 
funding to States, foreign countries, grantees, or others, 
such high initial rates of operation or complete distribu-
tion shall not be made, and no grants shall be awarded 
for such programs funded by this section that would im-
pinge on final funding prerogatives. 
‘‘(g) This section shall be implemented so that only 
the most limited funding action of that permitted under 
this section shall be taken in order to provide for continu-
ation of programs, projects and activities. 
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‘‘(h) This section shall not apply to a program, 
project, or activity during a lapse in appropriations if any 
other provision of law (other than an authorization of ap-
propriations or an appropriation Act for a prior fiscal year 
making carryover funds available)— 
‘‘(1) makes an appropriation, makes funds 
available, or grants authority for such program, 
project, or activity to continue for such period; or 
‘‘(2) specifically provides that no appropriation 
shall be made, no funds shall be made available, or 
no authority shall be granted for such program, 
project, or activity to continue for such period. 
‘‘(i)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the head of an 
agency may, with the approval of the Office of Manage-
ment and Budget, transfer funds made available to such 
agency for an appropriation account pursuant to this sec-
tion to any other appropriation account of such agency. 
‘‘(2) Not more than 5 percent of any appropriation 
account may be transferred to another appropriation ac-
count under paragraph (1). 
‘‘(3) The authority provided by this subsection to 
transfer appropriated funds— 
‘‘(A) may be used only to provide funds for 
items relating to activities necessary for a program, 
project, or activity that has a higher priority than 
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the programs, projects, or activities carried out 
using amounts from the accounts from which the 
funds are transferred; and 
‘‘(B) may not be used to provide funds for an 
item for which Congress has specifically denied 
funds. 
‘‘(4) The head of an agency executing a transfer 
under this subsection shall promptly notify the Committee 
on Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives of any 
transfer of funds to or from any appropriation. 
‘‘(j) No appropriation of funds made available or au-
thority granted pursuant to this section shall be used to 
initiate or resume any program, project or activity for 
which appropriations, funds, or other authority were spe-
cifically prohibited during the previous fiscal year under 
the appropriation Act.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
for chapter 13 of title 31, United States Code, is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 1310 the 
following: 
‘‘1311. Automatic continuing appropriations.’’. 
SEC. 3. BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 
(a) CLASSIFICATION
OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.— 
The budgetary effects of this Act and the amendments 
made by this Act shall be estimated as if this Act and 
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the amendments made by this Act are discretionary appro-
priation Acts for purposes of section 251 of the Balanced 
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 
U.S.C. 901). 
(b) BASELINE.—For purposes of calculating the 
baseline under section 257 of the Balanced Budget and 
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 907), 
the provision of budgetary resources under section 1311 
of title 31, United States Code, as added by this Act, for 
an account shall be considered to be a continuing appro-
priation in effect for such account for less than the entire 
current year. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT OF DISCRETIONARY SPENDING 
LIMITS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of enforcing 
the discretionary spending limits under section 
251(a) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Def-
icit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(a)), the 
budgetary resources made available under section 
1311 of title 31, United States Code, as added by 
this Act, shall be considered part-year appropria-
tions for purposes of section 251(a)(4) of the Bal-
anced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 
1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(a)(4)). 
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