Deja Vu

As Yogi Berra would say, “its déjà vu all over again.”  With just a few days left in the fiscal year, Congress must pass, yet again, a continuing resolution to keep the federal government operating or face a shutdown of non-essential federal government functions.  It’s a familiar situation. Since 2009, when the Senate last passed a budget, there have been ten continuing resolutions.  Although it appeared a shutdown was eminent in some cases, Congress reached budget agreements and avoided disruption of the government.  But things are different this time.

The US House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution bill last week that provides funding for the federal government for six months.  But, this bill prohibits funding of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and some provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.  This is the 42^nd time Congress has tried to repeal or undermine Obamacare legislation.  The next step for the continuing resolution bill is the Senate.  As you might imagine, the Democrat-controlled Senate and President Obama are against it.  Obama said he would veto the bill if it’s presented to him.

Now the fight over the legislation moves to the Senate.  Will the Senate strip out the defunding language and send the bill back to the House or will Senate Republicans stand on principle and force a shutdown? Senate Republicans could force a vote on the bill, putting Senate Democrats facing reelection next year in a precarious situation, voting to fund the very thing that many voters back home don’t want.  Or the Republicans could prevent a vote on the bill and force a shutdown in hopes that Democrats will eventually concede.  The problem is, regardless of outcome, Obamacare will still go forward on October 1, because it relies primarily on mandatory spending, similar to Medicare and Social Security, which are unaffected by a government shutdown. 

And a shutdown could have serious repercussions on the economy because most federal employees will not be paid and companies that do with business with the government will be affected.  This will affect over 1 million federal employees and millions in federal contracts.  The uncertainty of a shutdown will have a negative impact on country’s economic growth according to the Congressional Budget Office.  And the effects don’t end with the federal employees or federal contractors, they have less to spend and less to invest.

At the moment, it appears that a majority of people want Obamacare repealed, but a majority also doesn’t want a shutdown.  With the government nearing the debt ceiling (again) in just a few weeks, it’s time for Congress to stop playing politics and do the job we elected them to do.  Contact your Senators (www.senate.gov) and let them know what you want them to do concerning the budget.  And call Senator Harry Reid (202-224-3542) and let him know it’s time the Senate did its job.