Others’ opinion: Raise the debt ceiling, then fix the process
Published 9:59 am Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency
Performing one more thankless task before he is chased out of his post, U.S. House Speaker John Boehner has moved to “clean out the barn” by negotiating a crisis-averting budget deal before his successor, Rep. Paul Ryan, takes over.
Working with the White House and Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Boehner has produced an agreement that would raise the debt ceiling — a reminder here that this simply allows the nation to pay for spending it has already approved and in some cases incurred — while also lifting the onerous sequestration cuts on military and discretionary spending.
That no one likes the deal goes without saying. Last-minute negotiations are hardly ever the product of measured consideration. This one was slammed together in the frantic desire to avoid the catastrophe of jeopardizing the full faith and credit of the U.S., an event that the nation has managed to avoid for more than 200 years.
Nor is the process anything to admire. A handful of leaders, huddled together, craft the budget that an entire Congress should have participated in. But that’s precisely the point. Congress, still in the grips of massive dysfunction, failed once again to move a budget through its regular process. And no sooner was this deal reached than Freedom Caucus members began complaining about being shut out once again.
One can be sure it is not a task Boehner or McConnell relished. The deal would raise domestic and military spending by $80 billion. It would address a potential shortfall in the Social Security disability program but cut Medicare. It also, regrettably, “kicks the can down the road” once again, by pushing the national borrowing limit deadline to March 2017 — safely past the next presidential election. That is deplorable when the grown-ups in the room all know the debt ceiling as a political tool should be taken off the table permanently.
Congress managed for many years to settle its budget differences without threatening both the credit standing of this nation and the millions who depend on regular payments. We can and should return to that mode of negotiating.
It is hoped that as speaker, Ryan would persuade the House to adopt a more methodical way of dealing with the nation’s budget. But that can’t happen unless members acknowledge that this is a political process geared toward compromise, not a ceaseless war that brooks no dealings with those on the opposing side.
For now, members can begin by stepping up and supporting a deal that they are as much responsible for as their leaders. It will not be easy. Many have fundamental disagreements with what was negotiated and will have to defend its passage and their votes. Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, may have put it best: “I didn’t know when Boehner cleaned the barn that I’d get so much manure on me.”
In Minnesota’s congressional delegation, Rep. Tom Emmer may have among the most difficult of tasks. He represents the most conservative district in the state, and pressure will mount for him to vote against the deal. Emmer has done well at crafting a congressional persona far more thoughtful than that of his predecessor. We hope Emmer, along with the rest of the Minnesota delegation, will seize the moment to put the nation’s continued financial stability above political concerns.