Once again new spending requests added on top of regular appropriations requests have complicated matters. Image: Mark Van Scyoc/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffIn what has become a several times a year exercise, a deadline lies just ahead to continue funding authority for federal agencies and head off the potential for a partial government shutdown.
That deadline is December 16, the expiration of a temporary measure that was enacted just ahead of the October 1 start of the current fiscal year. Congress has been on recess for all but one week since then but now is scheduled to remain in session until that deadline—and potentially until near year’s end.
The pattern in these situations has been that a resolution is not reached until just ahead of the deadline—and in many cases the result is another temporary extension. In this case, that could mean a measure lasting only for the several weeks that would remain in the current Congress.
That would have to be followed either by a measure carrying funding through the end of the fiscal year September 30 or only sometime into early 2023 for the new Congress to complete. Democratic leaders favor the first option since the latter would put Republicans in charge on the House side, giving them an opportunity to use a shutdown threat as leverage to restrict spending.
Also as commonly happens, new spending requests added on top of regular appropriations requests have complicated matters. In this case, the White House has asked for additional funding for pandemic response and assistance to Ukraine.
Unless a budget measure in one form or another specifies a January federal employee pay raise—and there have been no signs that it will—employees will be in line for a default raise of 4.1 percent across the board plus locality-based raises ranging from somewhat below to somewhat above another 0.5 percent.
Another major budget-related bill, the annual DoD authorization measure, also remains pending. That bill could become the vehicle for a number of government-wide policy changes, including barring any future personnel policies akin to the Trump administration’s Schedule F from being created by only an executive order.
The House passed its version during the summer while the Senate now has its version on its schedule for voting at any time. While the two will have numerous differences that would have to be resolved, preliminary work already is under way and final enactment before year’s end is still considered possible if not probable.
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