The $1.3 trillion budget passed last week is expected to push our national debt to over $22 trillion, and this is only a six-month budget.
Since 2007, the country has found itself held captive by feuding political gridlock. Nowhere in our history have we consistently seen this much-mismanaged legislation.
Instead of working on a realistic budget, both sides claim to be held hostage to giving up a lot just to get a little.
It’s long past time to remove the safety net that allows Congress to pass last-minute legislation none have read, and no one knows for sure what’s in it.
If the voters expect to see stronger Congressional management of this nation’s spending, then we better get serious about it pretty darn quick.
We must demand that the Senate return to a majority rule vote to send legislation to the president’s desk and not regularly stalled without 60 members in favor.
We need the line item veto, allowed by many states which provide the elected executive a final opportunity to reject certain aspects of legislation deemed objectionable before signing into law. The president must be the adult in the room who is capable of doing more than thumbs up or down.
Votes in favor or opposed as well as presidential vetoes will have significant consequences.
Without placing true accountability on lawmaker’s shoulders, they will continue to spend us into oblivion, all to satisfy political partisanship and not the country as a whole.
We’ve allowed them to divide into opposing sides. We end that charade by becoming independent thinkers and no longer allowing the parties to play us against each other.
Winning or losing will now matter greatly. The result should be passing good legislation that best serves the country and earn the faith we’ve placed in them.
Congress will return to seeking solutions instead of playing cat and mouse. The Senate will be forced to take action on legislation passed by Congress, and neither party can play spoiler unless they have the majority of the country behind them.
As voters we must vote for the person who we believe can perform as promised regardless of party.
Individual votes on ill-conceived legislation will have serious consequence for those who passed it.
Republicans and Democrats will be required to vote independently of the traditional party lines, and votes will have significant meaning without the filibuster option to hide behind.