United We Stand, Divided We Fall

We need to stop the madness in Washington DC as the US Government was shut down for 2 weeks and we almost defaulted on the US Debt. It is not about the players, it is about the process. The points of time and the process when real negotiations occur over budget allocations, deficit reduction, and debt levels need to change. I suggest passing two bills. The first, a permanent No Budget No Pay Act. In that bill, the FY 2014 budget must be passed by February 28, 2014, the FY 2015 budget by June 30, 2014, and subsequent budgets must be passed by June 30 each year-3 months before the start of each new budget year. This allows time for proper planning and implementation of these budgets. It also penalizes the responsible parties for bad behavior rather than the rest of the country. If Congress fails to pass the budget and the President fails to sign it, the Congress and each member’s 3 highest paid staffers, the President, his cabinet, and the 3 highest paid staffers in each department will not be paid until such a budget is passed. No retroactive pay would be provided.
The second bill allows the US Debt ceiling to increase automatically as required by the financial needs of the US without Congressional approval. However, the bill requires the permanent No Budget No Pay Bill provisions to be followed. It also requires a 5 year balanced budget to be passed by Congress by December 31, 2014 with a balanced budget or surplus achieved in FY 2020. Subsequently, the bill requires a balanced budget over each 10 year period or economic cycle. Finally, the bill also requires Congress to take action if the Social Security Disability and Retirement or Medicare programs are not solvent for 75 years based upon the report of the fiduciaries of those funds. Their report is usually received in May each year. Congress would have to act by December 31 of each year to meet the solvency deficits each year. If Congress fails to act on any of these fiscal requirements, and the President fails to sign them into law, the Congress and each member’s 3 highest paid staffers, the President, his cabinet, and the 3 highest paid staffers in each department will not be paid until such actions are taken. No retroactive pay would be provided.
These bills will change the dynamic in Washington D.C. as they require the Congress and the President to address the budget and entitlement issues on a timely and on-going basis. No longer will these negotiations involve a US government shutdown or US debt default but instead require a focus on the budget, the deficit, and the US debt level, the real issues facing our country.
Harry Pukay-Martin