Republicans are letting us down

We cannot trust our elected Republican representatives to do what we sent them to Washington to do. We have given them a majority in both Houses of Congress for four years now and what have we received in return. Nothing, just more of the same traditional Democratic pabulum. We elect our representatives to do what we send them to Washington to do, represent us. In essence, we are their boss, we hire them and we can fire them; they just don’t seem to know it. All we ask it that they do their job.

They spend 80 percent of their time fundraising and 20 percent doing the work of the people. When they have a job, being an elected representative, they take time to run for another job while keeping the job they already have. The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 is law and dictates how our annual budget is made. Congress never stays on the budget cycle outlined in the Act, thus we have not had a signed budget for over a decade. We keep getting the same cycle; the fiscal year starts with a partial spending bill, then comes an extension, a continuing resolution, and finally an omnibus bill that funds the government for the rest of the year. Year after year we, their bosses, put up this convoluted, makeshift budget process that handcuffs all branches and department of our government.

We elected a Republican President and put Republicans majorities in both houses of Congress to make changes. So far it hasn’t happened. The House just passed their annual Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (Omnibus Spending Bill). The bill has nothing in it we elected Republicans to do for us. There is no money in it for the “wall.” The members of the House left $1.5 billion in the bill for more border security officers, $15 billion more for the military in a bill that totaled $1.1 trillion. In other words, less than 1 percent of the total Omnibus Bill went for an increase in military spending or border security. The rest of the appropriations went to fund the entire government for the remainder of the fiscal year.

This means no cuts to Planned Parenthood, the abortion provider; no cuts to foreign aid, which funnels millions to terrorist groups; no cuts in grants to states and local governments; no cuts to the EPA; and the best give away of all, $295 million to Puerto Rico for their Medicaid burden.

The Republicans have until September to get their act together. If they do not, they are through.

They need to realize they are in charge, not the Democrats. We sent them to Washington to do a job. They need to put a finger in Sen. Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s chest and explain to them that they are not the majority leaders any more. The Republicans need to put on their big boy pants and take charge. If they don’t they will surely lose millions of votes in the 2018 mid-terms, and it won’t be President Donald Trump’s fault.

Christopher Acker Delaware