Congress is set to leave for the year without funding one of the biggest pieces of legislation passed in 2010 - the Affordable Care Act.
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Democrats in the Senate had proposed allocating about $1 billion to implement ACA provisions in 2011, but their effort to pass the funding as part of an omnibus appropriations bill failed. With senators unable to agree on a number of appropriations issues, they scrapped the omnibus plan and on Dec. 21 passed a continuing resolution that will fund federal agencies at their 2010 levels through March 4. The short-term budget resolution also passed the House on Dec. 21.
The continuing resolution sets up a major budget battle between Democrats and Republicans in early 2011, when the GOP takes over the majority in the House. Many Republican lawmakers who opposed the Affordable Care Act have said they will vote not to fund implementation of the new law.
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