McLean — To the Editor:

I attended the NOVA Chamber of Commerce Debate for the Tenth Congressional District, and Barbara Comstock was the clear winner. Her opponent, Luann Bennett has claimed now on several occasions that

Congress has not passed a budget in six years, or even passed an appropriations bill. As someone who pays attention to the happenings in Congress, it is so disappointing to see a candidate like Bennett run for Congress while having no knowledge of the institution or its recent historical record.

I am not sure how Bennett arrived at these claims, but they are patently false. In fact, Congress passed a budget resolution in spring of 2015 and enacted a binding budget, known as the Bipartisan Budget Act, just last fall. Congress may not have passed all the appropriations bills individually, but it does pass them. We know this because there hasn’t been a government shutdown. Congresswoman Comstock voted in favor of all these measures. The fact that Bennett does not know this and did not take the time to look into it disqualifies her from representing us in Congress. At minimum, she is poorly served by repeating partisan talking points.

Bennett tries to portray herself as someone who will break through partisanship and gridlock. That is difficult to believe when she is simply repeating baseless partisan attacks against a Congresswoman with a solid bipartisan record. Congresswoman Comstock worked across party lines to pass a 5-year transportation bill—the first of its kind in 10 years—which brings $6.2 billion to the Commonwealth. She also supported bipartisan bills to replace No Child Left Behind, provide resources to combat the heroin epidemic, and bolster our national security.

The Tenth District needs real leadership, not rhetoric. Fortunately for us, we already have it with Barbara Comstock.

Susan Gerber

McLean