As January wraps up, it appears that Congress is still nowhere close to a deal on several major issues with significant implications for health policy. Four months into fiscal year 2018, Congress still can’t agree on FY 2018 funding levels or a budget deal to prevent sequestration — the deep, automatic, across-the-board cuts set to hit everything from the military to family planning and HIV/AIDS services to road and bridge safety. Hardline conservatives are happy to let sequestration hit non-defense priorities like health care, education, and infrastructure but are pushing for new spending for the Pentagon. Democrats have said that’s a non-starter. Meanwhile, there’s little evidence that Congress is any closer to a DACA deal for Dreamers, and there are significant concerns that, even if the Senate can pass something, Republican leadership in the House won’t bring it to a vote unless moderate Republicans face more public pressure. If there’s a silver lining to this madness