Summer’s over for Congress
Fiscal deadlines keep the heat on
WASHINGTON — Congress returns today from its August recess to confront a series of urgent fiscal deadlines.
After spending most of the year kicking the fiscal can down the road, the House of Representatives and the Senate must pass measures to keep the federal government funded beyond Sept. 30, keep the Highway Trust Fund liquid beyond Oct. 29, and increase the nation’s borrowing limit by the end of October or early November.
These acts used to be routine functions of government. But in today’s hyper-partisan political atmosphere — even more hyper with the 2016 presidential campaigns underway — these measures have become high-wire
acts fraught with political drama.
“We used to have regular order, now we have regular chaos,” said Robert Bixby, head of the Concord Coalition, a bipartisan government watchdog group. “It’s becoming routine.”
A look at the deadlines lawmakers face:
SEPT. 30: GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?
The federal government runs out of money at the end of the month unless Congress passes legislation to keep the cash flowing. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., say they don’t want a government shutdown, but avoiding one won’t be easy.
In July, 18 House Republicans vowed not to support any government funding measure that includes federal funding for Planned Parenthood in the wake of controversial videos that allegedly show members of the organization discussing the sale of fetal parts. Planned Parenthood says the videos were distorted and denies the allegations.
Senate Democrats and the White House, meanwhile, are pushing another issue that could trigger a shutdown. They are pressing for an increase in federal spending by scaling back mandatory cuts called sequestration.
OCT 29: DEAD END FOR HIGHWAYS?
In July, Congress approved a three-month, $8 billion patch that kept federal highway funds flowing to the states through the end of October. Lawmakers are supposed to negotiate a bill that lasts five or six years so states can plan long-term road and bridge projects.
But that hasn’t been done since 2005, and if they don’t do it by the end of this year, it might not happen until after the presidential election.
NOVEMBER: DEBT CEILING DUEL?
The government officially hit the debt ceiling in mid-March and has taken measures to keep government operating absent authorization to incur more debt. Without congressional action, the government expects to run out of extraordinary measures it employs to pay its bills by mid-November.