The right of the new Congress to pass a budget

In the coming weeks there will be some agreement or at least there needs to be on establishing a budget to keep the government funded into the future. This should be a short term continuing resolution until the new Congress is in session. It is the right of the newly elected legislature from the last election to make the decisions as to what the budget should contain or not contain. It should not be the current legislative membership ruling on something for the period in which they will not be in a position to make those decisions. Some may say that Congress has a responsibility to establish a budget but there has not been a budget in years. The Senate has not had a budget in years and it needs to change and probably will with the new legislative body taking over in January.

As in any election there are going to be individuals who will no longer be in their current positions. While some decisions need to be made in a lame duck session of Congress critical decisions should not be made affecting the structure and funding of government. Decisions such as budget priorities should not be made to the extent that they are making decisions for individuals who have been elected for which they have no authority or responsibility.

Issues have been on the table for which Congress has been in a state that there has been gridlock. Voters and citizens as a result of the recent election have sent a strong message they are not satisfied with decisions made or not made by Congress. A two party system is part of our political heritage but when one party ignores their constitutional responsibilities such as honoring the Constitution individuals who are part of this philosophy need to be replaced. This is what has occurred as identified in the results of the mid-term election.

Legislative bills/actions by the House of Representatives have been ignored by the Senate and while the same has been true of the House in some cases the level in the House fails in comparison to the volume ignored by the leadership of the Senate. Some may say that discussing legislative actions have no place in an article on budget responsibilities and authority but it does. Each legislative action impacts the overall budget. Each proposal affects the budget either positively or negatively.

As previously indicated many legislative proposals by the House have been ignored by the Senate some of which appears to address actions needed to spark the economy into a recovery mode. The difference between the actions being held up for a vote within the House appears to be one of a dictatorial action to force one legislative body to accept something that may be unacceptable based upon public opinion on specific issues. Congress and both legislative bodies need to understand the concerns of the American public regarding specific issues and not ignore them by passing legislation contrary to what the public wants. It is one thing to say that there is bi-partisan support for legislative proposals but quite another to prove the support exists. One vote or a few votes for a legislative proposal does not constitute real bi-partisan support. This goes for both political parties.
The message sent by the voters in the last election is quite clear they want a new direction for the country than the path it is currently on. Individuals who have been newly elected to Congress appear to project that the current culture of Congress will be different than in years past. This is based upon appearances and statements made by those elected. There is much work which needs to be done and many issues to be resolved. The prospect of legislative proposals being retrieved from their dark hole in the Senate and getting a vote up or down on the proposals is a positive change. All individuals now serving us in Congress and those who will be serving us in the new Congress must remember one thing. They are there to serve us not dictate to us with regards to making decisions for us. There are exceptions when dealing with some specific issues as the public may not have access to information on specific issues an example of which involves national security.