The lack of control over the southern border and the Biden administration’s refusal to do anything about it is worth shutting down the government. Congressional inaction on illegal immigration is worth a shutdown.
The appalling lack of funding debated in the latest border deal is worth a shutdown, but it won't happen this week. Congress voted to give itself another week of oxygen to get their house in order. Funding for several key agencies now expires on March 8 instead of midnight on March 2. The rest of the government is fine until March 22 (via Washington Post):
Congress passed legislation Thursday to prevent a looming partial government shutdown, extending funding for federal agencies later into March — and teeing up another mad scramble over policy and spending negotiations with another shutdown deadline only about a week away.
The stopgap spending bill — known as a continuing resolution, or CR — cleared the Senate by a 77-13 vote Thursday evening after winning House approval by a 320-99 margin in the afternoon.
The legislation pushes the funding deadline to March 8 for several agencies, including the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Transportation, Energy, Agriculture, Interior, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency. Financing for most of those agencies was set to expire Saturday just after midnight.
Funding for the rest of the federal government under the bill expires March 22, two weeks later than under current law. The measure now heads to President Biden’s desk for his signature.
Biden recently traveled to Brownsville, Texas, to show he’s serious about the border. Still, the fact remains that the president doesn’t need congressional approval or funding for him to get the situation under control. The president needs to re-authorize every Trump executive order to get the ball rolling on re-establishing operational control of the border. It was smart of Biden to try and take the high road, calling on Donald Trump to work with him to get a bipartisan deal done. The problem is that every bipartisan deal either doesn’t have enough money or has ridiculous provisions, like a pathway to citizenship. Mass amnesty will always be a go-to carve out for liberal Democrats, and it’s simply unacceptable. The point is to get the people who should be here out of the country, build the wall, and control the flow. Another revolutionary concept that needs to be revived is allowing federal immigration officers to enforce the law and deport illegal aliens.
Shutting down DC over lack of border security is worth it. I hope Republicans know that.
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