In the News

A major responsibility of the US Congress is to create and pass a budget for each upcoming fiscal year. The federal fiscal year ends September 30, and the last time Congress had approved a timely budget by October 1 was in the late 1990s, during the second Clinton administration. Since that time, leadership of both houses of Congress has passed back and forth between both parties.

It has become regular practice to pass a budget near the end of the calendar year, just before Christmas, and/or have temporary “Continuing Resolutions” (CRs) as stop-gap funding measures until a formal budget is agreed upon.

Supporters of this end-of-year maneuvering contend that details of the budget are discussed in detail in the later months and weeks of the year, so all members of Congress are aware of what is included. Thus, when it comes time to vote, everyone is aware of what is involved.

However, critics contend this is chicanery whereby documents that are thousands of pages long are made public at the last minute so there is scant time for lawmakers to read the details or for voters to understand what is at stake. Moreover, the timing right before Christmas is seen as proof the lawmakers seek to avoid public scrutiny of their actions.

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