It is time for Washington to get back to work.

Now that the president, the Senate and the House of Representatives have all been sworn in for their new terms in office, it is time for the celebrations to end and the focus to shift to solving Amb\erica’s debt problem.

In 2008, the president promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term.

In 2010, the newly elected House majority vowed to cut $100 billion in real spending.

And it has been more than 1,360 days since the Senate has passed a budget.

Americans should be outraged by these failures.

Each second that goes by, Washington is borrowing $52,000 to help finance its overspending problem.

That’s right, $52,000 per second — and that is just how much they borrow.

That is enough to pay for a four-year education at most state universities.

Americans are tired of fiscal cliffs and critical deadlines.

We are calling on members of Congress to hold town hall meetings the last week in January so that the American people can make their voices heard.

A recent Rasmussen poll showed that 62 percent of Americans want to see spending cuts across the board.

The American people deserve to be a part of this conversation.

We encourage everyone to call your representatives and tell them to get back to work.

And they can start by having a town hall the week of Jan. 28.

Donald Gaines

Covington County, AL Tea Party Patriots

 

Editor’s note: U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Alabama., has a meet-and-greet event planned in Andalusia at 2 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 2.