Quit playing shutdown politics and get people the help they need | Opinion

Needs unmet

As we endure yet another federal government shutdown, we need lawmakers to put people over politics. A shutdown doesn’t just freeze government — it undermines essential programs that families in Texas and elsewhere depend on.

Congress must fund global health, nutrition and education programs at least at the levels the House Appropriations Committee already passed. These investments save lives, build stability and demonstrate U.S. leadership.

Here at home, anti-poverty programs such as housing vouchers and nutrition for women, infants and children must be funded at levels that meet current need so no families or young ones currently receiving support are cut off.

Congress must include safeguards to ensure that appropriated funds are actually spent, with no impoundments or rescissions that undermine bipartisan agreements.

Shutdown politics hurt real people. It’s time for leaders to act responsibly, keep government open and make sure essential programs do their jobs.

- Craig Roshaven, Fort Worth

Gun logic

So, Texas leaders continue to let 18-year-olds buy AR-style rifles. And any unstable young person could buy an AR and repeat the Uvalde massacre. Where is their horse sense? Why should anyone other than soldiers need such guns?

It is the ultimate in stupidity to hear, “Guns are not the problem.” When guns are in the right hands they are not a problem. But what about when guns get into the wrong hands, which they certainly do?

- J.W. Holmes, Arlington

A smokescreen

I’m confused.

During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump said Mexico was sending us murderers, rapists and drug dealers. To keep them out, he promised to build a wall that Mexico would pay for. Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021 to “combat the smuggling of people and drugs into Texas.”

So why is the state using my tax dollars to deploy the Texas National Guard to Chicago?

Trump and Abbott might like the visuals. It’s one thing to see helicopters and masked federal agents create pain, shatter families and kidnap immigrants off the streets in traditionally Democratic cities. Such chaos in Republican cities would never do, for it would challenge the GOP’s hypocritical law-and-order image.

This blatantly illegal challenge to the right of peaceful protest actually might just be a distraction so Americans abandon concerns over health insurance costs and forget the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.

- Barbara Chiarello, Austin

Unwanted effects

I agree that outlining the legal consequences of sharing prescription drugs for non-recreational purposes is important, but it should be emphasized that this can also cause difficulty for the person receiving the medication: increased risk of adverse side effects and a delay in seeking health care that can mask the severity of symptoms or a disease in general.

A 2024 study indicated that 37% of participants reported experiencing adverse side effects after taking a prescription drug that was not prescribed to them. We should highlight the health consequences of sharing prescription medications in addition to legal repercussions so people can understand the harm they might cause to friends and family.

- Briah Baker, Crowley

ICE drain

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is running recruitment ads on TV targeting local police officers as potential hires. That could place a heavy burden on all municipalities, especially small ones.

- Kelly White, Watauga