The Oct. 16 deal that ended the shutdown kept the government funded at levels set by last year's budget. For the Secret Service, that meant millions to protect presidential nominees—from 2012.
This is the consequence of Washington's budget dysfunction: Stopgap spending bills that keep the government running, passed by Congress in the absence of a comprehensive deal, often keep federal policies in place that no longer make sense.
The Secret Service, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, isn't going to dispatch agents in suits and sunglasses to shadow Mitt Romney, the losing GOP presidential candidate. Instead, it could set the money aside, despite facing cuts to other parts of its budget, or put it to use for other purposes and deal with the consequences later.
An official at the Department of Homeland Security wouldn't comment on whether the funds will be used.
A 29-member House and Senate budget panel met Wednesday and leaders suggested they aren't close to a deal on a budget for the rest of the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30, 2014. They are at odds over tax revenue, which Democrats want to increase and many Republicans oppose.
The divide worries leaders of appropriation committees. They want lawmakers to agree on a budget level by next week so they have time to complete spending bills that would keep the government running after Jan. 15, 2014, when the current short-term funding bill expires.
Appropriators and federal agency chiefs are beginning to worry that the sputtering talks will force another temporary budget extension in January as lawmakers stare down the possibility of another government shutdown. "This is a matter of some urgency," said Rep. Tom Cole (R., Okla.), one of the negotiators and a member of the Budget and Appropriations panels.
A continuing resolution, as short-term budget provisions are called, often give agencies funds for programs they don't want. Sometimes they can redirect the money to avoid layoffs or other cuts, especially those related to the rolling series of budget cuts known as the sequester. They also could set the funds aside while they wait for Congress to set longer-term budgets, congressional aides said.
This has created a type of budget purgatory where agency chiefs say they cannot plan strategically, especially on multiyear projects, or even make staffing decisions. These temporary spending bills "are like autopilot, and all you're doing is adjusting the altitude," Jason Furman, chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, said at a Wall Street Journal breakfast this month. "And you're not adjusting altitude in the right direction either."
