To: Rep. Doug Lamborn (CO-5)
United States House of Representatives: Stop holding the country hostage!
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I understand that this country has financial problems, truly I do. We must find a way to overcome our current financial problems before it causes much deeper problems that will affect this country for generations to come.
You, as a member of Congress, are charged with the responsibility of finding a workable solution which also represents the will of the people who elected you. If you feel that current laws, such as President Obama's healthcare reform law, do not represent the views of your constituents, it is your responsibility to use the legislative process to make changes that do represent those views.
Be that as it may, shutting the government down and collecting a paycheck while you demand that laws which you don't agree with be repealed or defunded is not the way to solve the problem. The healthcare reform bill was passed by Congress and signed by the President. Changing it should be done through the standard legislative process--not through taking the country hostage, demands for change with accompanying threats of continued shutdown, and cuts to the paychecks of people who have no direct power to do anything about it.
I'm disappointed in Congress, and I want you to know that I blame the Republicans, and specifically the Republicans in the United States House of Representatives for this particular problem. This is not a question of fighting for what is right, like many in Congress would have us believe. You betrayed your constituents, and in particular, you've betrayed all of the government workers who have been furloughed as a result of your actions. You have done this in order to advance your own agenda, it's as simple as that.
The fact that you continue to be paid out of our tax dollars even as you betray us is reprehensible.
You, as a member of Congress, are charged with the responsibility of finding a workable solution which also represents the will of the people who elected you. If you feel that current laws, such as President Obama's healthcare reform law, do not represent the views of your constituents, it is your responsibility to use the legislative process to make changes that do represent those views.
Be that as it may, shutting the government down and collecting a paycheck while you demand that laws which you don't agree with be repealed or defunded is not the way to solve the problem. The healthcare reform bill was passed by Congress and signed by the President. Changing it should be done through the standard legislative process--not through taking the country hostage, demands for change with accompanying threats of continued shutdown, and cuts to the paychecks of people who have no direct power to do anything about it.
I'm disappointed in Congress, and I want you to know that I blame the Republicans, and specifically the Republicans in the United States House of Representatives for this particular problem. This is not a question of fighting for what is right, like many in Congress would have us believe. You betrayed your constituents, and in particular, you've betrayed all of the government workers who have been furloughed as a result of your actions. You have done this in order to advance your own agenda, it's as simple as that.
The fact that you continue to be paid out of our tax dollars even as you betray us is reprehensible.
Why is this important?
The extremism and the willingness of Congress to play games with the lives of its constituents has had a major impact on me.
I am a federal employee, working for the U.S. Air Force. On Tuesday morning, a gentleman came to my desk to tell me he had something he needed to read to me. I am blind, so I can't read printed documents without assistance. This gentleman had a furlough notice to read to me, because Congress had chosen to let the government be shut down rather than pass a continuing resolution and then work out their differences.
As the gentleman placed his finger on the document, indicating where I should sign to show that I understood what was being done, all I could think about was how I'm going to pay my bills while Congress collects paychecks and continues to bargain with the livelihoods of over 800,000 people in situations similar to mine.
One word rises to the surface of my thoughts whenever I think about this--unacceptable!
I am a federal employee, working for the U.S. Air Force. On Tuesday morning, a gentleman came to my desk to tell me he had something he needed to read to me. I am blind, so I can't read printed documents without assistance. This gentleman had a furlough notice to read to me, because Congress had chosen to let the government be shut down rather than pass a continuing resolution and then work out their differences.
As the gentleman placed his finger on the document, indicating where I should sign to show that I understood what was being done, all I could think about was how I'm going to pay my bills while Congress collects paychecks and continues to bargain with the livelihoods of over 800,000 people in situations similar to mine.
One word rises to the surface of my thoughts whenever I think about this--unacceptable!