Congress on Thursday adopted another budget continuing resolution to keep the federal government, including the Energy Department and its Office of Environmental Management, running through Jan. 19
The stopgap funding measure cleared the House in a 231-188 vote, and the Senate followed up with a 66-32 decision. Just before press time for Weapons Complex Monitor, the legislation was signed by President Donald Trump to prevent the government from shutting down at midnight tonight.
“The Continuing Resolution will extend current levels of funding for government operations through January 19, 2018, and will prevent a government shutdown. This is critical to our nation’s stability, our economy, for the continuation of programs and services the American people depend on,” House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) said in a press release.
The Department of Energy, like the rest of the federal government, has largely been held at 2017 spending levels since September, when Congress signed its first continuing resolution after failing to produce a permanent federal budget bill for fiscal 2018, which began Oct. 1.
DOE Office of Environmental Management cleanup operations would be funded for four additional weeks at an annualized rate of $6.4 billion, which is not much less than the $6.5 billion the Trump administration requested for the current budget year.
Like the prior measures, this continuing resolution includes the standard language to prevent disruption of cleanup supported by the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund, such as the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio
While happy to avoid work stoppages at DOE facilities, some in the contractor community view continuing resolutions with mixed feelings. Failure to pass a budget in a timely manner shows Congress has difficulty performing the basic tasks of government, observers say.
Continuing resolutions are “the new normal” in recent years, whether Congress is controlled by Republicans or Democrats, one industry source said. Congress hasn’t been able to pass a budget, without using continuing resolutions, for a number of years, the source added.
Other sources cite more practical concerns. The drip-by-drip nature of funding government a few weeks at a time can complicate the cash flow needs of big projects, some say. Likewise, if project managers believe they were underfunded the prior year, then they won’t like extending those same spending caps, industry sources add.
