As of this moment, there is a decent chance that Congress will not pass ether a budget or continuing resolution (CR) for the President to sign by midnight tomorrow and keep the government from shutting down. For months there was a deal in place that kept the government open and included a bi-partisan immigration deal on DACA and border security. As most of us know, Republican hard-liners convinced President Trump to change his mind, thus scuttling the bi-partisan bill. With mere days before the deadline, Republicans scrambled to craft at least a CR, and did so without meaningful Democratic input. They presented a “take it or leave it” CR that intentionally omitted the one thing critical to Democrats and was part of the deal – DACA protections. Will a shut down, if it occurs, fall on the shoulders of the Democrats, the Republicans, or both?
Let me first discuss the ramifications of a shutdown because the President and Congress refuse to speak honestly about it. I was privileged during my military career to lead large professional organizations several times. Most of the time, but not always, active duty military continue to get paid during a shutdown. Paid or not, military members are required to report for duty as usual. Most military organizations, such as mine, included a group of dedicated, professional civilians who greatly contributed to operations. As leader, it was my job to sit them down and explain they would be furloughed indefinitely until the shutdown ended. That means they cannot come to work, work from home, discuss any work-related issues with anyone, or use or respond to government phones, emails, etc. It was unlawful for me or any if us to reach out to them during the shutdown, no matter how important the issue we were working and no matter how critical their knowledge or expertise. Even worse, they would not receive any pay during this time. Many of my civilian employees would encounter significant financial peril with bills and expenses by missing even one pay period. The crisis grew exponentially each week. There was no guarantee Congress would give them back pay after the shutdown ended, especially as they had not been allowed to do any work. The same applied to all affected federal employees. It was among the very hardest things I ever had to do – try and comfort wonderful people who were truly terrified for their families, angry their lives were being used as political pawns, and questioning their futures. It is grossly irresponsible for Congress and the President to play politics with a government shut down and callously hurt so many good, loyal families.
Democrats are under tremendous pressure from “dreamers” and immigration rights advocates to vote against any bill that does not finally include DACA protection. The President promised this months ago and Democrats in the House and Senate voted overwhelmingly for the last 90-day CR to keep the government open, believing they had a deal. A bipartisan group of senators led by Graham and Durbin presented a strong bill that included DACA protection as well as the President’s stated border security priorities and the President simply changed his mind. No deal. DACA protection has overwhelming support among the American people and in Congress. Every time there is a potential bipartisan deal on immigration, Republican hardliners scuttle it. Why should Democrats fall for this again and again? They should insist that DACA is included in the bill. The bill would pass Congress and I believe the President would sign it. What else can Democrats to do to finally ensure the long overdue DACA protections if not take this stand today?
In the current bill, Republicans included several additional provisions to further complicate matters. The most controversial is a 14-billion-dollar tax cut for insurance companies. This is on top of the tax cut they already got. Republicans included funding for CHIP (children’s health insurance), an important Democratic priority, daring them to vote no. If Republicans will include other provisions, why not include DACA, especially because DACA has overwhelming support in Congress and the nation as well as it being the Democrats top priority for this bill? Simple, this is another example of Republican party indiscipline and appeasement of the hardline Freedom Caucus (which ironically has nothing to do with freedom). As is, there is a good chance this bill does not pass both houses. With DACA and the Democratic support it brings, the bill would pass overwhelmingly. Speaker Ryan just will not allow it. Shameful.
President Trump is also weighing in using his bully pulpit. Rather than the king of deal-making trying to help the parties reach agreement, Trump chooses to unfairly and inaccurately taunt Democrats. He claims the shut down will be the Democrats’ fault. Well, Republicans control Congress and the White House. Democrats have little voice and little leverage to affect anything. In fact, Republicans have chosen to work without Democrats because they do not need Democratic votes to pass their agenda. This allows them to pass a more extreme agenda rather than one with a more broad-based appeal that reaches across the aisle for input and support. Trump also falsely claims the Democrats will hurt the military. There would be an impact on training during a shut down, but overall there would be less impact on the military than the rest of the government. What truly hurts the military is the series of CRs rather than passing a budget. CRs keep salaries going, but deny the necessary funding for much needed equipment, training, and contingency funding. If the President and Republican leaders care about the military, they will finally get to work on a real budget.
The lack of budgets going back over ten years is the biggest failure of Congress. While most blame falls on Republican intransigence, Democrats have shared blame over the years as well. It is Congress’ most important responsibility and they make no effort to get it done. There are ways to address this disgusting dereliction of duty. First, Congress should be forced to remain in session until they pass a budget. Second, Congress should not be paid during periods of shut down or CR. Third, when a CR becomes necessary it should be required to be clean with no add-ons. Budgets are critical to successful and efficient government. Agencies can not operate when they never know what their funding is for the year (if not longer).
Government shut downs are serious and it is unfortunate to see politicians using this as a strategy to advance an agenda or deny passage of legislation that would otherwise enjoy broad support. Congress should rely on good faith negotiation and proper process to fulfill their obligations to the nation. Severely and unnecessarily hurting so many families is intolerable, especially for political purposes. As a military retiree and disabled veteran, a shutdown will stop my monthly pension and disability pay, upon which I rely like so many others who served the nation. However, I see no other option at this time for Democrats to force DACA protections into the bill. This legislation has been promised for years, is critical to our nation fulfilling its obligations, and enjoys clear majority support. Thus, Democrats must take this stand. Republicans have no excuse not to include this provision. If the government shuts down, it falls on their own immorality, no the Democrats trying to fix a long-standing injustice.