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Government Shutdown Continues – Suffering the Consequences

Posted By Dennis Damp On In ANNUITIES / ELIGIBILITY,BENEFITS / INSURANCE,FINANCE / TIP,RETIREMENT CONCERNS,SOCIAL SECURITY / MEDICARE,SURVIVOR INFORMATION | No Comments
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After nine votes, the Senate has not been able to pass a clean spending bill, even though three Senators crossed party lines to support the bill. Six more are needed to meet the 60-vote threshold.

Many are reporting that this shutdown could exceed the 35-day shutdown of 2019! This political brinkmanship must stop; too many suffer the consequences of this stalemate. A “clean” spending bill extends existing appropriations without adding new policy changes or controversial measures. Both parties have agreed to this many times before.

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Budgeting Process Sidestepped

Congress has rarely passed the 12 annual appropriations bills in time for the start of the fiscal year. Instead, funding has been acquired through temporary “clean” continuing resolutions (CRs) or bundled “omnibus” and “minibus” packages that often include policy riders.

Stop the Insanity

The House and Senate should be held accountable and not allowed to adjourn until they do their job and pass all twelve major funding bills. We all suffer from their negligence and inaction. All bills should be clean and include essential funding, not riders that benefit one party or the other.

Separate bills should be presented to cover policy riders and other funding. Both parties use the 12 appropriation bills to push through pork for their supporters to garner votes for the next election cycle or to sponsor programs that otherwise wouldn’t make it through Congress’s scrutiny.

Basically, anything other than a clean bill is loaded with pork and unnecessary special interest spending that is bankrupting our country. We are borrowing 40% or more of what we spend each year, which is unsustainable.

2026 FEHB / PSHB Spiraling Health Care Premiums Announced! [3]

Call Your Representatives

Let your Congressman and Senators know how you feel about this issue. Here are links to the phone numbers and email addresses for both houses.

Helpful Retirement Planning Tools

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