Congressman Fitzpatrick Covers Wide Range Of Topics At Town Hall

At his first town hall meeting, Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick appeared as cool as a cucumber.

He answered the questions from moderator Bill Pezza and spoke directly with those who asked follow-ups. His answers seemed frank and there was little sidestepping from the former FBI special agent.

For the 75-minute town hall that was held at the Bensalem Municipal Complex Tuesday evening, 120 members of the public sat in the audience along with a number of reporters and police officers, including a member of the United States Capitol Police.

Fitzpatrick called for civility, said health care was a universal right but there were multiple solutions, discussed the need for tax reform and talked about President Donald Trump’s actions in office.

The congressman started out by stating his new job in public office was “180 degrees” from his previous “dream job” as an FBI agent who investigated terrorism and political corruption. However, he said he makes use of the skills he learned in the FBI and “gets as many different ideas and viewpoints as possible.”

The first question that kicked off the town hall was from a constituent concerned about Trump’s reaction to the violence in Charlottesville that spurred from a white supremacists rally.

“I’ve been really sickened by the events of the last week,” Fitzpatrick said, before calling the car that drove into a crowd during the protests “domestic terrorism.”

“I’ve reached the point in Congress where I’m going to speak my mind and let the chips fall where they may. When you have an incident like that, you can’t equivocate. You have to call it for what it is, which is evil.”

“In 2017, it’s sickening that we’re even having this conversation,” he said.

In response to a question about the president, Fitzpatrick said he agrees with Trump on some issues like the Trans-Pacific Partnership but not his stance on the environment and some education issues.

“Most people would describe him as not an ideologue,” he said. “He’s more a businessman.”

When asked about his feelings on gerrymandering, Fitzpatrick stated his support for getting the politics out of creating congressional districts and said he met with Fair District PA this week on the topic.

Fitzpatrick responded to several questions on health care and laid out his stance following his “no” vote on an Affordable Care Act replacement plan pushed by Republican leadership and Trump earlier this year.

The congressman cited the plan put together by the bi-partisan Problem Solvers Caucus and stated he was for changing several provisions like allowing interstate competition, adjust the employer mandate from 50 to 500 and changing full-time, insurance-qualifying hours from 30 hours per week to 40 per week. He also said health care is a universal right, but he thought there might be other solutions than going with a single-payer system, citing the failure to enact a single-payer system in Vermont.

“No one should chose between paying for their living and their health care,” he said.

Fitzpatrick said he wants to focus on transparency and the prices of medical care to help bring down costs. He called the current medical system “flawed” and that it has helped fuel the opioid crisis.

Answering a question from a Falls Township resident, Fitzpatrick said he feels mental health and substance abuse should be covered by health insurance. He also said the government needs to attack the opioid crisis from all angles and all at once.

The congressman explained that our government officials need to be “judicious in language” used when talking about the threat from “crazy” Kim Jung-Un in North Korea.

Fitzpatrick called the threat to cyber security and Russian meddling in American elections an “unbelievably serious issue.”

He said America is far behind the curve on securing our cyber networks and infrastructure, and we need to catch up to keep the country safe.

Fitzpatrick showed confidence in former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who is leading a special investigation into possible Russian interference into the 2016 presidential election. He said the case is in the “best hands it could be.”

When asked about college debt, the congressman explained the worse combination is huge debt and no job. He said he wants more transparency in where federal funds go and how that money is spent.

Fitzpatrick said college is not for everyone and he is for young people working in the trades.

On the topic of tax reform, Fitzpatrick said he is hopeful legislation moves through congress before the end of the year, adding reform will improve the economy.

There are too many special interest exceptions that he hopes tax reform will fix, he said.

Infrastructure is something the congressman said he believes is important to the country. He said upgrading everything from technology to highway infrastructure is important to keep America competitive.

After a question about his thoughts on immigration from a woman from Ireland, Fitzpatrick explained he wants to welcome immigrants and also supports keeping the children of unauthorized immigrants in America.

During a border trip and in conversations with authorities, the congressman met with agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and members of the U.S. Coast Guard to discuss the issue. He said our country needs to use technology, human resources and a physical barrier in some locations where it makes sense.

“No walls,” a man in the audience called out.

“We have to be smart about resources,” Fitzpatrick said.

In questions about the president’s mental fitness to serve, Fitzpatrick offered little.

Pezza said it was not fair to make a mental health evaluation from afar.

Fitzpatrick addressed calls to impeach Trump and said it was a “serious thing” that would overturn the results of the election.

“I didn’t run for office to respond to tweets every day,” Fitzpatrick added.

Finishing out the questions, Fitzpatrick said legislators need to find the “sweet spot” between regulation to keep the environment safe and not adding undue burden to businesses.

The congressman finished out the event by saying Americans need to listen to one another and stated he represents all 700,000-plus residents who live in the Eighth Congressional District.

Fitzpatrick said he plans to host more events for his constituents to interact with him.

Leading up to the town hall where attendees were picked at random by the Bucks County Courier Times, about 50 people demonstrated outside. They represented environmental causes, Planned Parenthood and were fighting for health care.

New Britain resident Theresa Pussi stood outside the entrance to the town hall with a sign. She said the congressman “seems reasonable,” but she hopes he holds more town halls to hear from concerned residents.

“Emotions aren’t bad, but threats, name calling and disparaging remarks are not ok,” she said while discussing what would make a proper town hall.

“The fact that Congressman Fitzpatrick denied his constituents an in-person town hall for more than eight months and now holds it in such a limited capacity setting, demonstrates his lack of accountability to the residents of the Eighth Congressional district,” said Connie Gruen, a leader of Lower Bucks Indivisible. “We are here this evening to make our voices heard on the issues that are important to Bucks Countians.”