A government shutdown is looming. Congress must make a deal in time.
By Editorial Board,
AS THOUGH the country did not have enough trouble, in about a month the federal government’s authority to spend money runs out. The current law expires on Sept. 30, and with both the House and the Senate currently on recess until Sept. 8, the remaining time on the legislative calendar is only some 15 days. Given the overlap with the final days of the election campaign, and the political costs President Trump paid from the last partial government shutdown between Dec. 22, 2018, and Jan. 25, 2019, you’d think he’d want to avoid another. Democrats, too, probably have an interest in not risking the blame for such a mess. We can only urge both parties to summon the minimal agreement necessary at least to pass a continuing resolution as soon as possible. A bit of good news: A suspension of the debt ceiling through next July was set in a July 2019 compromise, so that issue shouldn’t have to be relitigated.
The real sticking point between the White House and Democrats in Congress, though, is a new round of support for the U.S. economy, still reeling from the coronavirus and related necessary public health measures. Negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Trump administration representatives are essentially at an impasse, with Republicans reportedly contemplating a new “skinny” offer that Ms. Pelosi is sure to reject: The roughly $500 billion concept would include enhanced unemployment benefits, small business loans and money for schools and covid-19-related health needs.
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Those are good priorities, but Ms. Pelosi has said, correctly, that the dollar amounts are far too small. Also, no deal should be done that fails to provide funds for election administration and state and local governments.
Mr. Trump’s attempt to compensate for the failure to compromise by issuing executive orders is bound to fall short. The private sector has generally balked at his offer to postpone payroll tax deductions for their employees, due to technical and logistical issues and potential difficulties paying the funds back to the government next year. As for his use of federal disaster money to supply an additional $300 per week in unemployment benefits, 40 of the 50 states have been approved to participate, of which six have actually started delivering money. But the $44 billion available would last only six weeks if all states and D.C. participate by the Sept. 10 deadline, according to the Century Foundation.
There is no substitute for a compromise that delivers Americans a substantial relief package. Just possibly the looming deadline for a government shutdown will concentrate the two parties’ minds, and they will make a deal in time. Then both Republicans and Democrats could spend the remaining weeks until Nov. 3 arguing over who deserves credit for an accomplishment, instead of who deserves blame for a failure.
Read more: The Post’s View: The Post’s View: Trump’s executive orders won’t cut it. Congress needs to make a deal. Catherine Rampell: Trump’s inadvertent tax hike The Post’s View: By threatening unemployment benefits, Republicans risk sending the economy over a cliff Henry Olsen: Another short-term relief bill is political folly. Congress must think bigger. Danielle Allen: To fight covid-19, Congress has to reward state cooperation
