The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 changed the start of the fiscal year from January 1st to October 1st. Why the change? Ostensibly to give Congress more time to pass the budget.
What has been the result? In the last 50 years Congress has successfully performed it's budgetary responsibilities only four times in a timely manner.
Americans are justifiably concerned our Constitution will eventually become just a bunch of words as useless as as a VCR. I would argue that the House of Representative's Constitutional "power of the purse" requires they submit, from time to time, a budget to the President. Failure to submit a budget on time 46 out of the last 50 years erodes our Constitutional Federal Republic.
I would argue the budget is a core responsibility of the House of Representatives spelled out in the Constitution. Something as important as it gets and Congress continues to blow it off.
PS The other day I was asked what issues in America concern me the most. My response was simple... "The attacks on the 1st and 2nd amendment." The comment I got from the person asking me the question was: "Oh like the attacks on the 3rd Amendment?" I didn't remember that the 3rd Amendment was needed to stop the government from quartering troops in my home. The point? Quartering of troops lives in the dustbin of history... Exactly where the 2nd Amendment belongs.
Ouch!
PPS December 18th, 2024 update. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, is seriously considering passing a 1,547 page Continuing Resolution (CR). It will be three times to larger than any previous CR and although technically it's not an Omnibus Bill. I believe it could be categorized as an new form of legislation that is clearly an Albatross. This legislation is one of the classic "We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it..." Washington D.C. let's go home for Christmas, death to America, screw the future, short sighted, fuck it whatever I don't care, Bills from Hell.
