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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 As most of us know, Republican hard-liners convinced President Trump to change his mind, thus scuttling the bi-partisan bill.\u00a0 With mere days before the deadline, Republicans scrambled to craft at least a CR, and did so without meaningful Democratic input.\u00a0 They presented a \u201ctake it or leave it\u201d CR that intentionally omitted the one thing critical to Democrats and was part of the deal \u2013 DACA protections.\u00a0 Will a shut down, if it occurs, fall on the shoulders of the Democrats, the Republicans, or both?<\/p>\n
Let me first discuss the ramifications of a shutdown because the President and Congress refuse to speak honestly about it.\u00a0 I was privileged during my military career to lead large professional organizations several times.\u00a0 Most of the time, but not always, active duty military continue to get paid during a shutdown.\u00a0 Paid or not, military members are required to report for duty as usual.\u00a0 Most military organizations, such as mine, included a group of dedicated, professional civilians who greatly contributed to operations.\u00a0 As leader, it was my job to sit them down and explain they would be furloughed indefinitely until the shutdown ended.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Even worse, they would not receive any pay during this time.\u00a0 Many of my civilian employees would encounter significant financial peril with bills and expenses by missing even one pay period.\u00a0 The crisis grew exponentially each week.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The same applied to all affected federal employees.\u00a0 It was among the very hardest things I ever had to do \u2013 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
Democrats are under tremendous pressure from \u201cdreamers\u201d and immigration rights advocates to vote against any bill that does not finally include DACA protection.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 A bipartisan group of senators led by Graham and Durbin presented a strong bill that included DACA protection as well as the President\u2019s stated border security priorities and the President simply changed his mind.\u00a0 No deal.\u00a0 DACA protection has overwhelming support among the American people and in Congress.\u00a0 Every time there is a potential bipartisan deal on immigration, Republican hardliners scuttle it.\u00a0 Why should Democrats fall for this again and again?\u00a0 They should insist that DACA is included in the bill.\u00a0 The bill would pass Congress and I believe the President would sign it.\u00a0 What else can Democrats to do to finally ensure the long overdue DACA protections if not take this stand today?<\/p>\n
In the current bill, Republicans included several additional provisions to further complicate matters.\u00a0 The most controversial is a 14-billion-dollar tax cut for insurance companies.\u00a0 This is on top of the tax cut they already got.\u00a0 Republicans included funding for CHIP (children\u2019s health insurance), an important Democratic priority, daring them to vote no.\u00a0 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?\u00a0 Simple, this is another example of Republican party indiscipline and appeasement of the hardline Freedom Caucus (which ironically has nothing to do with freedom).\u00a0 As is, there is a good chance this bill does not pass both houses.\u00a0 With DACA and the Democratic support it brings, the bill would pass overwhelmingly.\u00a0 Speaker Ryan just will not allow it.\u00a0 Shameful.<\/p>\n
President Trump is also weighing in using his bully pulpit.\u00a0 Rather than the king of deal-making trying to help the parties reach agreement, Trump chooses to unfairly and inaccurately taunt Democrats.\u00a0 He claims the shut down will be the Democrats\u2019 fault.\u00a0 Well, Republicans control Congress and the White House.\u00a0 Democrats have little voice and little leverage to affect anything. \u00a0In fact, Republicans have chosen to work without Democrats because they do not need Democratic votes to pass their agenda.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Trump also falsely claims the Democrats will hurt the military.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 What truly hurts the military is the series of CRs rather than passing a budget.\u00a0 CRs keep salaries going, but deny the necessary funding for much needed equipment, training, and contingency funding.\u00a0 If the President and Republican leaders care about the military, they will finally get to work on a real budget.<\/p>\n
The lack of budgets going back over ten years is the biggest failure of Congress.\u00a0 While most blame falls on Republican intransigence, Democrats have shared blame over the years as well.\u00a0 It is Congress\u2019 most important responsibility and they make no effort to get it done.\u00a0 There are ways to address this disgusting dereliction of duty.\u00a0 First, Congress should be forced to remain in session until they pass a budget.\u00a0 Second, Congress should not be paid during periods of shut down or CR.\u00a0 Third, when a CR becomes necessary it should be required to be clean with no add-ons.\u00a0 Budgets are critical to successful and efficient government.\u00a0 Agencies can not operate when they never know what their funding is for the year (if not longer).<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 Congress should rely on good faith negotiation and proper process to fulfill their obligations to the nation.\u00a0 Severely and unnecessarily hurting so many families is intolerable, especially for political purposes.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Thus, Democrats must take this stand.\u00a0 Republicans have no excuse not to include this provision.\u00a0 If the government shuts down, it falls on their own immorality, no the Democrats trying to fix a long-standing injustice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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