THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 10, 1996 TAG: 9601100012
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 25 lines
The partial shutdown of the federal government is outrageous. It is particularly disturbing that Congress chose to take a week-long holiday vacation with full pay while nearly 500,000 federal employees work with no pay or benefits and another 250,000 neither work nor get paid until Congress decides to compromise to end the budgetary impasse with the president.
Congress should immediately pass another continuing resolution and then submit clean budget bills to the president. As an alternative, Congress could pass a yearlong continuing resolution at 1995 fund levels and then take the balanced budget, environmental policy and abortion-rights issues to the voters in 1996.
STEVE MARTIN
Norfolk, Dec. 30, 1995 by CNB