Time To Fire Some Congessmen

 239 days off every year

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) Richard T. Dykema, Rohrabacher’s chief of staff, told the Los Angeles Times that the congressman is "expected to show up for work during the shutdown’’ and expects to be paid.

Before this annoying government shutdown, in 2013 the House was scheduled to be in session for a grand total of 126 days. So according to the above quote, The House should only get paid for days worked  - approximately 150.

How does Congress really feel about Americans, workers, and federal workers?

Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) "I'm working. Everybody that works gets paid for working.''

We know he lied. 

The Capitol Police officer who was injured October 3, 2013 is a 23-year veteran of the force.   A car

  Buzzfeed’s Kate Nocera tweeted
this photo from the Capitol

 chase began when a driver tried to breach a White House security barrier ended near the U.S. Capitol.  

Capitol Police officers who risked lives are currently unpaid. As essential federal employees, they are exempt from furloughs tied to the government shutdown, but funding for their pay is currently backlogged.

In an interview with blog.al.com/spotnews October 1, 2013, "We are basically working on IOUs," said Richard D. Schwein, special agent in charge of the FBI's Northern District of Alabama. "We are not being paid and won't be until a continuing resolution is passed."

http://honda.house.gov/services/what-the-government-shutdown-means-for-you-and-your-family

Congress will tell you to your face Americans, you are just NOT that important in quotes!

Rep. Donald Payne Jr. (D-N.J.) “I have a family to raise,’’ Payne told NorthJersey.com. “I have triplets in school, and unlike some members on the other side of the aisle, I’m not a millionaire.”

During the week ended Oct. 5, the first week of the shutdown, there were 70,068 claims from furloughed federal workers. Many with families, bills and homes would like to work and get paid. None of them want to become homeless or have a car repossessed.

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) Blunt told USA Today that the issue over his salary is "silly'' and ''symbolic,'' and he's taking his paycheck.

Rep. Renee L. Elllmers (R-N.C.) "I need my paycheck. That’s the bottom line,” Ellmers told North Carolina TV station WTVD last week. “I understand that maybe there are members who are deferring their paychecks, and that's admirable. I'm not in that position."

 By Friday, after a public outcry, she had reversed her position.

Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) "You know what? I’ve got a nice house and a kid in college, and I’ll tell you we cannot handle it. Giving our paycheck away when you still worked and earned it? That’s just not going to fly.” 

On Sunday, Terry apologized for his "hurtful'' comments. He said he’d changed his mind and wouldn't take his salary after all.

That would imply that government workers lived in the sewers. Their kids were dropouts with no chance of being educated at college level.  Government workers don’t need a pay check?

Representative Ted Yoho (FL) at a town hall meeting said of the workers he put out of work "if they're not working, they shouldn't get paid." 

Time for Yoho to GoGo! Just because he has a veterinary practice, he cannot treat people like animals.

 

Federal employees be aware there are actually friends and neighbors who act and think it was your fault the government offices and facilities closed.  They think you were at the spa or home watching Netflix.  Some Americans feel you somehow enjoyed and encouraged the shutdown. 

Did the shutdown of the government cause this Federal Employee to have a mental breakdown in the House of Representatives?

A Thank You

Thank you for coming back to work for those who will. For others who decided to “kick the government to the curb,” I understand.  I would not work with a group of people who didn’t give a crap about me either.

Maybe there was at least one:
Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.), who sponsored the House legislation, said on Wednesday that federal employees did not cause the shutdown and should not have to suffer for it.

“They have bills to pay – mortgages, student loans, tuition, groceries,” he said. “It’s our obligation to make them whole again.”

God speed and God Bless America

Federal workers organize to block the sequester

Federal workers organize to block the sequester

"Jennifer-Cari Green, a secretary at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington State and the single mother of a six-year-old son, said that she had struggled to make ends meet under a three-year military pay freeze even before the sequester hit. Now she calculates that her take-home pay will drop from $1,477 a month to $1,008 through the end of September (the end of the fiscal year) as she is forced to take 11 days of furlough -- a 32% reduction over two weeks, or a 4.5% annual reduction.

She is falling dangerously close to the poverty line, even while she makes too much to qualify for food stamps or free school lunches for her son."

Doesn't seem like the rich over paid federal employees or may be she's the 47% feeling entitled. Remind me - was Congress part of the sequester?

BREAKING: Bill to stop military rape hits strong opposition

Senator Gillibrand's legislation to stop military rape has just hit a roadblock. We need your input to overcome it.   Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee, has over-ruled a majority vote and dumped key provisions removing prosecutions from the military chain of command from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The obstruction is cowardly and unacceptable from a Senator who claims to hold progressive values. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said she was "stunned" and said that "the committee is largely embracing the status quo."   

Now the fight moves to the full Senate for a vote, with the outcome very much up in the air. Our job is to make sure that reform passes -- we need YOUR input to do that.   Courage Campaign is member driven, and that means that we need you to help us decide how to best utilize our resources to get this legislation passed. So far, you've sent emails, made phone calls, and you've flown survivors of military sexual assault to DC to tell their stories.    Here are our best ideas on what we should do next. Tell us what you think:

• Organize, train, and fly survivors and Courage members to lobby their representatives in the House and Senate before the vote.
• Take out a billboard in Sen. Levin's hometown to educate him on the reality of the problem and hold him accountable.
• Send rape whistles to Senators to bring home exactly what a violent and despicable problem this is.
• Buy newspaper ads in strategic swing vote districts to influence Senators. 
• YOUR idea.

We're determined to win protection for the countless women and men who want to serve their country, not face the horrors of sexual assault. Please weigh in on what you think would be most effective.   

Together, we can win this.   

Caitlin, along with Adam, Aidan, Annie, Anthony, Christian, Eddie, Gabe, Jacob, Dan, Kristin, Michael, Rick, Sarah, and Scottie (the Courage team)