Houlton Pioneer Times - Looking Ahead to the Budget Conference

Op-Ed

Like most Americans, I was deeply frustrated by the government shutdown earlier this month. I found it shameful that we spent so much time debating whether or not to perform the most basic functions of our jobs: running the government and paying our bills.

That's why I teamed up with a group of my colleagues - seven Republicans, six Democrats, and me, the Independent -- to hammer out a bipartisan agreement that would end the shutdown and avert a catastrophic default on our national credit. Our initial discussions enabled the negotiation process to gain greater momentum and resulted in a compromise proposal, parts of which were adopted by the plan that ultimately reopened the government. The personal initiative, leadership, and willingness to put the good of the country ahead of party politics is what the people expect of us -- to work on their behalf.

The bipartisan agreement passed by Congress on October 17th also contained an important provision mandating the regular budget process, which has remained stagnated for the past seven months, move forward. Normally, each year both the House and Senate are required to pass individual budgets. Then, to bridge any disparities between the two proposals, members from both chambers are appointed to a special joint conference committee to work out those differences, pass a revised budget, and send it to the president for his signature.

Unfortunately, this process hasn't occurred for more than five years as the Senate has been unable pass its version of a budget in four years. This spring I'm proud to say we reversed that trend, and as a member of the Budget Committee, I was even able to help develop the Senate's budget firsthand. The proposal we produced passed the Senate in late March, yet a few Republican objections stalled the process and prevented us from proceeding to a conference committee. This political stalemate has hurt our economy and jeopardized the fiscal stability of our country.

Thankfully, the legislation enacted to reopen the federal government allows us to move past those objections and the regular budget process can continue. Moving forward, I will remain involved in the budget negotiations as I have the privilege of being among the 29 members of the Senate and House selected to serve on the conference committee. I have no illusions that reconciling the differences between the two budgets will be challenging, but it's also an invaluable opportunity for us to do some real good for the country and demonstrate to the American people that we have the ability to govern -- I look forward to participating and contributing to that effort.

I hope that history will come to judge this moment as the beginning of a new era. An era defined by cooperation, civility, and problem-solving. We all benefit from the different ideas, experiences, and values the can be found in American society and each member of Congress brings a bit of that to this institution. However, finding compromise on today's most pressing issues should not be regarded as the capitulation of one's principles. Rather it is our ability to find common ground through respectful and meaningful dialogue that strengthens the very core of what makes this country great.

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