Dear editor:

In response to my inquiry to Rep. Harriet Hageman about the government shutdown she replied, “Forty-seven Democrats blocked the House-passed Continuing Resolution (CR) 13 separate times. Leftists are choosing to keep the government closed, ignoring the cost to hardworking Americans.”

In response to that, I wrote back saying “That’s a load of crap. The House forced through bad-faith legislation you were involved with and left it to the Senate to clean up the mess. The chickens have come home to roost. You want a resolution? Tell Mike Johnson to get back to work!

“Federal employees are not getting paid. I hope that includes you. In my opinion you don’t deserve a paycheck for the “work” you do in Congress anyway, but the fact is you haven’t been on the job for weeks.”

Personally, I took advantage of the Affordable Care Act to obtain health insurance coverage for three years. Subsidies made it affordable. Republican legislation in the House of Representatives took ACA subsidies away and health insurance will no longer be affordable for millions of Americans. Democrats are trying to protect hardworking Americans from a Republican capitulation to oligarchy. I urge your readers to write to Ms. Hageman and tell her to get to work to find compromise legislation, as used to take place routinely once upon a time.

Phil Anthony

Powell