Free and Fair Trade Issue Essay

Proposed Stopgap Spending Bill

Budgetary changes are common in the public administration field. Governments make budgetary changes as part of public governance based on various factors relating to serving the interests of the public. However, the process of making budgetary changes is sometimes characterized by political issues and partisan approaches. Policymakers or politicians differ on the measures adopted by the government or public sector organization when proposing changes in the budget. This paper examines a recent publication regarding proposed budgetary change and how the change affects a particular population. The discussion includes an evaluation of the source as well as a personal opinion on the issue.

Summary of the Article

Cochrane (2020) published an article on the differing opinions between Democrats and Republicans regarding a recent spending bill. The recent looming government shutdown prompted Congressional leaders to enact a stopgap spending bill to mitigate the impacts of the shutdown. Prior to the creation of this bill, President Trump has promised farmers relief worth billions of dollars. However, Democrats established a measure that omitted this promise due to the impact of President Trump Administration’s trade policies and the coronavirus pandemic. The move generated a dispute between Republicans and Democrats at a time when they were almost reaching a bipartisan deal on the measure (Cochrane, 2020). The emerging dispute threatens efforts by these lawmakers to reach an agreement that would prevent a lapse in government funding once the fiscal year ends on September 30, 2020.

Democrats hesitated to add more money in the Community Credit Corporation package on grounds that President Trump was seeking to use it as his personal piggy bank to provide incentives to a politically potent constituency weeks before the 2020 presidential elections. On the contrary, Republicans argue that Democrats disgracefully omitted key support and relief needed by American farmers. Congressional Republicans supported the Administration’s effort to ensure farmers continue obtaining payments by providing agriculture funding. In this case, they sought to provide such funding at a time…

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…on some of the issues Congressional leaders face in their policymaking initiatives. Therefore, the source provides high-quality and reliable information on this issue.

I believe that the dispute between Democrats and Republicans regarding the agricultural funding in the proposed stopgap spending bill is an example of how politics affects the lawmaking process. As evident in this case, the underlying reason for Democrats’ opposition to the funding is its potential impact on politics and this year’s presidential election, which is weeks away. Therefore, politics plays a major role in decisions and positions taken by lawmakers when making policies. While Congressional Republicans support the agriculture funding on the premise that it would provide necessary support and relief to American farmers, the potential political benefits from this funding also influences their decisions and position on the issue. On the other hand, Democrats seemingly acknowledge the need for American farmers to obtain relief and support given the impacts of the pandemic. However, they oppose attempts to offer such relief and support…