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To the Editor
:
I admit to having a large sigh as I reiterate some truths in response to Stephen Sellers' letter in the July 1 Sentinel, in which he lists President Biden's "accomplishments."
1. President Biden did not "do away with our energy independence" when he canceled the Keystone XL pipeline. The XL was an addition to the Keystone Pipeline, which is still in operation and delivers 590,000 barrels of tar-sands oil daily from Canada to U.S. refineries. The majority of the jobs lost on the XL extension would have been temporary, and estimated numbers of jobs range from 1000 to 11,000. The U.S. was not "energy independent" during the Trump administration: in 2020, Trump's last full year in office, the U.S. imported about 7.9 million barrels per day of crude oil and petroleum products. U.S. crude oil production in Biden's first year was higher than in each of Trump's first two years and just narrowly shy of production in Trump's last year. Republicans had accused Biden of misusing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for political purposes, but voters backed the measures by a clear majority, and retail gasoline prices retreated sharply as crude oil markets calmed.
2. President Biden did not open the southern border. U.S. Customs and Border Protection continues to do its job at the border; U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at El Paso area ports of entry have intercepted 327.78 pounds of methamphetamine, 139.81 pounds of cocaine, and 42.70 pounds of fentanyl since the beginning of 2023. This speaks to the border being monitored rather than opened up. Unlawful entries along the southern border have decreased 70 percent from their record highs since the end of Title 42 on May 11, according to the Department of Homeland Security. We are not experiencing an "outright invasion", as Mr. Sellers states in his letter. In addition, the confiscations referred to above show that illegal narcotics are not being smuggled undeterred across the border.
3. As I've written before, there is no green new deal. This bill has not passed the House and Senate, and has not been signed by the president. The Biden administration is working toward climate-conscious goals such as reducing emissions to decrease global warming, tackling non-CO2 climate pollutants, and reducing deforestation.
4. The Trump administration in February 2020 negotiated a withdrawal agreement with the Taliban that excluded the Afghan government, freed 5,000 imprisoned Taliban soldiers and set a date certain of May 1, 2021, for the final withdrawal. President Biden's administration pulled out of Afghanistan on Aug. 30, 2021, adhering to President Trump's agreement. A report by the state department said the decision by the Trump and Biden administrations to remove the U.S. military had "serious consequences for the viability of the Afghan government and its security". The withdrawal is widely considered to have been mismanaged.
5. President Biden has strengthened our ties with NATO, which President Trump had considered pulling out of. This bolstering of our relationships has enabled NATO to counter Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and has resulted in Finland's joining NATO in April, 2023. As far as President Biden's being a "doddering old fool" in the eyes of the world, I counter that Mr. Sellers needs to judge the president on his commitment to working with world leaders, and bilaterally with congressional members who are arguably not as willing to work with him.
6. The President's first two years in office -- 2021 and 2022 -- were the two strongest years of job growth in history. The unemployment rate is at the lowest level in 50 years. Unemployment is near record lows for Black and Hispanic Americans, and 750,000 total manufacturing jobs have been created since Biden took office.
7. For decades, infrastructure in Pennsylvania has suffered from a systemic lack of investment. The Biden administration, through the Infrastructure and Jobs Act has released over $40B to connect every US citizen to high-speed internet; PA will benefit from this. Other billions are being used to repair PA roads and bridges. A recent example of the president's leadership has been to join with Gov. Shapiro in getting I-95 in Philadelphia up and going again in two weeks after its collapse on June 11th.
Like you, Mr. Sellers, I could say more, but this is enough for one letter.
Joan D. Loewen
Lewistown