Once again, Congress was able to avert a partial government shutdown last week when members of the House and Senate were able to agree on a short-term continuing resolution that extends current funding levels for all federal agencies for several weeks. While far from ideal, the hope is that this most recent short-term extension will give…
As I noted in last month’s column, Congress returned to session in January with aspirations to solve the looming fiscal year 2024 budget crisis. Due to significant differences of opinion between the House and Senate late last year, Congress had elected to extend current funding levels rather than passing a full appropriations bill. The idea…
Congress plans to return to D.C. next week following a lengthy holiday recess. When it does, members will be confronted with a time line to fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year 2024 (which began on October 1, 2023, and ends on September 30, 2024). You may recall that when Congress extended…
As we reported last month, Congress was able to thwart the potential, yet again, of a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding package that maintains existing funding levels until early 2024. The intention in doing so was to allow more time for the newly elected speaker of the House, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), to…
After many weeks without a speaker, Republicans in the House of Representatives closed ranks and voted unanimously to approve Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana to lead the chamber. With Johnson now in place, the House has begun to resume regular legislative business. A priority of Speaker Johnson is to complete the appropriations process as soon…
When working in Washington, and specifically with Congress, one expects many twists and turns—but last weekend was one of the most remarkable in my time in politics. As of Saturday morning, September 30, a government shutdown looked all but certain. Federal funding was set to expire at midnight, and the primary negotiators of a deal,…
This first week of September, Congress returns to D.C. after a lengthy summer recess. Greeting members upon their return is a stark reality: they have less than a month to negotiate a fiscal year 2024 spending package in order to avert a government shutdown. As of this writing, the likelihood of a government shutdown seems…
As Congress settles in for the July 4th holiday this week, major questions and uncertainty continue to swirl regarding the pathway forward for federal funding for all domestic spending programs. The agreement reached last month to suspend the debt limit put in place spending levels for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. While that agreement was…
Last week, after many of months of negotiation, President Biden and Congress were able to avoid an economic catastrophe by coming to an agreement to suspend the nation’s borrowing limit until January 2025. In making the deal, President Biden is now able to remove any doubt about the debt ceiling until after his first term.…
As you know, in March President Biden signaled his support for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) when he proposed increasing the agency’s appropriation for fiscal year 2024 to $211 million. This step was significant in two respects. First, the continued support for the arts is important, and second, the submission of the President’s…
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