Government shutdown a sign that Congress has truly given up
By Post Editorial Board
January 22, 2018
Both sides of the aisle in Congress are grumbling that President Trump isn’t jumping in to somehow settle the standoff that produced the government shutdown. But this is a chance for lawmakers to get past their addiction to posturing and blame-gaming — and back to real legislating.
The simple truth is that Congress has become by far the most dysfunctional branch of the federal government. It has spent decades dodging accountability by (among other things) ceding power and authority to the executive and judicial branches. Left and right, members posture to their bases, confident their voters will always blame the other side. (Most “centrists” are no better; they just posture for a different audience.)
Yes, you can blame Democrats for this shutdown, since they’re refusing to fund the government even temporarily without action on the Dreamers — action that requires arduous work compromising on immigration issues that have defied compromise for decades now.
Or you can blame Republicans: However thin their majorities, it’s their job to find the votes to pass a spending bill. So what if it’s a nightmare to get the Democratic votes they need in the Senate while still being able to pass the same measure in the House?
But the bottom line is that Congress hasn’t been doing its work through regular order for years now, whichever party was in control. Everything has been “must-pass”-omnibus this and kick-the-can that, even with presidents digging in to round up the last votes.
Whenever they work out this impasse, it’d be good for every member of both the House and Senate to step back, examine their consciences — and start figuring out how to do a better job serving the America people.
By Post Editorial Board
January 22, 2018
Both sides of the aisle in Congress are grumbling that President Trump isn’t jumping in to somehow settle the standoff that produced the government shutdown. But this is a chance for lawmakers to get past their addiction to posturing and blame-gaming — and back to real legislating.
The simple truth is that Congress has become by far the most dysfunctional branch of the federal government. It has spent decades dodging accountability by (among other things) ceding power and authority to the executive and judicial branches. Left and right, members posture to their bases, confident their voters will always blame the other side. (Most “centrists” are no better; they just posture for a different audience.)
Yes, you can blame Democrats for this shutdown, since they’re refusing to fund the government even temporarily without action on the Dreamers — action that requires arduous work compromising on immigration issues that have defied compromise for decades now.
Or you can blame Republicans: However thin their majorities, it’s their job to find the votes to pass a spending bill. So what if it’s a nightmare to get the Democratic votes they need in the Senate while still being able to pass the same measure in the House?
But the bottom line is that Congress hasn’t been doing its work through regular order for years now, whichever party was in control. Everything has been “must-pass”-omnibus this and kick-the-can that, even with presidents digging in to round up the last votes.
Whenever they work out this impasse, it’d be good for every member of both the House and Senate to step back, examine their consciences — and start figuring out how to do a better job serving the America people.
