Washington officially a mess

I see my friends and family make difficult choices that require compromise and sacrifice every day. Whether it is choosing the generic brand or store brand or taking less pay to be able to work from home and be with the kids, people in our communities work with their families and one another to get by and live their lives in a responsible manner.

So when I awoke on Tuesday morning to see that Members of Congress hadn't reached a compromise to fund the government, resulting in this disruptive shutdown, I was frustrated to say the least, because more than anything, this outcome is entirely avoidable. 

Moreover, at a time when the country should be discussing ways to put the debt on a sustainable downward path, we are instead distracted by this reckless and unproductive government shutdown. Despite no one wanting to talk about it, the debt is still on track to equal the size of the economy by 2035.

 In the near term, lawmakers must set aside their differences and pass legislation to fund the government so they can move on to the larger fiscal issues facing the nation, including tax and entitlement reform. It doesn't make much sense to continue to cut funding from the areas of the budget that aren't contributing to the debt – unlike our outdated tax code and overly expensive entitlement programs.

But right now elected officials can’t even get into the same room to negotiate a compromise on our country’s fiscal future. The American people expect and deserve better leadership from Washington.

 Realizing that the situation is dire and that policymakers have to step up to these challenges, the Campaign is using its broad network of citizen activists to build support for a fiscally sustainable agenda that puts in place a plan to bring down the debt as a share of the economy. This is the truly responsible course of action that the country needs to get back on solid economic ground. Please visit FixTheDebt.org to see how you can help in this effort.

 I am optimistic that Congress will quickly forge a compromise that reopens the doors of government in time to raise the debt ceiling so we can confront our long-term fiscal challenges. But they must act quickly and they must act together. Now is the time to fix the debt.