Congress and passing a budget

Big government enthusiasts are claiming the recent Democrat partial government shutdown will have a long-lasting negative impact on the U.S. economy. The claim is over $3 billion economy was permanently lost from a $19 trillion economy. This equals only 0.016 percent of the economy. But the actual loss is less.

A 2013 New York University study found, after furloughed federal employees received back pay, that the 2013 Obama government shutdown had negligible impact. It is true federal employees did not receive paychecks on time. Since furloughed civil servants are receiving back pay from the recent Democrat partial government shutdown, there will be no long-term impact.

To end shutdowns, Congress must pass legislation mandating it to send a budget to the president. Here is proposed wording for that legislation:

The Congress shall submit to the President a zero-based balanced budget for the entire operation of the federal government no later than Oct. 1. The President shall have line-item veto authority to nullify specific provisions of the budget. Should Congress fail to submit the budget to the president as prescribed by this statue, the members' pay and allowances shall be withheld until the budget is submitted.

It is a moral imperative for elected officials to protect the lives and rights of their constituents. What is truly morally repugnant is Democrat legislators proposing and passing bills that end the lives of the country's most vulnerable. Rather than protecting the citizens who elected them, Democrats care more about protecting illegal non-citizens.

ELVIS DUNN, Jackson