Congressional Republicans are looking to avoid the inconvenience of government shutdowns by eliminating them altogether through legislation that would trigger automatic spending deals if there is a “lapse” in the appropriations process.
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) introduced the Eliminate Shutdowns Act on Tuesday, which would trigger an automatic, 14-day continuing resolution when the deadline for government funding arrives. If Congress cannot pass an appropriations bill or a longer CR at the end of the 14-day “auto CR,” then the deadline is punted for another 14 days, and so on until the normal funding process is completed.
Johnson said shutdowns do not serve the American people and harm the economy.
“Shutdowns are stupid, and everyone knows it,” Johnson said in a statement. “I was sent to Congress to make sure the government serves South Dakotans – it can’t possibly serve South Dakota if it is closed. Almost every other country does not face the threat of a government shutdown. The Eliminate Shutdowns Act will keep the government open, so it can work for you, while encouraging Congress to pass new funding packages.”
The legislation is timely given that a government shutdown currently looms on Sept. 30 if Congress cannot pass a seven-week CR that punts the funding deadline to Nov. 21. The House passed the spending deal on Friday, but it failed in the Senate after Democrats did not help Republicans clear the 60-vote filibuster.
Washington is in the middle of a blame game. Republicans argue Democrats want to shut down the government and are asking for “unserious” demands, while Democrats point to the GOP trifecta and say any lapse in funding will be the fault of the party in power for not coming to the negotiating table in “good faith.”
President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday, but he canceled after reported urging from House and Senate Republican leaders to do so. Both Jeffries and Schumer condemned Trump for “running away” from negotiations, while Trump said he did not expect a productive conversation on the Democrats’ “ridiculous” demands.
The longest shutdown in U.S. history occurred under the last Republican trifecta during Trump’s first term and lasted 35 days from the end of 2018 into 2019 after the president failed to get any additional money to construct more of the U.S.-Mexico border wall.
After the 2018-19 shutdown, Congress passed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019, which requires retroactive pay and leave accrual for federal employees impacted by furloughs as a result of a shutdown.
Dusty Johnson is not the only Republican looking to avoid situations like these in the future. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is leading a similar effort, stating in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that he has experienced three shutdowns during his time in the Senate.
“This simple bill could be a game changer,” Sen. Johnson wrote. “With government funding and functioning assured, Congress would no longer have to spend weeks and months arguing over how to keep government departments open after failing to pass appropriation bills. Appropriations for individual departments would no longer be held hostage until a deal is done for all.”
“Anyone voting ‘no’ is voting to continue budgetary chaos and should be held accountable by the American people,” the senator continued.
The Wisconsin Republican added that the bill could be used to force bipartisan reform of the appropriations process, which is “clearly broken and needs repair.”
DEMOCRATS RISK SHUTDOWN BLAME GAME WITH GOVERNMENT FUNDING HARDBALL
“There have been good proposals over the years, but the partisanship involved in annual funding fights makes it impossible for them to get traction,” the senator wrote.
At the beginning of September, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and James Lankford (R-OK) introduced the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, which requires all members of Congress to remain in Washington, D.C. until spending bills are completed. The bill also implements automatic, 14-day CR rolling periods, and allows for no other bills except spending legislation to come to the floor.