DEAR EDITOR:

If there’s one thing Ohioans know, it’s loyalty, hard work, and looking out for our neighbors. We’re a state built on industry, farming, and community — when someone’s in trouble, we step up. That’s why it’s baffling that our politicians are rolling over while Elon Musk spreads lies to dismantle USAID, one of the most efficient, life-saving agencies in our government.

For more than 60 years, USAID’s civil servants and foreign service officers have served under both Republican and Democratic administrations, not because they had a political agenda, but because their job was to represent American values. When hurricanes hit the Caribbean, when hospitals were bombed in Ukraine, when children were starving in Ethiopia, USAID was there–not just saving lives, but ensuring stability that keeps America safe.

And here’s the kicker — it’s cheap. USAID operates on less than 1% of the federal budget. That’s right — while billionaires like Musk funnel tax breaks into their vanity projects, USAID workers are out in the field, making sure humanitarian crises don’t turn into military interventions that cost us far more in lives and dollars.

U.S. Sens. Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, as a voter I would expect you have the integrity to stand up and not blindly follow this craziness! Please speak up and do what is right for the hardworking public servants who’ve been keeping America safe and respected for decades. Defend the federal workers including USAID — because Ohioans don’t leave their neighbors behind.

KAREN KANOTZ

Canfield