Editorial: Government shutdown not avoided, just punted

Let’s not celebrate the last minute aversion of a government shutdown too quickly.

After weeks of growing concern about the federal crisis, the U.S. House of Representatives was even more divided than usual by the time a successful vote was taken Saturday afternoon. Pennsylvania’s federal legislators came together when it was necessary. Only U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-Dauphin County, voted against the temporary bill. U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Blair County, did not vote.

That kicked the issue back to the Senate with just hours to go before the government ground to an unpaid halt.

With about three hours to spare, the bill moved along to President Joe Biden. He signed it shortly before the midnight deadline.

That headed off a long list of real time consequences that would have hit more than Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania has 72,000 federal employees who staff congressional offices, provide security at airports, deliver mail and inspect railroads among other things. Those people would have gone without paychecks.

Families that depended on Women, Infants and Children supplemental nutrition programs that give things like formula to babies and peanut butter and milk to pregnant women could have been affected as that program ran out of money. Veterans Affairs programs could be restricted. The spending bill wasn’t just about math and law; it was about hundreds of thousands of lives in Western Pennsylvania alone.

But the passed bill means people get paid, kids eat and veterans get their necessary services. We can all relax — temporarily.

The package just punts the problem until Nov. 17. It fixes a flat tire with duct tape.

To have this be meaningful, it has to result in change. There have to be concerted efforts to find a permanent solution from the beginning rather than at the bitter end.

Pennsylvanians need to make sure their leaders value decisions that prioritize the needs of real people over Democratic versus Republican Party politics or GOP faction in-fighting.