The Daily Signal - Congress Is Soon to Return. Expect a Fight Over the Budget.

Episode Date: September 4, 2024

The House of Representatives returns next week to Washington, and a budget fight showdown is expected. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30, and Congress is tasked with having the fiscal 2025 budget ready to go by then, but it’s all but guaranteed it won't be.  “What usually happens at this time is, we'll get to the September 30th deadline, and we've seen this happen for years, regardless of who's running the show, but we'll kick the can down the road maybe a few weeks,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, explains.  The “can,” in this case, is the fiscal 2025 budget blueprint, and the “kick” is a continuing resolution that funds the government, usually for several weeks or months at a time.   It has become the habit of Congress a day or two before Christmas to “have this massive Christmas tree of an omnibus bill that gets passed that few people have read [because it’s] thousands of pages long, [includes] gobs amount of money, and doesn't really do the American people the service that they deserve from their Congress,” Cloud says.  The Texas congressman says he's doing everything he can to return the nation to fiscally responsible spending, noting that members of his own party are also partly responsible for the out-of-control spending in Washington.  “With the Left in charge, they raced toward this fiscal cliff, and Republicans, when we've been in charge, we jog toward that same cliff and call that progress,” Cloud laments. “I'm not willing to settle for something that doesn't put us on the right path going forward.”  Cloud joins “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss how Congress can take significant steps toward balancing the U.S. federal budget, and how the election could affect the financial fight in Congress this fall.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Wednesday, September 4th. I'm Virginia Allen. Congress will be back in session starting next week. And it is budget season. And that means in all likelihood a pretty big fight over the budget because the fiscal year ends at the end of September. And the new fiscal year begins on October 1st. Now, Congress is supposed to have a budget ready to go for the new year, but they rarely do. And this year looks to. be no different. Well, Congressman Michael Cloud of Texas is joining us on the show today to talk about what's in store for this budget fight and what we'll probably see out of Congress in the coming months, given that it is, of course, an election year. Stay tuned for my conversation with Congressman Michael Cloud after this. So what is going on with Ukraine? What is this deal with the border? How do you feel about school choice. These are the questions that come up to conservatives sitting at parties, at dinner, at family reunions. What do you say when these questions come up? I'm Mark Geine, the host of the podcast for you. Heritage Explains brought to you by all of your friends here

at the Heritage Foundation. Through the creative use of stories, the knowledge of our super passionate experts, we bring you the most important policy issues of the day and break them down in a way that is understandable. So check out Heritage Explains wherever you get your podcasts. I am so pleased to welcome to the show, Congressman Michael Cloud of Texas. Congressman, thanks so much for being with us today. Good to be with you. Well, Congressman, all of Congress returns to Washington, D.C. next week and it's budget season here in D.C. The fiscal year, it ends the end of September, and the new fiscal year begins on... That's right. And then the new fiscal year begins October 1st, and Congress is supposed to be ready to have a budget for the new year.

So the big question is, will they have a budget? Will we have passed our 12 appropriations? Will we have funded the government? That is the big question. Every September 30th, Congress finds itself at the same place. I find myself giving like the same speech we were giving a year ago where Congress seems shocked and surprised that September 30th is here. almost throwing up arms, wondering what should we do about it?

And, you know, we're working on a plan to get that done. Of course, what usually happens at this time is we'll get to the September 30th deadline, and we've seen this happen for years regardless of who's running the show. But we'll kick the can down the road, maybe a few weeks, kick the can down a few weeks, really, until finally we get to Christmas Eve or Christmas Eve or something like that. We'll have this massive Christmas tree. of an Omnibus bill that gets passed that few people have read thousands of pages long, spends jobs amount of money, and doesn't really do the American people the service that they

deserve from their Congress. Okay, so let's talk through each part of that a little bit, that kicking the can down the road, those are what's referred to as continuing resolutions, correct? Correct. Okay, so we'll hear that term thrown around. and then that big sort of omnibus that you reference at the end of the year. Explain what that is. That's very DC lingo and omnibus package.

Right. The way the government is supposed to be funded. Now, it's been a long while since this has happened as the government gets funded through 12 appropriations bills that each fund different sections of the government. We turned a corner in the sense just in this term with Republicans running that. house. Last year, we were able to get seven of the 12 done. This year, we've gotten to five of them done so far. That might sound like failure because the goal is always to get all 12 done,

except that even that hasn't been done in a while. And so we were reforming how Congress is working, getting back to doing things the way they should be done. But still again, we're at September 30th, haven't quite gotten all 12 bills through. And so what happens a lot of times is we'll pass a, what you call it a CR, a continuing resolution that basically extends the funding for another certain period of time. And so that's the place we find ourselves right now coming to this point on September 30th. Those funding bills have not happened. So the question is, how are we going to continue to fund the government?

