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Thursday, September 13, 2007
Congressional Congestion, Calendar Constraints, and a Continuing Resolution
Take nine unfinished Senate appropriations bills, throw in twelve unscheduled conference negotiations, add a handful of presidential veto threats thus far and counting, and count at most a dozen legislative days until the end of the 2007 fiscal year. You do the math -- it equals at least one continuing resolution (CR).
Most discussions center around a CR that would give Congress until Nov. 9 or 16 to complete work on the FY 2008 budget. Without a stopgap agreement by Oct. 1, government agencies could not operate at full strength after the start of the new fiscal year.
Congress had originally hoped to adjourn at the end of October. But its congested agenda -- including another Iraq war supplemental funding bill, an AMT package, and authorizing measures such the FAA, the farm, and SCHIP bills, not to mention the budget, of course -- makes it likely that Congress will be at work beyond Thanksgiving and possibly until close to the bitter end, shortly before Christmas.
Just like the rest of us.
Posted by Dana Chasin
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