Solving problems should be legislators’ top priority

Saying so doesn’t make it so. Speaker Johnson and many other Republicans claim that we don’t need further legislation as the president now has the power to correct all of the border problems. No journalist of whom I am aware has asked where in law that power is found. Why haven’t those Republicans just blurted out where the statutory authority is found if it is real and they want to embarrass the president?

By the same token, the Democrats have mumbled and fumbled about straight out saying they don’t have the authority. Why?

Only thing I can think of is “executive orders.” Now the Republicans screamed like all manner of horrible things when Democrat Obama used that power profusely. Why haven’t the Democrats continued to use that power, if it exists? Why haven’t the Republicans validated executive orders as the solution if they believe in the use of them in this circumstance? Is embarrassing your opponent more important than protecting and supporting the national interest?

Saying so doesn’t make it so. Each party needs to demonstrate why their actions are the correct ones.

Turning to the failed bipartisan Senate attempt to craft a legislative solution, and as one who had in his work life some experience in negotiations, half a loaf (if that is all this Senate compromise is) is always better than no progress. If the border problem is a human tragedy, as I know it is, or even a national security issue, as many Republicans claim it is, a partial solution is vastly better than allowing the issue to fester so that it can be a campaign issue in November. Solving problems is the moral imperative for all legislators.

WALLY BRAUER Yuma