Letter to the editor: Veteran supports Gideon for U.S. Senate

As a veteran, I am concerned about providing the support that veterans and their families need. In Maine and across the country, many are dying in veterans and nursing homes. Veterans and their fellow Americans are losing jobs, income and health insurance coverage because of our COVID-19 pandemic.

The federal government has abandoned any leadership role in our current crisis, leaving the states to figure things out. If Maine is to continue helping veterans, the unemployed, the uninsured and the elderly, we must have more federal funding to avoid running out of state funds. Without more federal funding, state and local governments may have to lay off workers, including police, firefighters, EMTs and teachers.

So where is the funding we need? Stuck in the Senate, blocked by Mitch McConnell. It is clear that neither he nor the president care about the people of Maine. We must end Republican control of the Senate. Although I have voted for Susan Collins many times in the past, I now support Sara Gideon.

Maine House Speaker Sara Gideon will bring much-needed new energy to the U.S. Senate. Her record in the Maine Legislature shows she understands the needs of veterans and all Maine citizens. I’m sure she will continue to support these same issues in the Senate and to bring needed help to all of us in these dangerous times. Please join me in supporting Sara Gideon for Senate in the July 14 Democratic primary.

David Schulz

Topsham