1. United States
2. Conn.
3. Letter

Note from a furloughed fed I know you know this. But preventing health care collapse is sort of the *minimum* you should be asking for to end the shutdown. We need impeachment and removal. We need c&ds on ICE. We need an end to Russ Vought’s reign of terror. But health care is a good start. Numbers are coming out. Use them. Break them down by month to show that health care will now be out of reach for millions. Even private insurers’ rates are going up…and the prognosis for rural hospitals and the long-term care industry under that stupid law is Very Poor. They don’t care if people die. Start telling people that. Republicans passed a law that will let people die and they won’t even come to the table to fix it. The last time my agency was affected by a long shutdown was in 2013 — another ACA-related health care battle. Is it really so much to ask that people not be allowed to die in the name of health insurance companies’ profit margins? The Republicans keep mounting such resistance to it—call them out on this, please. I know you know this. But the time for “bipartisanship” died when Mitch refused to vote on Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court (not that I wanted that guy in, either…but it’s the principle). There is no more playing the game with the Republicans. They opted out of the rules more than a decade ago. Catch up. “Republicans don’t care if people die.” I want to hear it over and over again. Thanks!