Today is October 1st, the first day of the 2021 Fiscal Year when the federal fiscal year starts. The House passed a spending bill to keep the government funded through the entire fiscal year (October 1, 2020-September 30, 2021), but the Senate never passed any bills. Therefore, federal agencies across the country have been preparing for a government shutdown starting today. Last week, the House passed a bill (a "continuing resolution") to keep the government open through December 11th.

Yesterday, the Senate passed the House’s continuing resolution, and late last night, it was signed by the President. The Refuge System will continue to be funded at $502 million through December 11th. We will continue to push Congress to pass a full-year funding bill by that date, so refuge managers can make long-term plans for their refuge.