what is holding up the federal budget

The federal budget is being held up due to a stalemate in Congress over spending cuts. The House GOP majority failed several times to reach consensus on a short-term funding bill, known as a continuing resolution, because a small group of far-right members who oppose a short-term extension have blocked that option. These far-right members want to pare federal discretionary spending back to 2022 levels, which would mean cutting more than $100 billion from agency budgets each year. However, most of what is driving federal borrowing to record levels isn’t even up for discussion this week. The funding fight focuses on a relatively small slice of the $6.4 trillion U.S. budget for this fiscal year, and lawmakers are not considering cuts to popular benefit programs such as Social Security and Medicare. The House Republicans are demanding another $120 billion in cuts, plus tougher legislation that would stop the flow of immigrants at the U.S. southern border with Mexico. The Senates stopgap funding measure would extend federal spending until Nov. 17, and authorizes roughly $6 billion. Without a deal, the federal government will shut down, hurting economic growth and leading to the suspension of a wide range of essential public services.