To the editor:

Republicans keep asking Kamala Harris why she isn’t doing now what she’s promising to do if elected president. Maybe it’s because the Republican-controlled Senate is more interested in winning elections than solving problems.

For example, the absence of border legislation during Joe Biden’s presidency can be traced to the GOP’s inaction. Driven by Donald Trump’s influence, Republicans effectively sabotaged a bill they initially coauthored, aiming to create the narrative that Biden neglected the “immigration mess.” However, the situation’s more complex than just this one instance. An administration can only implement legislation if it successfully reaches a vote in Congress. In the Senate, if a bill doesn’t garner 60 percent support to end debate, it never even gets a chance to be voted on — a tactic known as filibuster. Since the Democrats lack the 60 percent majority in either congressional house, Republicans can continuously block legislation designed to benefit America’s people.

This obstruction extends to multiple critical issues: They’ve blocked two voting rights bills, filibustered immigration reform, halted an investigation into Jan, 6, obstructed efforts to bolster unions and stalled legislation aimed at federally protecting reproductive rights. Additionally, they’ve prevented increases to the minimum wage, stymied climate initiatives and blocked campaign finance reform. All of these proposed measures, including the Build Back Better Act — which sought to enhance the social safety net — failed to advance in the Senate without even reaching a vote.

Despite this significant obstruction, Biden and Harris managed to achieve multiple successes. According to Wikipedia, they secured “substantial federal investment in climate and domestic clean energy production, tax credits for solar panels, electric vehicles and other home energy initiatives, along with a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, an insulin price cap, and a provision enabling Medicare to negotiate drug prices.”

Furthermore, they successfully passed several notable pieces of legislation, including “the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major federal gun control law in nearly three decades; the CHIPS and Science Act to support the semiconductor and manufacturing sectors; the Honoring our PACT Act to expand health care for U.S. veterans; and the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act.” The last of these was necessitated by Trump’s refusal to facilitate a smooth transition of power during a critical time when the nation was grappling with the pandemic.

In areas where Congress proved unyielding, Biden and Harris turned to executive action, implementing measures such as enhancing Buy American rules for federal procurement, rejoining the Paris Accords and extending student loan forgiveness. However, many of their EOs faced judicial challenges and were overturned by the six conservative justices on the Supreme Court.

This illustrates that it’s Republican obstructionism that’s hindered this administration’s progress, not any lack of effort on their part.

In conclusion, defeating Trump is crucial, but it’s equally important to secure a Democratic majority in the Senate. Without this, any ambitions Harris has will also face significant hurdles. As long as voters continue to support Republican candidates against their own best interests, the prospects for meaningful progress remain bleak.

Mel Woods

Rayland