Congress’ Budget Dysfunction Is More Than 4 Decades in the Making

In an eleventh-hour twist, Sen. Rand Paul protested the costs of Congress’ latest budget deal and briefly shut down the federal government. Then, in the wee hours of Feb. 9, both houses of Congress eventually voted to pass the budget deal – a bipartisan agreement to repeal expenditure limits and fund the government for the next two years, if everything goes to plan. However, Paul’s midnight brinkmanship cast a sour note on its passage. Paul had a point.