Blog Post #1: My Representative and Senators

Pennsylvania as a whole is an incredibly diverse state. There are two very large cities (Philadelphia and Pittsburgh), a few medium-sized cities (such as Allentown and Scranton) and many large, affluent suburban areas, primarily in the tri-state area. As you head north, Pennsylvania becomes significantly more rural, in an expansive area colloquially referred to as Pennsyltucky. As far as voting is concerned, the rural parts of Pennsylvania vote like red states (hence the reference to Kentucky) but the large, heavily populated metropolitan areas vote like blue states, like other metropolitan areas around the country. Because of this, the state legislature is made up of mostly moderate Democrats and Republicans, but Pennsylvania is typically a blue state during presidential elections. Pennsylvania’s two senators are Bob Casey and Pat Toomey.

            Democrat Bob Casey was first elected in 2006 and is currently in the middle of his second term in the Senate. Many of Senator Casey’s most notable achievements in the Senate stem from his work for children, including the ABLE Act (which allows disabled persons to acquire savings accounts that are not taxed) and the Children’s Hospital Graduate Medical Education Support Reauthorization Act Now Law (which funds children’s hospitals that are not associated with medical schools). He has also worked to reduce taxes for small businesses in Pennsylvania. 

            Recently, Senator Casey has been in the news defending his support of the highly controversial Iran Nuclear Deal. Seeing as Senator Casey is a moderate Democrat (he is even pro-life), his support of the deal has received a great deal of backlash from his constituents. Since the public tends to be misinformed on the Iran Nuclear Deal, Senator Casey has been working the local news circuits defending his position and informing the public.

            Republican Pat Toomey, Pennsylvania's second senator, is in the middle of his first term in the Senate. Beginning in the late nineties, Senator Toomey spent three terms in the House of Representatives representing the 15^th District of Pennsylvania, which just so happens to be the district we live in whilst at Muhlenberg! Senator Toomey’s clear passion is fiscal policy. Many of his achievements in the Senate stem from his work on various budgeting and economic committees, including the Banking Committee, the Finance Committee, the Budget Committee, and the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. He even devised his own budget proposal in the first year of his term. 

            Recently, Senator Toomey has been fighting the complete opposite battle as his counterpart. Senator Toomey is very openly against the Iran Nuclear Deal, and like Senator Casey, he has spent the past few weeks working the local news scene defending his views.  Senator Toomey has also recently faced a lot of backlash due to his views on environmental policy, specifically his lack of support for the Clean Power Plan. This backlash has lead to a series of advertisements paid for by The National Resource Defense Council Action Fund and the Environmental Defense Fund, which are aimed at Senator Toomey and other representatives who have yet to publicly support the Clean Power Plan. Though Senator Toomey has yet to publicly respond to these ads,  in the coming weeks he may be forced to do so. 

I live in Chester County, making my House representative Ryan Costello. Ryan Costello is a Republican serving his first term in the House of Representatives, after several years working for Chester County. He represents the 6^th District of Pennsylvania, which encompasses part of Philadelphia’s suburbs and heads northwest, all the way out towards Lebanon, PA. The 6^th District is incredibly diverse, spanning from the edge of Philadelphia’s “Main Line,” into more rural regions in Lebanon County. There is a significant difference in income across the counties- Chester County is the wealthiest county in Pennsylvania, whilst the other counties (which include Montgomery County, Berks County, Lebanon County) are less affluent, especially those in more rural regions. 

Representative Costello grew up and attended college locally, receiving his undergraduate education at Ursinus College and his J.D. from Villanova University. Since he has only served for a few months, most of Representative Costello’s political successes stem from his time serving as Chairman of the Chester County Board of Commissioners, where he helped balance budgets and worked with local organizations.

        In the past week, Representative Costello has been doing lots of work in the district. In order to publicize his work on the Cider Act (a bill that would make the production of hard cider cheaper), he visited Frecon Farms to discuss the bill with apple farmers, tour the orchard, and learn about the hard cider-making process. He also expressed his support for the CARE for All Veterans Act in an article he wrote in The Mercury, a newspaper based in Pottstown, PA.  

Sources:

http://www.geonames.org/US/PA/largest-cities-in-pennsylvania.html

http://www.casey.senate.gov/ 

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/supporting-deal-sen-casey-says-iran-far-close-nuclear-weapon-right-now/ 

http://www.toomey.senate.gov/

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/08/05/senator-pat-toomey-iranian-nuclear-deal/

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/pennsylvania/capitol-ideas/mc-environmental-groups-take-aim-at-pat-toomey-over-carbon-pollution-20150901-story.html

https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/PA/6

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/generalmoney/the-richest-county-in-each-state/ss-AA8UyKQ#image=39

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/index.html      

https://costello.house.gov/   

http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/at-frecon-farms-us-rep-ryan-costello-touts-the-cider-act

http://www.pottsmerc.com/opinion/20150828/rep-ryan-costello-caring-for-our-veterans-is-a-priority