Technically begun back on October 1st, Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) is proving to be very difficult for Congressional appropriators to finish. Now, almost six months after the fiscal year was supposed to begin, Congress is set this week to vote on the third continuing resolution (CR) of FY22. This CR will fund the government until March 11th.

Regular readers will recall that back in December we mentioned that a full year continuing resolution was a real possibility and would constitute the worst-case scenario of how FY22 could end. That possibility is a little less right now, as all signs are pointing to Congressional leaders needing a little more time to iron out a compromise. While that sounds good, it worth keeping expectations in check; as we saw with the America COMPETES Act, bipartisanship can collapse quickly.

We can expect Congress to have this CR passed into law by the end of the week, barring any hiccups. After that, we should have an idea by the end of February whether FY22 is complete or we’re onto CR Number 4, which may or may not be a dreaded full year. And keep in mind, the budget process for Fiscal Year 2023 has yet to begin. Please be sure to check back for more updates.