Congress approved, and President Trump signed, legislation reopening the government by providing continuation of funding for most agencies at current levels through January 31. The action ends the 43-day government shutdown, the longest in history. Also in the package are three separate appropriations bills funding individual agencies, including the Department of Agriculture. These three bills had made some movement in the legislative process although were not finalized prior to the shutdown. Different versions of the USDA bill were reported from the House appropriations committee and approved in the Senate.
Generally, the Senate numbers for USDA were adopted and include $26.7 billion in discretionary spending and rejects many cuts proposed by the White House and House appropriators. The bill provides $903 million for conservation programs while rejecting the White House's call to reduce this funding at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) by $783 million, 88%. Instead, the final package provides NRCS a $38 million increase, 4.1%.
Department of Transportation funding was not addressed separately and therefore is part of the continuing resolution with current funding levels retained pending final action in January. Generally, highway and bridge funding is not impacted by government shutdowns as these programs are supported by the Highway Trust Fund. Nevertheless, there is always some degree of uncertainty and having a temporary funding agreement in place gives state DOTs the assurance necessary to move forward with planned projects.