Nero Fiddled. Washington Diddled

Nero fiddled while Rome burned.

But recently, Washington diddled while another crisis arose.

Folks may have vastly differing views on immigration, but you’ve got to be particularly hard-hearted to not be disturbed by the notion of children being separated from their parents.

But rather than swiftly dealing with this immigration and humanitarian crisis, here’s what Washington did:

The House Budget Committee approved a budget document that is utterly meaningless.

And the Trump Administration released a HUGE government reorganization proposal that is going nowhere.

On June 21, the House Budget Committee marked up its FY19 budget resolution, a document that was supposed to be considered in March or April.

I’d say the document isn’t worth the paper it is written on, but nobody prints anything anymore.

Under federal law, a budget resolution is supposed to establish a ceiling for appropriators to use to divvy up the pot of money for many federal programs. And it sometimes directs congressional committees to find savings in their programs.

That’s what’s supposed to happen.

Now, back to reality.

The House is already passing its annual spending bills. And in this tight election year, the Senate ain’t going to consider a budget resolution that will cut many popular programs.

Let’s read what House Budget Chairman Steve Womack (R-Ark.) had to say about the wonderful budget his committee considered:

“Despite an extraordinary past and an economy that is booming thanks to tax reform, there are very real fiscal challenges casting a shadow of doubt on America’s future. Since our founding, we have always confronted even our toughest challenges. This week, I am proud that the House Budget Committee advanced an optimistic, responsible and balanced vision that addresses our real challenges and builds on economic success. The Budget for a Brighter American Future truly ensures the future will be brighter for generations to come.”

Is he serious?

Since our founding we’ve always confronted our toughest challenges?

Funny, since Womack and his merry band of budgeteers are ducking the biggest challenges by passing a budget that’s not going to be implemented or enforced.

You really want to tackle our toughest challenges?

Pass a budget resolution when you’re supposed to and then try to enforce it.

Or maybe, just maybe, try to figure out how to deal with an immigration program that cages people seeking asylum and separates them from their children.

Now, onto the really, really big government reorganization program.

This must be part of the Trump Administration’s effort to “drain the swamp.”

Remember that one? The administration was going to decrease the influence of lobbyists in Washington.

How successful has that one been? Well, let’s just say that having an EPA director rent living quarters from the wife of a lobbyist at a below-market level is not draining any swamp.

Presidents love to propose government reorganization plans. And they usually go absolutely nowhere.

To start with, Congress must approve any massive shakeup of federal agencies. And any reorganization inevitably will have winners and losers on Capitol Hill.

Some committee will gain power as a result of the consolidation. And some committees will lose power because an agency under their jurisdictions has been consolidated out of existence.

And there’s the rub.

No committee members like to lose power (and the campaign contributions that come along with it). And so, they’ll fight the attempt to restructure them out of relevancy.

Any shakeup is likely to require 60 votes in the Senate – an impossible task for such a complex proposal.

So here again, Washington diddled. While children and parents were being separated with no plan on how to reunite them, the Trump Administration released a proposal that may be red meat for their allies but isn’t going anywhere.

Is it any wonder why so many people on the right and left are so cynical about our government?

We, and our leaders, are supposed to be better than this. Aren’t we?

Maxine Waters in Trouble Again

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) was likely to become chair of the House Financial Services Committee if the Democrats take over the House.

She still is, but she could be talking herself out of the job.

Members of the financial community already were nervous since Waters is an ardent supporter of Dodd-Frank and its overhaul of the financial regulatory regime.

Waters is also having a running feud with Trump. Most recently, she has called for members of the president’s cabinet to be confronted by protestors in public.

That led to the inevitable name-calling on Trump’s part. The president seems fixated on Waters’ IQ the way he once was obsessed with a former president’s birth certificate.

At a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee, she was lectured by Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas). That was expected.

But Waters’ comments also earned a stinging rebuke from House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Californian.

She didn’t mention Waters by name, but she didn’t need to.

Here’s what Pelosi said: “In the crucial months ahead, we must strive to make America beautiful again. Trump’s daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable but unacceptable. As we go forward, we must conduct elections in a way that achieves unity from sea to shining sea.”

Waters still is the odds-on favorite to gain the chairmanship if the Democrats take over the House.

There will be huge protests if she doesn’t get the job.

Nobody is going to change Maxine Waters. She’s a force that has gained the support of a new generation that refers to her as “Auntie Maxine.”

Something tells me that folks in the financial community won’t have such an affectionate nickname when – and if – she takes over the committee gavel.

David Baumann is a correspondent-at-large for CU Times. He can be reached at dbaumann@cutimes.com.