There have been a number of news stories in the past 24 hours about a government shutdown over border security. Although FreedomWorks doesn’t take positions on immigration issues, we do work on budget and appropriations issues. What Americans are hearing about the possibility of a government shutdown has not included any clarity on what that means.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote NO on the Defense, Labor, and Health and Human Services (HHS) minibus, H.R. 6157. In addition to spending profligately on programs included in the minibus, it also includes a short-term continuing resolution (CR) for remaining appropriations bills into fiscal year 2019.

On behalf of FreedomWorks activists nationwide, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to vote in the manner prescribed for each amendment below to the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, H.R. 6147. As is always the case, FreedomWorks reserves the right to key vote any amendment brought to the floor for a vote.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, H.R. 1625, is packed full of legislative priorities for leadership and other items to get enough votes for passage. Most of what was negotiated and slipped into the Consolidated Appropriations Act, known as the “omnibus,” behind closed doors is bad for taxpayers or just bad policy. Unfortunately, amendments that were previously passed by the House to prevent the Department of Justice from ramping up its use of civil asset forfeiture were not included in the bill.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters earlier today that the government spending bill will be released late Tuesday evening, likely right before midnight. The House will vote on Thursday. The Senate will follow. As long as the bill isn't amended, the bill will subsequently go to the president's desk. But the process has cast a dark cloud for this spending bill. And the $1.3 trillion at which Congress will appropriate is also a reminder of a bad budget deal Congress recently passed.

The House and Senate are in session this week.

As the economy begins to take off as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the next big thing we're going to see is a need for workers.