Year after year, from administration to administration, Congress continues to pass last-minute spending bills without amendments, spending cuts, or addressing our challenges. unsustainable federal government debt.

They continue to expand on liberal priorities without thinking, while conservative policy provisions are ignored year after year.

Despite a Republican majority in the House and very narrow Democratic control in the Senate, the current Congress has once again chosen this well-trodden path. Established on December 20th as the day to pass the annual Christmas spending bill. The sticking point this Christmas is to force a well-promised omnibus spending bill (or equivalent) that increases spending and takes over other big-ticket spending items, such as extending food welfare, waiving PAYGO, and raising the debt ceiling. likely to be used for.

It is noteworthy that Speaker Mike Johnson and the entire House leadership team have adopted and wholeheartedly supported this policy. spending plan Developed by House Conservatives and the Conservative Movement, it is a six-month CR to avoid the Christmas conundrum, and is accompanied by the SAVE Act, which bans non-citizens from registering to vote.

Leadership efforts are commendable. The conservative community made very reasonable demands, and the leadership not only listened, but also made a full-fledged push toward passing the conservative bill. They should be thanked by conservatives.

Unfortunately, not all House Republicans agreed. Of course, the CR-plus-SAVE-Act plan wasn’t perfect. It’s a far cry from that, as it would fully fund the Biden-Harris agenda for six months.

But we, at Advancing American Freedom, want to eliminate the Christmas conundrum and allow a more conservative Washington DC to introduce better spending solutions next year, while at the same time making it even harder for non-citizens to vote. I felt that the strategy had value. Swallow incomplete bills. that’s a shame 21 House Republicans You either voted no, answered yes, or did not vote at all. Some non-voting lawmakers left town to attend Trump vs. Vance rallies rather than vote on the bill, which would cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

As a government shutdown looms, as has been the case for at least two decades, the choice is “take it or leave it” and it is clear that Congress’s spending process is broken. As most political observers expect, Congress is likely to take little action on spending between now and December.

The excuse for October and early November was campaigning, and the excuse for the rest of November was leadership elections, new member orientation, a fun reception, and of course extending the one-day Thanksgiving break into a 10-day break. It will be.

And December will suddenly be the month of Congress. At that point, lawmakers and staffers will likely throw up their hands and argue that there is no time left for anything other than an omnibus. That way, whoever the next president or Congressional leaders will be will be able to “clean up.” .

Although this pattern is predictable, it is not inevitable. Congress should do everything it can now to avoid pushing through the stupid deadline of December 20th. Congress is currently scheduled to be in session for five weeks from now until the appropriations deadline, and there is a good chance that brainstorming and negotiations will take place outside of the days and weeks that Congress is in session.

Additionally, Congress could build additional session hours, days and weeks into its calendar now to give it the best chance of passing a spending bill long before the Christmas deadline of Dec. 20. .

Of course, the goal should not just be to pass a spending bill that is a fragmented version of a problematic omnibus bill.

Rather, the goal is to reduce non-security spending, eliminate big government socialist programs, or provide language that implements broadly popular policies across ideological lines (such as voter ID) that the American people It should be about fighting for and winning for conservatives. , education is controlled by parents, and men do not participate in women’s sports).

We and the larger conservative movement stand ready to help avert a classic December disaster for the federal budget and America’s future.

Paul Teller is executive vice president of Advancing American Freedom, an advocacy group founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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