With funding for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and about 20% of the rest of the government set to expire at midnight on Friday, the House and Senate today approved a short-term spending bill that will keep HUD and a few other government agencies funded through March 1 and about 80% of the rest of the government funded through March 8.

Of note to the housing community, funding for the National Flood Insurance Program will be extended through March 8.

House and Senate leaders have decided on a topline budget for fiscal year 2024 — $1.59 trillion in discretionary spending. The hard work is deciding how to allocate this total figure among the 12 individual spending bills that provide the full-year budget for the federal government.

The continuing resolution to maintain overall spending at fiscal 2023 levels until early March is intended to buy time for lawmakers to pass a set of annual spending bills that will fund the government through fiscal 2024, which ends on Sept. 30, 2024.

As the entire appropriations process moves forward with HUD and other relevant agencies, NAHB will continue to monitor developments closely and weigh in as appropriate.