The House and Senate return from summer recess this week and have a small window in which to do a lot of work prior to the end of the 2022 Fiscal Year.  Here’s what’s likely to happen and what’s not: 

1.  Passage of a Continuing Resolution:  The House of Representatives is only in session for votes for 11 days in September, with the Senate schedule being about the same.  That leaves no time to finish work on all FY’23 appropriations bills.  Expect a Continuing Resolution (CR) that will cover all agencies.  The length and terms of a CR are difficult to predict right now as each side is likely to try and add policy riders to this “must pass” bill.  The degree to which this happens will complicate the process.

2.  Small Possibility of a Government Shutdown: No one is saying that this is certain and, indeed, the chances of a shutdown as of now are less than 50-50.  Still, some members have raised the possibility of a shutdown if Congress can’t agree to what should be in or out of a CR.  It’s important to remember that this is a Congressional election year, as well, meaning that each political party may try to score points with voters.  This could make compromise more difficult and increase the chances for a shutdown due to a lack of appropriated money.

3. Passage of the Defense Authorization Act:  The FY’23 National Defense Authorization Act likely won’t see final passage in September, but will be enacted prior to Christmas.  Contractors need to pay attention to this measure, particularly the Section 800 title that covers acquisition.  The House version of the bill contains pro labor provisions that could impact contractor operations.  Other provisions could change the rules of important programs.

The changes here can impact much more than DOD acquisition, too.  Make sure your company follows the action on this measure.  Congress will leave DC again sometime in mid-October for the midterm elections.  There will be a lame duck session afterwards that could be a roller coaster of activity depending upon the results of those elections.  Stay tuned.