Congress is willing to furlough their own staffers along with more than 800,000 federal workers, while they suffer no monetary loss at all. If they think it is okay to shut the government down (or not raise the debt ceiling), then they should be the first ones to suffer from it.

The people of the USA should be top priority! Shutting down our government for a law that has been passed is effecting the everyday life and morale of our country. Citizens are being effected by a Congress that wants to spite our President and in turn afflict their anger on the people for whom this country was built. Congress works for the people, and they have let us down!

Is it unacceptable that our elected officials are still getting paid while parts of our government have been completely shut down. There needs to be a harsh penalty when the grandstanding agenda of a few affects so many of us taxpaying citizens. I declare that if the government shuts down, Senators, Representatives, and the President should not be paid their salary, be permitted to expense anything at the taxpayer's expense, nor should they leave Washington, D.C. until there is a resolution to the shutdown. Enough is enough.

The US Congress has become non functional to the detriment of the American people, our allies and international partners. This cannot continue as it has now for years. The congress is now unable to even reach a compromise on such a trivial matter as a six week continuing resolution. It is time for the American people to stand up and let these folks know that we will not stand for their childish, foolish and despicable behavior. The American people deserve representatives that can effectively identify issues, negotiate between the various interests and arrive at reasonable compromise that benefits the country as a whole.

The government has shut down for the first time in seventeen years. Congress is broken, and they have no incentive to break the gridlock. We need to incentivize them to compromise, which means that they should suffer the same fate as hundreds of thousands of government employees: furloughs. It is unethical for Congress to be making decisions for others that don't actually affect them personally.

The government shutdown by the GOP constitutes gross malfeasance. This needless action has placed 800,000 federal employees on indefinite furlough without pay. It is the responsibility of Congress to pass a budget and keep our government funded. They have utterly failed to do this, so they should have their pay suspended until they are able to do their job. NO BUDGET, NO PAY!

The American people are suffering from loss of pay and the unavailability of federal institutions. If other federal employees lose their pay, so should the Congressmen who made this choice.

My house is falling apart and my taxes are too high to afford, even though my husband and I both work. I have a friend who doesn't have health insurance and is worried daily about getting sick. We need to stand up to big money, and the politicians who are holding the government ransom, and get back to what this country is about--the people.

The working class always has to suffer when Congress is too selfish to compromise over government spending. They work for US! When they allow a government shutdown, or make any other decision causing hardworking Americans to suffer, they too should suffer and not get paid.

To ensure lawmakers share the pain they inflict upon their constituents in the hope that they'll think twice before doing so in the future.

Incentivize Congress to compromise to pass budgets on time and save money while helping our elected officials better relate to the daily stresses of their constituents.

We the people don't control anything anymore: not our banks, not our privacy, not our food systems, not our education. This is the example of "democracy" that we're setting for the world to follow. Join me in petitioning Congress to take up a bill that enables the people who elected them to recall wayward Congressmen and hold them accountable to the job they were elected to do.