U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta bringing ‘blue-collar’ values to campaign
22 min ago
By Dave Sutor
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U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, speaks during an interview at The Tribune-Democrat on Thursday, May 3, 2018.
By Dave Sutor
U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta affectionately described Hazleton – a community he once served as mayor – as a “pretty tough town” where, if he did not do what residents considered to be a good job as a congressman, they would “kick my butt when I come home.”
Barletta, a Republican running in the commonwealth’s U.S. Senate race, then compared his hometown to Johnstown, saying, “I’m sure the people are much alike here. They expect you to go to work to fight for the things that they want. Having that experience, as being a mayor in a town like Hazleton, allowed me to go to Washington and just remember who I am, and where I came from and who sent me there.”
He added: “This is blue-collar Pennsylvania. This is who we are. We need to make sure that we have a senator that represents those values and who will fight for those values that are important here.”
The representative from the 11th Congressional District is going up against state Rep. Jim Christiana in the GOP primary – set for May 15 – with both hoping to take on U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr., a Democrat, in this year’s general election.
Barletta said he was inspired to run for the Senate after the upper chamber failed to get rid of the Affordable Care Act in 2017 due, in part, to a dramatic vote by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, during which he broke party lines to reject the so-called “skinny repeal.” The amendment narrowly failed 51-49. Casey has been a steady supporter of the ACA, also known as Obamacare.
“Had I been in the Senate, instead of Bob Casey, Obamacare would be gone today,” Barletta said during an interview at The Tribune-Democrat on Thursday.
“How many more things will there be – issues will come up – that one vote could be the difference?”
Along with opposing the ACA, Barletta has also been outspoken about the issue of illegal immigration, calling for increased border security between the United States and Mexico and better enforcement of existing laws, such as individuals not being allowed to remain in the country after their visas expire.
As mayor, he championed the Illegal Immigration Relief Act that called for fining landlords who rented to illegal immigrants and rescinding business licenses of companies that hired undocumented workers, while making English the official language of Hazleton.
A federal court ruled the law unconstitutional, and the city was ordered to pay $1.4 million in fees to the lawyers who successfully opposed the legislation.
“Illegal immigration depresses the wages of workers in communities in Pennsylvania and around the country,” Barletta said. “We can’t afford to work for less money, and we don’t need people depressing those wages and making it hard for us to get a job.”
He continued: “For me, it’s pretty simple. If you have a hole in your roof, you don’t replace the carpet. You fix the roof. If we want to solve the problem of illegal immigration, we’ve got to stop people from coming into the country illegally.”
http://www.tribdem.com/news/barletta...0be6e79d2.html
