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Another shutdown. While it is true that one of the hardest lessons to learn in DC is that politics and policy are irrevocably linked, it is nevertheless disappointing to see when partisanship so clearly places party over country. But it isn’t merely about today’s shutdown. It is about the brinksmanship and the abdication of responsibility we have seen from Congress over the past few years. Through cheap attempts to score political points with keyboard warriors, Congress bears little resemblance to the “world’s greatest deliberative body” it once was. They have also all but given up their responsibility to govern as a co-equal branch of government.
Our Constitution is based on the separation of powers – which itself rests on the idea that each branch of government actually chooses to exercise those powers it has been given. Our founders would have been astounded, and perhaps filled with worry, to learn that Congress would unilaterally give up their powers. And yet, give up their powers they have. Whether its refusing to stand by the laws they do pass (like failing to enforce their TikTok legislation for fear of getting crosswise with the Executive Branch) or failing to pass the laws they must (like failing to fund the government and continuing a cycle of delay on the NDAA), Congress is costing taxpayers billions and hampering U.S. readiness at a moment of significant geopolitical turmoil. If Congress wants to uphold our Constitution – to say nothing of holding onto their jobs – Members of Congress need to stop abdicating their responsibilities. If Congress wants to be taken seriously, it needs to behave seriously.
- Carrie Filipetti, Executive Director of The Vandenberg Coalition
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