Budget Extension Over the weekend – doesn’t it seem budget deals are always struck on weekends – Congressional leaders came to an agreement to extend the upcoming drop-dead dates for funding the government with a temporary stopgap funding continuing resolution (CR). As WPI reported on 8 January (here), with 12 days to go before deadline number one, Congressional leader came up with an outline of a bipartisan, bicameral agreement between the House Republican leadership and the Senate Democrat leadership. The new CR deal would keep the “laddered” approach to the government shutdown deadlines, grouping USDA and FDA appropriations with transportation, energy, and veterans’ affairs appropriations, but moving...