Federal Budget and Appropriations
A Familiar Landmine: The Looming Debt Ceiling
Laura Blessing | June 4, 2021
With all the other tumult going on in our politics, one might be forgiven for not focusing on a familiar landmine: the debt ceiling. After all, since its regularized inclusion in the appropriations process a decade ago, Congress has shifted from extending the debt limit to a specific amount
The 116th and the 117th Congresses: It’s bad but probably not as bad as you think
Josh Huder | December 3, 2020
Historic dysfunction may well be the credo of American politics in the 21st century. Congress appears hopelessly gridlocked. Pundits have run out of adjectives to describe the polarization plaguing American politics. And maybe worse, the mixed results of the 2020 Election defy easy analysis. The House Democratic majority lost seats, the Senate Republican majority
Lessons of Economic Recessions
Laura Blessing | May 6, 2020
In politics, we often learn the lesson of the last time. Our current economic troubles prompt comparison to previous episodes, particularly the 2007-2009 Great Recession. While the past six weeks may seem like an eternity to many Americans, we are early in the government response to this crisis, particularly its economic effects. The future
Appropriations Update
Mark Harkins | November 4, 2019
Here we go again. To keep the government funded past the start of the fiscal year on October 1st, Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that lasts until November 21st. Over the last decade, during non-election years, it has taken, on average, SIX months into the fiscal year before all 12 appropriations bills have been
Back In Session
Laura Blessing | September 11, 2019
Congress is back in session, and all eyes are on the impending budget negotiations. The past month has not provided a respite from significant news. A number of mass shootings, border developments, and the clattering of the 2020 presidential aspirants reminds us that while Congress may have escaped the Potomac’s heat, the world does not
Limitation Provisions in Appropriations bills: A Key Tool of Congressional Policymaking
Matt Glassman | May 6, 2019
Early last week, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies released its draft FY2020 bill, and subsequently approved it in a markup held on Wednesday. In some respects, this was all very normal; the MilCon bill (as it is widely known) is often one of the first appropriations
Four Things to Consider About a Possible Second Government Shutdown
Matt Glassman | February 5, 2019
The FY2019 appropriations process in Congress—which will provide funding for the federal government from October 1, 2018, until September 30, 2019—is once again approaching a deadline. After managing to pass five of the twelve annual appropriations bills in two “mini-bus” packages in late September, Congress passed two continuing resolutions (the first through December
The Aftermath
Laura Blessing | December 6, 2018
Another election cycle has washed over our nation’s capital. As outgoing members clear out their desks and incoming members eye their new offices, Congress gets ready for the next phase. It’s time to adjust to the aftermath of the election results, their ongoing appropriations work, other lame duck session policy attempts, a budget process
November is a time of change (to your budgets)
Josh Huder | November 1, 2018
November is a beautiful month of transition. The air is cooler. The leaves are turning. And because it’s an even-numbered year, the change is particularly jarring on Capitol Hill. Appropriators are wrapping up their business while Americans are electing a new Congress. The confluence of elections and appropriations in November is fitting because the election
Five Cheers for the FY19 Appropriations Process
Matt Glassman | October 1, 2018
The 2019 federal fiscal year begins Monday, October 1st. To the surprise of many, the FY2019 appropriations process in Congress resulted in on-time passage of several of the annual appropriations bills. On September 21, President Trump signed the FY2019 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which contained the annual appropriations for three of the traditional twelve