It may not be much, but Congress’ latest budget deal is a small victory for bipartisanship, the Washington Post’s editorial board decided this week.
The deal, which certain Republican lawmakers have decried as “terrible,” will prevent the federal government from hitting the debt ceiling on Nov. 3, thus erasing the threat of a possible default until March 2017.
But more importantly, the Post explained, the deal shows that Congress isn’t completely broken.
“[T]he deal is a small victory for governability, showing that Republicans and Democrats, both houses of Congress and the executive branch can still work together, if only because they have run out of alternatives,” the editorial board said.
“While the vast majority of the new spending takes place this year and next, most of the savings kick in later — assuming lobbyists don’t undo them in the interim. There are gimmicks and one-shot deals: $5 billion in sales of strategic petroleum; a $2.2 billion raid on accumulated fines and forfeited civil assets at the Justice Department; $5 billion in higher revenue conjured by ‘smoothing’ the reported liabilities of government-insured private pensions.”
But it’s worth noting, the editorial said, that the bill also includes “modest” but real reforms to several federal spending programs, including on crop insurance subsidies and Social Security Disability Insurance.
“From these incremental entitlement reforms, to increased spending for domestic programs and defense boosts, the bill has a little something for GOP budget and defense hawks and for Democratic advocates of active government,” the Post said.
“It is lamentable that the two parties see these priorities in partisan terms, but given that they do, this difference-splitting legislation may represent the best achievable outcome. Think of it as a truce, one that enables the parties to campaign in 2016 unburdened by fear of a shutdown or fiscal catastrophe — and then to look for a more comprehensive and durable fix under a new president in 2017.”
Not long after the publication of the Post editorial, congressional Republicans nominated Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to succeed Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, as speaker of the House.
Ryan signaled this week that he supports the proposed budget deal.
