Since March 1 of this year our country has been living under “sequestration.” These across-the-board, nonsensical budget cuts are harming our military, hurting our ability to maintain international supremacy in scientific research, and cutting necessary investments in childhood education and nutrition. It is time they ended. The cuts aren’t mission-driven and they put our national security at risk.

In San Diego, which I represent, the military presence defines our city’s culture and ethos. My Congressional district is home to seven military installations, including the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. Further, military contracting companies, employing tens of thousands of San Diegans, are a central industry in the region. Sequester cuts hurt all of them.

In a recent economic impact study by the San Diego Military Advisory Council (SDMAC), the sequester and constant stop and start of multiple continuing resolutions has “resulted in a disruptive and unpredictable budget cycle for the Department of Defense (DoD), and introduced great uncertainty into DoD spending in the San Diego region.” That hurts not only the military but local support businesses and military families who deserve as much stability and forethought as we can provide to them.

Given the changing global security and economic focus toward the Pacific Rim, San Diego is exactly where the military should be making long-term investments in our national security infrastructure. As a hub for innovative technology companies that are on the front line of unmanned warfare systems and a shipbuilding hub constructing the next generation of vessels for our increasingly mobile military, San Diego should be seeing increased attention, not spending levels that barely keep up with inflation.

There are nearly 140,000 active duty, civilian, and reserve personnel in San Diego. For civilian contractors, who saw six furlough days this year, sequester means a 2.5% cut to their annual salary. For base commanders, sequester forces them to spend time deciding if they should delay projects, cancel contracts, or leave staff positions unfilled. This allows them less time to focus on the strategic planning necessary to keep America safe.

With the continuously changing international security situation, it is the responsibility of Congress to do our very best to protect the American people by giving military leaders the tools they need. Sequester undercuts that promise. It is time to end it and achieve a reasonable budget solution.

Scott Peters represents the 52nd District of California. He is a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

In just a few days the current fiscal year ends and unless the Senate passes a continuing resolution to keep the government open, we will face a government shutdown. If the Senate takes up and passes the House-approved bill, a shutdown would be avoided and our military and veterans would continue to receive their pay and services as they should. Unfortunately that scenario is far from certain.

With so many variables in the days ahead, my focus right now is ensuring pay continues for our military men and women and that veterans programs continue in the event that we do face a government shutdown. Their paychecks should never be in question while Congress and the President debate on how to fund the government.

That’s why I introduced the Pay Our Veterans and Seniors First Act. I want to take proactive steps now to ensure our troops, veterans, and seniors are secured from a shutdown’s impact. The bill ensures troop pay while cutting off pay to Congress and the President for the duration of the shutdown.

Under current federal law, Members of Congress, the President, Vice President and heads of Executive Agencies and Departments will continue to receive pay even if government funding bills are not passed by the September 30th deadline and the government is shut down. The fact that Congress and the President are paid during a shutdown even though members of the military are not is completely backwards and unacceptable.

In my family the military ethics of honor, integrity and commitment to our nation are ethics to live by. As a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War, my father instilled those values early on in my eleven siblings and myself. They are values to be always respected – as our service men and women protect us, we must do whatever we can to protect them.

Our troops are the same men and women risking their lives day in and day out for our country. They continue serving the country – often times thousands of miles away from their families for months or years at a time – with or without a government shutdown. At the very least, we must ensure they receive timely paychecks. Our military men and women should never go a single day having to wonder if they will be paid in full or on time.

Obviously our hope is that the Senate acts and a shutdown is avoided, but we need to be prepared and have protections in place for our military and veterans. Working through our government’s financial hurdles should not come at the expense of our troops. Just like everyday Americans, Congress and the government have jobs to do. Our message is a simple one: lawmakers must complete one of their primary responsibilities or forfeit pay.

With the clock ticking, inaction is not fair to our troops, veterans, seniors, and countless American workers who would be impacted by a shutdown. I will continue to fight to make Pay Our Veterans and Seniors First Act law and encourage other Members of Congress to join me in standing with our men and women in uniform to protect their pay while they protect us. They deserve nothing less.

Congressman Tom Reed, a Republican, represents the 23rd District of New York State in the United States House of Representatives.

Under current law, if a budget impasse prevents Congress and the White House from funding the government, and a government shutdown occurs, our men and women in uniform would not be assured of being paid. They would continue to perform their patriotic duties and, in many cases, put their lives on the line for our country. But their paychecks would be in limbo until Congress and the president could agree on how to fund the government.

This is unacceptable. The last thing our military families should worry about is not receiving their paychecks on time because Congress and the President have not been able to make the tough choices on the nation’s finances.

Last April, when we were facing the threat of a government shutdown, Representative Louie Gohmert (R-TX-01) and I introduced the Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act. Our simple and straightforward legislation ensures that, in the event of a government shutdown over budget issues, our nation’s servicemen and women would continue to receive their pay on time and in full.

Immediately after introducing this bill, I was contacted by a military spouse. Her husband was on his tenth deployment in support of operations in the Middle East, while she remained at home raising their 1-year-old son. She had read the news about a possible government shutdown. In addition to her constant worry about her husband’s safety, she was very concerned about keeping up with family bills without her husband’s military paycheck.

This military spouse’s worries are shared by hundreds of thousands of military families across our country, many of whom have loved ones in harm’s way. Even the threat of an interruption of pay is stressful for military families that depend on timely paychecks to make ends meet.

At a time when our nation has 100,000 troops in Afghanistan and more than 45,000 in Iraq, it is unconscionable that we would ask our troops to serve on the front lines without being paid on time. From the state of Texas alone, there are more than 28,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have been deployed, second only to California in the highest number of deployed troops from one state.

These brave Americans are working long hours, often in hostile conditions and facing a vicious enemy. The most remarkable thing about these citizens is they all raised their right hands and volunteered to serve our country. It would be tremendously damaging for morale to tell our troops to go on long deployments, away from their families, and then not pay them.

This year’s budget battles in Washington, D.C. foreshadow years of recurring debate and tough choices in order to rein in runaway government spending. But putting our nation’s finances back in order should never come at the expense of military families’ financial security.

The Ensuring Pay for Our Military Act has overwhelming support: our bill has 80 cosponsors in the U.S. Senate and 201 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. Enacting this legislation should be the first order of business when Congress reconvenes after Labor Day. Delaying action until a government shutdown is again threatened would be shameful.

Our troops should never have a moment of worry about receiving timely paychecks. They are risking their lives, spending weeks, months and even years, away from their loved ones. The very least Congress and America can do is ensure that they are able to take care of their loved ones who are waiting for their safe return home.

See the video “Military Pay: ‘By the Numbers’” on Senator Hutchison’s YouTube channel.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican, is the senior U.S. senator from Texas. Congressman Louie Gohmert, also a Republican, represents the first district of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives.