Once again, Congress has left the building.Lawmakers skipped town for the August recess without passing legislation that would fund the government past the Oct. 1 deadline.By blocking the defense spending bill on June 18, Senate Democrats fulfilled their promise to bottle up the appropriations process until the Republicans start budget negotiations to end sequestration once and for all.Before they left town, members of Congress on both sides of the aisle were buzzing with talk of another government shutdown.Could it really happen again?Yes, according to Congressional leaders.Democrats are opposed to the GOP maneuver that added $38 billion to the military’s Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) fund because it only adds money for defense and not for domestic programs.Since the OCO fund is not subject to budget caps, this would allow the Pentagon to work around sequestration spending caps enacted by the 2011 Budget Control Act.Republicans contend that national security is so important that it cannot wait for Congress to hash out a budget deal.They intend to use the Democrat’s strategy against them by painting them as anti-military and holding the military hostage in order to get more money for non-defense programs.Added to the mix is the government’s announcement that the United States must increase the debt ceiling by November or December or the government will risk defaulting on payments that it is legally obligated to make.The clock also ran out on negotiators who hoped to pass the defense authorization bill before the August recess.Items of contention include increases in prescription co-payments and housing allowances for the military.These provisions were included in the Senate’s version of the authorization bill, but not the House version.In a recent article in The Hill newspaper, AUSA President Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, USA, Ret., said, "There are consequences from leaving the military adrift and undirected, not the least of which is a sense of unease bordering on irrelevance among the good, honest people who have dedicated themselves to military service."Good people are deciding to leave our military because they have lost confidence in the government’s commitment to their future."This pessimism results from endless bickering over defense spending levels and from the sense of discouragement felt in a generation of warriors who now hear a constant drumbeat of complaints that taking care of soldiers and their families has become too expensive."Lawmakers return to Washington the second week of September.The time for political brinkmanship is over. It’s time to act responsibly, work together and get the job done.