We are living in extremely dangerous times. It seems like hardly a day goes by without a new threat or a new terrorist action somewhere in the world. There was the Charlie Hebdo attack in France, in which Islamic terrorists stormed a Parisian newspaper office, murdering journalists and political cartoonists, while a separate gunman attacked a kosher market. In Denmark, a shooter attacked a Copenhagen free speech demonstration and a synagogue, killing two civilians and wounding five police officers. Canadian police foiled a plan for a massacre at a mall on Valentine’s Day thanks to an anonymous tip. Meanwhile, in Libya, 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were lined up and brutally murdered for their faith by ISIS militants. Terrorists in the Middle East have sworn to destroy America and take as many American lives as they can. Our allies around the world are all taking steps to increase security and help keep their citizens safe. And what is the United States government doing?

As usual, our government is an embarrassment to our country. In this time of intense turmoil, when governments around the world have been scrambling to make their cities and citizens more secure, the United States Congress is actively sabotaging our nation’s ability to protect itself. The Republicans in the House are currently refusing to submit a clean appropriations bill that will continue funding for the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security, the government agency tasked with investigating and preventing potential terrorist threats, will run out of money at the end of February. Rather than simply passing a bill to extend the DHS’s funding, House Republicans have created a funding bill that includes measures that are meant to overturn President Obama’s immigration measures from last year. These measures have no chance of passing in the Senate or getting past the President’s veto, so the House Republicans are risking shutting down the government department that is responsible for preventing terrorist attacks in order to posture for their voter base.

This is yet another example of the United States government having no interest in actually governing, but this event is especially shocking. John Boehner and the other House Republicans are playing Russian roulette with the American public, all for the sake of making a feeble political point. If the Department of Homeland Security is shut down due to lack of funding, it will make the United States incredibly vulnerable. If Congress fails to pass a bill, vital government services ranging from Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the Coast Guard to the Secret Service and FEMA will be shut down. And with this foolish budget fight in the news, terrorists everywhere will know that this is the perfect time to strike. If Congress refuses to pass a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security, we will be lucky if we can go a day without suffering a major terrorist attack.

There is no word for what Congress is doing other than “treason.” They are intentionally providing aid to the enemies of our country, terrorists whose stated goal is to murder as many Americans as possible, by removing the biggest obstacle to their success. In the old days, we would execute people who betrayed our country in this way. In 2015, we pay them government salaries and give them well-paid jobs on Wall Street or on the boards of major corporations once they retire from politics.

It is the patriotic duty of all Americans to remove these frauds from office. It is unfortunate that we will not have the opportunity to do that before next year, but we must take the 2016 election as our chance to completely reform our government. That’s why I, Art Drew, am running for President in the 2016 election. If you agree with me that we need actual leaders, I urge you to cast a write-in vote for me in 2016.