On Tuesday, December 20, 2022, Congress unveiled a highly anticipated $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations package to fund the Federal government for federal fiscal year 2023 (FY2023), which began on October 1, 2022, and ends September 30, 2023. Federal funding had previously been extended by a series of continuing resolutions, or CRs, which level-funds the government at current amounts. The most recent CR was set to expire Friday December 23, 2022.
The full text of the 4155-page bill can be found at: https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/JRQ121922.PDF
The bill is a result of intensive congressional negotiations that included disagreements both within and between the two houses of Congress and intra- and inter-party as well. Both parties had previously threatened the possibility of a year-long CR, an outcome which ultimately would benefit few. The Senate is expected to pass the bill sometime on December 22, and the House will consider it shortly thereafter and is expected to pass it by the Friday deadline.
The FY2023 omnibus package provides modest funding increases for aging & disability programs, includes a clear glidepath for Medicaid eligibility redeterminations, long-term extensions of MFP and HCBS spousal impoverishment programs, first-time funding for the aging network research center, and a substantial increase for Older Americans Act home-delivered nutrition. However, the legislation also did not include other key priorities. The legislation did not reauthorize the Elder Justice Act, provided only $15 million for Adult Protective Services, and overall did not provide large increases in funding for OAA programs that many across the Aging Network, including ADvancing States, have pushed for as necessary.