Critical of Daines

They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. Yet apparently Steve Daines thinks that a responsible strategy to fund our government is to incessantly vote for short-term, paycheck-to-paycheck, Band-Aid solutions and refuse to deal with one simple reality: Our country needs a long-term budget, and it is Congress’s job to pass one.

I was glad to see at least one of our senators was willing to demand that government do their job and deliver a working budget for the people of Montana. Sen. Jon Tester took a stand against the insanity by calling on Congress to do their job.

For four months, politicians failed to fund critical programs such as CHIP, which insured thousands of Montana children. They have also blocked long-term funding for Montana community health centers, which 100,000 Montanans rely on for medical care.

Families are sick with worry knowing that the next time around, they could lose their healthcare options for good—and they can’t afford to sit around and wait for Republicans to make up their mind about whether or not they want to fund the government.

I implore Daines to join Tester in taking a principled stand against the political games.

Sit down with folks on the other side of the aisle to hammer out a responsible, long-term solution to fund the most pressing needs in this country.

It’s time for Daines to do his job—and if he can’t do that, his constituents may choose to fire him.

Rachel Peura

Polebridge