The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Made ICE Shutdown-Proof and Eroded Fiscal Norms
English Summary
The CATO article examines how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has effectively insulated Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from government shutdowns by shifting its funding from annual discretionary appropriations to multi-year mandatory spending. By providing $75 billion in budget authority—seven times ICE’s typical annual budget—legislators utilized the reconciliation process to bypass traditional fiscal checks and balances. This shift significantly erodes Congressional oversight, as agencies no longer need annual legislative approval to operate, while weakening the minority party's ability to extract policy concessions. Ultimately, this precedent encourages fiscal irresponsibility and institutional norm erosion, as future administrations may similarly exploit reconciliation to bypass budgetary trade-offs.
中文摘要
這篇卡托研究所（CATO）的文章探討了《單一宏偉法案》（OBBBA）如何透過將資金來源從年度裁量性撥款轉向多年期強制性支出，有效地使美國移民及海關執法局（ICE）免受政府停擺的影響。透過提供 750 億美元的預算授權（達 ICE 往常年度預算的七倍），立法者利用預算協調程序規避了傳統的財政制衡機制。這種轉變顯著削弱了國會監督，因相關機構運作不再需要年度立法核准，同時也削弱了少數黨爭取政策讓步的能力。最終，這一先例助長了財政不負責任的行為與制度規範的侵蝕，因為未來的政府可能會同樣利用預算協調程序來規避預算的權衡取捨。
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