A government shutdown looms large over the divided Congress right now.
That's because legislators on Capitol Hill are facing a pile of issues that will have to be sussed out by Dec. 8, 2017, in order to keep Uncle Sam fiscally afloat.
Right now, Congressional policymakers are already operating on borrowed time. That Dec. 8 deadline was agreed upon in order to avoid a late-summer shutdown and debt default. At the time, the president and Congress obliged to suspend the debt limit for three more months.
Which brings us to today - two months later, with roughly one month left till meltdown.
There are serious doubts that policymakers will agree on a larger government spending appropriations bill next month.
Despite being in a minority, Democrats still retain considerable power in the endgame; their votes are needed to pass any final spending resolution.
And right now, they have demands of their own. Chiefly, Democrats want protections for immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as young children, which Republicans do not want included in December's spending bill. Dems also demand budget increases for domestic agencies without cuts made elsewhere in the bill. Republicans, were they to agree to such agency expenditures, would insist on spending cuts to balance the costs.
And even if another temporary funding measure is implemented to avert total government shutdown this year, that won't forestall the larger issues that prevent the divided Congress from agreeing on much of anything for long.
Here's a quick look at those contentious issues and at how you could profit from a government shutdown in the meantime...
The Four Issues That Will Cause a Government Shutdown
DACA Funding: Last Thursday (Nov. 9), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) signaled that Congressional Democrats might be willing to block a new government spending bill and risk a government shutdown if GOPers don't cooperate on granting permanent status to young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children - a.k.a. members of the U.S. DACA program, or "Dreamers."
In September, Trump announced he was rescinding the DACA program effective March 5, 2018, but that he wanted Congress to replace it with new legislation.
"I'll have to see what the spending bill is, but I fully intend that we will not leave here without the Dream Act passing with the DACA fix," Pelosi said, according to U.S. News on Nov. 9. "And I've made that very clear."
But Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WS) pushed back right away, saying DACA should be "considered separately" from end-of-year deadlines, reported The Hill on Sunday (Nov. 12).
If Congress can't resolve this issue, we will see a government shutdown next month.
And that's not the only way...
U.S.-Mexico Border Wall Funding: On July 27, House Republicans approved a Homeland Security spending bill that included the full $1.6 billion Trump had requested for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
By squeezing these wall funds into the spending bill at that time, GOPers avoided an explicit vote on the wall itself.
Various Dem legislators immediately pushed back.
"Democrats will again draw a hard line against wasting taxpayer money to fulfill the President's campaign applause line," said Matthew Dennis, spokesman to Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), the top Democrat on the Appropriations panel, according to CBS News that same day. "The purpose of the Homeland Security bill is to make communities more safe and secure, and this pointless wall does nothing to accomplish that."
Special Report: Cannabis Is the Gold Rush of the 21st Century - 30 Stocks to Invest in Now. Details Here...
Two months later, on Sept. 13, Trump explicitly requested that Congressional Republicans work with Democrats on immigration reform, including a "DACA fix."
Still, Dems touted border wall funding as a "non-starter" issue, meaning they would never be willing to negotiate it.
So, on Sept. 20, the Trump administration released DACA phase-out guidelines, cementing the president's ultimate decision not to fix the program, but to altogether end it instead.
Unless, of course, Congress comes up with that fix ahead of the Dec. 8 shutdown deadline.
Republicans say DACA is a non-starter, Dems say the wall is a non-starter.
Which makes "border wall funding" stalemate number two.
Here's number three...
Defense Spending: The Department of Defense (DoD) requested $639.1 billion for defense spending in 2018.
On top of that, Trump requested an additional $54 billion.
On Sept. 18, the Senate took up the entire $696.5 billion defense bill that the House passed in July... with the support of 60% of Democrats.
Whether or not this bipartisan agreement will last once those spending provisions are rolled into December's omnibus spending bill on Dec. 8 is anyone's guess.
Given recent partisanship, it's unlikely.
Not to mention the Dems' appeal for domestic agency funding.
Domestic Spending: "Democrats say a shutdown can be averted if Trump and Congressional Republicans, including the conservative House Freedom Caucus, put aside unrealistic demands such as a ban on funds for Planned Parenthood or requiring any added hurricane-relief funds to be offset with domestic spending cuts," Bloomberg Politics reported on Oct. 19.
Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico could seek tens of billions of dollars in additional post-hurricane rebuilding money once final damage assessments are tallied.
"Conservatives are likely to seek spending cuts in exchange for such funds, which Democrats and many other Republicans reject," Bloomberg reported.
These spending cuts could take the form of a push to ban funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides abortions and family planning services, which could be yet another non-starter for the Dems.
This Precious Metal Will Make Investors Rich - Don't Wait to Check Out These 2 Life-Changing Companies
Fortunately, investors need not sit idly by and worry about a government shutdown when they could actually be profiting from it.
As Money Morning Chief Investment Strategist Keith Fitz-Gerald notes, "chaos always creates opportunity, and another government shutdown certainly qualifies."
Here's how you can bank double-digit profits amidst a 2017 government shutdown...
Double-Digit Profits During a U.S. Government Shutdown
"The last government shutdown, as costly and embarrassing as it was for this country, created some quick double-digit profit opportunities for savvy investors," Fitz-Gerald said of the 2013 shutdown.
And the upcoming shutdown threat is likely to bring opportunities for double-digit profits as well. The trick to capturing these profits is to prepare now.
Keith recommends placing lowball orders on valuable companies that will take a hit if the government comes to a screeching halt. Once everything is back to business as usual, the company's stock rebounds, and you reap the rewards.
And Keith has just the firm to get in on if you want to play the impending government stalemate. This firm has several government contracts on the books, so a shutdown could easily trigger a knee-jerk pullback, which means a surefire profit opportunity for investors...
We're talking about Sterling Construction Co. (Nasdaq: STRL).
Readers of Keith's Money Map Report were introduced to Sterling back in August, when it was trading for roughly $10 a share. At $16.69, it's up over 65% in just three months!
But an impending government shut down could give investors another buying opportunity.
That's because Sterling's bread and butter is civil construction and infrastructure throughout the western United States, so many investors see it as a play on President Trump's infrastructure projects. Since the expected revenue from government contracts is already priced into the stock, a freeze on government spending could send the stock to the floor...
...Where you could pick it up at a nice discount, right before it leaps back up once Congress pulls itself together again.
Up Next: Seventeen Triple-Digit Wins This Year... and Counting
Keith Fitz-Gerald's Money Map Report subscribers who have followed along with his recommendations are now sitting on 17 triple-digit winners this year - including a 201.68% return and a 132.35% gain that closed out in the same week.
Each week, Keith shows everyday Americans how to tap into the world's biggest high-profit trends, ahead of the crowd.
There's nothing complicated or overly risky - and no guesswork involved.
Right now he's looking at another double-your-money opportunity, and there's still time to get in on it. Find out how to subscribe and access all of Keith's recommendations by clicking here now.
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Related Articles:
- S. News: Shutdown Deadline Looms Over DACA Fix
- The Washington Post: Trump's Border Wall Is a Non-Starter for Democrats. He Knows That.
- Bloomberg: Congress Is Inching Closer to a Shutdown Over Immigration and Obamacare
- CBS News: Border Wall Funding Folded into House GOP Bill
- Money Morning: I'm No Prophet, but I See Three Doomsday Warnings in My Charts This Morning
- Money Morning: Will a Government Shutdown Affect Social Security?
- Money Morning: The 10 Best Government Shutdown Memes of All Time
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