Weekly Opinion Editorial
PULL
THE PLUG!
by Steve
Fair
The U.S. federal government shut down October 1st. Last week, the U.S. Senate took four votes on
both Democrat and Republican proposals to fund the government with a Continuing
Resolution (CR), but lacked the votes for passage. After the votes, the Senate adjourned for the
weekend. The U.S. House is scheduled to return
to DC on October 14th, but could come back early.
During a shutdown, federal employees designated "non-essential,"
are furloughed. Essential services like
air traffic control and the military are not impacted. Past shutdowns have resulted in federal
employees working without pay during the shutdown, but getting back pay once
the shutdown ends. Social Security
payments are expected to continue, as are food stamps and WIC benefits. Medicare and Medicaid will continue. The IRS will continue to collect taxes. Passport processing and services could experience
delays. Oftentimes, the average American
doesn't even notice the government is shutdown.
Three observations:
First, many U.S. federal government functions need to be shut down. The federal government is notoriously bloated,
wasteful and extravagant. Government
agencies spend tax dollars with impunity and no accountability. President Ronald
Reagan said, “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size.
Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government
bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!” The Trump administration has threatened
to permanently layoff some federal workers during this most recent shutdown. That would be unprecedented. Does Congress have the political will to pull
the plug on wasteful spending? Time will
tell.
Second, federal government shutdowns are nothing new. Since 1976, the government has shut down 20
times. The longest government shutdown
happened in 2018 and lasted 34 days. The
current shutdown is happening because Democrats will not support the Republican
written CR. The Ds cite four recent
national polls showing Americans will blame President Trump and Republicans for
the shutdown more than the Ds. Sen. Chuck
Shumer, (D-NY), said, "Donald Trump and the Republicans own this
shutdown."
The opportunity to reduce government spending and waste shouldn't be
wasted by the GOP. They should 'own' the
shutdown and force Democrats to own the waste.
Third, Congressional Democrats are putting politics over people. Holding the federal government hostage to
force through a $1.5 trillion dollar wish list of pork is a risky strategy. Refusing to support the Republican CR to keep
the lights on is the height of partisan.
Obstructionism is the failed political scheme that put the Ds are in the
Congressional minority. Expect Congressional
Ds to cave quickly because Americans will blame all elected officials, no
matter Party, if a shutdown dawdles.
In 1974, Congress passed a bill revising the budgeting process. In the 50 years Congress has used the system, only four times have they passed all the required appropriations measures on time. It wasn't the intent. Rather than pass individual spending bills, like the '74 bill outlined, Congress has instead used omnibus bills and CRs to fund government. An omnibus bill bundles 12 annual appropriations bills into a massive spending package and is hundreds of pages long. It is often passed at the end of a legislative session, in the dark of night. Tax payers should demand government spending be justified. If it's not, pull the plug!
