Apparently the specter of planes falling from the skies was enough to convince the White House and Congressional leaders to forge an agreement to re-open agencies that had been shuttered for 36 days.  The President has signed a Continuing Resolution passed by Congress that will re-open agencies such as DHS, Transportation, State, Agriculture and others that had been shuttered through February 15^th.  As a practical matter, however, it is highly unlikely that another shutdown is in the works after that time given the substantial impact on the people and programs essential to issues like national security and transportation safety.  A CR will allow agencies to continue doing what they had been doing in FY’18, at approximately the same dollar levels.  It will also allow past-due invoices to be paid.  About the only thing that a CR will not allow is the start of new projects that need CR money to fund them.  That still requires an official FY’19 appropriation. 

Keep in mind, though, that new projects are being worked on, and never really stopped, in DOD, HHS, the VA and other agencies that account for 70% of discretionary spending.  Business was being conducted during the shut-down.  DISA moved forward on its planned massive DEOS cloud buy, GSA edged closer to issuing ATO’s to EIS contractors, and HHS continued to make innovative use of technology in acquisition.  There is definitely business to be had in these agencies and contractors would be wise to focus on the dollars that are definitely available.

Prospects for appropriations for agencies operating under a CR are unclear at this time, but may become clearer as the next three weeks unfold.  Stay tuned.