Dear Gentlemen:
I have written to your offices and called and left messages. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet any of you in person. I will be honest - since most representatives in this country seem to be avoiding their constituents, I might have to address this and ask for appointments with every one elected at least once a year for the rest of my adult life, because I think you have forgotten who elects you. Don’t misunderstand me - I am not naive. I realize that the little people don’t have access to the large sums of money available in PACs, and that, for now, we haven’t organized well enough to shout louder than misinformation campaigns and ads paid for by wealthy donors that spin topics and encourage voters to vote against their own self interests. It seems a lot better to vote on a bill that makes sure billionaires, who have demanded all kinds of special breaks (from our tax dollars) for building their businesses in the first place, get even more tax breaks and subsidies now that they have all that extra money to return to your campaign funds, and hire you for consulting after you finish representing “the people.”
The thing is, until they are sure that voting is not really affecting anything (is it now? how you vote might give me a clue as to where your priorities really are), there are a lot fewer billionaires than there are the rest of us. The recent campaign in Wisconsin that Musk threw millions at proves that a constituency, motivated enough, disdains a few extra dollars when compared to their liberty and safety.
The current “Big Beautiful Bill” (the majority of Americans are not calling it that - anyone outside of the MAGA information silos knows better) cuts food for American children and poor adults. It is misinformation that “illegal aliens” are eating all our SNAP - only citizens qualify for the federal program. If there are non resident aliens getting benefits, they are getting them for their (citizen!) children. It is also misinformation that the millions being thrown off of Medicaid are all “illegal aliens.” When the goal is deporting 1 million per year, the numbers don’t even begin to match, and, once again, there are only a few exceptions that allow legally present immigrants to receive Medicaid. In fact, here I can tell you a story about a legal immigrant who was killed, in part, by Missouri refusing to allow him access to Medicaid.
My friend was a hard-working business owner. He owned a Chinese restaurant in a little town of less than 5000 in rural Missouri. He didn’t make a lot of money at it, but he and his wife worked hard, they owned the business and had a little house. They were church members and good people in the community. Then he was diagnosed with cancer. He couldn’t afford to take time off for treatment. He moved a cot into the restaurant and laid down between orders to cope with the side effects of treatment. Since they were poor, they were told to apply for Medicaid. They met the financial requirements, but they were turned down for coverage, because his cancer wasn’t stage 4. Since it wasn’t “dangerous enough,” he was refused coverage. They paid for the treatment themselves with some grants to help, but also couldn’t afford follow-up care to catch any recurrence early. He began losing weight, which at first he was delighted with. Then the back pain got bad enough he went to the ER. The cancer had returned and metastasized everywhere. I helped the family apply for social security to help cover his lost wages, but he was so sick he literally got one week of benefits before passing.
Now your vote could make that happen to regular Americans. Working Americans who, for one reason or another, do not get health insurance worth having from their regular jobs. Often they are forced to work just enough of a part-time schedule that their company doesn’t have to offer them benefits, and the company keeps them part-time rather than have to pay for benefits. I know they aren’t all “illegal aliens,” and if you are honest, you know it, too. Worse, it will possibly end coverage that will bankrupt hospitals and nursing homes, closing access to facilities. If you vote to pass this bill, you vote for this to happen.
Yes, I know you pushed out a lot of these things to not really affect anything until after the midterms. That isn’t stopping the problem. That is just trying to postpone any consequences until after you’re finished running for reelection. You sell yourself as a patriot. You sell yourself as a Christian. In more than one place, God defines his justice as care of the poor, widowed, orphan and alien within our gates; to be the voice of the voiceless and the defender of the vulnerable. I am choosing to advocate for justice. I am choosing to be a real patriot, having sworn an oath to protect the Constitution, just like you did when you were sworn into office. Are we still a country with liberty and justice, for all?
Thank you in advance for your attention.
Lisa J Johnson