Congress Still Wrestling With 2014 Budget

Congressional budget negotiators are putting the final touches on a single budget measure to finalize federal funding for fiscal 2014. The Senate and House of Representatives have reached a deal on much of an omnibus spending bill, including funding for NSF, NASA, and NIST. But funding for some federal agencies was still up for debate as C&EN went to press. For example, House attempts to block EPA climate-change regulations are holding up an agreement for that agency’s appropriations. A bipartisan budget deal in December laid out the overall spending amounts for fiscal 2014 and 2015, but Congress still needs to reach a deal on funding levels for individual projects and agencies to avoid a government shutdown. Lawmakers have until Jan. 15 to pass a budget bill or another stopgap funding measure.