“By law, we have one job,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R‑Tenn.) asserted the last time he opposed the “continuing resolution” (CR) on the federal budget.
What is that “one job”? It is “to pass twelve appropriations bills and a budget. We aren’t doing that, which is why we are $33 trillion in debt.”
Katherine Mangu-Ward, at Reason, fleshed this out: “In theory, the president proposes a budget, Congress passes a budget resolution, and then various committees put together a dozen separate spending bills. They’re debated and voted on, and then the president signs them into law by October 1.”
The practice, however, is a bit different: “What happens instead is that the members of the House careen into each fall full tilt, screaming at each other until they throw together some kind of stopgap measure to fund the federal government for a little while longer until they can get their act together to generate a big, messy omnibus bill that no one will have time to read.”
But it’s worse: “When they can’t manage even that, we get a shutdown.”
To prevent a shutdown, but also not fall back into the usual iterations of the continuing resolutions, the new House Speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson (R.-La.) has floated the idea of a “laddered” CR. According to The Epoch Times, this plan “would spread the due dates over a period of time rather than having all the bills come due at once.” Think of it as an ultra-weak echo of the responsible budgeting process.
Will it work? Will Congress manage this merest hint of responsibility?
In ten days, it’s go time — or, no-go time — again.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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2 replies on “Of Stopgaps and Ladders”
The better method might be a file that no omnibus spending authority is possible and there will be a continuation of the prior authorization (perhaps less a percent or to, compounding monthly) until the next budget is properly passed.
No new programs, no additional spending on any item.
The problem is fixable, if the government chose to do so. So far they have not made that choice.
Even if all twelve appropriations bills are passed in time for the start of the fiscal year, the budget means nothing if there is no surplus or rainy day fund to draw on. Throughout the year we have weather events, natural disasters and other unexpected ’emergencies’ that result in Congress passing supplemental appropriations bills. Every supplemental adds to the debt, over and above whatever deficit is included in the annual budget