Letter to Speaker of the House Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer - Get Congress Back to Work

Letter

Hon. John Boehner
Speaker of the House
United States Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Hon. Eric Cantor
Majority Leader
H-329, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Hon Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
H-204, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

Hon. Steny Hoyer
Democratic Whip
1705 Longworth House Office Building,
Washington DC 20515

Dear Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor, Minority Leader Pelosi, Minority Whip Hoyer,

As freshmen legislators who took office a little more than 10 weeks ago, we were elected to change the way Congress does business. Our constituents want us to work hard, reach across the aisle, and find bipartisan solutions to our nation's problems.

Congress needs to get to work for the American people. We must pass a responsible budget, strengthen Social Security and Medicare for the long-term, and put America back to work. We should lead by example, and spend more time working, and less time in recess breaks. We need to be here to get things done.

Unfortunately, since the 113th Congress convened, the House has been out of session more than it's been in session, working just 35 days out of 76 days. Of the first 17 days in session, eight days were spent on non-controversial bills, and three out of the first five major bills the House considered were stretched over two days, even though debate on them totaled less than a few hours each. All of this time was wasted while Congress could have been working to avert the irresponsible, across-the-board spending cuts of the sequester, and toward a bipartisan long-term solution to our debt. Since January 22, only five bills have been signed into law.

Our nation is facing difficult economic times. Our constituents are working many hours to pay rent, and put food on their tables. They expect the same from us. But, despite the challenges Americans face, the partisan gridlock and inefficiency in Congress continues.

We were sent to Washington to represent our constituents and to work together to solve our nation's problems. We must start by being here more often to do our jobs.

Sincerely,

Ami Bera (CA-07)

Tony Cardenas (CA-29)

Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-9)

Scott Peters (CA 52)

Bill Foster (IL-11)

Pete Gallego (TX-23)