Susan Stevens: States accustomed to aid received from federal government agencies

To the Daily Sun,

If Donald Trump should win in November, and conservatives have their way, you can kiss goodbye to the FBI, EPA, HUD, CDC, FEMA, DHS, FCC, FTC, DOE, DOJ, VA — to name many of the government agencies in jeopardy. The responsibilities of some of these agencies would be turned over to the states. The DOJ would fall under the office of the president. Veterans Affairs would be privatized.

How many times do you hear about the federal government coming to the aid of overwhelmed states during natural disasters? Pretty much always. If your child is kidnapped and taken out of state, wouldn’t you want the FBI to step in? Well, if Trump wins that won’t be possible. You’ll have to rely on your local and state police. Is your state prepared to handle another pandemic? Right now we’ve got a mosquito-borne virus (Eastern equine encephalitis) spreading around New England. So far there’s been one case in New Hampshire. Is our state ready to handle this illness that can be 30%-50% fatal to those who take severely ill? Anyone willing to risk it?

In all these incidents I’ve just listed, Americans are accustomed to the aid received from our federal government agencies. I for one would like to keep it that way.

Susan Stevens

Alton