Mark McKinnon, co-founder of the nonpartisan group “No Labels,” said it’s no wonder lawmakers are getting out of Dodge.
“No Labels shares Sen. Snowe’s frustration with the polarization and gridlock that is gripping Capitol Hill,” McKinnon said. “Too many competent legislators have retired from Congress for the same reason as Sen. Snowe. They’re sick and tired of being trapped in a rotten system.”
It’s time for members of Congress to quit shirking their responsibilities and do their work. If members of Congress can’t make spending and budget decisions on time, they shouldn’t get paid on time either — just like the rest of us.
Apparently the people we send to Washington to set priorities and make decisions - don't. And there is virtually no accountability and no enforcement mechanism for the millions of frustrated citizens who have had enough of dysfunctional leadership.
Until now.
When our elected representatives aren't doing the job the way we feel they should be, it's our responsibility to demand that they do.
In order to change the incentive structure for Congress, No Labels has put forth a simple idea to start with: no budget, no pay.
By Former Senators George Voinovich (R-OH) and Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Unfortunately, both today and while we were in office, Congress has simply been unable to deliver on one of its most fundamental responsibilities -- passing, on time, the spending bills necessary to fund and run the government.
In my opinion, Congress’ most basic responsibility is deciding how much money the government takes in and how much it spends. Congress only passed all government spending bills on time four times since 1952 and it has been more than 1,000 days since Congress passed a concurrent budget resolution.
Co-Founder Dave Walker discusses No Budget, No Pay on Bloomberg Radio
By Rep. Reid J. Ribble
Americans are fed up with Congress, and they have every right to be.
Jonathan Miller talks about the No Budget, No Pay Act on KMOX NewsRadio 1120 AM's "Total Information AM" in St. Louis, Missouri.
