Let’s avoid a shutdown and get our debt under control

>>DO YOU SUPPORT THE PROBLEM SOLVERS’ FRAMEWORK TO AVERT A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AND CREATE A FISCAL COMMISSION TO REDUCE OUR NATIONAL DEBT?<< 

The clock is ticking toward another self-inflicted disaster in Washington. We’re a little over 72 hours away from a total shutdown of the federal government. Instead of recognizing the crisis and working to find common ground, Republican and Democratic “leaders” are locked in a blame game, leaving the rest of us to nervously watch the clock.   

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and President Joe Biden have yet to meet to discuss a way forward, while the bipartisan short-term funding agreement proposed Tuesday night by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) appears dead-on-arrival in the House. Meanwhile, extremists on the right continue to agitate for a shutdown unless the rest of the country agrees to go along with their extravagant demands that have zero chance of becoming law. And far too many Democrats seem content to let Republicans fight among themselves instead of pressing for a constructive path forward.   

Here’s one point that is an undeniable fact: it is irresponsible and reckless to shut down the government at any time, under any circumstances, for any reason. There’s no end to the reasons why – from how it costs taxpayers money and cuts off access to government services to how it puts unfair strain on federal workers forced to miss their paychecks and how it makes us look incompetent in the eyes of our allies and adversaries alike.   

So, when the far-right members of Congress keep claiming that “we shouldn’t fear a government shutdown” – as one of them did recently – that’s about as irresponsible as it gets. 

Here’s another undeniable fact: the national debt is on an unsustainable pace, and no recent American president has come up with a plan – or even really tried – to address it. It took from 1776 to 2008 – 232 years – for the national debt to grow to $10 trillion, but only another 14 years for the debt to triple in size to $30 trillion. And it’s only getting bigger.  

These are two huge problems – one immediate and one long-term – that no one in Washington seems willing to solve. No one, that is, besides our allies in the House Problem Solvers Caucus.   

Last week, the Problem Solvers introduced a framework that would deliver us out of the immediate shutdown threat and put us on a path toward getting our debt under control. Specifically, it calls for a short-term funding plan to keep government running paired with the creation of a Fiscal Commission to investigate the underlying causes and identify solutions to the mounting debt we’re handing to future generations. 

What do you think about the Problem Solvers’ plan? Take our one-question survey: Do you support the Problem Solvers’ framework to avert a government shutdown and create a Fiscal Commission to reduce our national debt?

These next few days, you’ll likely see enough finger pointing from all sides to make your head spin. If the government does shut down, you may see a far right faction try to take down Kevin McCarthy as speaker if he tries to reopen the government without meeting their demands. That’s when bipartisan leaders will need to stand up and be counted to find a way out of this mess. 

Just keep in mind that while this political theater plays out, the House Problem Solvers Caucus has done the work to provide a responsible, sensible way forward for this country – and model a lead that others in Congress will need to follow to reopen the government.   

Let’s support problem solving for America.