We’re counting down the days to the first budget deadline that would partially shut down the government. Can you feel the excitement? The drama?
I’m getting all tingly from my fingers to my toes. Of course, that might be my diabetic neuropathy, but it’s still tingling. And with just three days before the end of the world or the government runs out of money, whichever comes first, everyone on The Hill is getting their one-liners ready to describe how it’s the Democrats’/Republicans’ fault.
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And don’t forget a little extra hair spray for those interviews on the Capitol steps.
The hope was to release bipartisan texts of the Agriculture-FDA, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD funding bills today. But in congressional budgeting, it’s always safe to follow the adage, “Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.”
On the Dem side: Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER skewered Republicans in a “Dear Colleague” letter last night for playing politics with people’s livelihoods.
A lapse of funding for the first tranche of bills would threaten food assistance and housing support for needy families, hurt farmers and veterans, and potentially cause travel delays at airports, Schumer wrote.
“Unfortunately, extreme House Republicans have shown they’re more capable of causing chaos than passing legislation,” Schumer wrote. “It is my sincere hope that … Speaker [MIKE] JOHNSON will step up to once again buck the extremists in his caucus and do the right thing.”
Joe Biden decided to try his hand at herding cats by summoning forth the congressional leadership for a pow-wow at the White House on Tuesday.
Cats aren’t creatures who listen to humans, especially those who are trying to tell them what to do. The similarity between cats and congresscritters is obvious.
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“Government funding, I’m sure guys have all of that all taken care of. I think that it’s Congress’s responsibility to fund the government. We’ve got to get about doing it,” Biden told the group Tuesday. “A shutdown would damage the economy significantly. I think we can all agree to that. And we need bipartisan solutions.”
Good luck with that.
If a portion of federal finances lapse just past midnight on Saturday, vital services at the Department of Transportation would go offline. Food stamp programs could quickly run low on funding. Housing assistance for millions of families would fall into jeopardy. And another larger government shutdown cliff awaits just a week later, when funds for the Defense and State departments will also expire, unless Congress acts.
Democrats are asking for more, more, more in their usual bid to add more zeroes to the budget numbers. And Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) couldn’t resist tying Ukraine funding to the budget fight.
“In less than a week, the federal government will begin to shut down unless both sides — both sides — work together to extend funding,” Schumer said. “Meanwhile, the moral obligation for Congress to help the people of Ukraine and fortify our own national security grows heavier with each passing day.”
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The twin spending fights have ground Congress to a standstill in recent weeks. House and Senate budget negotiators are struggling to cinch a spending deal to fund the departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture, and Energy — the agencies whose funding is set to expire this weekend.
Schumer and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) backed off a plan Sunday to release legislative text of that deal amid continued policy disputes on issues ranging from anti-hunger assistance to access to firearms.
The posturing and accusations will continue long past Friday.