Congress May Be in Over Its Head : Now that Iraq has landed on top of the budget

During a mid-1800s tour of the United States, author Charles Dickens was as upset by Washington’s sense of priorities as he was by anything he found in a sprawling young nation.

Making a good speech, he wrote in his journal, was more important to American politicians than making good policy. In the 150 years since Dickens’ grand tour, Washington hasn’t changed much.

During the heady days of 1989 and early 1990, with communism and the Cold War fading in Europe, Congress and the White House contented themselves with making good speeches on the need to change the U.S. defense structure rather than with actually making the changes.

Came summer and Congress went on holiday after a series of good speeches on cutting the budget deficit, cleaning up America’s dirty air, straightening out energy policy and rebuilding defense forces to fit threats other than nuclear war. Very good speeches.

Now, the onset of an economic recession and the Middle East crisis created by Saddam Hussein’s piracy of Kuwait have swept aside any hope of making good policy in many of the areas that Congress let slide, the budget deficit and defense policy first among them.

There is even less hope that, in the new atmosphere, Congress will be able to focus on policies not directly involved in the Middle East crisis, including civil rights, housing and farm legislation.

It can be argued that wasting good time early this year did no great harm because earlier decisions might need reworking in light of recent events. The White House and Congress agreed in principle weeks ago that it would take both tax increases and budget cuts to lower the deficit to acceptable levels. Economists generally agree now that raising taxes in the foreseeable future, when the economy may be starting to stall, looks more likely to tip it into a spin.

Congress also may look more favorably on legislation to raise gasoline mileage for automobiles than it might have before the Middle East mess spurred oil prices more than $30 a barrel.

But there is an ample supply of clouds to go with any silver linings. Sensible decisions on where to shift emphasis in America’s armed forces may be impossible if any proposal to transfer funds from one military program to another can be made to sound like cutting the ground from under American troops in the Middle East. Having to show at least some reduction in the federal deficit may produce decisions in an adjournment panic that cut domestic programs to levels that will mean genuine hardship for Americans who depend on them.

Other decisions may not be made at all, because Washington is not good at dealing with more than one crisis at a time. But crucial decisions must be made on such issues as the savings and loan scandal, pesticides, child care and foreign aid.

One positive prospect is that Congress and the White House may stick together rather than quarreling over U.S. policy in the Middle East. But history, as Dickens saw it, does not guarantee that they can resist a good speech even if it is bad policy.