Bob Walker represented Pennsylvania‘s 16th District for twenty years. In Congress, he chaired the Science, Space and Technology Committee, served as the Republican Chief Deputy Whip, Chairman of the Republican Leadership, Vice Chairman of the Budget Committee and Speaker Pro Tempore
America is in a leadership crisis.
Day after day, in failed vote after failed vote, a small group of dissidents within the Republican party have been able to deny the Speakership to Congressman Kevin McCarthy.
On Friday, McCarthy came up short in a 12th, 13th and 14th vote to determine leadership of the House.
America is starting to resemble a banana republic.
We even saw a mass walkout of McCarthy loyalists disgusted by Republican Matt Gaetz, who alleged McCarthy is where he is today because of his prowess at taking millions in donations from special interests.
Some Republican holdouts have – hesitantly – started moving in McCarthy’s direction, but still, it may not be enough.
The GOP majority is so narrow that even a few objectors can derail the process and proposed ideas to break the gridlock have not worked.
Substitute candidates for speaker, such as Reps Jim Jordan, Byron Donalds and even former president Donald Trump, have been nominated but the chances of electing an alternative to McCarthy are slim to non-existent.
There is even talk that in the backrooms of the Capitol of plans for some Democrats to vote for McCarthy and in return for concessions. But that scenario is almost too ridiculous to consider given the divisions among the parties today.
So, how does this stalemate end?
As a former congressman, who served 10 terms, including several in Republican leadership, I believe that this standoff cannot only be resolved, but resolved in victory, and not just for Speaker McCarthy.
Some Republican holdouts have – hesitantly – started moving in McCarthy’s direction, but still, it may not be enough.
There is a way that this seemingly embarrassing exercise in government dysfunction can ultimately fix one of Washington DC’s greatest modern failures – its inability to control spending.
To date, McCarthy has made numerous concessions to holdout Republicans.
He’s offered to make it easier for rank-and-file Republicans to force a vote to oust him and he’s agreed that a political action committee aligned with him will not meddle in GOP primary races.
So far, none of these compromises have been enough to convince a sufficient number of rebellious Republicans to quit their fight.
The problem haunting McCarthy is the belief that he will not be tough enough on spending, and there’s sincere reason for concern.
Under the Constitution, spending originates in the House and spending is out of control.
The total U.S. deficit stands at $248 billion in November 2022, up from $191 billion the year before.
In December, Biden signed a $1.7 trillion federal spending bill and tucked inside it was $1.7 billion in spending on pet projects for powerful retiring senators.
Earmarks in total were $15 billion.
The Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Patrick Leahy, secured $212 million in earmarks for his state. Richard Shelby, the top Republican, brought home more than $666 million.
‘Looking forward to more in 2023,’ he tweeted. A drunk at the roulette table would care more about the cash getting thrown around.
Congress is raking up a bill that you, your children, your children’s children and future generations will be paying off for decades to come. It is reasonable to expect a Speaker to use his power to rein this in.
We even saw a mass walkout of McCarthy loyalists disgusted by Republican Matt Gaetz (above), who alleged McCarthy is where he is today because of his prowess at taking millions in donations from special interests.
In December, Biden signed a $1.7 trillion federal spending bill and tucked inside it was $1.7 billion in spending on pet projects for powerful retiring senators.
What McCarthy should do is pledge to go back to the basics. The long-standing rules of the House state that money can only be spent after it has been properly authorized.
In other words, spending bills, otherwise known as appropriations, cannot be considered unless there is an underlying law which describes how the money must be spent.
Under proper House rules, committees would debate and approve of these budgets. And, if an appropriations bill is brought to the Floor with money not authorized, those sections of the bill can be struck from the measure by an objection from a single member.
The problem for the last twenty years under both Republican and Democrat majorities is that the Rules Committee controlled by the Speaker has allowed the rule requiring authorization before appropriation to be waived.
McCarthy should pledge to allow no such waivers.
The question that would immediately arise is: what happens to departments and agencies of the government that have not been properly authorized?
Bob Walker represented Pennsylvania ‘s 16th District for twenty years.
For instance, the Department of Justice has not had an authorization for decades.
The answer is that the authorization process, that has largely failed except for Defense spending, needs to be revived.
That’s another pledge McCarthy could make—to insist the Chairmen of authorization committees do their work.
If authorizations get held up in the Senate, and they often do, the unauthorized departments and agencies could be funded under a year end continuing resolution that would allocate no more money than had been spent the year before.
That’s another pledge McCarthy could make to assure that the continuing resolutions do not exceed the previous year’s spending.
McCarthy critic, Rep. Scott Perry who dropped his opposition tweeted, ‘We’re at a Reagan moment — ‘trust but verify.’ The devil is in the details, and we’ll take our time to ensure it’s right, not easy. One way or another, the status quo must go.’
Rep. Perry is right.
The bottom line is that underlying House rules allow for an enforceable spending process. By endorsing that process and going back to the basics, McCarthy could strengthen his candidacy for Speaker and strengthen governance in the House.
Coalitions with Democrats or concessions to dissidents will not make McCarthy speaker but getting back to basics could.
And in the process, he can restore rightful power to the people’s representatives and restore fiscal sanity to American government.
