A stopgap funding bill that cleared the House of Representatives last week and the Senate yesterday will keep government agencies operating, including the FAA, through December 11. Signed by the president immediately after Senate passage, the bill was enacted hours before Fiscal Year 2020 expired, averting another government-wide shutdown. The bill was a relatively straightforward extension of government funding at levels that had been established in FY2020 appropriations.

Passage of the continuing resolution enables Congress to push off debate on most of the funding until after the November elections. The House already has approved its version of the full-year FY2021 transportation funding bill. That measure, included in a larger “minibus” that involved several other agencies, cleared the House in late July, shortly before it took an August break.

That bill would provide $18.1 billion for the FAA in the 2021 budget, marking a $522 million boost over 2020. It included additional funds for the agency’s safety efforts and airports. The Senate has not yet acted on transportation funding for the FY2021 budget.