EDITORIAL: Republicans should follow Trump’s lead and reject a costly Reconciliation offset trap
Republicans finally have a clear path to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security by moving the funding through reconciliation and doing it fast. President Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R., S.D.), and Sen. Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) are right to resist efforts to complicate that plan with new offset requirements.
The reason that offsets should not be required is that this is not a normal reconciliation exercise. We are here because Democrats have shown a willingness to shut down DHS to force a return to Biden-era border policies. That has forced Congress to find another path or allow funding to be held hostage.
What Republicans are doing is effectively using reconciliation to complete an appropriations process in a way that gets around Democratic obstruction. By using reconciliation to pass DHS funding, Congress can bypass the Democrats’ filibuster. Just as we would not require offsets in a standard appropriations process, we should not create a new precedent of requiring them here.
President Trump has also been clear that DHS needs to be funded quickly. Expanding this effort to include offsets or unrelated provisions risks derailing it. As Senators know well, once a reconciliation bill expands, it becomes a magnet for fighting, disputes, and Democrats’ chance to poke holes in the bill. Every new proposal brings out more lobbyists and more opposition. This would result in delays and ultimately in the vote failing.
Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.) has called for offsets because of his sincere and longheld concerns over the fiscal state. His concerns are legitimate. But applying it in this unique context risks setting this effort up to fail. Republicans have the votes and the procedural tool that are needed, so they should use both and get this done.
If Reconciliation fails and Democrats continue to force TSA workers to work without pay, we risk a political catastrophe that would give the left more power and put us in a far worse fiscal position.
Chuck Flint, executive director of the Coalition for Affordability and Prosperity, told the Reporter, “Because of the unique nature of this reconciliation, Republicans should get this done fast before it becomes too complicated and falls apart.”
As a former Senate chief of staff, Flint understands the process. Republicans should follow that advice and avoid giving Democrats an opening.
