1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

I am very upset hearing that some of your Democrat Senate colleagues have agreed to join with the Republicans and give in on a bill to reopen the government. Let me make it clear that this shutdown is a travesty and causing enormous hardships for many thousands of families as federal employees and military servicemen and women are not receiving their normal paychecks. While I am no fan of the shutdown, I also know how important the ACA subsidies are for millions of Americans to maintain access to essential healthcare services. No American should have to decide between recommended medical treatment and putting food on the table for their family, yet our country has created a system in which this is all too common. Decreasing the ACA subsidies would cause such unspeakable decisions to become more and more prevalent. Also from a fiscal perspective, decreasing subsidies will only pass on the cost of emergency medical care to taxpayers when Americans are forced to skip medications and procedures and then end up at a municipal hospital with more urgent and expensive medical needs. Senator Fetterman, please hold your ground by voting "no" on the funding bill, on behalf of all Pennsylvanians and Americans who rely on these subsidies to be able to live their lives and provide for their families.