Unrepresentative Policy of the Week: Our Government Needs to Work for More Than Must Pass Bills
Just like clockwork, and just as we predicted months ago, the bipartisan infrastructure bill is once again imperiled by Senate Republicans, mere days before Schumer’s deadline. The Republicans have decided they cannot possibly vote to move forward on legislation until every “I” is dotted and “t” is crossed. Funny how this sort of reticence and scrutiny only rears its head when Democrats are trying to pass legislation the American people want. Almost as if this whole process has been a delay tactic from the start…
The American people consistently note that they want the government to actually work day in and day out for the people.
Find ways to work with Biden: 71%
Keep Biden in check: 25%
To Schumer’s credit, he has at least read the cliff notes of the ACA showdown in 2009, and seems cognizant that the Republicans might just be delaying for delaying’s sake, and so he isn’t backing down currently from holding procedural votes starting Wednesday. While a step in the right direction, we still find ourselves moving at nearly glacial speeds, when time is of the absolute essence! With the insane election cycle, Democrats are fast running out of time.
We at DSOT have long advocated for dispensing with the Kabuki theatre of bipartisanship. Even if there was a time when such a goal was admirable, the last several years, culminating in January 6th, 2021 have ushered in a completely new era. Instead of working to rehabilitate the Republicans, Democrats should be striding forward boldly, passing policy in spite of Republican opposition, working to relegate their opponents to the dustbin of history. Still, if in the end Schumer, Pelosi and Biden manage to pass nearly $4T in infrastructure spending it will be a huge win for the American people, even attenuated by suboptimal political strategy.
Even major spending bills like this do pass, observing this process has once again revealed just how dysfunctional not just the Senate is, but the entire legislative body. At this point our federal government has become so paralyzed by corruption and petty bickering, that real legislation can only be rammed through during “must pass” omnibus bills. Just take a look at the intense lobbying from every special interest group under the sun to get specific carve-outs in the upcoming bills.
It will likely take weeks if not months to fully sort out what ends up being put into this massive spending bill. Some will be good; some will be awful. Hopefully, with so much money ostensibly flooding into rebuilding America, most Americans lives will be improved, even as a few oligarchs inevitably get massive windfalls. The gains for the people will be hard won and too few, but ultimately, regardless of the final language, this type of last-minute governing by deadline cannot be allowed to continue. It doesn’t serve the interests of the American people, and leads to a government unable to respond to the challenges we face.
Join us each Tuesday, as we work to wrest control of our government away from special interests and oligarchs, and back into the hands of the people!
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