Washington's Functionality to Be Tested in 2016_美文

Washington's Functionality to Be Tested in 2016

"If you see a candidate who Washington embraces, run and hide," said Senator Ted Cruz at a recent campaign event in Alabama. "If you think Washington is fundamentally broken, that there is a bipartisan corruption of career politicians in both parties that get in bed with the lobbyists and special interests and grow and grow and grow Washington... that is what this campaign is all about!"

Return to old norms

The congressional leaders are on the turn.

"As Congress works in the new year, I want to make sure that we get back to what is called 'regular order' so that we have a system that operates like the founders intended," Speaker Ryan said.

"The speaker and I had a number of conversations," said the Senate's minority leader, Democrat Harry Reid. "He wants to do appropriation bills; I want to do appropriation bills. And there is no reason we can't."

Congress has not funded the governments through committee by committee spending bills since Bill Clinton was president.

"This big bill we just passed was $1.1 trillion (of spending) in one bill. That's not the way to do business. And so we are going to try our best not to end up in that situation again," he said.

McConnell will need help from Democrats, who have designs of their own for next year.

"We can only hope that our Republican colleagues will be as cooperative a minority as we were this year when Democrats take back the Senate in 2016," said Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer.