[1] The extension was intended to give Congress the extra time it needed to pass the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (H.R.

Traditionally, after a federal budget has been agreed upon in the spring before the upcoming fiscal year, Congress spends the summer writing and passing 12 regular appropriations acts.

In 2013, Congress was unable to agree on a budget, but several attempts were made to carry on with the regular appropriations process.

The House passed the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2014 (H.R.

2609, July 10, 2013), the Department of State Operations and Embassy Security Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 2014 (H.R.

If no appropriations were made by October 1, 2013, when Fiscal Year 2014 began, the federal government would have to shut down due to lack of funding.

[7] As the January 15, 2014 deadline approached, Congress decided it would need extra time to prepare the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 (H.R.

"[10] This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.