Immediately following the passage of a House budget resolution last week, the Appropriations Committee (and its relevant subcommittees) got down to business and passed its first four appropriations bills. Although the House is once again off to a blistering pace, the lack of a final budget resolution a jam-packed Senate calendar and a short legislative session, will almost definitely delay appropriations beyond the start of the fiscal year. This situation will surely necessitate continuing resolutions and a lame-duck session after the November elections.

House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) once again failed to bring the budget resolution to the floor last week despite rumors and rumblings from the GOP leadership that passage of the bill was imminent. Having reached a compromise with Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Boehner was still unable to garner enough support from within the Republican caucus to hold a vote. Considering the difficulty of finding agreement in conference with the Senate at this late date, passing the resolution is now bordering on pointless anyway.