Op-Ed: Government shutdown—The cost of congressional inaction

Tracy Zea.

By Tracy Zea, President & CEO, Waterways Council Inc. (WCI)

Niels Bohr, the Danish theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922, said, “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” While he may have been referring to physics, this could not be more pertinent to current-day politics as well.

At press time, the federal government is in a shutdown, with federal workers furloughed. House and Senate GOP members want to pass a “clean” Continuing Resolution (CR) that runs through November 21, but Democrats remain staunch in voting down the CR proposal in hopes to negotiate on the extension of Obamacare subsidies that will expire at the end of 2025.  As of now, it looks like neither side will blink and this shutdown will beat the 2018 record of 35 days.

Again, these issues are impossible to predict, but one thing that is certain is the rancor within Congress grows more tense and the blame game finger-pointing on who owns the shutdown—Democrats or Republicans—becomes sharper each day.

Currently the inland waterways are not seeing a tremendous impact from the shutdown. Recent guidance issued by the Corps of Engineers noted that only 1,119 employees are furloughed. For contracts, there is a section within the guidance stating that the Corps may enter into new contracts for issues related to threats to national security and the protection of life and property. There could be a case to be made for dredging the river in the interest of national security.

The impact of a short-term CR is that it follows what is known as the “least of” rule and because the President’s FY26 did not recommend funding for inland waterways construction, no funding would be available during a short-term CR. Under a full-year CR, inland projects would be eligible for funding, but how much is decided by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, which has traditionally been austere with inland waterways funding.

Key inland projects impacted?

Also, CRs preclude the use of Congressional earmarks, so funding that was requested for key inland waterways projects under construction such as Montgomery and Chickamauga Locks, are not guaranteed funding.

Lack of consistent funding for inland projects could set them back years and increase their costs over the long term. The inland waterways construction program has been fortunate that Congress has provided more than $5.33 billion above the President’s annual budget requests since 2010. But unfortunately, the inland waterways system has only the Olmsted Lock and Dam project and a Major Rehabilitation at LaGrange Lock and Dam to show for it. Currently, there are six active construction projects, two projects in active design, and eight projects awaiting funding to begin project design work.

On the shutdown, WCI continues to stay in close communication with Corps’ Headquarters in Washington, DC, the Corps’ Divisions and Districts, and the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works), as well as with our members.

It is our hope that Congress can get back to regular order, and the inland waterways that provide many opportunities to its range of beneficiaries will be funded fully, efficiently, and consistently ahead.