Appropriators Are Planning a Stopgap to Handle ‘Broken’ Appropriations Process

The White House is pushing for a continuing resolution through Jan. 31. Appropriators on both sides are figuring out what’s actually doable.

Tom Cole
Tom Williams/AP

Lawmakers are moving forward with a plan to fund the government with a stopgap measure that would potentially extend funding. The question is for exactly how long.

“It sounds like we’re heading towards a pretty clean” continuing resolution, Sen. John Cornyn told reporters on Tuesday. “We don’t really know how long, but the appropriations process seems pretty broken to me.”

Republicans have floated a CR that keeps the government funded through for a month or two beyond the Sept. 30 deadline. But the White House is suggesting a slightly longer time frame: Administration officials sent a list to GOP leaders of funding anomalies they want addressed in a continuing resolution that they suggested could run through Jan. 31.