A modest solution

Here is a simple solution to the ongoing, neverending continuing-resolution crisis. Let it linger.

The House should pass long-term funding for the Department of Defense at
the reduced spending levels passed by the House back in February, and a
short-term funding CR with cuts for the rest of the government, and
that is it.

If Senate Democrats refuse to pass the DOD CR, then they are obviously responsible for our military not getting paid.

Of course, what remains unspoken by Obama and Democrat sycophants
spouting the party line is that the REPUBLICANS in the HOUSE have PASSED
a bill to FUND the GOVERNMENT, and it is the Democrats who have refused
to address the long-term budget.

For those who missed that, it is the Senate Democrats who have failed to act, and it is their shutdown.

Yet, somehow, some way they are trying to position the looming government shutdown as due to Republican inaction? Hmmm.

After passing the DOD funding cuts through the House, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) should pass a one-week CR extension for the rest of the government with cuts in excess of those prescribed in the already House-passed long-term CR.

Next week, Speaker Boehner should do exactly the same thing. Wash, rinse, repeat.

If Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wants to fund the federal government on a week-to-week basis until the term ends in January 2013, let him. Just force the cuts down his throat in bite-sized increments, which will actually be larger than what any big-picture negotiation would likely yield.

This has the added advantage of keeping the Obama regulators on their toes, knowing that false steps could mean a cut in their funding will occur next week.

Ultimately, the more often Congress is voting on funding the government, the more control it has over this administration. When you get right down to it, short-term funding measures on everything except Defense re-establishes the congressional power of the purse in a way that the Democrats could never have imagined.

No one outside the Beltway really cares if the government is funded weekly or annually, and given the Senate majority leader’s lack of attention and floor time to actually deal with the problem on a long-term basis, it is obvious that he would prefer the Chinese water torture process of doing short-term CRs. If so, I say fine.

Rick Manning is the communications director of Americans for Limited Government.