Our congressman, Derek Kilmer, has sponsored legislation intended to light a fire under a recalcitrant Congress that refuses to get with the program and start behaving on behalf of our country instead of against it.
A bill he sponsored, HR 187, titled “No Budget, No Pay,” calls on Congress to act to approve a budget, and not just for another month.
This bill would stipulate that if they can’t pass a budget, they don’t get paid. Period.
It is disgusting that they insult the American people by using this cheap shot in the service of their partisan politics to create economic havoc. Here are Congressman Kilmer’s own words on the topic:
“We’ve gone from the ‘fiscal cliff’ of a few years ago to fiscal mountain range of persistent dysfunction. While there have been rare exceptions, Congress has persistently taken a short-term approach rather than making responsible decisions that address our long-term fiscal challenges. That approach has created uncertainty for federal agencies and for private industry,” Kilmer said in a Sept. 19 email newsletter to constituents.
“If you’re like me, you’re impatient with these budgetary fights. As you may know, I feel so strongly about the need for a long term budget, I’ve sponsored legislation known as ‘No Budget, No Pay’ which says that if Congress doesn’t do its job and pass a budget, members of Congress shouldn’t get paid.”
This means that federal employees never know if they’re going to get paid or not and leaves farmers and small businesses not knowing if they will have the backing they depend on from federal agencies.
Perhaps in the coming election, some of these recalcitrant cretins will be voted out of office and be replaced by people who actually want to help our country.
Tracy McCallum,
Port Angeles