Thank you, Congressman Sam Graves!

Thanks, Sam. You tried to prevent hundreds of children from low-income families from going to bed cold tonight. You did your best to help keep families here in Northwest Missouri, and across the state, a little warmer and safer this winter.

Above political party ties and beyond what is expected of you, thank you for voting in favor of the Labor-HHS bill, and for voting again to override the presidential veto of that bill. You made a difficult choice and recognized a real need in our communities — the need to help more than 12,000 individuals in Northwest Missouri who are living in poverty to have more opportunities as they try to move upward.

The passing of the Labor-HHS bill would have increased funding for programs like energy assistance, education, senior services, programs for at-risk youth and social services that make a real difference to these children and their families. In Buchanan County alone, more than 17 percent of children are living in poverty. Energy costs are predicted to rise as much as 11 percent, making this season particularly difficult on families who are already struggling.

Thank you for recognizing that this year is unlike any recent year concerning cuts in resources for keeping families with low-incomes warm and safe, and so more families will resort to unsafe heating methods or they will simply do without. Many new requests for heating assistance will come from families in which both parents are working and are still forced to make choices between heat or rent, medications or food.

Dave Leyland

St. Joseph