The House introduced a joint resolution late Wednesday night that would fund the government for one more week, until May 5. The federal government is currently operating under a continuing resolution set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Friday. If Congress cannot approve a budget—or another continuing resolution—before then, the federal government will shut down. With the new joint resolution, the House is proposing to revise the end date of the current CR to provide more time for final budget negotiations. “We’ve made substantial progress on an agreement to complete the 2017 appropriations process,” Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) told NPR. “Let’s pass this new continuing resolution, and make good use of this extra time to enact overdue legislation to provide for national defense and meet our country’s needs.”
The Pentagon announced new long-term agreements with four defense companies May 13 to develop and produce large numbers of low-cost cruise missiles. And while the effort will focus mostly on the Army to start, it pairs with Air Force efforts to find more affordable munitions.