Pass the budget

Congress recently passed a continuing resolution that will expire on Feb. 8.

Our legislators have been in office since at least Jan. 20, 2017. Fiscal year 2018 is the first one for which this group is responsible. It started last year on Oct. 1, 2017, or more than three months ago and eight months after they took office.

Getting a budget passed is job one of any governing body of any entity. The individuals running this country had more than enough time to agree on a one-year budget and enact it. The Republicans have control of the executive branch and both branches of the legislature. Therefore, they control what is on the agenda and when it is brought up for consideration. Consequently, they must accept the major responsibility for getting this job done.

The President's negotiating style has made it difficult for Congress to reach a deal. Mr. Trump has veered wildly from one extreme to the other -- telling lawmakers in one meeting that he'd sign any Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) bill Congress sent him, then issuing a list of hard-line demands in the next meeting. Senator McConnell of Kentucky, who is the Republican Majority Leader, has said that, "As soon as we figure out what he is for, then I would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels."

Our country deserves and needs better leadership. Instead of continuing resolutions, a budget for the full fiscal year should be passed into law.

JOHN PIEPHO, Cape Girardeau