As if the 109th Congress were not enough of a failure, they are now contemplating passing on their responsibility to pass 13 appropriations bills that are needed to fund the operations of the federal government to the 110th Congress. To do this they would have to pass a continuing resolution that would keep the government going through the holidays. The new Congress would then be saddled with doing two sets of appropriations in a single session next year…one for next year and one for the year after that. Why would this Congress do that to the next Congress?
In fact, some are even floating the notion of punting the tough spending issues to the 110th Congress, when a newly installed Democratic majority will be on the hook for negotiating the tight spending limits — and the ones who’ll take the political hits.
“I don’t think these guys have the stomach to make these decisions right now,” said one House GOP aide of the party’s post-election mood.
The idea of passing a long-term continuing resolution that keeps the government running until early next year under current spending limits is being discussed, from both a fatigue standpoint and as a strategic move to start pushing the notion of tax-and-spend Democrats early in the 2008 election cycle.
“Strategically, getting the new House Democrats on the record on spending bills as early as possible would be a prudent way to go,” said one House Republican leadership staffer. “It’s in the Democrats’ best interests to try and get [appropriations] off the table, and it’s in our best interests to keep it on the table.”
In recent years the Republicans have consistently failed to pass their appropriations bills on time and have had to resort to continuing resolutions. It’s a sure sign of their incompetence and is also a way to limit spending without actually having to go on the record as slashing programs. Due to population growth and inflation, spending increases are required even to maintain the current level of commitment to government programs. But continuing resolutions fail to make those adjustments.
In this case, the Republicans just want to pass the bucks on to the Democratic Congress so that they can be blamed for any hikes or cuts. It’s a petulant and irresponsible thing to do and it will only add to the workload of the new Congress.
It’s a move as petulant as Joe Lieberman. Speaking of which, maybe Susan Collins would like to keep her job as the Chair of Homeland Security and Goverment Affairs. Would she be any worse than Lieberman in holding this administration accountable? It’s hard to imagine.
