After much handwringing in February about a possible shut down of the government due to an inability by Congress to pass a federal budget, the union has been saved by a series of stopgap spending measures. The most recent one expires on April 8. While it appeared a couple of weeks ago that Congress lacked the will to actually shut the government down as it did during the Clinton administration, it is now looking more and more that no compromise is in the immediate offing. While life as most licensees know it will be unaffected, it is very important that licensees with licenses set to expire in the immediate future get their renewal applications in before the close of business on April 8. This is important because as long as a timely renewal application is on file, a licensee’s operating authority continues past the license expiration date. But if the government is shut down when your license expires and you haven’t yet filed your renewal application, you can’t file it and your operating authority ceases. Don’t paint yourself into that corner.
