There was a large amount of progress made on Capitol Hill last week regarding the funding of the Federal Government. Twelve appropriation bills, none of which had received the President’s signature as of the morning of December 13th , hang in the balance. Ten of these items were resolved in bipartisan fashion earlier this summer. The last two have caused their fair share of headaches. While the NDAA, which is a bill that authorizes military spending, saw approval from Congress earlier in the month, there are still a few items of contention left. More specifically, there’s a $1.375 billion item unresolved. The border wall. Against the Democrat’s inclinations, the military spending bill did not include a provision preventing military funds to be used for the barrier. A Federal Judge in California blocked such actions last week, though.

                Without the President’s signature, the House and the Senate agreeing on either a complete 12-for-12 legislative package or a stopgap measure doesn’t matter. Last year, the consensus was similar around this last week of Congress’ time before the holiday break- the President was going to sign the budgetary measures into law and the shutdown was to be averted. What followed over the course of two days in December resulted in the longest shutdown in the government’s history.

Until Next Time,

**Written by Benjamin Derge, Financial Planner. The information has been obtained from sources considered reliable but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Benjamin Derge and not necessarily those of RJFS or Raymond James. Links are being provided for information purposes only. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize, or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors.

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