July letters: Readers sound off on veterans’ health care, politicizing the U.S. military and more

Cutting rural health care would cheat veterans 

The Sierra Nevada VA Health Care System reaches into 20 counties in Nevada, Northern California and part of Southern Oregon, and serves as many as 35,000 veterans. In my 10 years as a registered nurse and case manager at the VA hospital in Reno, we often received patients in transport who had received initial life-saving treatment and stabilization in the ERs of rural hospitals. This GOP budget is threatening those rural hospitals—and ultimately the lives of those they serve.  

The VA is already suffering under draconian cuts and is struggling to keep open the non-emergency, rural VA primary-care clinics. Rural hospitals and the emergency care that they provide are critical to the people living in outlying areas, including many veterans. Our veterans have not been well-served by the country, and this is another reminder of the ways in which our heroes are being disrespected and devalued by this administration. Congress must not steal from the people who rely on Medicaid in order to pay for ongoing tax cuts for the rich.  

Rep. Mark Amodei has rubber-stamped nearly all of this administration’s agenda. Please let him know that this bill is a literal killer. 

Wendy Buxton, Reno 

Job Corps program deserves scrutiny 

It is unfortunate that a young person did not have the support they needed to graduate high school, and they should be given every opportunity to become productive citizens and not be dependent on anyone—including the federal government. With that said, perpetual programs such as the Job Corps need some periodic scrutiny. (“At this week’s Job Corps graduation—pomp, circumstance, and the threat of homelessness,” RN&R Editor’s Newsletter, June 5.) 

I used ChatGPT to get some basic statistics that were not in the article to help me form an objective opinion about the program. According to the Department of Labor (DOL), the average cost per student/year in the Job Corps is $80,264, with an average total cost per graduate being $155,600. In comparison, a UNR student pays around $87,700 for a four-year degree. There is clearly a problem here if it costs more money to get disadvantaged students a high school degree then it costs to get a college degree at UNR. 

The DOL has cited Job Corps’ financial deficits and underwhelming student outcomes. As a taxpayer or consumer, I don’t want to spend money on something that is high cost and low quality. We need to seek other alternatives. 

As it stands, the federal government has a huge budget deficit, and something needs to be done. If Jacky Rosen, one of our senators, feels that the Job Corps is so important, instead of criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to dismantle it, maybe she can find other areas in the federal budget to cut so the Job Corps can continue. But even if it continues, it needs to be revamped.  

The commentary from Jacky does not indicate she wants to fix anything; she offers no solutions and just wants to keep on spending. And finally, I wish she would act more bipartisan, since Trump did manage to win the Nevada popular vote. Her rhetoric is certainly alienating me, and I am feeling unrepresented.  

Stephen Sumner, Sparks 

Nevada’s tribal voting laws are an improvement 

The United States has a long history of imposing barriers that have prevented eligible Native voters from fully participating in the democratic process. Despite being the original inhabitants of this land, citizenship and the right to vote were not granted until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. In Nevada, it wasn’t until 2016 that progress finally accelerated after a lawsuit was brought by the Walker River and Pyramid Lake Paiute tribes to ensure access to polling places on their reservations. Since then, the state has taken significant steps forward to expand tribal voting access. 

During the 2023 state legislative session, Nevada passed a landmark law guaranteeing that every tribe that requested a polling place or drop box would get what they needed. In the 2024 election, the impact was clear: 20 reservation-based polling places were established statewide, up from zero in 2015. Tribal voter turnout increased by 36% in 2024, with 6,173 votes cast. This progress deserves recognition. 

However, the law’s rollout exposed gaps. The original legislation lacked clarity on who was responsible for recruiting poll workers and staffing tribal polling places, leading to staffing shortages in several locations. One of the most egregious cases was the Sho-Pai Tribes of Duck Valley, who were forced to contribute $5,000 of their own funds and raise another $5,000 to meet county staffing standards, without any county support. No other community faces this burden, as staffing is the county clerk’s responsibility. 

To address this inequity, Senate Bill 421, which unanimously passed in 2025 and was signed into law, explicitly assigns county clerks the responsibility for staffing tribal polling places, as they do for all others. While some clerks had already stepped up, like the Humboldt County clerk who staffed the polling place on the Fort McDermitt Reservation herself, SB 421 ensures consistent access statewide. 

Thanks to these hard-fought changes, Nevada has the strongest tribal voting laws in the country. These targeted, practical reforms ensure that every tribal member can access staffed local polling places, making the promise of voting rights a reality for all Nevadans. 

Jennifer Willett, Reno 

Trump should not have politicized the military 

As a proud veteran of the 82nd Airborne Division, I am disheartened by President Trump’s recent speech at Fort Bragg, where he shamelessly politicized the very heroes who serve our nation. It is a violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, specifically Article 88, which prohibits military personnel from participating in political events while in uniform. This code exists to uphold the integrity of our armed forces, and it was blatantly disregarded. 

Moreover, it is disconcerting that a president who once referred to fallen soldiers as “suckers and losers” would stand before us, using service members as props to bolster his image. His past comments about our fallen and the disrespect shown toward the dead at Arlington National Cemetery further exemplify his lack of regard for military sacrifice. This behavior not only undermines the respect our veterans deserve but also tarnishes the dignity of our service. 

Gen. James Mattis poignantly stated, “The military is not a political tool.” Similarly, Gen. Colin Powell asserted, “We should not use the military for political purposes.” The very essence of our armed forces lies in their dedication to duty, honor and country—not to political gain. 

Let us hold our leaders accountable. It is imperative that we preserve the sanctity of our military and honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. 

Farrell Vaughn, Reno