Insights

Once again, we are at an impasse. The fiscal new year has come and gone without a single appropriations bill signed into law. As Don Meredith used to sing at the close of every Monday Night Football broadcast, turn out the lights, the party’s over.

We’ve been here before, but this time, we may end up sitting with the lights off for quite some time. Unlike previous shutdown dramas, there seems to be very little pressure on lawmakers to come to the table and make a deal. In fact, the incentives for most members often appear to point in exactly the opposite direction.

Thanks to the strong partisan tilt of the vast majority of congressional districts, most Members of Congress are hearing demands from their constituents to “stay strong” and not “cave.” These vague terms are rooted more in personality than policy—red districts view strength as backing the president, and blue districts view it as opposing him. In both cases, compromising or even legislating is considered as weakness.

For many constituents, these views will likely change as the shutdown drags on and everything from food safety to Thanksgiving travel comes under threat. Recent polling indicates that the American people generally want their representatives to compromise, even if they don’t think it’s always possible.

But gerrymandered districts shield members from the full range of public opinion and magnify the most partisan perspectives. So, even as most Americans feel the growing impact of the shutdown, members from most districts will be pushed toward inaction as the safest course.

The Constitution reserves the power to create and fund federal agencies to Article I – the legislative branch. Article I also gives Congress the power to make the laws these agencies must implement, as well as the laws that govern how these agencies are to be staffed and managed. All of this is to be done according to the wishes and interests of communities across the nation as expressed by their elected representatives.

Members are supposed to represent specific communities – from rural areas to urban downtowns – with particular interests and needs. Often these interests conflict with the interests of other communities and regions, which is why the House of Representatives was created.

Here, Sir, said Alexander Hamilton, the people govern.

But gerrymandered districts dilute the impact of those communities by dividing them and joining their voters with others in far-off areas, defined by how they are likely to vote, not how the actions of government (or lack thereof) impact their families and livelihoods. As a result, their elected representatives are incentivized to keep the party line. And often the party line means either complete approval of executive actions or complete opposition. Neither is healthy for our democracy, and both lead to the dilution of Article I in favor of Article II.

Previous shutdowns focused on disagreements over appropriation levels and generally centered on single issues. That includes the 2018 shutdown, when President Trump’s rhetoric focused almost exclusively on funding for a border wall. But this shutdown is about the power of Congress in relation to the power of the President.

How these days, weeks, and potentially months play out will have a lasting impact that extends well beyond the surface questions of funding levels, health care tax credits, and staffing levels. Which branch effectively funds, runs, manages, and even names agencies in the coming decades will be influenced by the result of this standoff.

Our nation requires a strong center to build the economy, protect the homeland, and meet the needs of all its people without regard to region, background, or perceived ideology. Members and Senators from both sides of the aisle must take this opportunity to protect the institutional power of the legislative branch guaranteed by the Constitution.

The way to do that is to prove that the institution still works. Start talking. Find common ground. Represent the constituencies that elected them and find a way forward, before the power of the legislative branch atrophies from chronic neglect.