I haven’t heard much discussion about just how it was even possible for Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to hold up funding the Affordable Health Care Act (I refuse to use the term Obamacare as Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was the one really responsible for this catastrophe and I won’t give Obama even that much credit).
Cruz could only use the Senate’s filibuster provision because there isn’t enough money in the federal budget for everything the free-spending Democrats and Republicans have committed us to spend money on. If the federal government had a balanced budget, holding up funds for any program wouldn’t even be an issue.
Whereas, as long as we continue deficit spending, having the budget held up in the Senate will always be possible and in fact ever more likely. The next occasion will be the next “Continuing Resolution” bill to make up for the lack of an “actual” budget — the Senate’s ongoing abdication of its constitutional responsibility.
Curtiss Ryan Mooney
Vancouver
