IHMM Executive Director Eugene A. Guilford, Jr., CAE is on Capitol Hill this week seeing Members of Congress during the Professional Certification Coalition [PCC] Washington fly-in. There is a great deal going on in Congress at this writing…

First, the “continuing resolution” that most recently provided funds for the government to operate runs out on March 14. Continuing resolutions put funding levels on autopilot for a short time instead of enacting comprehensive full-year funding legislation. Congress could do another “CR,” either for a few months again or lasting through the end of the fiscal year, which is October 1. Given recent actions in the executive branch, we might see Congress add new provisions to give the President more discretion to make funding policy changes — i.e., to slash funding — that Congress doesn’t have the votes for itself. If Congress doesn’t pass something by March 14, a government shutdown would occur.

Second, the House and Senate are working out a budget resolution, which we’ve discussed before. In essence, it’s a short-cut that allows spending and tax cut legislation to be passed in the Senate with a 51-vote threshold (rather than the higher filibuster threshold). The Republican plan currently calls for $1.5 trillion in spending cuts and $4.5 trillion in tax cuts both over 10 years, plus an increase in the debt ceiling by $4 trillion (which makes sense since the tax cuts are larger than the spending cuts).

Third, Congress needs to begin work on the full-year funding legislation for Fiscal Year 2026, which runs from October 1, 2025 until September 30, 2026. Drafting comprehensive full-year funding with the votes to pass takes months so it must start soon. If it doesn’t, we’re back to where we started with a continuing resolution or a government shutdown.

Republicans are not united in what they want on these issues, but they are strongly motivated to place what they perceive as Trump’s agenda into law.

And Democrats have little incentive to negotiate given Trump’s sweeping “reduction in force” at statutory agencies like USAID, CFPB, and NOAA. When the president will undo any agreement after it has been signed into law, Democrats may not provide votes to pass these appropriations bills if they think nothing they negotiate will stick.