South Asheville News

U.S. Congressman Chuck Edwards (NC-11) introduced the Do Our Job Act on June 26, 2024, aiming to ensure that Congress does not leave for the district work period in August unless all 12 annual appropriations bills are passed.

Edwards emphasized the necessity of this measure during his speech on the House floor, highlighting what he described as a need to reform how Washington operates by ensuring that the primary responsibility of the House of Representatives—passing bills that fund various parts of the government—is completed before members depart for their home districts.

In his prepared remarks, Edwards stated: "The American people don’t get to go home when their job’s not done, so why can Congress? In the nearly five decades that our current appropriations process has been in place, Congress has only passed all 12 bills four times. Four times in almost 50 years."

He continued by comparing congressional performance to business standards: "As a small-business owner, if my employee had an 8 percent success rate, they wouldn’t be my employee much longer. The American people have been far too generous with us. As members of Congress, we work for them. We are here to represent their interests and keep the government running."

Edwards stressed that it is essential for Congress to take its responsibilities seriously and commit to passing appropriations bills each year. "Congress is broken and we need to fix the way Washington works," he said. "So today, I’m introducing the Do Our Job Act. If our appropriations work is not done, we can’t go home."

Concluding his remarks, Edwards asserted: "The American people deserve better than an 8 percent success rate for funding our government."