The congressional process is more or less okay. The chambers and the parties need to come to decisions on tons of line items, and that's going to be difficult regardless, but even more so presumably with divided government. And brinkmanship is going to happen in any negotiations. What's not necessary is the shutdown part of it, which only exists because of an interpretation by the Carter WH. Without that, the government could keep functioning while Congress continued negotiating.
I thought the budget items had already been okayed. (I might not be using the official terms.) That money has already been spent. And they’re arguing over spilt milk. Wrong?
No, this is the regular spending bills for fiscal year 2025, which starts next month. You might be thinking of the spending bills for fiscal 2024, which didn't pass until spring (I think?) this year, several months after they were originally due, with CRs bridging the gap until then.
Always good to remember how screwed up this process is. Is there a chance it might be done away with at some point in history?
The congressional process is more or less okay. The chambers and the parties need to come to decisions on tons of line items, and that's going to be difficult regardless, but even more so presumably with divided government. And brinkmanship is going to happen in any negotiations. What's not necessary is the shutdown part of it, which only exists because of an interpretation by the Carter WH. Without that, the government could keep functioning while Congress continued negotiating.
I thought the budget items had already been okayed. (I might not be using the official terms.) That money has already been spent. And they’re arguing over spilt milk. Wrong?
No, this is the regular spending bills for fiscal year 2025, which starts next month. You might be thinking of the spending bills for fiscal 2024, which didn't pass until spring (I think?) this year, several months after they were originally due, with CRs bridging the gap until then.