Congress Punts the Budget Fight Past the Midterms

The House voted 370-48 on Tuesday to pass a continuing resolution funding the federal government through Dec. 11, sending the bill to President Trump’s desk with the shutdown deadline now pushed past the November midterm elections. Nineteen Republicans and 29 Democrats voted against the measure [1]. The stopgap bill temporarily blocks a proposed Office of Management and Budget rule that would subject federal grant funding to review by political appointees, and it bars the Trump administration from shifting funds from other programs into Border Patrol accounts [2]. The bill now awaits Trump’s signature, and Congress will face the same funding cliff again in mid-December, after voters go to the polls [3].

Why It Sucks:

Fiscal Conservatives

• Freedom Caucus revolts against runaway spending. Nineteen House Republicans defied leadership to vote no, arguing that another stopgap at current spending levels does nothing to address the deficit and simply delays a real reckoning on federal spending [1].
• Border funding restrictions anger hawks. Provisions blocking the administration from shifting money into Border Patrol accounts are seen by immigration hawks as Congress tying the president’s hands on enforcement funding [2].
• Can-kicking becomes the norm. Conservatives are frustrated that leadership again chose a clean short-term patch over fighting for real cuts, arguing it just moves the same unresolved fight to December [3].

Progressive Democrats

• Twenty-nine Democrats break ranks. Progressive members voted against the bill, unwilling to hand Republicans a bipartisan win without extracting the policy concessions they wanted addressed [1].
• Grant funding fight only delayed. While the bill temporarily blocks political appointees from reviewing grant funding, progressives note the protection is temporary and the underlying fight will resurface in December [2].
• Midterm leverage traded away. Some progressives argue leadership gave up a chance to use the shutdown deadline as leverage before the election, when their bargaining power over spending priorities was strongest [3].

Federal Workers and Contractors

• Another countdown clock starts immediately. Federal employees and contractors are relieved a shutdown was avoided but now face yet another funding cliff on Dec. 11, extending years of short-term budgeting [3].
• Long-term contracts stay frozen. Agencies operating under a continuing resolution can’t start new programs or sign multi-year contracts, leaving contractors unable to plan for the fourth quarter [2].
• Government by stopgap wears thin. Repeated short-term funding bills mean the workforce and its outside contractors keep absorbing uncertainty that both parties keep failing to resolve permanently [1].

Sources & Citations:

[1] Washington Post: House passes bill to avert a government shutdown ahead of midterm elections
[2] The Hill: Congress funds government until December, averting preelection shutdown
[3] Fortune: House votes 370-48 to fund the government through mid-December