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I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me, because there's always going to be someone with worse problems than me. But, like with much of the rest of the country, COVID-19 has caused a lot of economic damage to me and to the people closest to me. All the focus has been on my Sen. Joe Manchin. But as a Donald Trump voter, I want to know why my Republican Congressman David McKinley isn't fighting for this bill to help hardworking Americans.
Before COVID-19 hit, my husband and I already faced our share of challenges. I attended West Virginia Northern Community College in Wheeling and, until age 23, worked in the legal field. But then I came down with a highly serious bone disease that has made it impossible for me to use my degree and ever work again.
In the 18 years since that diagnosis, I've been in constant pain and through more than 10 surgeries. Among other operations, I've had both knees replaced twice, both hips replaced, four back surgeries, a neck surgery, and a heartbreaking hysterectomy. And I still am required to take multiple, life-sustaining medications.
I bring in $768 a month from Social Security. Thankfully, throughout this time, my husband had a good job in the oil and gas fields. When things were at their best, he was able to work dozens of hours of overtime and bring home up to $2,000 in a single week.
But the pandemic changed all the rules.
That job disappeared almost exactly when COVID-19 hit, and he had to go on unemployment for a year and a half. Our income was so low that we qualified for Medicaid to cover my husband's diabetes medications. He finally found work at a plastics plant for much lower pay, where he's lucky to bring home $800 a week.
My husband needs a better paying job, but there aren't any out there. Meantime, it's become harder and harder to pay our bills.
We now owe $582 to the power company, which repeatedly threatens to shut off our electricity, even though I've given them a doctor's letter certifying my dependence on life-supporting oxygen. We face the serious possibility of automobile repossession. And our housing payments have more than doubled, from $375 a month to $835, after we had to stop living with my sister and move to a new apartment.
With the holidays approaching, it's looking like we won't be offering my two little nephews much of a Christmas. And we're not alone. The pandemic has brought economic pain to millions of Americans. Yet the Republican politicians in Washington refuse to act to help everyday people by refusing to pass the budget being debated right now. I feel like they are ignoring our pain and suffering. Is this how they'd treat their own children, their own grandchildren, or their own mothers?
I voted for Donald Trump, but I don't care what party you're in as long as you're getting the job done. I'm surprised by the indifference of Rep. David McKinley and other Republicans in Congress. They just don't seem to care about the every-day, working citizens in our state.
But they can prove they care by supporting the budget and infrastructure plans that would make well-paid job opportunities more available to my husband and people like him. And Republican lawmakers could join with Mr. Manchin to pass the budget plan that would invest in affordable housing and make prescription drugs more affordable. This budget plan would also extend the Child Tax Credit, which has been a huge benefit for my sister as she raises her two boys. And the budget plan would eliminate tuition at the kind of community college where I had my chance to start a professional career.
Our representatives need to understand what we're going through. They need to walk a mile in our shoes -- and act to support our interests.
Samantha Lowery lives in Wheeling and is a member of WorkMoney, a nonprofit advocacy organization.