Dear editor,
We are a month into what may become history’s longest U.S. government shutdown. We know what our Democratic legislators want—they want to continue tax subsidies for people who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. (Illegal immigrants and refugees are not eligible for the ACA, despite what you hear from Republicans.)
If the subsidies go away, people receiving their health insurance through the ACA will see their monthly premiums more than double. This will include many of our small business owners and farmers. A typical family of four in Missouri will pay upwards of $1600/month instead of $800/month if the subsidies are not extended.
So, what do our Republican legislators want? They claim they want to negotiate on healthcare issues. But Speaker Mike Johnson seems to have forgotten that the purpose of the House of Representatives is to legislate. He shut down the House July 22 for a month-long August recess to sideline a vote to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. As of today, Oct. 29, the House has not been in session since Sept. 19. Despite promises dating back to Trump’s first term in office, we have not seen one proposal from our Republican leaders concerning a new healthcare plan. Not one in 15 years.
What does the GOP want concerning trade wars? They oversee all three branches of government. GOP legislators did not object when President Trump took over the power of the purse, placing excessive taxes in the form of tariffs on the American people. Democrats objected, Republicans did not. So what is the GOP endgame? Do they think that after losing 100 percent of the China soybean market that somehow these tariffs are going to bring those markets back even better? We never regained the market share lost during Trump’s first term tariffs because China diversified its supply.
The 8th District of Missouri is the sixth poorest in the entire United States. We are primarily rural areas with a lot of farming. So far this administration has hurt 8th District constituents by adding costs to food, materials, manufacturing, and equipment through tariffs. The GOP-endorsed trade wars have hurt our farmers by decimating the soybean market. Now Trump is buying beef from Argentina, which hurts our beef producers.
The trade war during the first Trump administration required an allocation of $20 billion in aid to help farmers recover some of the loss of their markets. Most of that money went to the largest producers, leaving little to nothing for the family farmer with 150 acres of unsold soybeans. Is the GOP plan to force our small farmers out of business so these farms can be gobbled up by corporations?
We believe it’s time to ask our legislators what they are trying to accomplish:
Do you finally have a plan for health care? What is it?
What is your plan to help with loss of income and food security?
Please provide detailed answers.
Yours truly,
Voters for Informed Action
Polly Scott-Showalter, Kathy Love, Yvonne Cheek, Suzanne Femmer, Catherine Frank, Alice Reeves
Rolla
