From Business Journals
Members of Congress are like college students who put off writing their term papers and then ask their professor for an extension: Faced with a Friday deadline for funding the federal government, Congress simply gave itself more time.
The new deadline for avoiding a government shutdown is Wednesday. By a voice vote Friday, the House followed the Senate’s lead and funded the government for five more days. This will give Congress more time to negotiate a $1.15 trillion bill funding the full fiscal year, a process that’s complicated by the desire of many members to also use the must-pass legislation to address policy issues, such as reining in the National Labor Relations Board and lifting the ban on crude oil exports.
Renewing expired tax breaks, such as the $500,000 Section 179 expensing limit for small businesses, also are part of the negotiations over the funding bill.
“At this point, it is unfortunately necessary for us to have a little more time to complete our negotiations,” said Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.
“I believe we are making good progress.”
