On Thursday, December 11, 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Consolidated and Continuing Appropriations Act of 2015, which:

• Provides a total of $1.1 trillion for the operation of the federal government
• Contains full funding for FY 2015 for 11 of the 12 regular annual Appropriations bills
• Does not include new appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); DHS is funded under a CR, which means that DHS funding is maintained at FY 2014 levels, and expires on February 27, 2015, the date when Congress will need to decide how it will fund the agency through the end of the 2015 Fiscal Year (i.e., through an extended CR or through new appropriations)

On Saturday, December 13, the Senate approved the Act, including the 11 appropriations bills that fund most of the government through September 30, 2015, and the CR which funds DHS through February 27, 2015. The President signed the bill into law on Tuesday, December 16, 2014.