To increase efficiency and better align with industry counterparts, the federal government’s annual funding schedule would be changed to correspond with the calendar year under a bipartisan bill sponsored on Sept. 20 by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH).
The It’s About Time Act, H.R. 5612, which is cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), would transition the funding schedule to reflect the classic calendar year by moving the start of the government’s fiscal year to Jan. 1 from the current start on Oct. 1.
“With the threat of a government shutdown looming once again, it is time for Congress to modify the funding schedule that repeatedly puts the operations of government in jeopardy,” said Rep. Turner, chairman of the U.S. House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.
“The government funding deadline of Oct. 1 continues to put our military readiness and other vital services at risk as Congress consistently struggles to pass spending bills by the current deadline,” the congressman added. “We cannot allow the critical operations at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to be threatened by senseless shutdowns.”
Rep. Turner said that changing the fiscal calendar to start on Jan. 1 would mitigate “the unrealistic time constraints on Congress and allow government services to continue uninterrupted.”
Rep. Nadler agreed, noting that there are few members of Congress who would defend the current budget process because most agree that there’s too much to get done in less than eight months after receiving the president’s budget.
“Changing the start of the fiscal year to the beginning of the calendar year will diminish the risk of government shutdowns by ensuring Congress has the time it needs to evaluate the budget proposal submitted by the president and craft spending bills,” he said.