Interviews Available: Government Fails to Pass 2016 Budget

With just 2 days remaining before the end of the fiscal year 2015, lawmakers in Congress will not meet the deadline for their core budgetary responsibilities, and will not pass a federal budget for 2016 that reflects the values and priorities of the American people. In response, experts from the National Priorities Project (NPP) are available this week to provide interviews and background information.

As a non-partisan, non-profit organization with the mission to make the federal budget accessible and transparent for all Americans, NPP monitors the extent to which the federal budget reflects Americans' values and priorities. Public opinion shows that Americans want investments in domestic initiatives such as job creation, infrastructure, climate change, and the safety net. Instead of addressing these priorities, too many lawmakers are promoting continuation of the wrong-headed policy of sequestration, starving domestic investment.

To add insult to injury, a small contingent of extreme lawmakers has shown they are willing to go to any lengths to get what they want. These lawmakers have threatened to shut down the federal government over less than a fraction of 1 percent of the federal budget, meaning the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of federal government workers and their families are unnecessarily at risk, much as they were during the 17-day shutdown in 2013.