The ridiculous and destructive government shutdown

Congressional budget irresponsibility is now a deeply ingrained and thoroughly bipartisan institutional trait.

For perspective on the ridiculousness of the government shutdown, considering how the process is supposed to work offers a highly useful and illustrative reference point.

The Budget Act provides a timeline for the orderly consideration and adoption of a budget before the start of a new fiscal year on Oct. 1.

Both chambers of Congress are supposed to agree on a budget resolution by April 15, which provides a topline guidepost on spending and revenues. The House is supposed to have passed all appropriation bills filling out the details of the budget resolution by June 30. That would leave three months for the Senate to pass its own versions of the appropriation bills and reconcile any differences with the House.

Republicans are in control of both chambers, but did none of this. Instead, on September 19, less than two weeks before the start of the new fiscal year, the House passed a continuing resolution providing for funding the government just until Nov. 21. A continuing resolution is subject to filibuster in the Senate and an insufficient number of Democrats have been willing to go along with this punt. So, the government is shut down and politicians in both parties are mostly consumed with blaming those of the other party for it.

It’s worth considering the partisan advantage that would accrue from a party in control of both chambers actually doing their job by duly deliberating and deciding how to allocate spending for a $7 trillion enterprise before the start of the fiscal year.

The budget resolution isn’t subject to the filibuster, so it can be adopted by a simple majority in each chamber. The budget resolution can identify matters for a followup budget reconciliation bill, which also is not subject to the filibuster. The actual appropriation bills would be subject to a filibuster. However, many of the most contentious matters could be enacted with a simple majority through a proper budget resolution and budget reconciliation bill. The individual appropriation bills don’t offer the same leverage for the minority party to extract concessions.

By not doing what should be their top job, with nothing else a close second, congressional Republicans have forfeited the partisan advantage the intended budget process would provide. A continuing resolution is subject to the filibuster and thus leverage for the minority party to extract concessions.

Now, when the Democrats were in charge of both chambers, they were equally irresponsible in their budget management. Congressional budget irresponsibility is now a deeply ingrained and thoroughly bipartisan institutional trait. That makes it no less inexcusable.

The concession Democrats want to provide the votes for the GOP’s irresponsible continuing resolution is a continuation of increased Affordable Care Act subsidies initially enacted as a Covid response. Without congressional action, they will expire at the end of the calendar year.

There is some support from some Republicans for some degree of enhanced subsidies going forward, so it is likely to happen at some point in time. The GOP argument to Democrats is to provide the votes to reopen the government, and then we’ll discuss enhanced ACA subsidies.

Actually, “argument” is too polite a description. Speaker Mike Johnson refuses to bring the House into session until Democrats capitulate. So, his House fails to do its job under the Budget Act, with less than two weeks left in the fiscal year he enacts a continuing resolution that can’t pass the Senate, and then he locks down the House to prevent it from considering anything else. That’s doubling and tripling down on fiscal irresponsibility.

Democrats have an incontrovertible practical argument as to why the ACA subsidy question needs to be dealt with now rather than later, but it is an afterthought in their talking points. ACA open enrollment begins Nov. 1. People need to know what their premiums will be by then. Politicians who cared about governing wouldn’t leave that unresolved.

Instead of stressing this incontrovertible practical argument, Democrats want to spin the impasse into a larger attack on Republicans and health care in general. That confuses rather clarifies the policy question that is getting lost in the shutdown blame game.

While Democrats have an incontrovertible argument as to why ACA subsidies should be dealt with now rather than later, triggering a government shutdown over them was itself fiscally irresponsible. Shutting down the government is never fiscally responsible.

I understand that the Democratic base wants their elected officials to fight harder, and this was a rare point of leverage. But, as is increasingly being made clear, the consequences of a government shutdown are too severe to make it a point of leverage.

Given the endemic bipartisan fiscal irresponsibility in Congress, the least members could do is to enact legislation protecting the country, and government workers, against their irresponsibility. There has been proposed legislation making a continuing resolution automatic and indefinite in the event of Congress not passing a proper budget. There is perhaps no legislation whose virtue and necessity has been more amply demonstrated over time. Absent that, if some government workers are going to be deemed essential and required to work despite the lack of a budget, is it really beyond the capabilities of our congressional Keystone Kops to provide for them getting paid in the interim?

These days, when Congress isn’t useless, it’s destructive.

Reach Robb at robtrobb@gmail.com.