Letter: Herrera Beutler follows party

Not so fast with The Columbian praising Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler for her fine work with veterans.

I’d like to remind you that she doesn’t always support our nation’s war vets.

When the Highway Appropriations bill was before Congress in 2015, an amendment was put forward by Democrats to assist veterans.

The amendment provided that businesses owned and operated by returning veterans would be given priority consideration in highway construction and repair contracts. Herrera Beutler voted as she was instructed by the Republican caucus against the measure and it was defeated along party lines. The amendment would have been defeated regardless of Herrera Beutler’s vote so it would have been a better demonstration that she does support vets had she broken with party ranks on this one occasion.

I understand both parties in Congress are basically controlled by their party caucuses and are instructed to vote the party line if they expect to get things they want done.

Perhaps Herrera Beutler is not the strong representative we need in Congress, since she really hasn’t helped her district much since first getting elected.