Letters for June 6

Baumgartner should help Congress defend itself

Rep. Michael Baumgartner’s refusal to protect legislative authority is not masked by his misleading public dancing in support of U.S. alliances in his roundtable with Ambassador Crocker and Vice Admiral LeFever (The Spokesman-Review, May 29).

Baumgartner is doing nothing.

Republicans had much weeping and gnashing of teeth when Obama or Biden over-reached Congress and occasionally legislated by “executive order.” Now, Trump is stomping all over legislative authority while Baumgartner and his fellow Republicans do nothing. (Democrats are supine, as well.)

It took the Court of International Trade (also May 29) to remind Americans that tariffs are a legislative function, not a plaything for executive whim.

Where is all the “original intention” rhetoric, now?

The Constitution was designed with legislative primacy – Congress was to make the laws and the president was to administer them.

The division of powers had a purpose, and not all of the burden of protecting Congressional authority should fall to the courts. Baumgartner should help Congress defend itself.

Nothing in the Constitution authorizes a wealth-destroying festival of “tariff by whimsy.”

Nothing in the Constitution authorizes “taxation by whimsy” (and tariffs are taxes).

Article I, Section 8 gives Congress the power to set tariffs.

Also, treaties are negotiated by the president, but must be ratified by two-thirds of the Senate, after which presidents are to administer them as law (unless the treaty itself gave him an out).

Baumgartner is simply failing to defend the interests of Eastern Washington, of the country, and of the very institution of which he is now a member.

Craig A. Mason

Spokane

We owe Afghan immigrant allies safe haven

It was great to see Ambassador Crocker and Rep. Baumgartner’s June 1 guest column that jointly supported keeping our Afghan immigrant allies safe here in the U.S. versus sending them back to a dangerous and possibly deadly fate at the hands of the Taliban, as our current administration is potentially allowing.

I encourage S-R readers to share this information with their friends around the country, asking them to influence their own members of Congress. The U.S. should keep Afghan immigrants and their families under a legally protected status. They risked their lives for us; we owe them safe haven.

Bob Gregson

Spokane

Medicaid cuts threaten care in Eastern Washington

I’m a medical student at Washington State and a future Washington physician. Over the past year, I’ve worked with underserved populations across Spokane. Many of these patients will lose access to life-saving care under proposed Medicaid cuts.

Our region – Congressional District 5 – has the second-highest Medicaid enrollment in the state, with 30% of residents enrolled. More than half are children.

These cuts won’t just hurt people who lose insurance. They will also undermine the clinics and hospitals where I’m training. Reduced funding means fewer staff, fewer services and longer wait times for everyone. Some clinics may be forced to close. Without access to preventative care, more people will rely on emergency departments – an approach that is more expensive and leads to worse health outcomes overall.

As a future physician, I know cutting Medicaid won’t foster healthier communities. Rep. Baumgartner voted to reduce health care access in a district where nearly 1 in 3 residents depends on it. This will make it harder for me – and others – to provide care. As a graduate student, I, too, will lose my own coverage if work requirements are implemented. I worry how I’ll learn to care for others if I can’t afford to seek care myself.

Call Rep. Baumgartner’s office at (509)-353-2374, write letters and sign petitions. Cuts to Medicaid won’t just take away coverage, they will gut the foundation of care in our community, leaving everyone worse off.

Kishanee Jade Haththotuwegama

Spokane

Take offense with policy, not person

In response to the June 1 cover story on Veronica Garcia’s win at the State 2A track meet, any disagreement with the current rules on who is eligible to compete in the girls division should be directed at the rule-makers, not the student-athlete. It is never appropriate to heckle a person based on their identity. Any protest, regardless of the issue, should be directed at the policy and not an attack on the person.

Elizabeth Abbey

Spokane