The Sept. 30 deadline to avoid a government shutdown and fund the government through the 2026 fiscal year has both Republicans and Democrats scrambling.

Continuing resolutions have become far too common. The White House pushed for a four-month continuing resolution, which was mostly ignored. The House voted for a seven-week continuing resolution, which was subsequently voted down in the Senate. All such efforts do nothing more than “kick the can down the road” and delay hard decisions.

Given the forecasted deficits resulting from the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” financial waste is something that our nation can ill afford. With more than $37 trillion of accumulated government debt, independent of who owns such debt, the fiscal time bomb continues to tick, with budget hawks remaining as the lone voices expressing any concern.

If there is any hope that our nation will be able to climb out of its current fiscal quagmire, money spent by the government should have some positive return on investment. Of course, this does not mean that every expenditure must provide an immediate positive payback; expenditures related to healthcare and........

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