Swordsmyth
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White House budget hawks who have failed to rein in government spending in the Trump era might get a major win — by default.
Top Republicans and Democrats are fumbling in their attempts to clinch a deal to fund the government over the next year. The result could be a government-wide spending freeze — exactly what Mick Mulvaney and the rest of President Donald Trump’s negotiating team sought months ago.
With no agreement in sight and impeachment captivating the Capitol, it’s increasingly likely Washington will be forced to accept another temporary funding bill in December. Lawmakers are already eyeing a monthslong stopgap to stave off a Christmastime shutdown. In the worst-case scenario, a full-year extension could follow.
Congress passed a massive budget deal earlier this year, but lawmakers still need to pass individual spending bills to divvy up the money. Until those measures are signed into law, Mulvaney and his allies get precisely the same budget restraints they proposed in June.
GOP senators and aides said the administration is still divided over how strongly to pursue a long-term spending deal with Congress. Trump has indicated to congressional Republicans that his top priority is preserving his powers to transfer more funds to his border wall, something he receives under a continuing resolution, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations.
For conservatives, a deadlock between Democratic and Republican leaders might be the best possible outcome: The budget deal’s spending increases won’t go into effect, Trump keeps his border wall transfer authority and Congress appears paralyzed during Democrats’ impeachment drive.
“Freezing spending would be better than increasing spending,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said. “With a Democratic House consumed with impeachment, there is very little appetite for the sorts of common-sense fiscal policies that could rein in our out-of-control deficits and debt.”
“The only good thing about that is it freezes spending. I like that because that’s about the only way you can actually get spending frozen,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) added. Both voted against the short-term continuing resolution that Congress passed last week to avoid a shutdown.
Negotiators have struggled for months to resolve the ongoing stalemate, with funding for Trump’s border wall among several disputes. And few believe Congress will be able to pass all 12 spending bills in just about three weeks.
Every week without a full-year agreement, it costs both parties a big chunk of the hard-fought budget boost they won this summer, which was set to add tens of billions of dollars this fiscal year alone while staving off hundreds of billions more in automatic cuts stemming from the 2011 sequester law.
In the meantime, Congress has cleared two stopgap funding bills in as many months. And each of those short-term measures becomes slightly trickier for House and Senate leaders to pass as frustration builds on both sides.
More at: https://news.yahoo.com/bumbling-congress-gives-trump-budget-101638959.html
Top Republicans and Democrats are fumbling in their attempts to clinch a deal to fund the government over the next year. The result could be a government-wide spending freeze — exactly what Mick Mulvaney and the rest of President Donald Trump’s negotiating team sought months ago.
With no agreement in sight and impeachment captivating the Capitol, it’s increasingly likely Washington will be forced to accept another temporary funding bill in December. Lawmakers are already eyeing a monthslong stopgap to stave off a Christmastime shutdown. In the worst-case scenario, a full-year extension could follow.
Congress passed a massive budget deal earlier this year, but lawmakers still need to pass individual spending bills to divvy up the money. Until those measures are signed into law, Mulvaney and his allies get precisely the same budget restraints they proposed in June.
GOP senators and aides said the administration is still divided over how strongly to pursue a long-term spending deal with Congress. Trump has indicated to congressional Republicans that his top priority is preserving his powers to transfer more funds to his border wall, something he receives under a continuing resolution, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations.
For conservatives, a deadlock between Democratic and Republican leaders might be the best possible outcome: The budget deal’s spending increases won’t go into effect, Trump keeps his border wall transfer authority and Congress appears paralyzed during Democrats’ impeachment drive.
“Freezing spending would be better than increasing spending,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said. “With a Democratic House consumed with impeachment, there is very little appetite for the sorts of common-sense fiscal policies that could rein in our out-of-control deficits and debt.”
“The only good thing about that is it freezes spending. I like that because that’s about the only way you can actually get spending frozen,” Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) added. Both voted against the short-term continuing resolution that Congress passed last week to avoid a shutdown.
Negotiators have struggled for months to resolve the ongoing stalemate, with funding for Trump’s border wall among several disputes. And few believe Congress will be able to pass all 12 spending bills in just about three weeks.
Every week without a full-year agreement, it costs both parties a big chunk of the hard-fought budget boost they won this summer, which was set to add tens of billions of dollars this fiscal year alone while staving off hundreds of billions more in automatic cuts stemming from the 2011 sequester law.
In the meantime, Congress has cleared two stopgap funding bills in as many months. And each of those short-term measures becomes slightly trickier for House and Senate leaders to pass as frustration builds on both sides.
More at: https://news.yahoo.com/bumbling-congress-gives-trump-budget-101638959.html
