Where are the Grown-Ups? Why We Need a No Budget, No Pay Act

It should never have come to this, but it appears that it has, indeed, come to this. We have actually reached a point in our political history where we are (rightly) pressuring Congress to pass a bill that, in effect, compels our legislative branch to execute its fundamental Constitutional responsibility to fund the operation of our government. 

Yes, you read that right.  We are at the point of having to assume the role of nagging parent, telling a child, “You cannot have your allowance unless you do your chores.”

Really, though, it is even worse than that, because the “chore” in this metaphor is no less than the funding of our government, for which reason our taxes are ostensibly paid.  It is more like the kids in the house telling their parents, “Go to work and do your job so we can eat and pay our bills!”  Although, I shudder to put myself, even metaphorically, in the position of a dependent of the Congress.

If this does not depress you, it should.  I hesitate to repeat the oft-cited statistic that the Senate has not passed a budget in over 1,000 days, because I do not want to sound like a talking head, or a pundit reciting Republican talking points, but the fact remains: the Senate has not passed a budget in over 1,000 days.  

The Senate is acting like the main character in the movie “Office Space,” who continues to earn a paycheck, and is even promoted, even though he fails to show up for work, or to do his job.  When he does show up, he is embezzling money from the company and cleaning fish on his desk in his cubicle.  The only difference is, Senators are not embezzling money, at least as far as we know.

Why should we, the people, for whom our legislators work, not demand that those same Congresspeople earn the paychecks that we provide them through our taxes?  Is that asking too much?  Surely, they can at least put a budget up for a vote, debate it, and vote on it.  Has our system become so politicized that to even undertake this fundamental legislative task, we must be plunged into the morass of partisan gridlock and political warfare?

Sadly, it seems the answer is yes.  The only way that we can force our Representatives and Senators to do their jobs, and to pass a budget, is to make their compensation dependent on the completion of that duty.  Hence, the push for the No Budget, No Pay Act, which is scheduled to receive a hearing before Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill and her colleagues on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on March 14th.

Our legislators have no one but themselves to blame for us being in this position.  They have forced our hand.  We, the people, must act like the responsible adults because someone has to do it.  We should press our legislators to hold themselves accountable by passing this Act. 

Go to NoLabels.org and encourage Senator McCaskill and the rest of your elected officials to co-sponsor the No Budget, No Pay Act. 

When our Senators and Congresspeople are doing nothing but cleaning fish on their desks in Washington, we should at least not be paying them for it.