| I was excited to have a great conversation with Hugh on government shutdowns and why it’s important to prevent them.
If Congress won’t do its job and pass appropriations bills on time, harm to our national security—the Border Patrol and the Department of Defense—shouldn’t be the price Americans pay.
The Prevent Government Shutdowns Act would prevent government shutdowns by forcing Congress to stay in session until appropriation bills are finalized. In the meantime, it ensures that vital government services, including the Border Patrol, remain uninterrupted.
Unlike the 2013 sequester, which hurt military readiness and Hugh is right to question, the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act does not involve automatic across-the-board cuts.
It would maintain flat funding at current levels, serving as a temporary measure until Congress enacts new appropriations.
It would fix several aspects of congressional dysfunction and break the cycle of last-minute, bloated spending bills right before Christmas. Government shutdowns can’t be successfully leveraged to fix budget and debt problems—their political dynamics just make them worse.
Hugh also asked great questions about what a debt crisis would look like if we can’t get the budget process fixed.
I encourage you to take a listen, because you likely want solutions to the government’s money problems and have similar questions to Hugh’s.
This conversation gets you answers to some of those questions.
Thanks,
— Kurt Kurt Couchman Senior Fellow, Fiscal Policy
Americans for Prosperity | 
