Nov 18, 2021 2 min read

It was gratifying to see Republican Washington County Commissioner Nick Sherman expressing support for the $65 billion allocation for broadband access, which is a prominent component of the Biden infrastructure plan (“Broadband Vital to Daily Living,” Nov. 23).

True to his party roots, though, the commissioner states that he does not approve of the Democratic-led bill as a whole nor its price tag ($1 trillion).

What facets of the bill are distasteful to you, commissioner? What should we forgo: road and bridge repair, lead pipe replacement, improvement in the quality of drinking water, transit and rail service, an upgrade of the electrical grid, and/or funding for ports and waterways? These initiatives sound sensible to me. The bill passed with the support of only 13 House Republicans and some of those members of the GOP who engaged in laudable bipartisanship to get it to the president’s desk have shamefully received death threats as a result.

Commissioner Sherman also praises funding for broadband access derived from the American Rescue Plan, also a Democratic initiative that was enacted early in the term of President Biden and signed into law for enactment on March 11.

Perhaps Democrats are not all bad, commissioner. They have certainly gotten much more accomplished to fund initiatives important to many of your constituents than the former president, who talked about funding infrastructure, but did not ever deliver.

Oren Spiegler

Peters Township