Hold Off on the Budget Back-Slapping

While Washington congratulates itself over the two-week budget deal, one fact's been forgotten: this budget showdown should never have happened.

Legislation appropriating funds to keep the federal government open for business for the next two weeks has passed the House and Senate and been signed by the President. What in “normal” times might be labeled a modest achievement is being hailed by some as a breakthrough event, as proof that a horribly polarized political structure can be made to work, at least temporarily.

Maybe.

It is important to keep in mind that Congress has not yet figured out how, or at what level, to fund the remaining six months of FY 2011. The $4 billion cut this week is a pittance compared to amounts being talked about going forward. And while one could argue that, contrary to Republican claims, the $4 billion in cuts had already been proposed by the Obama  Administration (which is not exactly true--some Administration “cuts” were really re-directed to other areas), the President certainly acquiesced to the outline of the package.

These factors--as well as a measure of public impatience--helped bring about this week’s accomplishment. But the same factors cannot be counted on when the next FY 11 funding vote is scheduled. And they sure won’t be there when the debate turns to FY 2012.

More important than all of this, however, is the simple fact that this week’s showdown and the almost-last minute agreement were unnecessary dramas. Key players in both the House and Senate, as well as among the “third house” (lobbyists), insist that a deal was entirely possible last year, during the post-election lame duck session of the last Congress. To be sure there were hurdles to overcome, but they were not insurmountable. Many members of the 111th Congress preferred to clear out the tangled appropriations situation of last year and allow for a clean slate at the start of 2011.

But then several Tea Party adherents among Senate Republicans got steamed up about the bill, and about not wanting to “give” President Obama another victory. That was followed, predictably, by Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell backing away from previous signals that his side of the aisle could deliver necessary support. Then the Administration began folding its tent, apparently satisfied with the tax cut deal, the end of “Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell” and the approval of the START Treaty with Russia. As a result, 2011 has started out messier than need be.

It is also true that, by allowing the appropriations fight to continue well into the New Year, the President has allowed the opposition to further define the parameters of the debate over fiscal policy. His overly timid 2012 budget proposal--and its flimsy packaging-- have only made things worse.

We can hope that a shared commitment to governing has started to set in within the federal district, but we should hold off on any celebration for a while longer--just in case.

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