Smith wrong on COVID relief

This letter is written in regard to Rep. Jason Smith's negative, unsubstantiated comments on the latest round of federal COVID-19 relief legislation.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will positively affect every one of Smith's constituents. There is money for schools, rural hospitals, rental property owners, renters, small businesses, the arts, the unemployed, child nutrition programs, farmers, parents, and especially the working class that he is attempting very poorly to gaslight into believing that the GOP suddenly supports. This law was passed without one single Republican vote and is very popular with a greater than 70% approval among all demographics.

The 40-year-old "trickle down economics" schemes and tax cuts for the wealthy that the GOP push have failed, especially in poor, rural areas like the Republican-dominated MO-8th Congressional District. We need our government to work for all of us, not just the special interests that fill the coffers of politicians' war chests. Smith is out of touch and lacks basic leadership skills. He refuses to hold town hall meetings with his constituents, keeps people divided with social issues (i.e. God, guns, abortion), and complains incessantly without offering any solutions. People in his district need to stop voting against their own interests.

RICK VANDEVEN, Chaffee