The November 17th deadline to pass a federal budget is this Friday, and there is no agreement (on either a budget bill or a temporary, continuing resolution) needed to prevent a government shutdown. The new speaker of the House, Representative Johnson (R-LA), has suggested a tiered approach to a continuing resolution. If approved, his plan puts forth a temporary bill (continuing resolution) funding the government in a “laddered” approach in which some government programs will run out of funding on January 19 and others will run out on February 2. Specifically, funding for Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA, and Energy-Water Development would run through January 19, 2024, and everything else would be funded through February 2 of next year. Funding levels would remain at the current fiscal year (FY) 2023 levels. This plan appears to be gaining support.