Funding the government on time was once the most basic thing Congress did. Today, it has become one of the hardest. Shutdown brinkmanship has turned routine appropriations into a recurring hostage crisis, the threats facing the country are multiplying, and with a consequential midterm election ahead, no one can assume the next Congress will be any steadier than this one. 

In a moment this volatile, a government that cannot reliably fund itself is a reality the country cannot afford.