Continuing Resolution quietly passed in Congress

 

 

Elections are just a few weeks away, which means until early November, Congress will pretend that they care about ordinary people like you and me.

If you pay any attention to politics, you might have realized that something is noticeably different right now than it was at this time last year. With little to no fanfare, the fact that the government is still running, and doing so without cutthroat ideological tantrums, has slid under the radar almost as quietly as Hope Solo’s domestic violence issues.

On Sept. 17, the House passed a Continuing Resolution, which included funding for both the ISIS (don’t-call-this-a-war) war, and emergency measures to try to quell the West African Ebola epidemic.

A Continuing Resolution essentially says that Congress has failed to do its job of passing a budget, and will keep the government functioning at current spending levels for the near future – in this case, mid-December. The Senate passed the House bill without any changes, which in itself is rare, and a statement of the fact that this Continuing Resolution is about one thing only: the elections.

There are few times when the concerns of voters take precedent over the lobbying interests of big money in D.C. Those few times, coincidentally, happen almost exclusively during September and October of even-numbered years. Last year during the government shutdown, Republicans took a huge hit. Poll numbers dropped, and most voters blamed the gridlock on the GOP. Billions of dollars were lost, thousands of workers were furloughed, and millions of voters were upset, to say the least.

So what is different this time around? Not the debt – that is still at a record high. Not the people – the Senate and House still have the same leadership, and mostly the same membership.

The difference is that the Republicans have a chance at taking the majority in the Senate. A shutdown now would devastate their chances. While many House districts have become easily winnable for whichever party holds them, the House wants a Republican majority in the Senate almost as badly as Mitch McConnell wants it. This would be the ultimate nuisance to the President.

After the last government shutdown, for which Republicans took most of the blame, poll numbers dropped significantly. Only one in four voters approved of the way Republicans handled the shutdown, and it may have cost them the governors seat in Virginia; it definitely cost them credibility. Pushing for another shutdown would hand Alison Lundergan Grimes the perfect ammunition to pin McConnell as the Guardian of Gridlock she insists he is.

Conress’ approval rating continues to hover near the level where only friends and family think they do a good job, and much if this comes from the view (whether right or wrong) that Republicans refuse to do anything.

But don’t go thinking this is a turning point inside the beltway. McConnell has been very clear that he wants to revisit the Continuing Resolution in December, when funding will again expire – conveniently after the elections. Because of voters’ collective short-term memory, there is little risk of harming the party overall.

But there are still deficits, albeit sustainable, and significantly smaller ones (just don’t tell that to a Republican). There are also still budgets and tax rates that don’t begin with the number zero. As long as that is the case, a fiscal fistfight is right around the corner.

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