Debatably the most important power delegated to Congress is its power of the purse. However, it never uses this power correctly. This week, the United States’ national debt surpassed the $22 trillion mark. Also this week, Congress passed a multi-hundred-billion dollar spending bill in order to cover for its inability to do its job properly. Congress was behind schedule by nearly half of an entire year on funding the government for this fiscal year.

Limited government conservatives remain disgruntled in Congress, both when in the majority and when in the minority. Republicans campaign on shrinking government, lowering taxes, embracing free markets, and upholding the constitution. But members who actually hold themselves to these promises once in Congress exist only in small pockets.