Speaker Ryan may finally have his party in line

Once again, the United States Congress is facing an impending deadline to pass a bill that funds our government. This has become a matter of routine, with many lawmakers threatening a government shutdown until they can get their pet provisions included in the budget. But under the new leadership of House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, things may be different this time. Ryan has generally earned high marks in his role as Speaker so far, but passing a bill to fund government while avoiding a government shutdown will be his toughest test to date. Ryan is under pressure to tack on a number of Republican provisions to the more than $1 trillion spending bill, including efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, limit the entry of Syrian refugees, and to repeal Obamacare. But he seems to have the assurances of other leaders of his party that they won’t resort to a government shutdown to try to get their way. That is an encouraging sign. But the reality is Congress has only until December 11th to get the spending bill passed. And there is other work to do, like efforts to provide multi-year funding for federal highway projects, and to revamp or replace No Child Left Behind. And once again, Congress will be working until the final day of the session to try to get that done. But with the threat of a government shutdown apparently averted, it seems the new Speaker from Wisconsin finally has his party in line.