Yeah, big question there. Well, I know it's obviously, it's obviously an election year. There's a lot of focus on that. Does that affect the spending fight at all? I'm sure it does. It's kind of in the back of mind on everybody's mind. But this is an issue that has been systemic with Congress election year or non-election year. And so, you know, us getting the House in order, so to speak, and getting Congress doing what it should do.

But, of course, as we look to what's coming up and how we need to, you know, when we're looking at a next administration and a potential Trump administration, certainly there's concern. that a big omnibus bill would not only just spend a massive amount of money, it would take away the opportunity of a Trump administration to early on make some of those reforms and a massive multi-thous-page omnibus bill is very likely to include writers that would tie the hands of a Trump administration who's trying, you know, when President Trump comes in, he's trying to make the reforms that American people are so desperately asking for. Okay. When you say riders, those are little policy priorities that are often snuck in, into these massive bills, right? Kind of tucked on page 532 of 1,000 pages.

Exactly. As Pelosi said, we have to pass the bill to know what's in it. This would be a classic case, but we wouldn't know what was in it. And so we were trying to make the changes that the American people need to really put our country right back on the right footing. And then you'd find out, oh, your hands were tied to make these sort of reforms in the first hundred days of a new presidency. Wow. I mean, it feels funny in a way to bring up balancing the budget when we're just trying to get spending somewhat under control. But at the end of the day, that's what the American people want. Is a government that is not spending more than it's bringing in the door? Is there any realm of possibility where we could

see a balanced budget this year? I would love for that to happen. As a matter of fact, just over COVID, we, we, the federal government, I shouldn't say we, because me and many others are against this trend, but the federal government grew over 30%. And coming out of that, we were trying to get federal government spending back just back to pre-COVID spending, which was still more than we were bringing in. And right now, Congress has not had the appetite for that. It's really unfortunate. We've really got to get our fiscal house in order. But, you know, just reading the latest. the land right now, the votes are not there for that. We are in such exorbitant spending, you know, easily over a $20 more than we bring in. And this isn't because I should say we're bringing more revenue now than we have in the past following, you know, many of the proposals of the Trump administration and the tax policies that were passed. But we continue, no matter how much money we bring in to spend more than we make as a Congress. And that's a great tragedy. That is. Congressman, will you oppose any spending bill that doesn't aim to balance the

budget? Here's what we're working to do for the moment as we come into the fall is, you know, and I have never voted for a CR. I am doing everything we can to get back to fiscal spending. As I've told people in Congress, and many of our Republicans, when we meet as a conference, I would say, you know, with the lefts in charge, they race toward this fiscal cliff, and Republicans and when we've been in charge, we jogged toward that same cliff and call that progress. I'm not willing to settle for something that doesn't put us on the right path going forward. Now, the greatest chance to make the changes that need to happen are not going to happen in a Biden-Harris administration. And that's just the reality.

They would happen in a Trump administration. So it oddly befalls us for the moment that the best thing we could do is get to not have that omnibus bill happen in a lame duck session for example, and that we give the president the opportunity, President Trump, the opportunity to make the changes that need to happen and to bring the savings that need to happen for the American people and really rein in and out of control bureaucracy. Yeah. Congressman, just being so honest in looking at the situation right now, as you've said, a continuing resolution, maybe multiple continuing resolutions, are highly,

highly possible before the end of the year. And you have said that Republicans should demand. that any continuing resolution should also include something called the Save Act. What exactly is the Save Act? The Save Act would require that states ensure that citizens that are voting in a federal election are indeed citizens, that they provide proof of citizenship, that they show in it some form of ID or the like, to prove their citizenship. Now, it's already the law of the land, and everybody knows.

And sometimes you'll even hear people saying, well, it's already illegal to vote in a federal election. Well, the problem is that there's no check on that. And the only check that could be made on that now is after the fact. But after the fact, you cannot pull the vote out of the pot, so to speak. It's already in there defraying legal voters. And so it's essential. And this is not a partisan issue.

The only place that this is partisan is in Congress. Across the spectrum, the American populace, of course, 80% or more. and think this is very common sense. My wife is actually a naturalized citizen, and this seems like, of course, you have to show identification when you go to prove that you're a U.S. citizen. But that is not happening now, and so this will require that to happen. Because ultimately, Americans can understand if election gets lost, as long as they can trust the process, can appreciate the liberties we share and all those sorts

of things as Americans. But you have to understand that elections need to be secure, and Americans understand that. Yeah, it's certainly something that you're right. All Americans, whether Democrat or Republican, independent, everyone wants to know, hey, my vote counts for one vote, and the only people allowed to vote are those who are. legally permitted to vote U.S. citizens. Are all Republicans in support of the SAVE Act? And is there even one Democrat who has voiced support for this act? Well, we've already, it's already passed the House with Republicans' board and without Democrat support. So we understand that. But the Senate

has refused to take it up, which tells you a lot of what the Senate is, but they don't think they're opposed to securing the election. Why, one would ask. maybe, would that be their stance? And so right now, the mechanism that befalls us is to place the SAVE Act on any spending bill that we would send to the Senate. And so I think it would be very eye-opening for the American people to see if the Democrat-controlled Senate is willing to shut down the government in order to ensure that our elections are not secure. I think that would be an important point that the American people should know. And again, this is obvious.

