[Note from MOAA: USPHS has clarified the pay status of its officers. Read more here.]

Congress last week approved by unanimous consent a short-term spending bill called a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the remaining 25 percent of the federal government not appropriated with funding before the start of the new fiscal year, Oct. 1. President Donald Trump signed the bill Dec. 7, and now the real work begins.

The 75 percent of the federal government - including the largest departments: DoD and Health and Human Services - already were funded through FY 2019 appropriations. They cover five of the seven uniformed services. The remaining two - the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - remain unfunded. The Coast Guard resides under the Department of Homeland Security, and NOAA resides under the Department of Commerce.

With the memorial services honoring former President George H.W. Bush greatly diminishing the congressional schedule, congressional leadership decided to move forward with the short-term CR, extending funding to Dec. 21. The extension allows time for members of Congress to come to an agreement on a spending package to send to the president that would fund the remaining agencies through the end of FY 2019 and avert a partial government shutdown at Christmas.

The Coast Guard and the NOAA Corps will be operating at FY 2018 funding levels, which in the Coast Guard's case, according to a Congressional Quarterly report, is acceptable relative to the likelihood for reductions in FY 2019.

The Coast Guard provides some $900 million worth of support to DoD every year and provides a major portion of its cutter and aircraft operating hours in support of U.S. military combatant commands, according to a follow-on CQ report.

There are a number of issues on the table that could challenge getting a full spending package approved in the next two weeks. These include the additional $5 billion in funding President Trump has requested for the border wall and disaster relief packages for several states.

MOAA needs you to engage with your representatives in Congress now to tell them to support a spending package that provides the needed full funding for the Coast Guard and the NOAA Corps for FY2019.

Take action now by clicking on this link to tell your representative you want them to support full funding for the Coast Guard and the NOAA Corps. The vital missions these two uniformed services provide to the country are too important not to be fully funded for the remainder of FY 2019.