The FY 2011 spending debate was a train wreck, and while it concluded over the last few weeks, the very same train wreck started happening again, for the coming fiscal year.

April 15th is more than just tax day. It’s the day that the House and Senate are supposed to finalize a budget for the coming fiscal year, which starts October 1st. Once a budget is in place, the amounts that can be spent go to the Appropriations Committees, who produce the bills that authorize spending on government programs.

If a budget doesn’t happen, or if it’s delayed, the Appropriations Committees don’t get the amounts they’re supposed to work with. If the Appropriations Committees don’t get the amounts, they don’t move on those bills, and the Congress ends up doing the short-term spending bills like we’ve just seen. It’s a disaster, and it makes it very hard for the public to oversee the Congress.

So where are we on budgeting for fiscal 2012? The House passed a budget last week. The Senate hasn’t even seen one introduced. Naturally, the two houses haven’t gotten together to come up with a compromise.

The failure to get the process started on time is a disaster in the making—the same disaster we just saw!

What can you do? There are a few things. You can:

Sign our petition: “We Want a Transparent and Orderly Congress.” Do so after you create an account and log in, because then you can comment on the petition. We’re going to use the petition’s page to organize a non-partisan campaign to get Congress doing its job right.

Pass this information along to a friend or colleague. Things only change when people get organized. YOU need to organize the people around you. So send people you think would be interested a link to this blog post!

Contact your member of Congress: Tell him or her that you want to see a final budget agreement, and ask what date he or she expects that agreement to be finalized. Please post anything you learn here or on the “transparent and orderly” petition page. You should especially do this if you are represented by member of Congress on the House Budget Committee, listed below, or on the Senate Budget Committee, listed below that.

Your efforts can make a difference! Don’t delay! Push Congress to do its work!