Congressional Candidates Square Off In Debate

The candidates in one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation squared off Thursday afternoon in Bristol Township.

The roughly hour-long debate at Bucks County Community College Lower Bucks Campus wasn’t too exciting but allowed voters to hear Democratic State Rep. Steve Santarsiero and Republican Brian Fitzpatrick’s  points of view on a number of domestic and international policies.

Santarsiero worked throughout the debate to paint Fitzpatrick, a retired FBI special agent, as an opportunist who is riding on his congressman brother’s coattails and until recently supported controversial Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. On the other hand, Fitzpatrick worked hard to portray his opponent as a career politician who was part of a broken government that doesn’t function properly.

The first question asked by moderator Bill Pezza, a Bristol resident and Bucks County Community College professor, was “taxes.”

Santarsiero answered first and said it was time regular working people get a tax break while the mega rich like Donald Trump pay their fair share. He said the system is rigged against average Americans.

“It’s time we inject fairness into the system,” the state representative from Lower Makefield said.

Fitzpatrick in his answer agreed with Santarsiero. He stated “the system is rigged, rigged by politicians” before saying he would work to rework the complicated tax code. The Republican candidate, a certified accountant, also said he would work to reduce the corporate tax rate to keep jobs inside the country.

Santarsiero rebutted by saying there should be a national investment in education, skilled job training and infrastructure to help regular citizens.

The next question was on foreign affairs and how proactive the United States should be.

Fitzpatrick and Santarsiero both agreed that there was a growing threat from foreign powers overseas and that the Iran nuclear deal is a bad deal.

“I feel it did not go far enough,” Santarsiero said on the Iran deal.

During the discussion, Santarsiero pivoted to Fitzpatrick’s previous support of Trump and said the controversial businessman should not have the nuclear launch codes. He also brought up disagreements with Trump’s statements on nuclear proliferation.

“I think what’s dangerous is supporting a man – who is on record – encouraging the proliferation of nuke weapons,” he said.

Fitzpatrick finished off the question by saying America were “foolish” to follow the terms of the Iran deal if the Middle Eastern nation won’t hold up their end.

Pezza next asked the two men about domestic surveillance. He questioned how the two candidates balance the fine line between keeping the country safe and violating Americans’ Constitutional rights.

Santarsiero spoke of working to strike the right balance to keep the country safe. He also said the government should work with Muslim communities to establish good working relationships.

Fitzpatrick joked that his FBI experience means he could talk about electronic surveillance all day. Getting to the issue, he said the country needs to find a safe balance that stops terrorism but gives individuals their rights.

Acknowledging both candidates support improving America’s infrastructure, Pezza asked both candidates their plan and how they would pay for it.

Fitzpatrick and Santarsiero both talked of efforts to rebuild the infrastructure that has helped make America a superpower but had differing ideas of how to pay for it.

Fitzpatrick said he wants to pay for infrastructure improvements by growing the economy while Santarsiero, who noted he supported infrastructure improvements during his state representative term, said he supported taking out bonds to fund the projects.

The two candidates agreed fair international trade agreements were good ideas and denounced the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

“Trade is good, trade is necessary … but it needs to benefit the United States of America,” Fitzpatrick said.

Pezza pushed the two on whether they were just against TPP because it is currently a hot potato, but both men said they believe it was truly a bad deal.

How to fix the rising cost of healthcare was also a topic both candidates’ viewpoints overlapped.

Fitzpatrick and Santarsiero said competition would lower costs. Santarsiero further added that he supported a public option while Fitzpatrick said there should be malpractice reform.

Fitzpatrick, who served with the FBI in Iraq, seemed to shine when the candidates were asked about how to combat ISIS.

The first-time candidate and former lawman told the audience he would work to first cut off money laundering that funds terrorism. Fitzpatrick also said would support America’s Arab allies to fight radical Islamic terrorism.

Santarsiero outlined his plan that included working with Arab partners and keeping engaged in the region to avoid another ISIS. He said tough vetting of immigrants into the United States is also important to stop potential terrorist from entering the country.

On the topic of immigration, Fitzpatrick called mass deportation a “silly idea” but also warned the country shouldn’t reward those who entered the country illegally.

Santarsiero said immigrants who are in the country illegally should have a chance to become citizens as long as they pay taxes and don’t commit crimes.

The most interesting portion of the debate came at the end as the two candidates sparred.

Santarsiero brought up Fitzpatrick’s time living in California while serving with the FBI. The Middletown resident fired back that he was out of the region for a few years while helping to protect the country.

“Our problems can not and will not be fixed by career politicians,” Fitzpatrick told the crowd, making a not-so-subtle reference to Santarsiero.

A final debate is set for the end of the month in Central Bucks County.