To the editor:

While 700,000 people of Arizona are without a duly elected representative, Adelita Grijalva, because the house speaker, Mike Johnson, refuses to swear her in, the entire nation suffers through a government lockdown. She will be the deciding vote that would bring the Epstein Files investigation to the forefront. Instead, Johnson has closed the House doors and given representatives a paid leave to keep them from their work. While the Republican representatives stay away, the Democrats are showing up each week. What many do not understand is that this Continuing Resolution Budget is only temporary. It is only good until Nov. 21. That’s right. Then a new budget resolution would need to be drafted. It is more and more looking like there will be another battle of a clean CRB by Thanksgiving.

There is a lot of finger-pointing to go around. The Republicans blame the Democrats in the Senate for holding out on giving enough votes to pass this resolution. By the time you read this, that is only 12 days until a new budget can be drafted.

Keep in mind that the Republican Party is the one that has been voting “no” on supporting Medicaid, “no” on increasing the minimum wage and “no” on SNAP benefits, and refuse to help Americans with health care — but that’s another matter. They want to keep you poor and desperate and want to blame Democrats for the shutdown.

A majority of people on Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program are children and poor seniors. President Donald Trump says he will defy court orders and stop funding SNAP, even though there is $6 billion in contingency funds earmarked for such an emergency. Even if and when he agrees to help, I have a suspicion that when the aid finally arrives it will be in red states not blue states because this current president has shown where his vindictiveness lies.

Some say that the poor deserve being poor and are not educated enough to have more money or better jobs. Yet, who is responsible for low wages? The Republicans have voted “no” for the past 20 years on a minimum wage increase. In actuality, the large corporations are the largest beneficiaries of welfare. If banks fail, they get bailed out. If auto companies fail, they get bailed out. If corporations go under, they benefit through bankruptcy. I don’t want to see any of those institutions fail because that means job losses, but why can’t the less fortunate be treated humanely? The average person who receives EBT assistance receives around $6 a day. That is in no way living the high life.

This shutdown cannot go on forever. I applaud those who have the courage to stand for what is right. While typing this, I found that the White House has demanded that grocery stores not give discounts to EBT holders when and if their cards get refilled. I know what side I am on. What side are you on?

Kathy Antinone

Steubenville