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December 21, 2022
Dear John,
Deadlines
From end-of-year deadlines, performance reviews, next-year planning, data analysis, end-of-year budgets, businesses do a lot to close out the calendar year. This year, it seems Congress has one thing in common—the budget.
Although the fiscal year ended on September 30, Congress didn’t complete negotiations to pass a full spending package. Instead, Congress passed a continuing resolution to keep last year’s funding levels until December 15. It didn’t surprise many people when yet again, Congress couldn’t negotiate by the deadline and extended it another week.
By now, most people have finalized their important end-of-year projects and are spending time with family, prepping for Christmas parties, baking cookies, and drinking hot chocolate. However, Congress is back in Washington, D.C. to vote on an omnibus spending package to keep the federal government open and funded through the rest of the fiscal year.
Don’t get me wrong, I know passing a budget is necessary, which is why I introduced the GET IT DONE Act. This bill would motivate Members of Congress to work to pass a budget on time, and without repeated extensions, like how it has been done for years.
If a small business can pass a budget on time and before its deadline, Congress should too. Year after year, we watch the can get kicked down the road. And it’s usually a pretty expensive can.
In the end, I’m confident Congress will keep the lights on, but it shouldn’t have to be this way. I’m hopeful that in the new Congress, a Republican House Majority will pass a budget on time, just like South Dakota businesses do.
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