With a potential government shutdown looming in three weeks, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann says he is “very concerned” about the budget process heading into 2024 following what he said was a “historically bad year” in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“Throughout this arduous process, I’ve always maintained optimism that we would be able to obtain a budget deal that the House, Senate and White House could agree upon for fiscal 2024,” he said in a telephone interview. “But we’re substantially into the new fiscal year operating under the terms of a continuing resolution and in a very difficult spot.”
A budget impasse could lead to a partial government shutdown by Jan. 20 and may jeopardize an extra $236.8 million that Fleischmann is pushing to include in the budget to complete the expansion of the Chickamauga Lock in what is the biggest budget earmark this year in Congress.
Without a budget settlement, Congress could also extend its continuing budget resolution, which it adopted to avoid a budget shutdown earlier this year through the rest of the fiscal year, triggering cuts in many agencies.