Time trouble
Congress reconvenes today, and after the August doldrums, we will suddenly stir into frenetic activity reminiscent of nothing so much as a chess time scramble.
Tournament chessplayers have a fixed interval to make a move quota (such as forty moves in two hours). But though they could allot their time in equal increments, both position complexity and human procrastination result in a slow move pace early in the game,
Enough time to stretch while the opponent thinks ….
leaving the player with progressively less time for each remaining move. As time trouble gives way to time pressure, the moves come ever faster, and if both players are in a time scramble, the moves are slammed down until, suddenly, they both pass the time control, the smoke clears, and the players settle down for another lengthy chess think.
Well, that’s clear enough, isn’t it?
[1-0 denotes that White defeated Black]
Congress, having enjoyed a long hot August of trivia, now returns for an intense time pressure situation. The Federal fiscal year ends September 30, when Congress is scheduled to adjourn, leaving only 19 legislative days to resolve such critical housing matters as:
- Section 8 reform, and whether the program will be block-granted.
- Section 8 funding, and whether funding will once again be cut.
- GSE reform, reconciling House and Senate versions (including the affordable housing half-tithing fund) with Administration wishes.
Then there’s a Supreme Court nominee to vet and vote on, the Patriot Act to renew or not, and all twelve Federal FY 06 appropriations bills to reconcile, including HUD’s. And of course, dealing with the reconstruction of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina will be a first priority among the many obstacles our distinguished elected officials must cope with.
“Let’s see, which bill should I defer reconciling today?”
Chess time scrambles lead to blunders. Political time scrambles lead at best to technical corrections, at worst to political blunders.
It’s going to be a frenetic September.
“To retain respect for sausages and laws, one must not watch them in the making.” – Otto von Bismarck.
He didn’t believe in democracy ….
