Congress struggles with FY 2020 funding legislation
By PVA National Staff
The two-year budget deal passed in August was supposed to make the annual funding process easier but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case. The House has approved 10 of the 12 annual funding bills, while the Senate has approved none. With roughly two weeks left in the fiscal year, lawmakers appear resigned to passing a continuing resolution (CR) to give themselves more time to iron out the details of these line-by-line appropriations bills.
The House has passed a CR that would keep the government running through mid-November. The Senate will need to take action on the bill before the end of September, which would leave little time in between for either chamber to adjust should they encounter resistance with the stopgap measure. There is little appetite for another government shutdown so it is highly likely that the legislative and executive branches will work out an agreement that is acceptable to both parties. In the meantime, PVA will continue to keep a close eye on the budgetary process and work to preserve key funding increases in the FY2020 Military Construction, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill.
