David M. Elliott and John R. Anderson are Directors at Grant, Konvalinka & Harrison, P.C., a full-service law firm in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Mr. Elliott chairs his firm’s immigration practice. They hope to have meaningful discussions of current events of legal significance
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Dave:
John, lets discuss the Congressional showdown that turned into a government shutdown. My understanding is that the House of Representatives has failed to submit a spending Bill that does not defund, delay or repeal the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare.” What is going on?
John:
The current fiscal crisis has erupted over the need for Congress to approve the 10th or 11th continuing resolution to fund the US government. It appears that the last budget signed by the President was in 2009. Both the Senate and the House need to work together to compromise on the budget. The key word being compromise, which something the Democrats as well as the Republicans are unwilling to do.
Dave:
I don’t have any problems with budgets, or compromise. But the House could have passed a simple bill to keep the government open. Regardless of whether one is for or against Obamacare, it is the law, and the individual mandate is an integral part of the law.
John:
It is also the law that Congress annually pass a spending plan, have it scored by the Congressional Budget Office and have it signed by the President. (See, The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974). Congress is unwilling to follow that law.
Dave:
They should follow the laws in effect. There are lots of laws that are unpopular. There are studies on both sides about the expected economic effect of Obamacare. But the truth is, no one knows until it is implemented.
John:
The President has already delayed portions of the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans proposed another one year delay. Why does not the Senate compromise on this? The Congressional Budget
Office in 2012 indicated that the projected 10 year federal spending for the Affordable Care Act has risen from $944 Billion in 2010 to $1,856 Trillion by 2012.
Dave:
Ouch. Again, I have nothing against compromise. But the American people are not a fan of this political brinksmanship. There has to be a better way.
John:
Since 1974 there have been 17 government shutdowns because of political brinksmanship, including 3 in 1977 for a total of 28 days when the Democratically controlled House and Senate were at war over abortion funding. The Senate is not without blame in this process. It too has not provided any meaningful concessions. Senator Harry Reid refused to take up the budget discussion in the Senate in 2009-2010 for fear of what it would do to Democrats in the mid-term elections.
Dave:
Well, they can rest on their convictions and we’ll see how this plays out. It does not appear to me that the House has at all attempted to be pragmatic, or provide any meaningful concessions. While the American public is upset at Congressional Democrats and Republicans, most likely along party lines, it would not surprise me if the public’s ire will ultimately be directed more toward the House Republicans. Further, they have to run for office three times as often as Senators. If this drags on, all incumbents should be worried about a voter “shutdown” at the polls when they run for re-election!
John:
Convictions will play out. As in the last 17 government shutdowns compromise will occur. In our country we have (and have had for 4 years) a fiscal crisis that is of biblical proportions on how much our government has to borrow just to meet its annual spending appetite. The public is right to be disappointed in Congress and the President. The Affordable Care Act was passed on a partisan basis and it has set the tone for how business is to be done in Washington. Are we surprised then that there is no “esprit de corps” among our elected leaders in Washington?
Dave:
I’m not. Let’s hope that a compromise can be reached before the shutdown seriously affects our recovering economy.
Send your questions or comments to David Elliott at delliott@gkhpc.com or call him at 423-752-0584.