Our nation is in crisis. The federal government has shutdown and lawmakers show no sign of moving toward an agreement. But there are 243 million ways to end this shutdown.

We've been talking a lot about how this government shutdown is corrosive for our democracy. But, of course, there's also a cost in dollars.

The government has shut down today because Congress failed to do its job of passing a budget for fiscal year 2014, which begins today.

NPP is working with partner organizations to send a letter to our lawmakers in Washington, D.C. Dear Congress: it's time for Congress to return to the regular appropriations process and ensure that people have a voice in how their tax dollars are spent.

The one-two punch of a looming government shutdown and the reliance on stop-gap spending measures to fund the government is a stark reminder of the rampant dysfunction in the halls of Congress.

There are just a few days left before Oct. 1, the start of the federal government’s new fiscal year and the deadline for Congress to pass some sort of a spending bill in order to avoid a government shutdown.

Congress failed to make funding decisions for fiscal 2014 on its regular time-frame, and now the debate on Syria has jumped to the front of the line. That means Congress is going to make some very last-minute decisions about spending in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Even more last-minute than they had already planned.

Congress returns from August recess this week, and they face a busy fall. In addition to a vote on Syria, there are two looming issues that could result in a government shutdown if they’re not resolved in the next few weeks. No Federal Budget U.S. fiscal year 2013 will end ...

Congress returns to Washington next week, and they have a lot of work to get done. Use our fact sheets to brush up on the issues.

All summer I’ve been on the phone with Americans discussing the federal budget.