Only recently, lawmakers were outraged that dozens of veterans had died waiting for care at a VA health center in Phoenix, that thousands of unaccompanied children from Central America were pouring across our border, and that local governments were preparing to cancel highway and bridge construction projects because the highway trust fund was nearly bankrupt.
The notorious “do-nothing Congress” was for a time, anyway, fired up to shorten the VA waiting lists and beef up medical staffing, to address the humanitarian crisis posed by refugee children, and to heed warnings from the Department of Transportation that 700,000 construction industry jobs would be lost if the trust fund went belly up.
Related: 700,000 Jobs at Risk If Highway Trust Fund Falters
Yet with only a week to go before their five-week summer break, the GOP-controlled House and Democratic-controlled Senate seem deadlocked over VA funding and fixes for the immigration crisis along the U.S-Mexico border. They’re in slightly better shape for negotiating a temporary fix to avert a highway and infrastructure construction crisis.
Bill Hoagland, vice president of the Bipartisan Policy Center and former Senate Republican budget expert, recalled the high hopes after last December’s bipartisan budget deal that Congress would pass its annual spending bills. There were also pledges to swiftly reform the VA and address the border crisis.
“We had such good vibes we were going to actually get something done,” Hoagland said in an interview. “The disappointment just piles on when they’re leaving here with very little accomplished – in fact, things seem even more divided. It further lowers everybody’s respect for Congress and hope for getting anything done on really big issues like tax reform [and] immigration reform.
“It’s just a big letdown,” Hoagland added.
Related: How the 113th Do-Nothing Congress Lived Up to Its Name
Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), a senior House leader, also said in an interview, “I have very little expectation that anything of any real consequence will get done.”
Michael Steel, meanwhile, a spokesperson for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), said that regardless of the outcome of last-minute negotiations, House Republicans have moved swiftly to pass nearly half of the annual spending bills and to offer legislative solutions to the VA scandal and the immigration crisis.
“We continue to work on all of those issues . . . but the ball is pretty much in [the Democrats’] court on most of those issues,” Steel told The Fiscal Times.
The highway bill probably has the best chance of winning approval shortly. Without it, practically every congressional district will feel the pain of lost federal revenue this summer. The last thing lawmakers want to do during vacation is field complaints from state and local officials, the construction industry and labor groups about construction disruptions.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled a vote next week on a $10.8 billion bill approved by the House to keep federal dollars flowing to the states for at least another year. The money is vital to financing new highway, bridge and mass transit programs and repair operations. Whether a final agreement can be reached next week is uncertain.
Related: Clock Ticks for States on Highway Funding
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Bob Corker (R-TN) and others favor a multi-year solution and insist Congress give no more than $8.1 billion in short-term funding through Dec. 19, according to The Wall Street Journal. Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) will also offer proposals for altering the funding mechanisms. If those Senate Democrats succeed in amending the House bill, it could force a showdown with Ways and Means Committee Chair Dave Camp (R-MI), who crafted the short-term solution approved by the House last week.
But those problems pale in comparison to differences between the two chambers and the two parties over overhauling the VA and immigration policies.
Tensions ran so high yesterday that Senate Veterans’ Affairs chairman Bernard Sanders (I-VT) boycotted a House-Senate conference committee meeting called by House VA Chair Jeff Miller (R-FL). The meeting was to consider Miller’s proposal for reforming the VA and hire more medical staff.
Congress had vowed strong action after the disclosure that dozens of veterans had died while waiting months to see doctors and that some VA officials had hidden the long waiting lists to protect their bonuses and promotions. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned on May 30 at the height of the scandal.
Related: 7 of the Most Outrageous Abuses at VA Medical Centers
On June 11, the Senate voted 93 to 3 to pass a measure to expand VA services and staffing at a cost of some $35 billion over the coming years. A key provision would allow veterans to see a private physician if they encountered lengthy waits for appointments at VA facilities. The House then passed a $44 billion version, leading some to complain about the overall cost.
Sanders later offered a counter proposal, which would cost less than $25 billion. Miller, in turn, presented a revised plan yesterday during a hastily called conference committee meeting that attracted House and Senate Republicans, but no Democrats.
Miller’s approach would require only about $10 billion of emergency spending, but with a pledge of future funding as part of the normal budgeting process, according to CQ Roll Call. His bill would keep most key provisions of the Senate-passed bill, including allowing some veterans to see private physicians.
Sanders told reporters he skipped the meeting after learning Miller intended to push through his latest plan on a “take it or leave it” basis. “This is a sad indication that the House leadership is not serious about negotiations,” Sanders said in a statement. “We don’t need more speeches and posturing. We need serious negotiations – 24/7, if necessary – to resolve our differences to pass critical legislation.”
Miller said he’s “never shut the door” to compromise with Sanders. Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner issued a blistering statement attacking Democrats, according to the CQ Roll Call report.
“In the wake of the shocking scandal at the Veterans Administration, the House passed a bipartisan VA reform and accountability bill, and we’re ready to complete work on an agreement the president can sign,” Boehner said. “Unfortunately, Senate Democrats refused to even show up and discuss bipartisan solutions, preferring instead to talk behind closed doors. That is shameful. If President Obama cares about America’s veterans, he needs to pick up his phone out in California and tell Senate Democrats to get to work.”
Related: Wave of Migrant Children Threatens to Swamp U.S. Immigration Courts
Meanwhile, House Republicans have begun to rally around new proposals for counteracting the flood of illegal immigrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. It includes deploying National Guard troops and requiring the Obama administration “to more quickly process and deport young children and families who have entered the country in recent months,” The Washington Post reported.
It was unclear how soon the House would take up the issue and “whether House Republicans [can] reach agreement with Senate Democrats on a final plan before Congress adjourns Aug. 1 for a five-week recess,” The Post reported. The $1.5 billion proposal House Republicans unveiled on Wednesday would spend far less than Obama’s $3.7 billion proposal to beef up security and deportation operations on the border.
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