You might remember that, in August 2011, Congress almost defaulted on the national debt. Eventually, the two parties reached a deal — the Budget Control Act — that would, among other things, cut more than $900 billion from the discretionary side of the budget over the next 10 years. This wasn’t exactly a shining moment in the history of the United States Congress — “and that, kids, is how the government decided not to create an unnecessary financial crisis in the middle of a fragile recovery” — but at least we could move forward. Or so we thought.<\/p>\n
In recent months, Republicans have begun arguing that the spending levels set out in the Budget Control Act aren’t low enough. Those are “ceilings,” they say, not “floors.” And so, where the BCA permits $1.047 trillion in discretionary spending, the House budget resolution dragged that down to $1.028 trillion. And remember, if the House and Senate don’t agree on a spending level, the federal government shuts down.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the administration sent House Republicans a letter saying there would be no further negotiation on this point. “Until the House of Representatives indicates that it will abide by last Summer’s agreement, the President will not be able to sign any appropriations bills.” If Republicans wanted a shutdown, in other words, they could have one.<\/p>\n