Donald Trump speaking before supporters in Newtown.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
First-term Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick signed a letter along with 23 Democrat and Republican members of the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus that was sent to President-elect Donald Trump Friday.
The letter told the incoming Republican president that the bipartisan group of legislators were ready to work with the new administration on both tax reform and rebuilding America’s crumbling infrastructure starting after Trump is sworn in.
The Republican congressman who lives in Middletown vowed not to vote for Trump in the election but did, according to an election aide, write-in Mike Pence for president. Fitzpatrick said during the election that Trump did not share the values of the Eighth Congressional District and called comments he made about women “offensive and disgusting … regardless of context.”
On his first day in office, Fitzpatrick joined the Congressional Problem Solvers Caucus , which has a goal of promoting a bipartisanship advance of goals.
Dear President-elect Donald J. Trump,
One of the messages from this election is that Americans want to see their government solve problems. We write today to express our commitment to begin working with you immediately to solve America’s toughest problems.
In your election night acceptance speech, you said now is the time to “bind the wounds of division” and “come together as one united people.”
Soon, you will have the opportunity to translate those words into action. We stand ready to help.
We are Democrats and Republicans who have joined together in an emerging Problem Solvers Caucus. There has never been a caucus like this on Capitol Hill, but these extraordinary times demand a new way forward.
Washington is running out of time to restore citizens’ trust in our government. People are angry and they have a right to be. But we believe the next administration and Congress have a brief window to turn it around; to show the people that we are capable of coming together to fix the problems that are harming the health, wealth and well-being of so many families.
Come January 20, many issues will compete for your attention. Some of these issues will inevitably divide the parties, while others offer openings for bipartisan agreement. We hope you will pursue the path of inclusion by prioritizing two issues in particular that can provide an immediate win for our country.
Rebuilding America’s infrastructure and reforming our tax code.
This is the quickest path to delivering on a signature focus of your campaign: putting Americans back to work in good-paying jobs.
As you know, America’s aging surface, water and energy infrastructure combined with our complex and uncompetitive tax code are huge barriers to investment and to hiring. Knocking these barriers down would not only give a substantive boost to our economy, it would also send a powerful signal to the American people that Washington can actually govern.
The logic of combining tax and infrastructure reform into one package is compelling. Over the past three decades, the United States has underinvested in maintaining and upgrading its infrastructure by up to one percent of GDP each year—$180 billion in 2015 alone. Common sense and comprehensive tax reform could free up significant capital for infrastructure as well as other investments enabling businesses large and small to invent, innovate and hire.
If you choose to pursue an infrastructure and tax reform package early in your term, you will find a willing governing partner in the Problem Solvers Caucus.
We are eager to get to work with you and your team to begin delivering on behalf of the American people.
