Lawmakers Avoid Shutdown, Extend Government Funding
Deadline. The U.S. Congress narrowly averted a federal
government shutdown this week, as it approved a stopgap continuing
resolution to keep the government funded and running through
December 16, 2022. President Joe Biden is expected to sign the
short-term measure today before the midnight deadline of September
30, 2022, when government funding will expire. The logjam broke
when legislators agreed not to include Senator Joe Manchin's
federal permit streamlining plan in the funding package. While this
is good news for the moment, it also means that Congress will need
to revisit the shutdown drama in mid-December. The last time
Congress punted federal spending beyond the midterm elections was
in 2018, at which time Congress failed to come to an agreement, and
the federal government shut down for a record thirty-five days from
December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019. Just sayin'...
