Letter below was emailed to the Benardsville News for publication on 10-12-12.
EDITOR:
For many reasons I support the reelection of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. I will argue here that the makeup of Congress is also critical and that we need to elect Democrats to the Senate and House of Representatives.
Much was accomplished in 2009 and 2010 when Democrats controlled both houses.
- The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act saved or created about two million jobs. The stimulus was too small and the recovery is slow. But economically we are doing much better than Great Britain and other countries that chose the path of government austerity.
- The Affordable Care Act will assure that all who need health care can get it. It puts in motion measures to reduce health care costs over the long term.
- The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will correct many things that produced the financial melt-down. It established the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that will eliminate many abusive practices in mortgage and credit card lending and in other things.
- The discriminatory don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy in the military was repealed. Reports on the first year with the new policy are good.
We have seen near paralysis in Congress since Republicans took control of the House in 2011.
The refusal of far right extremists to vote to raise the debt limit in mid 2011 brought the country to the brink of another financial crisis.
Standard & Poors downgraded U.S. treasury bonds for the first time in history, not because our debt is too high, but because of the “political brinkmanship of recent months.”
If we want constructive action to deal with our nation’s problems we need to return control of the House to Democrats and keep Democratic control of the Senate.
Upendra Chivukula is the Democratic candidate for the House in the 7th congressional district.
He is an engineer and first served in elective office on the council in Franklin Township. He rose to the position of mayor, and then went on to the New Jersey assembly, where he is now Deputy Speaker.
In a recent mailing he promised to “preserve Medicare and ensure that seniors receive the benefits they deserve.” We need Upendra Chivukula in Congress.
Senator Bob Menendez has built an excellent record during thirteen years in the House and seven in the Senate, where he is finishing his first full term. The Philadelphia Inquirer supports his reelection and wrote:
“He helped pass the Affordable Care Act, has championed better health care and pay equity for women, battled credit-card companies and airlines to disclose hidden fees to consumers, and worked to ease home-mortgage refinancing, increase college aid, and cut student-loan costs. Menendez has worked with Republicans to fund autism care and to subsidize housing for the disabled. The voters of New Jersey should give him another term.”
Many problems threaten the American dream. We can solve them. But we need help from a government that works.
Vote for Democrats Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Bob Menendez, and Upendra Chivukula on November 6.
Bill Allen