The Dec. 16 expiration of government funding must have been an accident. It would take foresight and purposeful planning to schedule a budget deadline for the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Sadly, the 117th Congress has shown neither quality. The descendants of these American patriots are now at the mercy of a lame-duck Congress, rather than a foreign monarch. The narrowly divided legislature that emerged from the midterms, however, presents an opportunity to enact a single-bill budget process, eliminate governance by crisis, and improve America’s fiscal health.
Congressional leaders’ reliance on shutdown brinkmanship instead of a transparent and inclusive
