In the age of procrastination and irresponsible spending in Washington, continuing resolutions (CR) have become a comfortable fall back for Congress. Instead of buckling down and getting spending bills done on time through measured debate, lawmakers look to last-minute, stop-gap measures to fund the federal government. The last time Congress was able to maintain regular operations without a continuing resolution was in 1996—two decades ago. I believe it’s time for Congress to move past the age of governing by crisis.
The government has a spending problem. We all know it. And CRs exacerbate that problem. The CR rules prevent federal agencies from recruiting or hiring new staff and implementing new programs, and they prevent departments from cutting programs that are wasting taxpayer money. Never mind all the manpower and paid time that goes into planning for multiple budget scenarios. Stop-gap measures kick the can down the road and create uncertainty for agencies and employers, therefore negatively impacting communities and families. Unfortunately, CRs have become the default – not the exception.
Again we are facing the threat of a government shutdown at the end of this month, it’s important to look at how we can avoid this completely predictable crisis.
The answer is simple: Members of Congress should be held accountable for their inaction. Members of Congress need to get their work done and be held accountable if they don’t. That is why I believe we should immediately pass my legislation called the Inaction Has Consequences Act that says if Members don’t complete appropriations bills by the end of the fiscal year – which is only 9 legislative days away – they don’t get a paycheck. If my legislation were to become law, we would not find ourselves in these shutdown or stop-gap funding scenarios. What is the price of this? Billions of dollars on our economy and hundreds of thousands of federal employees not receiving paychecks.
Congress should feel the same pressure our federal employees have felt. It’s time for Members to stop just preaching accountability, and instead put their money where their mouth is. Their silence is enabling the status quo. This new normal of a possible lapse in appropriations shows that now, more than ever, it is absolutely critical that Congress get back to passing a budget and appropriations bills on time. We can’t continue to find ourselves in these completely avoidable crisis situations. I remain committed to passing a permanent solution that will provide a path to fiscal certainty for both our armed services and our federal agencies.
