Your view: Emerson asked to help struggling families

To the Editor:

On February 1st, Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson will cast her final vote on a bill, which, if passed, will slash $40 billion from programs on which thousands of your readers rely. The bill would cut student loans, slash health care for poor seniors and children, cut funding to enforce child support orders (letting deadbeat parents off the hook) and cut child care assistance for low-income working families.

Within days of this vote the Republican-led Congress will then vote to use money cut from these critical services to pay for as much as $70 billion in tax breaks for the wealthy. Unfortunately, our Representative, Congresswoman Emerson has already shown that she supports this strategy of cutting services from the poor to line the pockets of the rich. She voted in favor of tax breaks for the rich last month.

Since that vote, a closer look of the impact of these budget cuts shows that the cuts will impact far more Missourians more severely than anyone thought at the time of the vote. Thousands of seniors will be denied nursing home care, low-income children will go without adequate healthcare, Medicaid cuts would serious limit access to health care services, and working families will spend thousands more to send their kids to college.

Fortunately, the House of Representative will take a final vote on the budget bill on February 1st. I encourage Representative Emerson to reconsider the harsh impact these cuts will have on families who are already struggling to survive and to vote NO. These cuts are bad for our country and bad for Missouri. We deserve representation that ensures the well being of all Missourians, not just the wealthy who benefit from tax breaks to millionaires.

Despite the pleas from 8th District citizens, Representative Emerson voted once again with big business on HBS 1932 at the expense of her constituents in the 8th District.

Walter and Marilyn Ivy

New Madrid, Mo.