1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

Dear congressional leaders wherever you are You lead one of the most powerful governmental institutions in our country, the US Senate. Our constitution requires that the Senate provide checks and balances on other branches of government, yet the Senate seems to be doing little to puts checks on Presidential authority. How much longer can you ignore your responsibilities to the other 99% of American people? Why did you facilitate the passage of what has been called “A big, beautiful bill” that did little for the average American while significantly increasing our national debt? How can you tolerate the terrible tactics of ICE and other agents of DHS? Our country has deported thousands of individuals in the past without brutal, Gestapo-like, behavior. Why is this behavior needed now? I feel ashamed by this brutal federal government sanctioned behavior, with agents dressed for war, with little training or understanding of our constitution. Daily videos of the needless brutality lower the standing of the US across the world and feeds the propaganda of our enemies. How can you tolerate the remarks of President Trump who dismisses the deaths of our Allied soldiers while they were supporting our own military in Afghanistan? Why dismiss the value of NATO and insult our allies? While we engage in meaningless culture wars, China has moved ahead of us in 57 of 64 critical technologies while in 2003 they led in only 7 (See multiple sources such as the Australian Strategic Policy Institute). We are worried about pronouns while China focuses on protons. The President’s defunding of US scientific institutions and core public interest data gathering is short sighted and hurling the US into economic atrophy. Our country has always placed great emphasis on the values enumerated in our constitution and these values seem to be abandoned at the present time. Please exercise your constitutional responsibilities and provide checks on Presidential behavior.