Statement on the government shutdown from former congressional staffers

This statement is in response to breaking news. Please contact pr@rstreet.org to speak with the scholars.

Given the news of a government shutdown, the R Street Institute’s Jeremy Dalrymple, resident fellow with our governance program, and Nan Swift, also a governance team resident fellow, released the following statement:

“This shutdown was not unexpected; it is the foreseeable result of a broken appropriations process. It has become the norm for Congress to govern through stopgap continuing resolutions and last-minute omnibus bills rather than completing its work on time. To prevent shutdowns in the future, lawmakers must adopt structural reforms—such as biennial budgeting or guardrails like automatic continuing resolutions—that give lawmakers the time to deliberate and legislate without crisis.

Absent these reforms, shutdowns will keep recurring, with costs that go well beyond delayed paychecks. Shutting down the government does not shrink it. It only wastes resources, delays essential services, and leaves taxpayers footing the bill for dysfunction. Governing by crisis also undermines transparency and weakens oversight. Instead of being guided by deliberate appropriations, agencies can operate unchecked, and Congress loses time for hearings, investigations, and policy development.

There are bipartisan solutions already on the table, from the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act to biennial budgeting models that states have successfully implemented. True fiscal responsibility requires more than brinkmanship. It requires a functioning, predictable appropriations process that strengthens Congress as the first branch and restores accountability to the federal government.”