Continuing resolutions are expected to keep the government open.
September 30 is the deadline for Congress to get a bill passed and signed to prevent a government shutdown. Legislators are faced with a list to negotiate and carefully navigate, from an energy-permitting proposal to Ukraine aid and further COVID-19 funding.
Again this year, they are expected to pass a continuing resolution that would allow the government to remain funded at the current year’s spending level to gain enough time to work out a deal.
So far, the House has passed six of the 12 annual appropriation bills for fiscal 2023, which begins October 1, but leaders have yet to indicate when they will bring the remaining funding bills to the floor or if it will happen at all. Funding talks move slower in the Senate.
One issue that could hinder a government funding bill has to do with the agreement between Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York to fast-track federal energy permitting in exchange for Senator Manchin’s support of the Inflation Reduction Act.
In addition, a new obstacle is a request from the White House for more than $47 billion to help Ukraine, additional money for COVID and monkeypox responses, and disaster relief.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Speaker Pelosi as she heads the House of Representatives
- For Senator Schumer to be discerning as he brings funding legislation to the Senate floor.
- For members of both chambers to have wisdom as they consider national spending and the federal budget.
Sources: The Hill, Washington Examiner
