January 1, Congress Heads Home Without Funding Deal

Wyatt’s Take

• Lawmakers left Washington with no budget plan done.
• Federal agencies face major funding cliff in January.
• Another short-term fix seems likely instead of real solutions.

Congress skipped town for the holidays, leaving the country without a new spending plan. The clock is ticking with no solution in sight as the January 30th deadline looms.

“The government runs out of funding on January 30th,” House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., warned Friday. “There is no plan to meet the January 30th deadline … Time is running out.”

Only a small portion of next year’s funding bills are ready. The rest are caught in political fights, mostly with holdouts arguing over special project payouts.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., made progress on a package of five spending bills covering everything from defense to housing. But last-minute objections by two Senate Democrats stopped a vote.

“I am disappointed that we will not be moving to our second package of appropriations bills tonight,” Thune told lawmakers. “Republicans were ready to go. But unfortunately, my Democrat colleagues are not there yet.”

Thune said he would keep pushing for a final agreement when Congress is back in session. With the budget deadline so close and both parties wanting to avoid another shutdown, expect Congress to pass a short-term extension to keep things running.

Federal agencies are still working under old budgets, since no official budget was passed for the new year. Lawmakers mostly just kicked the can with three temporary fixes so far.

After Democrats blocked a fourth extension over health care disagreements, there was a 43-day government freeze. Once enough Democrats switched sides, Congress rushed through a stopgap bill and a smaller spending package to end the gridlock.

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Wyatt Matters

Families across Middle America are left wondering if their leaders can handle something as basic as keeping the government running. When politicians put off decisions, it’s working folks who feel the effects first.