The Can Has Been Kicked
The U.S. Senate adjourned at 3:44 a.m. Washington time this morning, when good and decent people had long been asleep, after agreeing to the bill passed earlier this week by the U.S. House to keep the government funded into 2024.
This avoids drama surrounding “will they or won’t they” partially shut the government down with deadlines bumping up against the Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s holidays.
We certainly see where priorities lie. Members of Congress have a clean path to enjoy their holidays, with stop gap funding keeping the machine of government clunking along into the fifth month of the current fiscal year.
Imagine running your business or household where at the earliest, you’ll be in the fifth month of a budget year…without a budget.
I know, it’s better to keep the government open because it costs money to shut it down and reopen it. I get that.
But there’s no better incentive for folks to get something done…any of us, to get anything done…than to have a meaningful deadline. Cutting into lawmakers’ vacations and holidays is one leverage point. And they kicked all that to the curb, while kicking the proverbial budget can down the road.
Keep in mind, continuing resolutions like these keep funding levels from the past in place…meaning that the Pelosi-Schumer budget that so many Republicans ran for election on last year as being atrocious remains in place. I understand Republicans have a small majority in the House and you need to pass a bill through the Senate…but there’s something very wrong with this process where twice now since the current fiscal year began, far more Democrats voted to approve a bill proposed by the Republican House majority, under two different speakers, than Republicans did.
If you’re one of those scratching your head and asking “what’s the point” after all this…you’re not alone.
