Was the Continuing Resolution a Good Move to Make for America?

The topic of discussion for this Constitution Monday concerns the constitutional responsibility of the purse. The United States is $33 trillion in debt, but our elected officials seem to have no problem with adding to that debt. The budget discussions in Congress are a result of the powers of the purse being given to the House of Representatives.

Just hours prior to a government shutdown on Saturday, Congress passed a continuing resolution by a bipartisan vote. According to Jarrett Stepman at The Daily Signal, the final vote was “335-91 in the House and 88-9 in the Senate.” Signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday night, the bill gives only a short reprieve because it funds the federal government only until November 17 – at the current too-high level. 

Even though a shutdown was averted for now, the issues surrounding the continuing resolution were not solved. Stepman continued as follows.

There was significant opposition to the bill among conservatives in the House and Senate who’ve argued that the current spending is unacceptable and a dereliction of fiscal responsibility….

This issue isn’t going away and there’s likely going to be another highly contentious congressional fight in the lead up to the November deadline.

The question is, why did so many conservatives in the House and Senate [rebel] and oppose the continuing resolution?

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) all indicated that they were opposed to a bill that continued doing the same things that have not worked in the past. In addition, there were no changes made that would solve the problem of the invasion of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing our borders. Stepman continued his article as follows.

In June our debt hit $32 trillion (it’s now at $33 trillion, but what’s a trillion dollars these days), which added up to more than $245,000 per household in this country. If you want to know why the cost of household goods is now astounding and keeps getting worse, it’s not hard to find the culprit. We now have both a debt and inflation crisis on our hands.

This continuing resolution does nothing to change our trajectory. It maintains the status quo and the status quo is failing.

The bill essentially allows the Biden administration to continue its reckless border policies. Biden has proven that he will do nothing to stop the flow of illegal immigrants from flowing into this country. If anything, his policies have simply encouraged more people to come across our border.

Congress has a duty to hold the administration accountable.

This is in part why many Americans have soured on Ukraine war spending, for instance. Why do our leaders prioritize what’s happening around the world over the disaster on our own doorstep? The fact that our government spends an astronomical amount of money on so many things yet fails to protect the sovereignty of the United States is an insult to the American people.

Even though this deal on the budget is bad, it could have been worse. Therefore, Congress must “break the fever” (Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida) of continuing to spend money. Just as individuals and families have cut their budgets to deal with the effects of inflation, the federal government must cut its spending.