Week three of the government shutdown, and no closer to a conclusion. Both sides feel empowered by their base (likely the only people they are talking to). A problem in this shutdown is the debate over extending COVID-era healthcare benefits is not directly related to the bill that funds that government. If debated in regular order, the issues would be overseen by two separate committees directing funds from two separate fiscal buckets. The appropriations process dictates the annual spending levels for the government and that fiscal year ended September 30^th, whereas the Affordable Care Act (ACA) benefits in questions are not funded through appropriations and don’t expire until the end of the calendar year. I do believe there is a bipartisan majority willing to extend government funding, and there is also a bipartisan majority willing to extend all or part of the ACA benefits. However, the two “majorities” can not agree on whether to temporarily open the government before or after agreeing on ACA funding levels, and that is why we are 20 days into a shutdown. Because this is a tactical shutdown that would result in one side clearly winning and one side clearly losing, it makes a negotiated truce more difficult. But work in D.C. goes on at a brisk pace, with or without pay.

-Brian Wild