Congress’ Christmas Rush Will be Costly to Taxpayers

There are a number of sure things that come along once Thanksgiving is over. Christmas music will dominate the airwaves. Lights will go up all over town. Trees will be erected and decorated beautifully. Another certainty for the Christmas season in Washington, DC is that Congress will let a mountain of “must-pass” legislation wait until the very last minute, putting the nation on the brink of a government shutdown. And, like clockwork, that is where Congress is at this very moment.

As of this writing, Congress only has nine scheduled workdays left before they break for the holidays starting on December 13^th. In that time, they have quite a bit of work to do if they are to avoid an economic catastrophe. The current deadline to pass a government spending bill to avert a shutdown is Friday, December 3^rd. Also, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Congress must address the debt ceiling by December 15^th to avoid defaulting. The Senate is also considering the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the bill that funds defense policy for the next year. As if all that weren’t enough, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wants to pass the $2+ trillion Build Back Better Act as well.

The first issue is funding the government. Congress averted a shutdown in late September by passing a continuing resolution to fund the government through December 3^rd. Most of this falls on the Senate. The House has passed ten component spending bills to fund various parts of the federal government. The Senate, on the other hand, has only sent three through committee and passed none of them. The usual result of this last minute push is an over-bloated omnibus spending bill that combines all of those components and is so large, no one has had time to read it. Taxpayers need to beware of this possibility, as they’ll be the ones holding the bag for Congress’ procrastination.

Another potential fiscal disaster looming over the horizon is the debt ceiling. With all the profligate spending in the last couple of years, the U.S. is on the verge of eclipsing its maximum allowable debt. The Treasury Department says its exhaustive measures to keep the nation under that number will lapse on the 15^th of this month. If Congress does not increase or suspend the limit before that time, the U.S. risks defaulting on its debt, lowering its credit rating, likely leading to a recession. TPA has – in the past – recommended a clean increase to a fixed dollar amount, to avoid defaulting now, but to still address the issue in 2022 before the midterm elections.

The NDAA is the annual defense policy bill that funds most aspects of national defense. It typically passes in broad bipartisan fashion, and spends heavily on the military. However, senators on both sides of the aisle have inserted last-minute debates on a variety of issues that have pushed it to the last minute. Once the issues are resolved, it may take up precious floor time that Schumer just does not have at this point.

Part of the reason floor time is so short is because Majority Leader Schumer insists he wants to bring the $2+ trillion social spending bill entitled the Build Back Better Act to the floor before the Senate recesses. This bill is filled with giveaways to special interests and partisan agenda items. Further, the $2+ trillion price tag is deceiving. If the provisions in it are made permanent, as Senate Democrats have said they want, the true cost will be over $4 trillion to the American taxpayer. This is hardly something that should be pushed through at the last minute, yet Senate leadership seems determined to try.

The next few weeks will be hectic to say the least. When all the dust settles, the loser may very well be American taxpayers. Politicians who want to get back to their districts for the holidays will make irresponsible deals to get these bills across the finish line. If no reasonable agreements can be made in the next two weeks, Congress should pass temporary extensions and re-address the legislation with a less crowded timetable. These bills are all too costly to pass with little to no debate at all. The American people deserve better.

Dan Savickas is Manager of Government Affairs at Taxpayers Protection Alliance.