As the 113th Congress limps towards its ignominious end, lawmakers in the House and the Senate continue a slow dance to decide their legislative death spiral. High hopes of grandiose deals on highway funding or putting a down payment on tax reform have been dashed. Now the question is what if any of the supposedly must-pass to-dos will actually get done.

While it’s clear none of the 12 individual spending bills are going to be passed, it’s unlikely we’ll see a government shutdown. By rolling up all the spending bills into one piece of legislation (omnibus) that extends current spending levels through next September for at least one of the bills (continuing resolution), it appears we have a new unfortunate legislative tradition: the CRomnibus. This isn’t the first one. The FY 2013 CRomnibus was a combination of five bills with seven others funded by a continuing resolution. Of course some of this is a reaction to the Executive Order on immigration, but funding the government is the only constitutionally mandated activity Congress must carry out. CRomnibuses are no way to run a government. They leave agencies in limbo and prevent lawmakers from cutting inefficient programs.

This week, House and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairmen Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Carl Levin (D-MI) announced a compromise on the National Defense Authorization Act (which will conveniently be named after both of these retiring lawmakers). It’s a massive 1600 page bill – the table of contents alone is 27 pages – that sets the policy priorities for the Pentagon. It also proves, again, that lawmakers have been able to find “compromise” only by pretty much giving everybody whatever they want.

Then there is this half-passed, “must pass” piece of legislation backstopping the insurance industry in the case of a terrorist attack. A review of its history and the facts might help. Insurance claims from the costliest terrorist attack in this country’s history – 9/11 – were covered by private insurance. After the event there was a predictable retreat in the markets, but within a year, they started to recover. Enter Congress. A year after 9/11, they created a “temporary” backstop for private insurance in the event of a terrorist attack: the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act. It essentially provided free reinsurance (insurance for insurance companies) and in return, required the companies to make terror coverage available. Companies would pay for the coverage post-event. To date: all premium, no payout. Nearly 15 years later, there is an even greater private market interest in taking on some of that reinsurance risk. Yet the insurance industry is looking for the third extension of this federal program. The Senate agreed to a largely status quo seven year extension. The House is pushing for a shorter, more limited one. With private sector interest in this area, lawmakers should be backing Uncle Sam out of the reinsurance business.

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Finally this week, the House threw up its hands and rubber stamped a one-year extension for dozens of “temporary” special interest tax carveouts. Running the gamut from benefits for NASCAR track owners and oil and gas companies, to rum excise tax rebates and deductions for corporations that give their old computer equipment to charity, tax extenders are the bane of anyone who respects fairness and honesty in tax policy. While some of these breaks may serve legitimate public interests, Congress seldom holds them up to scrutiny, instead attaching them onto other legislation: the 2008 bailout, 2010 extension of the Bush tax cuts, even on the 2012 fiscal cliff deal – all with little to no debate. And they’re the opposite of temporary, being routinely “extended” for one or two years at a time. While this makes them effectively permanent, it keeps Congress from having to find other spending cuts or revenue increases to offset their costs, and throws a wrench into must needed comprehensive tax reform efforts to eliminate narrow parochial provisions, simplify the code, and generate increased revenue to drive down rates and reduce deficits.                                                                                                                                                           

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So there you have it. The final days of the 113th Congress, just about as much of a mess as the previous 23 months. Congratulations 114th Congress – you’ve got nowhere to go but up.

 

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