Remember the outrageous 16-day government shutdown? Congress ended it by establishing deadlines for passing a budget, and the first of those deadlines is fast approaching. 

As the Dec. 13 deadline for a budget deal approaches, some sources are saying prospects for a deal may be growing. Demand Congress do its job to avoid yet another government shutdown.

Now that the shutdown is over, Head Start families and employees can breathe a sigh of relief, right? Well....

The 2011 Budget Control Act set the stage for the harsh automatic budget cuts known as sequestration to take place on January 1, 2013. These cuts will go on for a decade unless Congress agrees to stop them. Some initiatives, like the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, have been cut by more than 20 percent.

The sequester not only cut money allocated to federal programs, but also meant reductions for federal spending at the state and local level.

A better-than-expected cash flow at the U.S. Treasury has turned May 18 into just any old day.

Last week we explained that Congress was rushing to prevent airport delays, even as education programs and services for vulnerable Americans - such as shelters for victims of domestic violence - were seeing funding cuts. Then lawmakers passed the "Reducing Flight Delays Act" - by lying about a typo and throwing transparency out the window.

They’ve hit a new low. Citing significant concerns about long lines at airports and flight delays caused by the furlough of air-traffic controllers, Congress let the Federal Aviation Administration override strict sequestration rules and redirect funds within its budget. And they did so with lightning speed.

Last week I explained that the federal government is operating on a temporary spending bill called a continuing resolution instead of a real budget for fiscal 2013. That continuing resolution expires on March 27. If lawmakers don't pass new legislation the federal government will shut down on March 28. Here's what's happening.

The Census Bureau is yet another agency impacted by the sequester, and result could be delayed release of some key economic data. Cutting this bureau's funds could lead to uninformed budgeting and the inability to track the outcomes of our policies and spending.