Can Congress dig itself out of its three holes?
The first rule of holes is, if you find yourself in one, quit digging. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman embellished on that proverb a few years back when he wrote: When you find yourself in three holes, bring a lot of shovels.
Friedman was writing in the context of America’s growing number of global economic competitors. But his advice can also apply to the state of Congress today. The three holes it has fallen into involve not living up to its basic constitutional roles of first exercising the powers of the purse; second making all laws necessary and proper to maintain the union; and third checking and balancing the other branches against abusing their authorities.
Congress is not in good standing with the American people on any of these fronts. Its job approval ratings, according to Gallup, have been running in the high-teens to mid-20 percent ranges for the last several years.
On the fiscal front, Congress has still not finalized its 2025 spending numbers, half-way through the fiscal year, limping along instead on short-term continuing appropriations resolutions. All these continuing resolution battles have been driven by the dire prospect of government shutdowns. With each new deadline looming it’s a shame-game kabuki dance of trying to blame the other party. It’s not a game the American people enjoy watching, nor are they into partisan score-keeping over such a spectacle. Their common reaction is, stop fighting amongst yourselves and start getting things done for the country.
The deficit has doubled to nearly $2 trillion over the last four years and the statutory debt limit was breached in mid-January, threatening another government shutdown crisis if the government runs out of patchwork gimmicks and loses its borrowing authority to pay its bills.
The second hole into which Congress is falling deeper is its duty to make all laws necessary and proper to maintain a more perfect union. It is a more nebulous duty since there is no metric to gauge just how many or what laws are needed, let alone whether they are the product of thoughtful deliberation.
What we do know is that the people are united in their perceptions that Congress and the executive are not addressing core problems such as higher prices and job security. The administration’s tack of reducing federal funding for programs already on the books and the number of people needed to administer them is running into court challenges that will take some time to sort out. Thousands of federal workers have been fired from their jobs and the services they delivered have been discontinued causing serious economic distress at the state and local levels.
How Congress will react to these new edicts and downsizing is uncertain. The cherished belief that authorized programs cannot be altered or abolished without changes in the law is losing its credibility as the president argues the “unitary executive theory” that he alone makes the final determinations as to what the law is and whether and how much to spend on what.
For instance, the continuing resolution enacted last week, carrying things through the rest of the fiscal year, actually gives the president more authority and flexibility to reallocate funds to other areas than previously was allowed.
Finally, the third hole of taking care that the laws are faithfully executed, oversight of the executive, naturally follows the second hole. Such authority loses any meaning if the unitary executive theory prevails over congressional checks on any abuses by the executive. The current lack of consultation between the branches before taking unilateral action has already set that precedent.
Congress can hardly uphold the law by vigorous oversight if the very essence of that law has been shredded. With the same party controlling both Congress and the executive, the will is not there to make early course corrections. It matters little how many shovels you bring to digging Congress out of its three holes if the executive branch has already supplanted them sitting atop its new mounds of power.
Restoring trust in Congress will take a concerted effort over time to move overly zealous executive officials back into their proper constitutional boxes. To restore trust in Congress requires that Congress first regain trust in itself. That requires the first branch showing respect for its power and the intent to exercise it.
That will mean restoring the primacy of committees over legislating and oversight, and reducing party leadership dominance proportionately. It also means confining the executive branch to working within the statutory parameters Congress sets. It is a tall order but achievable if Congress can rally self and the people behind it.
Don Wolfensberger is a 28-year congressional staff veteran culminating as chief-of staff for the House Rules Committee in 1995. He is author of, “Congress and the People: Deliberative Democracy on Trial” (2000), and, “Changing Cultures in Congress: From Fair Play to Power Plays” (2018).
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