President Trump’s reckless executive order pausing for 90 days all U.S. Foreign Aid around the world will have terrible human consequences, especially for PEPFAR (The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which was signed into law in 2003 by President George W. Bush and is probably President Bush’s greatest achievement. As stated on its website, through PEPFAR, “the U.S. government has invested over $110 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response, the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history — saving 26 million lives, preventing millions of HIV infections, and accelerating progress toward controlling the global HIV/AIDS pandemic in more than 50 countries.”

In 2024 alone, 20.6 million people received lifesaving antiviral treatment, 2.3 million girls and young women received comprehensive HIV prevention services, 6.6 million orphans and vulnerable children and caregivers received critical care and support, 83.8 million people were provided with HIV testing services, 342,000 health workers were directly supported and 25 million people were newly enrolled in medications to prevent HIV infection.

All of this is now at risk. The entire program has been thrown into disarray and thousands of lives could be lost, especially across Africa. This action has halted distribution of needed medications, even if they are on the shelves of clinics. Aid workers cannot be paid. Without these medications people with HIV could become susceptible to tuberculosis and other infectious disease and could pass HIV on to others. This is unconscionable, tragic and a black eye on America.

— Ronald E. Carver, Bend

I want to take a moment to acknowledge Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley for their tireless dedication in representing Oregon.

I have been watching them interview nominees for national cabinet positions, speak at Senate hearings and stand for our Constitution and laws. They have our backs and democracy’s back, amidst a lot of uncertainty and attempts to sidestep or run over democratic checks and balances.

Some of the risks without their work, is losing appropriated funds previously agreed upon by Congress, the lack of due process for all of us, increased discrimination and disparity between the very wealthy and most Americans being pushed closer to poverty. No less important, dedicated federal workers, who stand for the United States are being pushed out, to be replaced with people who will fulfill a political agenda and be loyal to a man, versus the Constitution. A political agenda that I suspect many people did not know they voted for with our new President.

That said, I appreciate the integrity I see in our senators, and want to be sure the citizens of Oregon know how lucky we are.

— Dena Persell, Bend

I have been thinking about the attempt to rename the Gulf of Mexico. I would not object to renaming it “The Gulf Of The Americas.” I feel it is a better description of this watery gap in our continent. The accurate name for North and South America is “The Americas.”

— Cheryl McGinnis, Bend

My wife and I are retired and have lived in around Bend since 1978. Things have changed considerably during that time, unfortunately not for the better. Three weeks ago, after months of weighing the pros and cons of remaining in Bend, we listed our home. Recently we received a letter in the mail from the city of Bend stating we were in non-compliance with a Bend Municipal Code regarding Residential Energy Performance Rating and Disclosure, the Home Energy Score Report, because the report was not included in the online listing. We had until Feb. 9 to come into compliance or be issued a letter of violation and possible fines of up to $750. Our Realtor typically provides the Bend mandated report during the home inspection, since there is a price break if you schedule both inspections together. We’ve since reached out to several authorized inspection professionals, and found a company that would do the inspection for $275. The inspection is complete.

My question to the Bend City Council is this: What was just gained by this little exercise of yours? Due diligence should always be conducted by the buyers, and they can easily obtain electric and natural gas usage by merely asking for the report. So now instead of spending that $275 in the local businesses, we’ll do our best to take our future business elsewhere. It will be nice to have Bend in our rear-view mirror.

— Jerry Hollis, Bend

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