The crisp autumn air will soon give way to winter’s chill, and a familiar specter haunts the halls of Congress: another government funding deadline. The current short-term spending patch keeping federal agencies operating is set to expire on December 20 – just days before the holidays.
When members return to Washington, D.C., following the November 5 elections, they’ll have just five short weeks to navigate the haunted maze of appropriations. One of two things will likely happen: lawmakers will extend the deadline until the first few months of 2025, or creep toward a consensus and pass one omnibus or a series of “minibus” spending bills. Either way, formidable challenges lie ahead.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faces a major test orchestrating an agreement that can pass the floor as conservative hardliners and moderate Republicans are expected to continue to go head-to-head on spending levels. Meanwhile, Senate negotiators lurk in the shadows and have already pushed back on House proposals that do not adhere to the 2023 debt ceiling spending framework.
With Halloween in mind, here are a few examples of frightening scenarios Americans might face at the end of the year without congressional action:
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- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): A hunger horror story could ensue when the clock strikes midnight and creates a benefit backlog just before the holiday season.
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- Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP): It could be a bone-chilling season if this critical program that helps keep low-income families warm this winter expires.
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): Expect some serious flight frights due to staffing shortages. But let’s face it – navigating the airport around the holidays is already a horror show.
- Department of Education: Student loan servicing goes dark just as grace periods end, leaving borrowers to face a payment poltergeist.
- Small Business Administration (SBA): Loans will freeze up, seasonal inventory will gather cobwebs, and small business owners are left with a little shop of budget horrors.
While these scenarios are nightmarish, Congress always seems to find a solution before the holiday season – even if it’s at the eleventh hour. After all, no one wants to be visited by the Ghost of Government Shutdowns Past, Present, or Future!
Shellie Purvis is a managing director at Cogent Strategies specializing in appropriations. She is an alum of several high-profile Republican political campaigns at both the national and state level and has spent time abroad with the Department of State’s Mission to the United States in Geneva, Switzerland, where she supported negotiations on human rights, refugees and migration, intellectual property, global health and more.