Editor,

I read with interest the (April 7, 2022) News Briefs highlighting the $5 Million in Area Infrastructure Funds Secured by Rep. Beyer. Rep. Beyer is simply doing his job and by conventional political standards he is doing it well as the representative of his Congressional district. Securing federal funds for such worthy projects as the Glencarlyn Park Pedestrian Bridge to Body Worn Cameras for the Alexandria Police Department to traffic and safety solutions from Belle Haven to Alexandria is laudable. BUT and there should be a but when the federal gross national debt has surpassed $30 trillion for the first time.

But why does a taxpayer in Dayton, Ohio or Peoria, Illinois pay for the Glencarlyn Park Pedestrian Bridge or any other of these local projects? Local projects should be paid for locally and not by the federal government. The issue of reducing spending receives short shrift these days by both parties as the desire to spend to garner public support far outweighs the importance of decreasing the national debt. We are on a fiscal collision course that no one wants to talk about or even debate. Next time Rep. Beyer secures federal funds for local projects, the News Press can take the initiative to assess the pros and cons of increasing the national debt.

At a time of divisive politics in Washington, the national debt can and should be a bipartisan issue that helps unite the parties to find solutions. That is, if our representatives are truly concerned about the health and welfare of their constituents.

Curtis Schaeffer
Falls Church