When being sworn into
office, members of Congress must affirm that they “will well and faithfully
discharge the duties of the office.” But in recent days, many Members of
Congress have lost sight of this promise. Instead of dedicating themselves to promoting
the common good and serving the needs of communities they are elected to
represent, they are choosing to defund programs that serve the most vulnerable
people in the country, to create unnecessary fiscal crises, and to engage in ideologically-driven,
gridlock-producing debates. In other
words, they are displaying a willful refusal to engage in the business of
government.
The next day, the House
passed a “Continuing Resolution,” a short-term funding bill, in lieu of
full-year appropriations. The bill not only continues post-sequester spending
levels (i.e. indiscriminate, multi-year, across-the-board spending cuts), but
also defunds the Affordable Care Act (ACA, also known as Obamacare). The ACA has been the law of the land since
2010 and was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2012. The House of Representatives
has already taken over 40 votes either to repeal or defund the ACA to no
avail. This further effort to defund Obamacare is an attempt to force a political end when it cannot be accomplished through regular legislative procedure. It is also a political non-starter, given the
current divided Congress, and fails to offer a meaningful way forward, either
on health care or the coming budget crisis. A political showdown is
ensuing, as the specter of a government shutdown looms at the start of October.
This sort of
grandstanding is irresponsible, endangering those who rely on the government,
from those who receive WIC nutrition assistance or Head Start, to those who enjoy the beauty of national parks, to
federal employees, who, as a group, outnumber any other single employer’s labor
force. Other impacts of a government
shutdown could include:
- Delays or cuts in unemployment insurance and veterans’ benefits;
- Suspended cleanup at toxic waste sites;
- Cessation of new FHA home loan guarantees;
- Delayed processing of visas, passports, and other government applications; among others.
Instead of these
politically motivated squabbles, Members of Congress should be focusing on the
true issue at hand – keeping government programs funded so that they can
continue to serve the common good.
Congress must pass a spending bill, and soon. Even as they are already looking past Sept.
30 to the next big, manufactured political crisis, the raising of the debt
ceiling.
With the clock rapidly
ticking toward the September 30 deadline, we need bold leadership and effective
governance. Our elected officials have been placed into office to serve the
needs of the people they represent and to govern with integrity. It is
unjust to use funding for vital programs critical to people’s lives as leverage
for forcing policy. The time has come for our leaders to put aside
distracting partisan debates and negotiate an agreement on the federal budget.
For the last several
years, the PC(USA) has joined with a broad spectrum of interfaith partners in
calling for a Faithful Budget which
reflects a commitment to robust funding for programs that serve the common good
and adequate revenue to meet these commitments. It is grounded in our faith
call to love our neighbors and to care for all of God’s people and creation. We
remember Peter’s charge to leaders that they:
“Be
shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not
because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not
pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those
entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” (1 Peter 5:2-3, NIV)
* Many thanks to partners at the United Church of Christ for
collaborating with us on this piece.
** Correction printed on Sept. 26, 2013: Social Security benefits have been determined "essential services" by the Department of the Treasury and will not be disrupted by a government shutdown.