Budget Update 9/22/2023

The Federal government is facing a real chance of a shutdown if a compromise is not reached in Congress before September 30th. The impact to the region, nevertheless the nation, is hard to determine because mandatory spending will continue during a shutdown.
 
However, discretionary spending will come to a halt. According to the US Chamber of Commerce, past impasses have led to furloughs of federal contractor employees, closed national parks, put infrastructure projects on hold, as well as delays around items such as permits, passports, bankruptcy, mortgage and banking applications, to name a few.
 
Negotiations to structure an 11th hour deal are still occurring, including a proposal from the Problem Solvers Caucus, which is a bipartisan group of US House Members. The proposal includes:

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• Creating a Fiscal Commission to review and recommend a package to stabilize long-term deficits and debt and require CBO to consider the cost of servicing the debt in its estimations.
• Adopting bipartisan budget process reform recommendations of the House Committee on Modernization and Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform to increase transparency, restore regular order, and prevent excessive use of CRs.
• Passage of an FY24 full-year appropriations package by January 11, 2024, that adheres to the parameters and funding levels agreed upon in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
• The President’s funding request for Ukraine with transparency and federal disaster response.
• A border security solution with enforcement through the 2024 calendar year.

 
However, bi-partisan talks apparently have yet to officially occur within House leadership nevertheless leading to a package that would see Senate support. The Chamber of Commerce continues to monitor the situation and advocate for a resolution before any major impact is felt by our members. 

Questions? Contact the Chamber Lobbyist Alex Rahn at [email protected]