Around this time, almost every year, Americans are reminded of the movie Groundhog Day. The federal government faces a shutdown, and Congress scrambles to avoid it by cobbling together a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the lights on for a few more months in Washington, DC. This year, it is House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) who thought he could compromise his way out of the fiscal chaos, but a vote in the lower chamber, tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11, was put on hold because Republicans are not united behind the measure, and their razor-thin House majority cannot withstand more than one or two dissenting voices within Johnson’s party.
The larger problem, of course, is that the federal government wastes far too much money – though few people in Washington are willing to admit it. It’s not a partisan issue. Democrats and Republicans are both guilty of squandering billions of dollars of taxpayer money each year and then squabbling over how they are going to keep the federal government afloat.
Election Integrity Versus Government Shutdown
This isn’t just a Republican Party problem, however – not this year, at least. While it’s true that the more conservative members of the GOP are frustrated with the out-of-control government spending and tired of the funding band-aids that CRs represent, there’s also opposition from Democrats. For some bizarre reason that no elected Democratic Party official has ever been able to rationally explain, they are – with very few exceptions – opposed to any legislation that would enhance the integrity and security of US elections.
The CR over which Capitol Hill is currently haggling is attached to the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. Given the record number of illegal aliens now in the United States, courtesy of the Biden-Harris administration, leading Republicans are demanding measures to ensure only eligible voters get to cast a ballot. Former president and current GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump, is, of course, among them.
Speaker Johnson appears to be in agreement. “The American people demand and deserve that we do everything possible to secure the elections. That’s what we’ve been saying consistently,” he said.
Congress must reach a deal by Sept. 30 to avert a partial government shutdown. But there are usually some last-minute backroom agreements to resolve the issue, and this time probably won’t be any different.
Regardless of party politics, the seemingly interminable fight over government funding indicates a level of dysfunction that should concern everybody. But, as is almost always the case, a deal will be struck, and the groundhog will see its shadow, predicting a few more months of government funding. And next year, regardless of which party controls Congress, we will almost certainly go through this again.