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It’s that time of year again. Lawmakers are back at the Capitol facing a very quick deadline to fund the entire government.

And just like every year, the path forward is not yet clear.

Top appropriators in the House and Senate have been in talks on how to move forward with keeping the government’s lights on this fall. But as of now, there is no final plan.

To catch up: The fiscal year ends on Sept. 30, after which federal funding will lapse if new spending legislation is not approved. To do so, Congress must pass 12 appropriations bills that set the budgets for federal agencies.

Almost by design, the process has to be bipartisan. Senate

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