Continuing Resolution. Bottom Line up Front. – Lucy still has control of the football and is about to start moving the goal post.

The current continuing resolution expires November 21^st. Over the weekend Senate Appropriations Chairman Shelby (R-AL) and President Trump agreed to extend the current CR out to 20 December. Tuesday, House Appropriations Chairwoman Lowey (D-NY) announced concurrence with the plan.

Extension of the CR is intended to allow some negotiating space to potentially allow some of the less contentious FY20 appropriations bill to be completed and signed into law before the December Holiday break.  Bills with contentious issues like the

National Defense Authorization Act, Defense Appropriations and Homeland Security Appropriations are not likely to be completed before December 20^th.

Expect the funding goal post to move yet again come December 20^th.

Impeachment hearings in the House will continue for the next couple of weeks. These hearings consume the membership of three committees as well as caucus leadership. No one can predict for sure if and when a dramatic shift in the impeachment timeline will emerge. Today it appears that the case will conclude with an impeachment vote in the House in December. It then moves to the Senate in January where it will consume the time of all Senators.  Piecing the likely timeline together, we could see the CR extended into early March.

What it Means

Sadly, we have been here before. In the last ten years, funding bills were only approved on time once, in 2018…and that wasn’t a flawless process in that not ALL funding bills were passed on time. As it looks today  we are likely to see FY20 funding delayed until late Q1 of 2020. My best guess is March.

What’s Gene Up To?

Check out Gene’s new article in Chief Executive magazine this week.

Have you read Gene’s Amazon best seller?  “Pitching the Big Top: How to Master the 3-Ring Circus of Federal Sales”.  Email Gene if you’d like your copy inscribed, [email protected].