1. United States
2. Minn.
3. Letter

I’m writing as a Minnesotan who’s deeply frustrated and heartbroken over what’s happening in Washington. I know you didn’t personally cave on the shutdown vote — and I appreciate that you stood your ground. But the truth is, the deal Congress accepted still feels like a surrender, and people like me are the ones paying for it. Because of these “compromises,” I’m on the verge of losing my health insurance. The cost has become impossible to manage since my student loan payments restarted and increased. I work full time, I pay my taxes, and I’ve done everything right, but I’m falling behind anyway. I’m one of those people who make “too much” to qualify for help, but not enough to stay afloat. It feels like this government — both parties — is slowly killing off the poor and squeezing the rest of us until we break. Maybe that sounds harsh, but it’s hard not to feel that way when every “solution” seems to make survival harder. I know you’re fighting from Minnesota for what’s right, but we need more than votes. We need leadership that refuses to let our lives be traded away as bargaining chips. We need someone willing to call out their own colleagues when these deals gut health care protections and ignore the crushing weight of student debt. We matter too. The working class. The middle class. The people who make this country run while barely keeping our heads above water. Please — keep fighting for us. Protect affordable health care. Push for real student debt relief. And when the next shutdown looms, remember what it costs us when Congress “compromises” again.