Government can’t shut down this time around

Congress and the president need to reach an agreement on the federal budget before Thanksgiving.

Congress and the president need to reach an agreement on the federal budget before Thanksgiving.

For the sake of our nation’s stability and its citizens’ sanity, the functioning of the federal government cannot become entangled in the impeachment process.

A temporary governmentwide spending bill expires Nov. 21, a week before Thanksgiving arrives.

Should federal agencies shut down amid a bitter impeachment battle, the financial markets — already inexplicably skittish at times — would have reason to fear an extended impasse.

And federal employees and the American people could be put through a period of unprecedented political uncertainty. Even the hint of politics being played — with the federal budget and the constitutional process for removing a president from office — would be enough to shake anyone’s faith in our leaders in Washington.

Getting a budget done before the current one expires and making it last for at least a few months would be the best way to avoid such a disaster.

Recent statements from the White House and Congress offer hope that it could be avoided.

White House legislative liaison Eric Uelan said President Donald Trump wants “the spending process to continue to unfold and the government to continue to be funded.”

And Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said a new stopgap funding bill could last until mid-December or even through February. Uelan’s statement is positive, and Shelby’s hope for a spending bill that lasts well into the new year is the right approach.

However, there’s plenty of fodder here for the pessimists among us. Asked if he would rule out a government shutdown on the 2020 budget, Trump said it would depend on how negotiations went and that he wouldn’t commit to anything. And Uelan seemed to condition the president’s agreement to a new budget on the same issue that led to the last partial government shutdown a little over a year ago: the president’s border wall.

He said that Trump would agree to a short-term spending bill, as long as it “does not restrict his authorities or ability to pursue his policy priorities including wall construction.”

While it is always easier to blame the other side for not being reasonable about border barrier construction or some other issue, both sides should acknowledge that this time is different.

The passions impeachment stirs among both parties run the risk of starting a political wildfire — one that’s easily avoided.

Drafting and pursuing articles of impeachment against a president, if warranted, and initiating spending bills are both constitutional duties of the U.S. House of Representatives. Neither should be permitted to negate the other.

Given that the federal fiscal year began Oct. 1, it’s time for the president and Congress to come to an agreement on the spending bills that keep the government running.

Both sides need to accept responsibility and make sure federal agencies continue operating amid the impeachment process.

Under normal circumstances, a short shutdown would do minimal harm. Washington’s normal blame game approach to issues could play out, letting voters decide who was right in the next election.

This time is different. Impeachment could make the next government shutdown a true national emergency — a crisis of Americans’ faith in government and, because of the potentially irreconcilable divisions that could follow, an impasse with the potential to do significant damage to the U.S. economy.

The solution is not easy but it’s straightforward: Our leaders in Washington need to get a budget deal done before Thanksgiving.

Given that the federal fiscal year began Oct. 1, it’s time for the president and Congress to come to an agreement to keep the government running.