Article 1 of the Constitution vests in Congress the sole authority to appropriate money. Each year, Congress and the president are required to pass 12 appropriations bills to fund the government for the next year by Sept. 30. The current Republican-controlled House only requires a simple majority to pass a bill, yet not one appropriations bill has been agreed upon by both chambers. In fact, only three of the 12 appropriations bills have been passed out of the House.
Instead of focusing their energy on passing the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund government, Congress has spent much of their time passing a budget reconciliation bill that the president wanted. He likes to call it the “one big, beautiful bill.” Many refer to it as the Budget Busting Bill, as it raised the debt limit by