Folks who have been in Washington for a while are used to how slow the Senate can be. House freshmen haven’t been and aren’t. And Ann Marie Buerkle is issuing a call to the Senate to get back to work now:
Last week the U.S. House of Representatives spent 90 hours debating and amending the Continuing Resolution to ensure that we keep our government operational beyond March 4, 2011. It was not always pretty, but it was an open exercise in democracy that resulted in meaningful savings for taxpayers. We are shrinking Washington to grow the United States.
As I watched the Sunday talk shows yesterday, everyone seemed to be talking about the possibility of a government shutdown. I have only been here 40 days and may be new to the process, but I must wonder why the Senate is taking this week off if they are so concerned about a shutdown on March 4th.I understand that today is Presidents’ Day, but why not start work this Tuesday instead of waiting another week to get the Continuing Resolution enacted. We are about to hit the “fiscal wall”, yet the Senate is in recess.
It is now up to the Senate to work on an agreement that cuts spending, as a first step in growing the economy and creating jobs.
Given the economic state of the country, this is no time for business as usual. I urge the United States Senate to apply the same diligence the House did in executing passage of a fiscally responsible leaner Continuing Resolution.