Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
The $1.1 trillion funding bill signed by President Barack Obama on Dec. 16 allows most of the federal government to continue operating until September 2015 and avoids the threat of a government shutdown.
Federal funding is used for a broad spectrum of state and local purposes, ranging from special education to transportation infrastructure to clean drinking water.
No member of the Massachusetts congressional delegation voted for the spending bill, largely due to policy changes that were included, specifically regarding banking regulations and campaign finance limits. Much of the debate within Congress centered on attached policy riders, rather than spending levels.
Excluded from the nine-month spending resolution was the Department of Homeland Security, which will be funded through Feb. 27. The department is involved in the implementation of the president’s immigration reform policy, and congressional leadership wanted to give the new Congress the opportunity to re-examine the department’s spending during the next session, which will begin in January.
Included in the final spending resolution was a provision prohibiting federal agents from raiding retail medical marijuana sites in states where medical marijuana is legal, codifying the general policy of the Obama administration to not intervene with state marijuana laws. A majority of states, including Massachusetts, have legalized medical marijuana even though it remains illegal at the federal level.
A 16-day partial government shutdown in 2013 was followed by a bipartisan agreement to cap overall federal spending to just over $1 trillion per year. Various loopholes, however, allowed the total spending in the most recent bill to exceed the cap.
The country has operated without an annual budget since 2010 due to disagreements between the House and the Senate; government has instead been funded by a series of short-term spending resolutions.