ANALYSIS/OPINION:

April is only a few days away, which means it’s time for Congress to take almost 75% of the month off. This is no April Fools joke. In fact, the House will only be in session for 8 days out of the 30 days during the month of April.

Are these elected representatives in D.C. to represent and work for us, “we the people?” It is hard to tell anymore.

It seems as if many of them have lost focus and have allowed their personal interests as well as special interests to be placed ahead of the interests of the American people.

With over $19 trillion of national debt, a failing health care system and disastrous immigration policies, there is absolutely no acceptable reason for our Congressmen and Congresswomen to be working only 8 days in April.

One of their apparent excuses for only working 8 days in April is that they need to visit their districts to communicate with their constituents. I’m sorry, but last time I checked it was not 1776.

In 2017, we are lucky enough to have Twitter, Facebook, FaceTime, Skype, email and so many other incredible technologies that allow us to communicate anytime with people from anywhere across the world. Congress could easily use these outlets to reach out to constituents without having to leave Washington.

To be honest, I’m sick of the excuses and the lack of results. With as much as there is to get done right now, 8 days is simply not enough and clearly not an efficient use of their $174,000 taxpayer funded base salaries. And don’t forget Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who make base salaries of $223,500 and $193,400 respectively. In total, taxpayers dish out over $75.7 million each year to fund the base salaries of the House members alone.

It’s time for Congress to get to work for us. There’s no better time than the present to make the changes we want to see in our nation.

Madison Gesiotto is the former Regional Press Secretary for the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee and a political commentator who appears frequently on Fox News Channel. She is currently in the final year of pursuing her J.D. at The Michael E. Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. You can reach her by email at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @madisongesiotto.

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