Dear Staffer
We write letters to our congress folk. They have dutiful staffers who read them. Now you can read them, too! Letters to Them -- Of, By, For and From Us.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Medicare for ALL
Friday, August 5, 2011
Tea Partier Mike Lee
From: Brynja Kohler
Subject: Re: Response to the correspondence you sent to Senator Mike Lee
Date: August 4, 2011 8:16:55 AM MDT
To: "Taylor, Jonathan (Lee)"
Thanks for your reply, but frankly this appalls me! The senator is using a document written in the 18th century to guide government budgets in 2011? I am typing this email on an iPad, you refer me to a Facebook page, and guess what, there is no more slavery ... Our world has changed dramatically!
By the way, the constitution doesn't call for a two party system, and Jefferson had some pretty abhorrent morals. But let's not take the argument of how strong the federal government should be so far back in the past. Let us wake up and look at what will make or country most successful in the 21st century.
It is incredibly irresponsible for the senator to deliver such strong rhetoric calling for tax revenue reductions and enormous cuts in our federal spending without a single idea about what programs or spending the government should cut. Please discuss my disappointment with him.
Sincerely,
Brynja Kohler
On Aug 4, 2011, at 7:08 AM, "Taylor, Jonathan (Lee)" <Jonathan_Taylor@lee.senate.gov> wrote:
Hi Brynja,
Our office is currently looking into all the agencies, programs, and organizations funded by the federal government. Senator Lee has not specifically compiled a list of wasteful areas at this time, but wants to first look at every aspect and analyze how changes would affect those involved. The guiding document in deciding what the federal government should and shouldn't be involved in is the United States Constitution. Please feel free to follow Senator Lee's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/senatormikelee and Twitter feed at www.twitter.com/SenMikeLee for information on the latest items he is working on.
Thanks again for writing and please don't hesitate to contact our office if we can be of assistance in the future.
Best,
Jonathan
From: Brynja Kohler <brynja.kohler@usu.edu>
Date: Wed, 3 Aug 2011 20:21:54 -0400
To: Greg Sutherland <jonathan_taylor@lee.senate.gov>
Subject: Re: Response to the correspondence you sent to Senator Mike Lee
What government programs and services does Senator Lee want to cut, eliminate, and/or defund? I want to better understand his priorities.
Thank you,
Brynja Kohler
On Aug 3, 2011, at 7:45 AM, "jonathan_taylor@lee.senate.gov" <jonathan_taylor@lee.senate.gov> wrote:
August 3, 2011
Dear Brynja:
Thank you for writing Senator Lee. He always enjoys hearing from interested citizens. I have reviewed your letter and have discussed your comments about the debt ceiling with Senator Lee, so that he may keep them in mind when discussing or voting on the matter.
Senator Lee can also be reached on Facebook at www.facebook.com/senatormikelee and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SenMikeLee.
Please don't hesitate to contact our office if there is anything we can assist you with. Thank you again for writing.
Best,
Jonathan Taylor
Office of Senator Michael S. Lee
(202) 224-5444
Jonathan_Taylor@Lee.Senate.Gov
Friday, December 10, 2010
Listen to Bernie
Dear Senator:
I'm listening to Senator Bernie Sanders now and greatly impressed with his wisdom and clarity -- even after standing on the Senate floor for over 7 hours now! What an inspiration!
The super rich do not need tax breaks.
We are at war in Afghanistan still and have much rebuilding and expenses still in our war on terror. We are also in the midst of tough economic times with high unemployment.
It is a great atrocity to even consider extending breaks to the super rich when the vast majority of us Americans are struggling, jobless, unable to afford health care, encountering great losses in our home investments, fighting in wars abroad, unable to save for retirement, etc...
We need a funded government in these hard times and the wealthiest amongst us can afford to pay taxes on their wealth.
Can government trim down spending? Sure, but you do ought to do that first and then cut the amount of tax revenue to cover your expenditures. Don't give these ridiculous tax cuts to the ones who won't even notice.
Represent me.
Sincerely,
Brynja
Friday, August 27, 2010
Clean Energy and Oil Accountability
I urge you to work to pass the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Accountability Act (S. 3663) as soon as you return to Washington, DC in September.
If passed, the Senate bill would improve offshore drilling management and crisis response and finally guarantee funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund – an important tool for preserving and restoring habitat for Gulf wildlife and other animals. It would also invest in Home Star, an energy efficiency program that lowers consumers’ energy costs and creates jobs.
We need to hold oil companies accountable to clean up and prevent future oil disasters.
We need to encourage consumers to cut back on their energy consumption to get rid of this inversion we have in Utah. Just imagine if 15% of these cars were electric. I'd love to go for my morning run this fall and winter and not have to look towards the town where I work seeing this awful brown cloud over everything.
This bill is a step in the right direction.
Sincerely,
Citizen Brynja
Logan, UT
This message is also available on the blog
http://dearstaffer.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Ban Single-Use Plastic Bags Now
Senate District 23
4035 State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear Sen. Pavley,
I'm writing to urge your support of AB 1998, the Single-Use Bag Reduction Act. AB 1998 would ban plastic single-use bags and require recycled paper bags be sold at stores in California.
The appalling existence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch should be reason enough to stop use of these bags, which are routinely fatal to over 200 species of marine life. Californians use an estimated 19 million of these bags every year. Only 5% or less are recycled. Paper bags are not much better; they're a drain on our natural resources. AB 1998 will quickly steer consumer habits to cloth and reusable bags.
San Francisco, Malibu, Fairfax, and Palo Alto currently ban these bags, and 20 other cities are working on bans, including my own city, Santa Monica. Rather than taking an ineffective piecemeal approach AB 1998 will create a uniform policy and extending California's leadership in good environmental stewardship. I encourage you to lead by supporting AB 1998.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Preserve Wilderness
Dear Nancy Sultley,
Southeast Utah is home to some of our nation's most prized wilderness lands and cultural resources and is well deserving of federal protection. Unfortunately, instead of working for protection of these wild landscapes a 'wilderness' proposal is being developed behind closed doors by county commissioners that will create ORV access at the expense of preserving these wild lands and the cultural resources they contain.
The San Juan Canyonlands landscape exemplified by the Glen Canyon wilderness contains by many counts, the densest number of archeological sites in the world. This cultural heritage has, and continues to be, placed at risk by off-road vehicle trails that go through archeological sites, leading to unintentional damage and intentional looting.These trails also tend to be in wet canyon bottoms where the site density is the greatest, as is the damage to rare desert riparian areas.
As a Utahn, I have a stake in this legislation as do all Americans. I hope the Obama administration will take a thoughtful approach to public lands legislation for southeast Utah, and only support legislation that provides meaningful and significant protection from ORVs and other threats for the regions cultural, wilderness and water resources, and oppose any legislation that does not.
Sincerely,
Brynja Kohler (with help from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.)