As Congress begins conferencing over the fiscal 2020 budget, federal managers are examining their path forward. With the September 30 deadline looming, a continuing resolution is becoming more likely. Danny Werfel, managing director at the Boston Consulting Group, says that it’s important for managers to have a plan in any funding situation.
“It is a lot of scenario planning. Does the continuing resolution run for a month, two months? Is it best case, middle case, worst case scenario for how my appropriation plays out? And having different plans for how to approach each of those scenarios,” Werfel said. “Unfortunately, that means holding off on making some key decisions on investments you might make, hiring decisions, and then shrinking the amount of time in the year you have to spend that money with the highest possible impact. It is making sure you are prepared for the contingencies, in particular the low funding contingency. You’ve got to keep the lights on and you have to make sure that you’re addressing risks. You want to understand how to do that if the funding you’re expecting is more at the low end.”
