I am sitting here with my mouth wide open after reading the story in The Signal regarding Sen. Barbara Boxer’s visit to Santa Clarita (“Boxer takes jab at mine,” Aug. 30).

She has (thankfully) sponsored legislation in the Senate to make a land swap that would eliminate the imminent threat of a cement mine being created on the outskirts of our town, with all of the noise, air pollution and heavy truck traffic that would foster.

And then I read that our own congressman, Howard “Buck” McKeon, refuses to sponsor similar legislation in the House of Representatives because his Republican party has some kind of policy against bills of this type.

So, Rep. McKeon puts party loyalty ahead of the very real needs of his constituents? And his spokesperson says that Mr. McKeon will “likely” vote to stop the mine if an omnibus bill comes to the floor. “Likely?”

This is the guy Santa Clarita re-elects year after year to the Congress? “With friends like this...”