All federal agencies are currently open and funded by a Continuing Resolution that runs through December 16^th.  Will, there, however, be “final” appropriations at that time?  Please don’t shoot the messenger, but the answer is “doubtful”.  The best contractors and their government customers can count on is a short-term CR that will last 1-2 days until Congress does get a final spending deal together.  Experience shows that, even with a known deadline over two months away, at least one short-term spending measure will be necessary.   The worst scenario, and it is a possibility, is a year-long CR for nearly everything except the Department of Defense and perhaps the Department of Homeland Security.  While a year-long CR is bad for contractors, its worse for federal agencies and absolutely should be the option of real last resort for Congress.  A lot of the timing of a final spending package rests on the outcome of the mid-term Congressional elections in November.  Should Republicans take control of one or more houses, look for final FY’23 appropriations to be pushed back until late January, at the earliest.  That would almost certainly mean an FY’23 that looks a lot like the fiscal year that just concluded, i.e., one cut about in half.  Until then, new project starts that rely on appropriated dollars are on hold.  There are projects that have “no-year” money or are at least partially funded by an agency’s capital improvement fund.  Contractors should seek those out where possible but understand that even these options will allow only a few projects to start.  The good news is that no elected official is seriously discussing the possibility of a government shutdown.  That can be of little comfort, though, to those seeking to start new projects now, or who want to see the efficient operation of the executive branch.