Achi news desk-
(Bloomberg Opinion) – If the basic requirement of a functional government is to keep the lights on, the United States doesn’t have much of a government. With House Republicans unable to pass critical spending bills, another federal shutdown appears imminent. This would be the 21st lack of funding since the modern budget process came into force. Hypothetically, the fight this time is about fiscal restraint. As the deadline approaches to pass the 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government next year, negotiations have stalled. A group of House Republicans is committed to opposing even a temporary extension of existing funding, demanding steep spending cuts and a series of unrelated concessions — new border security measures, reduced military aid to Ukraine, an end to “waking up the cancerous policies of the Left in the Pentagon”—that have no chance of passing the Democratic Senate. Unless House Speaker Kevin McCarthy can secure a workable deal, funding will expire at midnight on September 30. that shutdown to With hundreds of thousands of government workers likely to be furloughed – and their paychecks stopped – services to seniors and veterans could be disrupted, payments to contractors and vendors could be shut down. parks and museums, health and safety inspections cut, scientific research halted, federal investigations launched, key economic data releases delayed, small business loans cut off, and vital regulatory functions could be blocked across government.
Far from modeling budgetary discipline, these disruptions entail significant costs. An analysis by the Office of Management and Budget found that a 2013 shutdown resulted in as much as $6 billion in lost economic output and $2 billion in additional government costs over just 16 days. The 2019 Senedd staff report found that the last three funding failures resulted in the loss of 56,938 staff years in federal agencies. This year’s version could be even more expensive: Each week of shutdown would cut 0.2 percentage points from quarterly GDP, according to Bloomberg’s chief US economist Anna Wong. Without control of the Senate or the White House – and with only a narrow majority in the House – Republicans have almost no leverage. Yet fringe conservatives have stuck to their unusual demands, even as internal strife and confusion weaken their hand at every turn. On Thursday, the chaos appeared to end as two hardliners rebelled, a defense spending bill was unexpectedly blocked and McCarthy sent everyone home for the weekend. (“It’s a clown show,” said Republican Representative Mike Lawler, correctly. “You’re still running crazy, you’re going to be in this situation.”) absent serious reform to the federal budget process – a marvel of waste, dysfunction and insane complexity — shutdowns are likely to continue. Congress has only successfully navigated this deadline four times since 1977. A revised approach that streamlined the process, would eliminate gimmickry and automated short-term extensions whenever funding came up head is progress. In the longer term, a biennial schedule aligned with election cycles—so that each new Congress only needs one budget for its full term—should be on the table. For now, priority must be given to a bipartisan agreement to keep the doors open. In no other country does the government routinely incapacitate itself for political stunts. Closing down this year, if indeed it comes, should be the last.
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Published: 17 Apr 2024, 01:23 AM IST
