The Founding Fathers wanted to create a system of government where power comes from the people. 250 years later, we are still experiencing a power struggle that does not resemble what the framers originally intended. One major factor in this struggle is the United States Senate.
The Declaration of Independence, one of the most important documents in American history, emphasizes the rights of the American people to abolish any government that does not serve them:
“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.“
There, in one of our founding documents, is the solution to today’s problem. Alter is the keyword. The filibuster, an archaic Senate rule, has been watered down and abused to the point that a single Senator can object and effectively close down any debate.
The United States Senate is one of the most powerful bodies in the world, often referred to as “the most deliberative body in the world.” The actual debate died decades ago. That is decades with an ”s.”
The Gateway Pundit spoke to a fed-up patriot from North Carolina, Thomas Jacob, who is turning his frustration into written stories and acting as a voice for the anger felt by the American people.
TGP spoke to lawmakers right before they left for August Recess, which raises an obvious question. How much does the Senate actually show up to work?
You can see for yourself here (image courtesy of Jacob):
By subtracting 52 Sundays and 52 Saturdays, one arrives at a total of 250 business days minus federal holidays. According to the Senate calendar (and Jacob’s calculations), the Senate is not scheduled to work for 42% of the business year. If one counts the full calendar year, Senators are not working a whopping 57% of the year.
It is no wonder the Senate cannot get any work done for the American people, because they are not even there most of the year.
The base salary for a United States Senator is $174,000 per year. Multiply that by 100 Senators, and that is $17,400,000. This does not include all of the perks that they have given to themselves. This figure does not include the Senator’s staff and their salaries.
In fact, Mitch McConnell’s Chief of Staff, Terry Carmack, reportedly makes $266,850 a year and couldn’t even give a simple update on McConnell’s health.
McConnell has been missing and hasn’t shown up to work for two months. Senators can disappear, but they and their staff still make a six-figure salary; meanwhile, the average American would be fired for missing just one day of work with no explanation.
Think of the savings for the American people, not just in terms of the Senator’s salary, but also with their staff, and the total waste of time at the American taxpayers’ expense. If the Senate is only scheduled to work half of the time, then in a six-year term, they are working less than three years.
We, the taxpayers, are paying for nothing. I propose a constitutional amendment to change a Senator’s term from six years to four years. We are simply eliminating two of the three years they are not scheduled. Senators should not complain about the idea because they would still be working only 75% of the new timeframe.
Now look at the August recess. Congress is in recess for three weeks in August, followed by two weeks in September. That is a five-week vacation at the end of summer.
The original five-week recess in the late 1700s and early 1800s was due to the extraordinarily hot and humid weather in Washington, DC, in August. This recess is unnecessary due to an invention called air conditioning, and we no longer travel by horseback and carriage.
Congress is constitutionally required to produce a budget each year. Continuing resolutions should be outlawed. Every year, the Senate adjourns for this five-week vacation, whether they have done their work or not. Just look at last year.
The budget, which had not been passed and was due on September 30, but the Senate left on vacation, knowing that the action would set up the potential for a government shutdown. The shutdown cost the American economy billions of dollars in GDP.
Millions upon millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted. With all of the fraud and waste uncovered, the taxpayer might think that Congress would actually trim the budget.
The taxpayer would hope Congress would increase federal penalties for such actions, as well as incorporate real accountability in spending taxpayers’ dollars. The Senate cannot do either of those because they are in recess more than working.
The taxpayer really has to wonder what time their Senator actually gets to their office, and when they leave. One has to wonder, how many committee meetings and votes are scheduled for Fridays? How many Senators are on Capitol Grounds on Thursday afternoon? How many are on Capitol grounds on Fridays?
Once a United States Senator is elected for a six-year term, their constituents have no recourse to remove them until the next election. They are free to vote on their own personal biases and agendas for about four years before the next election cycle comes around.
There is no Senate Majority Leader position mentioned in the United States Constitution. That position came about around 1925. It was supposed to help smooth the passage of bills. Instead, it has become a position where one man controls the Senate. This was never the intent of the Founding Fathers.
From 1789 to 1925, a period of 136 years. Constitutionally, the leader of the Senate is the Vice President of the United States. The Founders set that in writing, and it makes logical sense.
Vice President Vance should take the gavel and his Constitutional position. He could set the schedule. He could bring needed reforms, such as removing any Senator who misses too many committee meetings from that committee. Why? First, it is their job to be present for the entire meeting, not just to show up in time for their turn to speak and then leave.
Senators up for reelection, who lose their primary, should lose their committee assignments, because they become lame ducks and remain in the Senate for months to be petty about passing a President’s agenda. Call it the “Cornyn Rule.”
The Senate ran without a “Speaker” for well over 100 years. Repeal the law creating the Speaker’s position and return to the Constitution. Think about it for a moment. Your elected representative has the same voice and authority as the other 99 Senators. No more Harry Reids. No more Mitch McConnells. No more Chuck Schumers. No more John Thunes.
The Founding Fathers never envisioned the Senate as a lifetime career. They gave us the Convention of States to correct it. Taxpayers should not have to wait six years to throw the bums out. Forget the filibuster. Reform the Senate with a Constitutional Amendment.
Three four-year terms could be a reasonable solution. There should be a caveat for the last term, meaning a right to recall your Senator, so they don’t go negative in their last term. Call it the “Tillis rule.”
To paraphrase Postman’s Motto: “Neither heat nor will of the American people nor impending government shutdown shall stay these Congressmen from their self-appointed five-week vacation.” In fact, it has become almost a 12th Commandment, written in stone (image courtesy of Jacob):
The Senate just voted in the middle of the night to adjourn for its recess with a voice vote. There is no record of who was there or how many voted. The Senate should only be able to vote “Yea” or “Nay,” and never present. (Duh, one has to be present to vote in the Senate, so they are already “Present”). Why?
The American people, the taxpayer, the voter, should demand that every vote be recorded.
A Convention of States, per the United States Constitution, should be called, and the Senate should be reformed in its entirety. Stop fretting over the filibuster and eliminate the root cause of half of our government’s obstruction.
This should also send a strong message to the House of Representatives and all government workers, reminding them exactly who they work for. the American people.
Regardless of your party affiliation and voting record, one thing we should all agree on is that the Senate is not doing its job, and its legitimacy may be called into question.
The post “FORGET the Filibuster, NUKE the United States Senate!” – Anger And Frustration With The Upper Chamber Is Felt Nationwide appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
