Everyone who is worried about the government shutting down raise your hands. No, not you government employees; everyone else. What no one is concerned? Good choice.
The only time our government isn’t digging the debt hole deeper or trashing our rights is when they’re on recess; and there’s no recess like a government shutdown. Unfortunately rather than fixing the spending problems, such as addressing entitlements, once again they’ve kicked the can down the road this week. The House passed the Senate’s stopgap spending bill that’ll keep the government open through the end of September ending the threat, or promise depending on your point of view, of a government shutdown.
The bipartisan House 318-109 vote sent the bill to President Obama for signature.
Sadly nothing has changed with the exception of a little discretion in the sequestration cuts. The bill funds day-to-day operating expenses of the government through Sept. 30 along with authorizing an additional $87 billion for the military in Afghanistan and Iraq.
While federal workers may be pleased that a government shutdown has been averted they are facing additional time without a pay raise as the bill maintain the current pay freeze.
Both the House and the Senate punted on addressing the sequestration cuts which remain in place without alteration. Furloughs for hundreds of thousands of government workers will continue even though cuts to food inspectors and college assistance for active duty military won’t go forward.
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