By Andrew Mooney and Travis Poling

While the U.S. House of Representatives averted an Oct. 1 shutdown of the government by passing a short-term continuing resolution on the budget, House Speaker Mike Johnson said an omnibus bill funding the government for a full year isn’t on the table.

The move was the congressional equivalent of putting a few more coins in the parking meter. House leadership extended the deadline to late December and must figure out how to pass a budget despite factions within the Republican Party blocking the path in an attempt to force concessions.

The possibility of a shutdown casts uncertainty on permitting and environmental reviews by government agencies for numerous midstream projects. Even a brief shutdown halts everything with a federal nexus and could create additional weeks of delay after funding is in place.

President Joe Biden signed the bill Sept. 24, which extended funding to Dec. 20, placing the renewed brinksmanship into the winter holiday season when most lawmakers want to be home.

The short-term budget is considered bare bones, but did add $230 million for the Secret Service, which has been stretched thin. Stripped from the bill was a requirement to show proof of citizenship to register to vote in addition to other protections already in place.

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