Budget Battles: October shutdown possible

At the eleventh hour of the fiscal 2000 budget debate there is still no indication that anyone is planning to negotiate with anyone else about anything.

With only two days left before the fiscal year begins, most of next year's appropriations not yet passed and the tax bill vetoed, there is not even a hint of meetings being scheduled between the White House and congressional leaders on what to do next on the budget. That means the threat of at least a partial shutdown of the government still hangs over agencies.

On Tuesday, the House and Senate took the first step to avert a shutdown, passing a three-week continuing resolution to provide temporary funding for agencies while the budget deadlock continues.

The hope is that by the end of Thursday, Oct. 21, Congress will have finally decided what it wants to do on the fiscal 2000 appropriations so the bills that either have not been sent to the White House or have been vetoed can be adopted in final form and the House and Senate can go home for the year.

The White House indicated President Clinton would sign the bill. But there's no guarantee he will agree to another similar extension if Congress hasn't passed all the spending bills by Oct. 22.

This means that the most likely time for a government shutdown could be over the weekend of Oct. 23-24. While few federal facilities would be affected, the political ramifications for Congress would be just as devastating as if all agencies and departments that closed their doors in 1995 and 1996 were shut again. (Just imagine the stories on the news of visitors being turned away from the Washington Monument or Yosemite and you will immediately understand why this would be the case.)

Fiscal Y2K Countdown

Fiscal 2000 begins this Friday. Best wishes for a happy new year to everyone who will be celebrating the start of the next federal fiscal millennium.

Question Of The Week

Last Week's Question. No winner yet of the "I Won A Budget Battle" T-shirt for last week's question, which asked readers to guess the date the first continuing resolution for fiscal 2000 would expire. We will either be able to name the winner next week or will be able to ask a follow-up question about how long the shutdown will last.

This Week's Question. Want to win an "I Won A Budget Battle" T-shirt of your own? Just answer this question correctly. The Budget Enforcement Act says that, if it is needed, the end-of-session sequester mentioned above will occur 15 days after Congress adjourns for the year. But what happens if Congress never formally adjourns? Send your response to scollender@njdc.com. If there is more than one correct response the winner will be selected at random from all of the right answers.