Former 23rd U.S. Secretary Leon Panetta of Defense

11/18/2019

Secretary Leon Panetta

c/o The Panetta Institute for Public Policy

California State University, Monterey Bay

100 Campus Center, Building 86E

Seaside, CA  93955

Dear Secretary Panetta,

My name is Matt Winick from Ann Arbor, Michigan and I have a strong interest in learning history, social justice, and the environment. In these subjects, I like to learn the need to make civil rights stronger to reduce discrimination, protect the environment from pollution, and many others. Secretary Panetta, the main reason I’m writing you a letter is to explain how I find your work when you served in Congress, 3^rd Director of CIA, and 23^rd U.S. Secretary of Defense to be very inspiring to me.

When you served as Member of U.S. House of Representatives from California’s 16^th District from 1977-1993 and as Member of U.S. House of Representatives from California’s 17^th District in 1993, I truly appreciate on how you were a strong supporter of civil rights by advocating for people with disabilities’ rights and supporting funds for women including minorities businesses to help them compete in the economy.  Also on Civil Rights, I liked on how you worked with moderate Republicans, The U.S. Senate, and President George H.W. Bush to support the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 to help protect people with disabilities from being discriminated in education including public places and voting in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1990 to help protect women, minorities, and people with disabilities form being discriminated in employment.  Supporting funds for renewable energy resources to help reduce addiction to oil with gas, voting in favor of the Clean Air Act of 1990 to help reduce air pollution by requiring industries to burn clean fuel along with promote research in biofuel for vehicles, and pushing for your legislation to be passed to establish the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary to help protect coastal area in San Francisco to Cambria in San Luis Obispo County from being disturbed by pollution is common sense to protect the environment from pollution. Also in Congress I liked on how you pushed for Hunger Prevention Act of 1988 to provide hunger relief to children who are poor or people who are low income when they have struggle on nutrition or food stamps and pushed for legislation to provide people who are in hospice care get Medicare coverage.   As 3^rd Director of CIA from 2009-2011,  I like on how you did the “Panetta Review”, to review the injustice of the CIA’s torture of the detainees, expand benefits including worker’s rights for LGBT employees, and worked with President Obama along with Admiral William McRaven on Operation Neptune Spear to stop Osama Bin Laden.  In your role as 23^rd U.S. Secretary of Defense from 2011-2013, I like on how you continue to enforce the Repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy to help protect troops from being discriminated based on sexual orientation, worked with defense companies to improve military gear to help protect troops from danger, and opened military service to allow more women to serve in the military along with expand on laws to help protect women from being discriminated based on gender.  Another thing that I like about your work as U.S. Secretary of Defense was how you worked with Iran to find ways to negotiate in order to reduce nuclear weapons and push for military vehicles to use energy-efficient products along with renewable energy to reduce pollution.

Secretary Panetta, I have autism with a learning disability. Having a disability is hard for me because I have trouble comprehending on learning different advance subjects, sometimes I struggle to communicate my thoughts, and get teased. Your commitment to be a strong supporter of Civil Rights including people with disabilities’ rights really inspires me to work hard on my disability. The ADA of 1990 that you supported helped benefited me getting some education and to be protected from being discriminated.   In education, the ADA of 1990 helped give me accommodations like extra time on exams, have a tutor or a T.A. help me work on different assignments, use a recorder or education software to help assist on improving my comprehension, and special education resources helping me set up accommodations in elementary school through my community college.  In May 2014, I was able to get an associates degree at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan.my main focus in Associates Degree is history, government, some business, some science, and criminal justice. Your role in public service gives me motivation to continue to learn history, public policy, and social justice.  My future goal is to someday work in these areas to help emphasize the need to make Civil Rights stronger  in order to reduce discrimination, have environmental protection, and many others.

I strongly believe that you made a great difference when you served in public service.  I’m very proud on how you support civil rights, push for environmental protection, improve the military, and many others. Even though I still struggle with autism your support for The ADA of 1990  really helped changed my life to get some education and to be protected from being discriminated.  You have inspired me to continue to work hard on my disability and be motivated to continue to learn different subjects. Thanks for taking the time to read my letter, making a great impact in public service, and inspiring me. I wish you the best to continue to advocate for common sense ideas.

Sincerely,

Matt Winick