As the presidential drama grinds on, the effect on Congress grows more and more pronounced. At this moment, the federal government is running on “CR’s,” an acronym that stands for “continuing resolution.” It’s sort of a holding pattern that continues funding federal agencies at the prior year’s levels. These resolutions are necessary to continue the operation of the federal government in the new fiscal year that began Oct. 1 of this year. These CR’s must continue without lapsing, or we will have a government shutdown. No one wants to repeat that performance, which turned out to be hugely unpopular the last time it happened.
Prior to the election, Congress and the president failed to reach agreement on five of the 13 spending bills that must be approved each year. It is generally felt that developments following Election Day will make this impasse even more pronounced when Congress returns in a lame-duck session next week. Rumors are already circulating that the Republican leadership is going to press for a monthlong CR, which would bring us back at some time in the first week of December. The bottom line is that both parties are unclear how to play out the tax bill and appropriation endgame without first knowing who the hell is gonna be president.
If the Senate offices are any guide, we’re practically shut down anyway. Members went home the week before the election, and virtually none have returned. Ousted and retired senators are busy packing up and shutting down. Most people are glued to CNN or MSNBC watching for the latest tidbit of news on the Florida recount. Tourists seem few and far between during this limbo period prior to the Thanksgiving holidays.
As the recount muddles on in the state of Washington—where challenger Maria Cantwell hopes that she will come out on top in her close race against veteran Republican Sen. Slade Gorton—the Democratic minority leadership in the Senate is demanding a 50-50 split on the committees in the new Congress. The failure of the House Democrats to win a majority after putting so much energy and money into the effort will likely cause some amount of bitterness and frustration. Speculation about the health of one or two of the older Republican members of the Senate—both of whom now live in states controlled by Democratic governors—gives renewed hope to the Democrats for actually getting a majority in the Senate.
This is what we have come to. It’s not pretty, and it’s not likely to get any better anytime soon. If we thought the 106th Congress was contentious, I have to think that the 107th will be far worse. At least we knew who the president was. My grandfather used to say, “You should always leave the party before everyone gets drunk and ugly.” For those of us in this office, we should be happy to follow his advice.
