published on July 08, 2024 in Front Page News

Opinion | Mr. Jeffries, heres how you could try to avoid a shutdown

Renegade House Republicans, pressing a far-right agenda with no chance of enactment, have blocked Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) from putting before the House legislation to fund the government when current funding expires at the end of the month. Let’s fantasize how a government shutdown might be avoided if politics were less partisan and leaders were actually willing to lead.

SPEAKER: The Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, is recognized.

Mr. JEFFRIES: Mr. Speaker, Democrats take no pleasure in the discord and disunity in the Republican caucus … [Laughter]

SPEAKER: The House will be in order!

Mr. JEFFRIES: … that now threatens to shut down the government. By shutting us Democrats out of the process and pursuing a Republican-only strategy, Mr. Speaker, you have empowered a cabal of right-wing zealots to take the House and your speakership hostage. This faction of your party has pulled this stunt four times over the last 30 years. Each time, they have failed — but not before bringing hardship to hard-working government employees, inconvenience to the citizens they serve, and more distrust and partisan rancor to this House.

Mr. Speaker, there is nothing inevitable about another shutdown. As we discovered this spring with the debt ceiling deal you helped broker, an overwhelming majority of the House — including majorities in both parties — is willing to put aside gamesmanship and reach bipartisan compromise.

So it is in that same spirit that I today inform the House that, contrary to custom for members of the minority, I intend to vote in favor of any reasonable and balanced “rules” allowing the House to begin debate on an omnibus appropriations bill for the next fiscal year, and urge others in my party to join me.

What do I mean by reasonable and balanced?

I mean starting with a spending bill that conforms to the bipartisan budget deal approved this spring, without additional cuts in spending.

I mean a spending bill stripped of provocative “riders” meant to end prosecution of President Trump or upend existing policy on abortion, civil and gender rights or immigration.

I mean a rule that allows the House to debate and vote on an amendment authorizing additional funding for the war in Ukraine and disaster relief here at home, as the President has requested.

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And I mean a rule that allows debate and vote on any amendment sponsored by at least 20 members of each party. That would specifically include an amendment to make permanent the enhanced child tax credit that cut child poverty nearly in half before it was foolishly allowed to expire last year — a top priority for Democrats. And it would include an amendment to provide additional funding for border security, a top priority for many Republicans.

There is no guarantee that these amendments would be adopted, but if they were, it would allow members of both parties to declare victory.

We all understand, Mr. Speaker, that were you to agree to such terms, the zealots in your caucus would make good on their threat to try to oust you as Speaker, expecting Democrats to join them in voting to “vacate the chair.” I want to assure you, Mr. Speaker, that I will not join such an effort and instead would vote “present,” inviting my Democratic colleagues to do the same. Removing you under those circumstances would only be trading one Republican for another while further empowering the worst elements of your fractious caucus. It is my fondest hope to one day replace you, Mr. Speaker, but only the old-fashioned way: by winning a Democratic majority in an election.

I suspect some of my Democratic colleagues are shocked to hear a Democratic leader offering to help a Republican Speaker hold on to the gavel. The duty of the opposition party, they will say, is to oppose — all the more so when the other party has launched an impeachment inquiry of a president from our party without evidence of any wrongdoing.

Normally, I would agree, but these are not normal times. American democracy is in a precarious place. Because of hyperpartisanship and polarization, we have a Congress incapable of performing even its most basic functions, let alone addressing the major challenges facing the country. Our outdated rules and partisan norms make it nearly impossible for a bipartisan governing majority to emerge.

This dysfunction creates a particular problem for Democrats. Ours is the natural governing party — the party that believes government solves problems rather than causes them. Yes, in the short run, voters might blame Republicans for shutdowns and filibusters and “holds” that leave appointments of hundreds of military officers and diplomats in limbo for months on end. But in the long run, by eroding voters’ faith and trust in government, government dysfunction undermines Democrats’ message and brand.

Mr. Speaker, you and I have a choice to make. We can continue with the partisan blood feud that has consumed this Capitol and prevented us from governing — or we can declare a truce and begin to end it, here and now. In that spirit, I offer you not only a way to avert a government shutdown but also a way to save your speakership, save your party and return this House to some semblance of regular order.

Mr. Speaker, it’s your move.

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