Dear Editor at Rising Media Group,
As union members, we know what it means to stand together for the essentials that keep families safe and communities strong. Right now, Republicans in Congress are holding the federal budget hostage and pushing cuts that would rip away healthcare from millions of families.
Working families already carry enough burdens: rising costs, stagnant wages and the daily stress of making ends meet. Increasing healthcare costs in the middle of these challenges is not just irresponsible, it’s cruel.
Democrats are standing firm to protect Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies and reverse Medicaid cuts, because they understand healthcare is a lifeline, not a bargaining chip. Working people can’t afford higher premiums or lost coverage just to satisfy an extremist agenda.
Unfortunately, Republicans are willing to gamble with our health, our jobs and our economy to score political points. Unions fight for good jobs, fair wages and benefits at the bargaining table, and Congress should do no less for the American people.
Sincerely, Kimberly Fenty, Yonkers
Letter to the Editor:
I recently read Rep. Lawler’s Oct. 30 newsletter, and I am appalled. He needs to stop his political games and lies and be truthful about why the Democrats are not willing to agree to what he refers to as a “clean continuing resolution.” There is one HUGE obstacle in that resolution that people need to understand and he fails to mention – the refusal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, set to expire the end of this year. He says he is working with some Republicans to get approval for a one-year extension. And where does that leave us in a year’s time? Like the changes made under the BBB, the bad stuff won’t go into effect until after the mid-terms, when it is too late for people to change their votes, as they realize how bad that BBB and the one-year extension are. Without an ongoing, unlimited or minimum multi-year extension, millions of people will not be able to afford healthcare coverage; premiums may go up as high as 114%*; many young, healthy people will forgo health insurance altogether. Health care should be a right, not a privilege. It is not free, but it should be affordable.
*See KFF article: https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/aca-marketplace-premium-payments-would-more-than-double-on-average-next-year-if-enhanced-premium-tax-credits-expire/
Maybe Mr. Lawler and the rest of Congress need to be reminded of their oaths to uphold and defend the Constitutionand then do what is right for the country and for their constituencies. The House has been out of session for weeks and is not voting on anything. Mr. Lawler needs to demand that Speaker Johnson bring the House back, that they fund SNAP (we have the $$; our people are starving while we send $20 billion to Argentina! REALLY??**), that they negotiate the unlimited extension of the ACA tax credits to protect everyone’s access to health care, and that they get to work passing a budget that HELPS Americans! These are not extraordinary requests-this is asking Mr. Lawler and all of Congress TO DO THEIR JOBS!!! I encourage everyone to contact Mr. Lawler at 202-255-6506 or https://lawler.house.gov/contact/ and urge him to extend the ACA tax credits indefinitely. This affects all of us.
**At least one Federal Court has just ruled that SNAP has to be paid – and the President has hinted he will try to find a way to fund SNAP. Is this another game he’s been playing?
Thank you,
Maria Modica-Snow
Peekskill
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Letter: Remind Voters that 60 Votes are Needed in the US
Senate to Pass A Budget Bill–Republicans Have 53
Editor: We hear this refrain all of the time during the latest budget shutdown. Republicans have control of the White House, Senate and House of Republicans, so they are to blame for the shutdown.
This sounds good and is a good talking point that while false, is winning the battle over who the American people are starting to blame for the shutdown.
But I would urge you to inform your readers that in the Senate, 60 votes are required to bring legislation to the floor for a vote.
Any senator can speak for an unlimited time to delay or block a vote on a bill. This tactic (a filibuster) prevents the Senate from moving to a final vote unless 60 senators vote to invoke “cloture” (Senate Rule XXII), which ends debate.
Cloture requirement: Since 1975, ending a filibuster requires 3/5 of the Senate (60 out of 100 votes). Without 60 votes, the bill stalls indefinitely.
Supermajority barrier: Even with a majority (e.g., 53 Republicans), the minority party (47 Democrats) can filibuster unless 7 members cross the aisle or the majority negotiates compromises.
I want to applaud my Congressman Mike Lawler for identifying the solution to the government shutdown. Lawler proposed extending the OCA tax credits for one year. His proposal was quickly shut down by his own party.
The voices of reason are being shut out in all of our politics.
Let’s Shut down the Shutdown, Not the Government
Len Watkins, Armonk
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To the Editor,
In the ruling in favor of leaving the National Guard in Portland, the Ninth Circuit Court cited the Justice Department’s filing which established that the Federal Protective Services deployed nearly 25% of its agency’s officers to Portland and that these deployments were “irregular and unsustainable”. In reality only 13% of FPS inspectors were deployed to Portland. The DOJ’s filing of 115 deployments was in fact just 20 deployments. After the DOJ was caught lying in court they corrected the record.
The Trump administration’s campaign of fear is being carried out through aggressive changes in immigration enforcement. It’s radical shift away from standard law enforcement principles and toward a “mass deportation” agenda, as well as the related tactics which are focused more on creating content and hitting arrest quotas than on public safety and national security.
In the service of creating content rather than truth telling at least six of the viral videos posted in the last three months have been misleading. These videos claim to be depicting events in cities targeted by Trump, when in reality they were filmed in completely different states. Obviously, they can’t find any real evidence to back up their claims.
My government is using my tax dollars to further their cruel agenda which is justified with lies.
If Congressman Lawler is not going to use his position to represent we the people and instead defend this corrupt and hateful administration then he should consider resigning.
Thank you for your consideration.
Wendy Holtzman
Peekskill
