Marylanders from Germantown to Cumberland to Oakland work hard each day. They know that their livelihood depends upon being able to get things done. It’s not acceptable just to blame someone else. Results matter.
Washington should work the same way. That’s why I supported the No Budget, No Pay Act. It was pretty simple: if Congress wasn’t able to pass a budget, then members would have their pay withheld. Sounds like the real world. It didn’t matter to me whether it was a Republican or a Democratic bill. It was good policy.
Washington is broken because too many of the incentives reward bad behavior. All too often, the easiest way to get ahead or to get noticed to act super-partisan. To reform Congress, we need more commonsense ideas like No Budget, No Pay. I’ve supported reform efforts that strengthen the lobbying ban for former Members of Congress and I’ve worked to reform our elections, introducing new legislation to make the House of Representatives really representative.
We also need to change the culture. The ranting and raving and extremism is bad for the country. I’ve made it a priority to sit down with members of both parties to find common ground. The stakes are too high not to, because a lot of middle class families are struggling. Working across the aisle, I’ve brought over 40 members of each party together on a big, bold, and bipartisan jobs bill that rebuilds our country and gets people back to work. That didn’t happen by attacking the other side, it was the product of over 100 one-on-one meetings, where we worked on finding a solution.
In the real world results matter. Congress should work the same way.
– John