WASHINGTON — One crisis averted, on to the next.
The day after Congress managed to avoid a government shutdown — again — Republicans and Democrats stared ahead Tuesday at major fights over spending that underscore a deep divide that’s sure to define the 2012 national elections.
Monday night, lawmakers had postponed their dispute over whether billions for disaster aid must be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the budget, finessing a pact to keep the government operating.
But Tea Party-driven Republicans are still insisting on significant spending cuts this fall, with some arguing that a hard- fought congressional agreement this summer to fund the government at $1.043 trillion in 2012 was too generous. Democrats, many of whom complained of too many concessions and reductions in this year’s showdowns, are furiously trying to protect government programs.
The next skirmish will be over how and where to spend the new year’s budget, with a Nov. 18 deadline.
President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs proposal that would cut payroll taxes and increase spending on school construction and other infrastructure already has divided the parties. But the next really big deal is the special 12-member bipartisan deficit-reduction panel and whether it can come up with a plan to slash $1.5 trillion over 10 years by Nov. 23 — the day before Thanksgiving.
These fights will unfold against the backdrop of a feeble economy that Obama is desperate to jump-start as he pushes for a second term, and an exasperated electorate that looks at Washington and dislikes what it sees.
“The heat will be on, the heat from the American people,” said former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, who believes Americans struggling economically will be asking, “Why stretch us out like this?”
Lawmakers also will be under pressure from political factions demanding that they stand firm for party beliefs.
“You have to support getting control of excessive spending and debt,” said Sal Russo, a longtime Republican operative and founder of the Tea Party Express, a well-funded wing of the populist movement. “Are you helping to solve the problem or making it worse?”
Shortly after Senate votes Monday, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., thanked party leaders “for helping the Democratic Party find the backbone it needed to fight and win this debate.”
The disaster-aid dispute was resolved relatively quickly after a standoff between Democrats and Republicans. The fight, however, was an unpleasant reminder to most Americans of the last-minute maneuvering in April to avert a shutdown and the August showdown over raising the nation’s borrowing authority that left financial markets unnerved.
Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, said he traveled across his home state of Illinois last weekend and that when Americans “see us break down into another cussing match over shutting down the government, they say, ‘For goodness sake, grow up, group up and accept your responsibility.’ ”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the “entire fire drill was completely unnecessary.”
