Congress

Enhanced Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies that were expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress takes legislative action.

Enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium subsidies are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025 unless Congress enacts legislation to extend them.

U.S. federal criminal law includes offenses for making false statements to Congress and for obstructing a congressional proceeding.

A continuing resolution is a temporary funding measure that Congress can use to fund the federal government short term when regular appropriations bills have not been enacted.

A proposed approach to prevent federal government shutdowns is to establish a rolling short-term continuing appropriations mechanism that funds agencies at the previous fiscal year's spending levels when Congress fails to enact new appropriations.

A continuing resolution (CR) is a temporary funding measure that Congress can pass to keep federal government operations funded until a specified future date when regular appropriations are enacted.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) establishes premium tax credits (commonly referred to as ObamaCare subsidies) that affect health insurance premiums and can be extended by Congress on a temporary or permanent basis.

Furloughs of federal employees during U.S. government shutdowns are typically temporary, and once Congress resolves the funding standoff employees generally return to work and receive back pay.

Temporary judicial stays of government programs can effectively terminate those programs when appropriated funds expire before the underlying legal disputes are fully resolved.

Congress can use short-term federal funding bills, commonly called continuing resolutions, to extend federal funding deadlines and provide more time to complete annual appropriations for a fiscal year.

A federal government shutdown occurs when Congress fails to enact funding by the statutory deadline, which leads to suspension of non-essential federal services and furloughs while many essential federal employees and active-duty service members may be required to continue working without pay.

Congress can pass short-term funding measures (continuing resolutions) to temporarily fund the federal government and provide more time for negotiation on policy issues.

Furloughed federal employees typically return to work and receive back pay once Congress resolves a government shutdown.

A continuing resolution (CR) is a short-term funding measure used to keep the federal government open temporarily while Congress completes the appropriations process.

Prior to the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, Congress generally had to enact new legislation to provide retroactive pay to federal employees after a lapse in appropriations (a government shutdown).

The War Powers Resolution of 1973 requires the U.S. president to consult with Congress before introducing U.S. armed forces into hostilities unless there is a declaration of war or other congressional authorization; if Congress does not authorize the use of military force, the president must withdraw forces within 90 days; the law was enacted in 1973 in response to the Vietnam War as a check on presidential war-making powers.

The U.S. Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to declare war (Article I, Section 8).

The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program was established in the late 1980s after lawsuits related to the older DTP vaccine led several manufacturers to leave the market and contributed to vaccine shortages, prompting Congress to enact measures that partially shielded vaccine manufacturers from liability to help ensure continued vaccine production.

Federal employees classified as essential and required to work during a government shutdown are generally entitled to receive back pay after Congress restores government funding.