WASHINGTON — Not surprisingly, the region’s two senators from different parties had differing views of President Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night.
However, both left an opening to work with Trump on issues involving workers and the middle class, and those issues that impact Pennsylvania.
For his part, Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., mostly agreed with Trump’s ideas for the nation.
“On a number of issues important to Pennsylvanians, President Trump and I agree,” Toomey said. “We agree that rolling back unnecessary regulations and fixing the horrendously complicated and unfair tax code will help get America’s economy growing again and help workers find well-paying jobs. We both want to protect our communities from violent criminals, including those who are here illegally, and we are both committed to ensuring America maintains a strong military.”
Toomey said he was heartened to hear Trump’s commitment to ensuring that poor children trapped in failing public schools should have the same educational opportunities — and the same chance to escape crime and poverty — as middle class and wealthy children.
“After President Obama’s last address to Congress, I said — as I did on many other occasions — that I would be happy to work with him and my Democrat colleagues on areas where we agree,” said Toomey. “And I did. I sponsored or co-sponsored bipartisan legislation such as the JOBS Act to help small business gain access to capital; a ban on ‘passing the trash’ to protect our children from sexual predators infiltrating the classroom; the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to fight the scourge of opioids; and legislation to keep guns out of the hands of criminals, terrorists, and the dangerously mentally ill.”
Toomey said the American people overwhelmingly want the Democrats to take the same approach — to reach across the aisle and look to cooperate with Trump where possible.
“There are many issues where a bipartisan Congress and the president can make real progress: reforming the tax code, fixing our schools, improving our broken healthcare system,” said Toomey. “I hope my Democrat colleagues will look at each discrete issue, work constructively, and then decide whether or not to support an idea based on its merits. Unfortunately, some of my friends on the other side of the aisle may be hearing a call to promote gridlock. I hope the recent level of obstructionism, meant to prevent the president from even having advice from his own cabinet, does not foretell their approach to legislation.”
While Toomey agreed that no lawmaker will agree with the president all the time, “nevertheless, the country needs lawmakers to resist the call of obstructionism and work with the president, where they can, to tackle the great fiscal, economic, and security challenges of our time.”
For his part, Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said Trump’s first 40 days in office have been an opportunity to keep his promises to workers and middle class families across Pennsylvania.
“His speech tonight (Tuesday) did not demonstrate that he will,” Casey said.
Casey said he was joined in the House chamber by a Pennsylvanian, U.S. Marine veteran Joe McGrath of Lafayette Hill, whose family will be directly impacted by the declarations that Trump has made. Casey said McGrath’s teenage daughter, Maura, has Down syndrome and “will be adversely impacted by the Republican plan to destroy Medicaid by turning it into a block-grant program, which cuts $1 trillion dollars out of this critical program for the vulnerable.”
Casey said that during the campaign, Trump promised to protect programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, adding Medicaid is vital to seniors, those with disabilities and those who are low income. “Despite that campaign promise, President Trump has stocked his cabinet with architects of schemes to end the guaranteed benefit of Medicare, decimate Medicaid and privatize Social Security,” said Casey.
“In his address tonight (Tuesday), President Trump indicated that one of his first priorities would be cutting taxes for billionaires, millionaires and big corporations at the expense of funding programs that are vital to the middle class,” said Casey. “Instead of more tax giveaways for those at the very top, President Trump should prioritize the infrastructure plan that he promised during the campaign and the renegotiation of bad trade deals that stack the decks against workers.”
Casey said Trump also continued to promote repealing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) — Obamacare — without offering any specific replacement plan.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, repealing the ACA without a replacement could increase premiums by 20 percent, Casey said. “How will he ensure that 156 million Americans with employer-sponsored coverage continue to be provided all the consumer protections in the ACA, like those for pre-existing conditions? Instead of this fixation on repeal, President Trump and Congressional Republicans should work in a bipartisan way to keep what’s working in healthcare and fix what isn’t.”
Casey said if Trump is ready to get serious and fight for policies that make sure Pennsylvania’s workers and middle class families get a fair shot, then he is willing to work with him. “However, if President Trump continues to go along with the extreme agenda of Congressional Republicans then I will keep holding him accountable.”
Reaction from Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., was not immediately available Tuesday night.
