As a kid, I remember riding in the truck with my dad, listening to Paul Harvey’s iconic radio segment, “The Rest of the Story.” Harvey’s show was masterful. He’d spin the first half of a tale, often about history or ordinary folks, and just when you thought you had the facts straight, he’d reveal the twist, the context, the “rest of the story” that changed your entire perspective. His premise was simple: behind every headline, every controversy, there’s always a deeper story, a truth that only emerges when you look beyond the surface.

Reading the back and forth about Jamestown’s stormwater funding over the summer, it reminded me of those truck rides with my dad, listening to Paul Harvey unravel the rest of the story, and it’s clear we could use some of Harvey’s wisdom right now. Yes, Congressman Langworthy voted yes on H.R. 8998, and yes, Senate Majority Leader Schumer chose not to bring it to a vote. But, as Paul Harvey would say, “stand by… for the rest of the story.”

The bill didn’t stall just because of some partisan grudge. It was loaded with amendments, many controversial, many irrelevant, making it virtually impossible for the Senate to pass without sparking new conflicts. Here’s the real twist: even if all that political baggage had been stripped away, there’s no guarantee the president would have signed a clean version of the bill into law. This “poison pill” strategy isn’t new. It’s an old game in Washington: load up a must pass bill with amendments that have nothing to do with local priorities or that are guaranteed nonstarters, then declare outrage when the other side inevitably refuses to pass it.

Just look at some of the amendments tacked on to H.R. 8998:

A ban on funding for Executive Order 14019, aimed at promoting access to voting. That order was rescinded by President Trump, but are we really saying today’s young people, many who barely know how to address an envelope, don’t need resources to learn how to register and vote in the digital age? Connecting with voters does cost money.

Slash salaries of public officials to $1, but only when the position is filled by the opposite party. Would you want your pay cut to a dollar by people who have no idea what your job truly involves, just because you’re not part of their party? As a librarian, a profession riddled with stereotypes, I can assure you our work is complex, digital, and misunderstood. We don’t slash pay first and ask questions later. This bill proposes $1 salaries for the Secretary of Energy, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, Administrator of the EPA, and more, dozens of officials, whenever those roles are held by the “other” party. When their own party takes the seat, the amendments disappear.

Blocks Boundary Waters Canoe Area from being designated as a national monument. There were multiple amendments like this. Here in Chautauqua, we know what it feels like when outside decisions threaten local recreational areas, like debates around designating Chautauqua Lake as a wetland. Why wish similar uncertainty or loss on other communities, especially over something as irreversible as a mine?

Restricts enforcing Clean Air Act recommendations. I, for one, care about clean air. It isn’t just someone else’s problem. Air moves; pollution anywhere will eventually affect all of us, even right here in Western New York.

These are the kinds of political stunts that hold Jamestown’s stormwater funding and countless other headline grabbing legislation hostage to partisan amendments like these.

If Congressman Langworthy truly believed that this funding was so critical for Jamestown’s safety, homes, and businesses, why didn’t he ask his colleagues to strip out the political baggage and let the core legislation stand on its own merits? Why not demand publicly and forcefully a clean bill? In his newsletters, he celebrates all of the legislation he puts forward. The most recent legislation being The Energy Choice Act, which many local municipalities have endorsed. Is this legislation going to succumb to the same political fate as other legislation? The cold reality is that if we keep allowing both parties to play politics by adding amendments that doom those bills in the Senate or the White House, the result is always the same, the good policy inevitably gets buried. Jamestown and communities like ours pay the price.

Let’s not pretend the blame belongs on one doorstep. The Senate plays the same game, and both parties invest more in placing blame than in building progress. What the 23rd District and New York need isn’t finger pointing or grandstanding, it’s real leadership, civil discourse, and a lawmaking process that puts substance ahead of spectacle.

And most of all, we need our representatives to actually represent us, not just their party’s wishes or national talking points. Here in Jamestown and across the country, everyday families are struggling with rising food prices, medical costs, and childcare that’s harder to find and afford than ever before. Instead of blaming the other side for every problem, how about getting to work fixing them? Be the leaders we elected to serve our needs. Stop the party games. Represent the people.

Just like Paul Harvey’s stories, there’s always more than meets the eye. Maybe it’s time for our elected officials to remember “the rest of the story” and focus on genuinely serving their communities by clearing out the partisan clutter and giving important bills a fighting chance.

Before Election Day, look at the rest of the story behind these candidates, headlines, and vote for the best one, not just the one wearing the “correct” color or endorsed by the “right” party.

Leslie LaBarte is a Jamestown resident.