Congress again struggling to avoid government shutdown

In school, if you put off your work until the very last minute, then do the bare minimum amount required, you are likely to struggle to get a passing grade. But that has become the norm in the United States Congress. Once again the nation is heading toward a possible government shutdown, because Congress has refused to pass a long-term spending bill, relying instead on stopgap measures to keep the government operating. The federal government is going to shutdown at midnight on Friday if Congress does not approve a spending package before then. The House is expected to vote on the package today, leaving little time to get it to the President’s desk before the deadline. And once again, even if this spending bill is approved, it only funds the government through September, meaning Congress will have to go through all this last-minute haggling again in just a matter of months. This is not the way Congress should do its job. A better way would be to look at all the programs the government funds, and determine which ones are working and which one’s aren’t. Instead, they simply approve last-minute legislation by throwing more money at programs, include those which are ineffective. Like a good student, Congress should study hard, consider the problem thoroughly and give its best answer. Maybe then Congress would finally get a passing grade.