Retired state senator questions Smith on border information

Letter to the editor

I feel the urge to respond to a recent article published by your Daily American newspaper, written or at least sponsored; by Congressman Jason Smith. In the article Mr. Smith purports to use someone else’s comment from the border town of Brownsville, Texas. There seems to be a problem with his inference that our (all of us) president is a day late and a dollar short.

I served 20 years in Missouri’s General Assembly with the last 10 years of my tenure in the Missouri Senate in District 25 serving the Bootheel and Butler County. Because of that service I became accustomed to detecting false information from participants in various committees including appropriations.

Because Mr. Smith and other Republicans have made the border an issue. He should state facts. He should not use incorrect and blatantly false information. Smith purports to use someone else’s comment from the border town of Brownsville, Texas.

In fact, on or about Feb. 5, a bi-partisan committee created and submitted a bill to the Senate. They passed it and sent to the U.S. House. This bill, was a $118 billion border bill. That bill included additional patrol officers, border shutdown capability when a threshold of migrants crossed the border, along with aid to Ukraine and Israel. Mr. Smith and his republican colleague, Speaker Mike Johnson, have refused to take up the bill in the House.

Why is it the Republicans in the House don’t want to compromise anymore?

It seems they are with Vladimir Putin and other dictators espousing a dictatorship or authoritarian government. That is when one man has the authority over everything you do or say even private matters of all kinds.

Jerry T. Howard

Dexter

Retired senator,

District 25