What would you do after approving a three week budget for the federal government? Well, if you answered, "Have Congress take ten days off," then you are the winner.
Lawmakers are now gone until March 28, which means they will return with less than two weeks to put together a budget bill for the rest of this fiscal year.
When the calendar hits March 31, we will be halfway through the fiscal year - without final action on a budget.
Democrats barely tried to pass a budget last year when they were in charge, and the Congress is still dealing with that failure now in 2011.
As both parties left town, they pointed the finger at each other in this budget fight.
"Democrats control the Senate and the White House, and they remain the majority party in Washington," said Speaker John Boehner. "Where is their plan? Who is in charge?"
"Today’s vote starts the clock," said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, referring to the three week duration of this latest stop gap budget.
"Democrats have proved we are committed to reducing spending by bringing $51 billion in smart cuts to the table," said Reid, becoming the latest politician to use fake budget figures (from both parties) in this debate.
"We all agree we want to cut spending, which is why we have already met Republicans halfway," said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, repeating another budget line that has been proven wrong as well.
"The President is optimistic that Congress can get this done," Carney concluded.
That kind of talk is pretty cheap in the halls of Congress, as everyone says nice things about cutting a deal, but nobody has really offered new anything in weeks.
While the Senate voted on competing budget plans, it wasn't a real debate, as neither party was allowed to offer amendments and try to find ways to cut certain items, as was done in the week-long debate in the House.
Will we have a full scale debate in the House on the budget anytime soon?
Well, after watching Democrats avoid a series of votes this week in the Senate on a series of budget matters and some policy disputes involving the EPA, that answer might be 'No' in the short term.
Have a good break Congress. You need some time to reflect on why no one will cut a budget deal.
