The Christmas season will come and go before fishermen and fishing communities discover the fate of the $150 million in federal disaster aid they seek in the final fiscal 2014 federal budget.
They should hear something soon after the calendar flips to 2014, but they might not like what they hear.
The $150 million, currently within the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill, remains in limbo as appropriators in the House and Senate work together to assemble the omnibus appropriations bill that ultimately must clear both congressional chambers.
The clock is running. The House and Senate are scheduled to return to session Jan. 7, and the deadline for drafting a new omnibus appropriations bill is Jan. 15, when the current resolution funding the federal government is set to expire.