Letters

Truth about my votes

In a letter to the editor, my opponent has again mischaracterized my record and position on health-care policy. Let me be clear: I support and have always supported protecting health insurance coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. To characterize that I have "voted dozens of times to ... make care much more expensive or remove it entirely from hundreds of thousands of Arkansans" is grossly misleading and inaccurate.

The American Health Care Act, which we passed in the House of Representatives last year with my vote, protected health insurance coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. This bill would now be law if it hadn't failed in the Senate by one vote.

Since its passage, Obamacare has driven up the cost of health care and the cost of health insurance premiums, all while eliminating coverage options for many Arkansans--meaning that if you like your health insurance, no, in fact you can't keep it, because it is so expensive.

Here's the truth about my health-care voting record: I have voted to give everyone access to affordable health insurance; I voted to put health decisions back in the hands of patients and their doctors; I voted for a federal pre-existing conditions policy to improve availability and cost of health care; I voted for states to have more freedom to structure their Medicaid plans to take care of their most vulnerable; I voted to allow insurance companies to sell across state lines to give consumers more choice; I voted to help small businesses band together to create insurance plans; and I voted for the Right to Try Act to give terminally ill individuals and their families a chance.

I believe this is the best approach to give all Arkansans better, more affordable coverage.

I remain committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to lower cost, increase choice and competition, and provide access to affordable health care for all Arkansas and Americans.

FRENCH HILL

Little Rock

U.S. Rep. French Hill represents Arkansas' 2nd District.

Regrettable lost lives

Tuesday's article regarding gun control is very troubling to me. I am very glad I do not live in Sen. Trent Garner's district. I am glad to be part of his "faulty" logic to deter gun ownership. It is people who kill with guns, not guns. Guns are an object that need an entity to make them work. That entity is a human with a finger able to pull the trigger. It is so sad that the comment is made about someone having to explain this. Whoever elected these yahoos to represent Arkansas should re-examine their choices.

Correct me if I'm wrong, please, but isn't the purpose of gun control to save lives? I believe the people arguing the "unconstitutionality" of such a measure just want their guns, to have them easily accessible for a "so-called" emergency, and just plain want the weapon at their beck and call. In my opinion, this thinking leads to regrettable harm and death. We are not talking about hunting issues here, but human lives.

ELAINE BURKS

Little Rock

Not part of problem

Protecting the water, air and wild places that we all need is going to require well-informed, scientifically sound discussion. Comparing two million gallons of factory-produced hog manure to wild deer poop is not well-informed or scientifically sound.

The hog manure is the residue left over from feeding thousands of tons of imported nutrients. Nutrients trucked into the Ozarks as concentrated swine feed, eaten by the hogs and then spread onto fields as manure. All the polluting nutrients in the hog manure are new to the ecosystem, brought in from somewhere else. All the deer poop, squirrel poop, etc., is just the result of wildlife eating the acorns, roots and grass that are already present in the Ozark ecosystem.

The pollution of the Buffalo River is the result of nutrients imported from outside the Ozarks. Wild animals are not importing anything. Wildlife is not part of the pollution problem.

BRAD TAYLOR

Parthenon

Not good for nation

It really irritates me every time I hear someone defending Trump's actions by saying "the American people elected Trump knowing what kind of person he is and what he said he would do."

Well, I am one of the 54 percent of the American people who did not vote for Trump (I did not vote for Clinton either) precisely because I knew what kind of person he is. By a quirk of the electoral college system he was elected without the majority of the popular vote. I believe many voted for him because they did not want Hillary.

The far right and far left are not good for our country. We need quality candidates for all political offices who are willing to compromise on important issues.

JULIA FOSTER

Monticello

Of partisan delusion

I have had the pleasure to live in Florida, Arkansas, New Mexico, California and Ohio. I have heard the use of the words monkey wrench and monkey bread. But with all my travels, I have never had the displeasure of hearing "monkey it up."

Ron DeSantis said those nasty words for a reason.

Shame on you, LaVerne Welcher, for making your ear deaf to racism in the name of political expediency. Please reflect on the original statement by DeSantis. Would you or anyone you know have used "monkey it up" as a synonym of "foul up," "mess up," or "screw up"?

REBECCA K. RUSH

Bryant

Editorial on 09/14/2018

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