rich 1.0 The process of establishing and approving our federal budget has somehow become an annual exercise in brinksmanship. Each year, some elected officials believe it necessary to threaten the proper functioning of our country in order to make a confused stand about government spending. Last week, Congress approved another short-term spending bill to avoid a government shutdown. TIME's Top Stories https://audioboom.com/channels/3380207-time-s-top-stories Audioboom https://audioboom.com 480 95 https://audioboom.com/i/24663805/600x600/c 600 600 <iframe width="100%" height="95" src="https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/5123251/embed?v=202301" style="background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; width: 100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="allowtransparency" scrolling="no" title="Audioboom player" allow="autoplay" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>