The federal government is once again at the brink of a shutdown, as a mix of congressional Democrats and Republicans express opposition to another stopgap bill to fund the government.

Fiscal Year 2018 began back last October 1. Since Congress had not approved final appropriations for federal agencies at that point, the first of three stopgap spending measures known as a continuing resolution was approved to provide more time. Congressional leaders and appropriators wanted the additional time to negotiate a bipartisan budget framework that would raise the low spending caps, often referred to as sequestration, that were set to return this year as prescribed in the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA). In recent years, Congress acted in a bipartisan manner to ease the BCA spending caps so that favored discretionary programs could see sustained support. However, no such agreement has surfaced for FY 2018, despite ongoing negotiations. Without an agreement, agencies such as the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy would likely see sharp funding reductions.

The need for legislation to provide a permanent status for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) population has been bundled with FY 2018 spending discussions. DACA advocates hope that combining the measures will make certain that a new policy is approved. Reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program has similarly been linked to a final FY 2018 spending bill.

As we move into the fifth month of the fiscal year, representatives and senators are now taking a more firm stand by demanding that the various issues directly and indirectly related to FY 2018 spending be addressed now. The next few hours will reveal whether a government shutdown serves as a mechanism for finally addressing these unresolved issues.