A short-term spending bill, a 10-year budget plan and Musk’s cost-cutting team are all progressing at once.The New York Times reports that Republicans in government are currently working on three major efforts to reshape federal spending. These efforts include a short-term spending bill, a 10-year budget plan, and a cost-cutting team led by Elon Musk. While these efforts may seem to be part of the same story, they each have their own goals, deadlines, and constraints. Here is a breakdown of each effort:
Effort 1: Avoiding a shutdown
Potential changes: The bill would fund a portion of the budget for the rest of the fiscal year.
Deadline: Saturday at 12:01 a.m.
Status: A House vote is scheduled for Tuesday.
If Congress does not pass a bill to fund ongoing government programs by the end of Friday, there could be a shutdown. This is because Congress is supposed to pass yearlong spending bills before the fiscal year begins, but this process often breaks down. As a result, Congress frequently passes shorter-term spending bills to keep the government funded. The current bill, known as a “continuing resolution,” expires this week and a new one is being proposed to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on September 30th.
The appropriations process only deals with a portion of federal spending, known as discretionary spending. This does not include mandatory programs like Social Security, which are funded automatically based on a formula. The resolution is also subject to a filibuster in the Senate, meaning that at least seven Democrats will need to vote for it even if all Senate Republicans support it.
The current bill mostly maintains the same level of spending for most government agencies, with a few exceptions such as cuts to programs that were earmarked by lawmakers for their home districts and an increase in military spending. Overall, the bill reduces the amount of funding by approximately $7 billion, which is only 0.1% of the estimated $7 trillion in annual government spending.
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