"Who is Paul Gosar working for in Washington? " by Kwaayesnama

October 18, 2011

Unfortunately when many of us supported Doctor Paul Gosar we thought we were sending an intelligent mild mannered dentist who would represent his constituents to Washington. What we received is a man who has forgotten his middle class routes. The only plan Doctor Gosar has for putting Arizona back to work is supporting polluting industries and fighting against regulations. His adamant support to open one million acres in the Grand Canyon to uranium mining is a travesty. Today the damage that was done on the Navajo and Hopi Indian Reservation is still not rectified. The American Government is spending millions of dollars each year in cleanup on the reservations but that will not bring back lost lives. Living on the Hopi Indian Reservation I know people that have been and are still impacted from past uranium mining. The new mine will be as close as three miles from the Colorado River. The poisoning of the reservations impacted a few thousand Native Americans. When uranium tailings are washed into the Colorado River it will impact thousands of people who depend on the Colorado River for water including the city of Phoenix. Paul Gosar stated that “Environmentalists groups have employed "scare tactics" when it comes to uranium mining in Arizona. It's a very, very safe mining process. Our job is to educate the public to that fact. It is a source of wealth and source of future jobs and can be done in an environmental way.” I am not an environmentalist I am a 62 year old grandmother who loves my family. I have witnessed the grief of a Hopi grandfather who lost his beloved grandson to a rare form of leukemia. I have sat by the bed side of a friend who had a thyroid tumor removed. Friend’s wells have been caped because of uranium and arsenic contamination. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Scottsdale, said a ban on new uranium mining in Northern Arizona was based on "policy by folklore". So I challenge all of our representatives who are fighting for foreign countries to mine our precious Grand Canyon to come to Tuba City and in front of cameras to drink one 8oz of Folklore water from one of the contaminated wells. Please read this report by the US EPA and judge for yourselves the safety of uranium mining. http://www.epa.gov/region9/superfund/navajo-nation/pdf/NN-5-Year-Plan-June-12.pdf Thank you for letting me share my voice with you. Vera Kwaayesnama Skorupski Keams Canyon, Arizona

In response to:

Freshman congressman yanks teeth, cuts budget

Gosar’s frantic first term mingles workaholic schedule with partisan pressures of economic emergency

From sleeping on a cot in his office to yanking teeth on the floor of Congress, freshman First Congressional District Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Flagstaff) has put in a frantic year dominated by economic crisis and partisan bitterness. On the national level, he has cast votes for the radical restructuring of Medicare and cutting popular domestic programs to reduce the soaring deficit while juggling local projects, like supporting the 4-Forest Restoration Initiative (4-FRI) and the Blue Ridge pipeline.

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