To the editor:

Thank you for setting the record straight in your article regarding Rep. Elise Stefanik’s irresponsible demand that NPR be defunded. Your newspaper’s fact-based background information about CBP funding clearly explained that Rep. Stefanik was making unsubstantiated claims about taxpayer dollars going to NCPR and Democrat political initiatives being illegally funded.

It is only through balanced reporting in newspapers like yours or information-based public radio that voters become aware of details that Rep. Stefanik manages to avoid revealing. Time and again, she has been caught twisting information to put out false assumptions.

Take for example her recent statement explaining her reason for voting no on the infrastructure bill. She claimed it “prioritizes Green New Deal policies over traditional infrastructure, such as roads and bridges.” But an article by NCPR laid out the following details of allocation: $110 billion for roads and bridges, $66 billion to upgrade Amtrak rails, $39 billion for public transit, $65 billion for broadband infrastructure, $47 billion for communities facing worsening climate change, $65 billion to upgrade the nation’s electric grid and $15 billion for electric buses, ferries and car charging stations.

I personally don’t see those facts as verifying the truth of what she’s claiming. But it does seem to be her cover for neglecting to mention that the bill will not only fix our infrastructure but help preschool children, working mothers and those without healthcare. I think many of us have long since caught on to the way she misconstrues information with intent to smear Democrats while pretending faux interest in the welfare of people in the North Country.

And we can thank Adirondack Daily Enterprise, NCPR and NPR for providing us with the facts that enable us to see through her political conniving. Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

Martha Hodges

Massena