Solution to Government Shutdown

Since there is some sort of Federal Government Shutdown every year or two, and since we are presently in the midst of the longest one ever recorded, I thought it would be an appropriate time to cut through all of the senseless chatter about it and point out the obvious solution.

First, let's understand that the Constitution gives all control of spending to Congress. Therefore, in order to re-open the government, which requires spending money, Congress must enact the appropriate spending bills by law. This however, is the key point: spending bills are laws like any other laws, which means there are only two ways that they can be enacted.

If you are in Congress, the most obvious way to enact your spending bill is to pass it in a form that you know the President will agree with enough to sign it. If you want to enact a spending bill without the President's signature, then it needs to be passed by a 2/3 majority instead of just a simple majority. That's it. Those are the two choices. Only Congress can pass spending bills, and they must do so with or without the President's signature.

Right now, the President has said that he will only sign a spending bill that includes funding the construction of a border wall. This means that if you are in Congress, and if you believe the President, you have only one choice, which is to pass your spending bill with a 2/3 majority.

All of the other back and forth and posturing and blaming is really just nonsense and useless jabbering. If Congress really is serious about re-opening the government, the power is completely with them to do so. Pass the spending bill with funding for the wall, or get together and pass something else by a 2/3 majority instead. There are no other options.