Legislating by crisis is rule on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON — After a three-day government shutdown and months of dysfunction on immigration and the budget, a group of senators and their leaders have settled on a bold plan to untie their latest legislative knot: having an actual debate on the Senate floor.

It speaks volumes about Washington’s chronic partisanship and atmosphere of distrust that the idea of having a floor debate about how to deal with about 700,000 so-called Dreamer immigrants is seen as a fresh approach.

But under the current norm on Capitol Hill, crises and do-or-die deadlines are about the only way most legislation ever moves. Leaders in both parties increasingly rely on must-do measures such as temporary funding bills to advance legislation that not too long ago would have traveled on its own. That has the benefit of speed and convenience — but only if Republican and Democratic leaders are in sync.

The upcoming Senate immigration debate would break from that pattern. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has recently only allowed two types of legislation to come to the Senate floor — bills that are immune to Democratic filibusters and legislation that can breeze through with the blessing of Democrats.

Now, McConnell is hamstrung, needing Democrats such as Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York to solve the immigration problem as well as a bundle of more than $1 trillion worth of overdue spending bills. Agreement has been lacking, despite obvious benefits for both sides.

All sides agree on giving Dreamer immigrants protection from deportation. And there’s ample appetite for a budget deal that would add tens of billions of dollars to Pentagon and domestic accounts. But there’s no guarantee of success, despite sweeping support and plenty of incentive for each side to compromise.

Meanwhile, the routine, must-do work of Congress — things such as reauthorizing flood insurance and federal aviation programs — has stalled. President Donald Trump’s promises on infrastructure haven’t left the drawing board. Taking on tricky issues such as sentencing reform seems like a longshot at best, and a massive undertaking like a farm bill that would open up sensitive questions like changes to food stamps feels almost beyond reach.

What’s more, this menu of issues is before a Congress filled with inexperienced lawmakers and weak committee chairs, as well as GOP leaders who often appear risk-averse and hamstrung by Trump’s unpredictable moves.

On immigration, for example, it seems that the last place to look for a solution is the committees of jurisdiction. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has been sitting on his hands since Trump rescinded the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

In the House, Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., has introduced legislation addressing DACA, but only as part of a grab-bag of hard-right ideas on immigration. He hasn’t scheduled a committee vote. Goodlatte’s measure appears to be far short of the support needed to move it through the House, so conservatives have demanded help from House GOP leaders in reworking the measure and getting a floor vote.

Still looming, assuming bickering leaders and the White House can agree, is a catchall spending bill. Such measures, brought before the rank and file as foot-tall, take-it-or-leave-it packages, used to be criticized as examples of all that is wrong with Congress.

Now, they’re viewed as successes.