Temporary Funding on Drawing Board

By: fedweek

With the start of the new fiscal year just ahead next Monday (October 1) and none of the regular appropriations bills for the year enacted yet into law, Congress is working on a continuing resolution to provide stopgap funding. Leaders still are discussing what funding levels to use, in particular for defense programs, since that often involves both basic and supplemental funding measures. The stopgap measure most likely would continue through November 16, which effectively acts as a target date for Congress to end its work for the year, although in many years Congress works until well into December. The action is needed to prevent a partial government shutdown with resulting furloughs, an event that hasn’t happened in more than a decade.