Most Americans would say, you know, 80 percent, again, to the tune of 80 percent, say this is common sense. And again, the only place is the partisan would be in the halls of Congress. Yeah. Well, Congress and I want to take just a second to talk about the fact that we are in an election year. We're about two months away from the election. And of course, there's so much focus right now on the presidential race, but honestly, just as important is what happens in Congress. And the big question right now that somebody are asking is will Republicans maintain control of the House? What do you think?

I, of course, I'm always optimistic. So yes, I think that's going to happen. I think the American people see the policies over the last four years have been absolutely devastating to the American people. And we've done what we can in the House to push back, you know, on much of the the Biden-Harris policies of this administration. But there's so much more work to be done, you know, to open up our energy, to secure our board, to get our economy working on the right track again. I've been traveling the district as everyone else has. I was talking to so many small business owners who just three years ago,

they were looking at building new buildings to expanding to hiring new people. And right now, just three years later, they've had to scratch. those plans and are digging into their personal savings to try to make payroll every month and every couple weeks. And so this is the devastating turnaround that people are living in. You know, most Americans don't get their economic news from a press conference. They get at the grocery store. And I think that's going to be the hard thing that Harris, in turn of the election,

has a hard time counteracting those facts when it comes to, when Americans go to the polls. Yeah, those economic issues certainly remain, number one, of inflation. Number one, just in the minds of voters, because you're right, across the states, all Americans are feeling it. Congressman, what about the Senate? Is there a real possibility that Republicans could win back control of the Senate? There certainly is.

You know, it's going to, of course, take people showing up and voting, you know, but the American people, you know, even the ones I talk to who are, are stick of the news. They know they're being misdeed, you know, when they watch the news, much of it. And so a lot of them have tuned out, but they're ready to show up when the election happens. And then so many others are, of course, engaging, doing what they can to get the word out and to turn out voters and do everything they can to participate in the process and make sure people are aware of what's happening. But so many of the obfuscations, the stories, the smoke screens that have been put out there,

the American people are seeing through those things in a way that, in a new way, this election cycle. And so I think that's going to make a big difference come November. Certainly, certainly. Well, a GOP Senate leader, Mitch McConnell has, of course, announced that he's stepping down from that leadership position. What do you think are the characteristics or the qualities that a new president? Senate leader should have, GOP Senate leader should have. What would you be looking for? Yeah, we need someone who recognizes that the status quo has gotten us where we are, where we're $35 trillion in debt where interest is becoming our number one spending item,

you know, every fiscal year. And someone who understands that we have got to make the big, bold choices to put our country on the right footing for the American people. It cannot be status quo is normal. We've got to get past all the D.C. map of yesterday year, all the ways we, you know, Congress has tried to make bad behavior in non-action look like action. And so, you know, ultimately that's what I think the American people are going to want to see. And they're so tired of being promised and lied to and not seeing any action. And, you know, frankly, I think President Trump's going to want somebody like that, too.

Yeah. Well, Congressman, as we've talked about, we are at a hard place in our country. It's certainly a time of issues, especially with the economy, and looking at, okay, what is the best path forward? Would you say that you're optimistic for the future of our nation? I'm ever optimistic for the future of our nation because I believe so much in our family. I think we were created with a purpose to be a city on a hill for the world. The enduring principles in our Constitution are, you know, the understanding that our inalienable rights come from God, not from government.

You know, there's been a lot of forces at work to try to get a generation or two of Americans to forget those principles. But I think there's enough people left and enough people who believe that America is worth saving and that those principles are worth fighting for. And you see a lot of people, you know, and particularly in this election, we, you know, with R.K. and Tulsi Gabbard, but it's not just the high profile. It's in the communities. We have, you know, along the South Texas border that has typically gone blue is turning red because they see the devastation daily of what happens when you have open border policies. And so, you know, you, you know, you.

you end up having a very unifying movement happening right now that are embracing these core principles, you know, and a lot of people are understanding how critical this moment in history. Certainly. Congressman Michael Cloud of Texas, Congressman, thank you so much for your time today. Really appreciate it. Sure thing. God bless you. Thank you so much.

With that, that's going to do it for today's episode. Thanks for joining us on the Daily Signal podcast. Don't forget to hit subscribe so you never miss out on any of our whole. our episodes here at the Daily Signal. And we'll see you right back here around 5 p.m. for our top news edition. The Daily Signal podcast is made possible because of listeners like you. Executive producers are Rob Lewy and Katrina Trinko. Hosts are Virginia Allen, Brian Gottstein, Tyler O'Neill, and Elizabeth Mitchell. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, John Pop, and Joseph Von Spakovsky. To learn more or support our work, please visit DailySignal.com.

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