Lawmakers Poised to Pass Stopgap Funding, Return to Campaign Trail

Members of Congress are hoping to get out of town by the end of the week — a week early — to head back out on the campaign trail. However, at the time of this writing, challenges remain in negotiating a stopgap funding bill to keep the government operating into the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1. Lawmakers had planned to stay in session for the remainder of September, but noted earlier in the month that they were poised to strike a deal on a continuing resolution (CR) by this week, allowing them to head home until after the November elections. Despite the current impasse, it is expected that a CR will be enacted by the end of the month.

While the text of the CR is not yet available, reports indicate it will keep the government funded until December 9. What happens after that remains an open question, dependent entirely on the outcome of the elections and which party controls the Senate (which could flip). For full details of the fiscal year (FY) 2017 spending debate as it pertains to social science research, check out COSSA’s state of play analysis.