With just over two weeks until Pennsylvania’s May 19 primary, the Democratic candidate for the 7th Congressional District Bob Brooks he lays out his agenda for what he will do for Washington’s Lehigh Valley voters if elected.
Brooks, president Pennsylvania Professional Firefighters Associationunveiled his “Put Out the Fire” program, which focuses on cutting costs for middle- and working-class people while rooting out the corruption that allows elected leaders to “get rich off their backs.”
“I became a firefighter because I wanted to serve the community I loved,” Brooks said. For 20 years I have learned courage, selflessness, brotherhood and what it means to run towards the fire.
“As president of the Pennsylvania Firefighters Association, I learned how to advocate for working families like my own and those of my members. I fought for legislation that impacted the lives of those who trusted me. But I also learned how broken government can be, especially when it is used as a tool by large corporations and the ultra-wealthy to advance their own interests and exploit ordinary people.”
Brooks, who has three other contenders for the Democratic nomination as a former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswellformer Northampton County Executive Lamont McClureand director of energy Carol Obando-Derstinedrawing on his past with PPFFA, explaining what he thinks needs to be done in DC
“Right now, Washington is on fire, and the arsonists are a corrupt political class intent on increasing and maintaining their own power, and large corporations that cheat the system into working for them and no one else,” he continued. “When corrupt politicians in Washington give tax breaks to their ultra-rich cronies or pass legislation that benefits their ultra-wealthy campaign donors, it simply means they are not working for you. We need to get back to Congress and work for the people who work in this country, not just the wealthy and well-connected.”
“Put an end Donald Trump program and failure Ryan Mackenzie must be our immediate priority, but that’s not the only reason I decided to run for Congress. I decided to run to stand up for everyday people in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District the same way I do for my union members. If elected, this will be my mission every day.”
His “Put Out the Fire” program has two components – ending the corruption that politicians engage in on a daily basis, and lowering costs for the country’s working people and middle classes.
- Prohibit members of Congress from trading stocks
- Prohibit members of Congress from becoming lobbyists
- Institute term limits for members of Congress
- Overthrow Citizens United v. FEC and end corporate control of the campaign finance system
- Break corporate monopolies.
“No one should get rich from public service,” Brooks said. “If you are a member of Congress, you should not be able to profit from trading stocks while writing laws to regulate our economy or receiving secret information that the rest of society does not have. While I am in Congress, I have committed to divesting all stocks. It should be simple.”
Brooks said he supports term limits of 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives (five terms) and 12 years in the U.S. Senate (two terms) and would sponsor a bill to enact them while pledging to serve no more than five terms.
He also called for a change to the constitution, which would invalidate it Citizens United end the corrupt influence of substantial money in politics and break up corporate monopolies that violate antitrust laws.
Brooks, the only candidate of the four who did not attend college, has taken up the mantle of fighting for the middle class and working people and is proposing the following:
- Pass the PRO (Protecting the Right to Organize) Act.
- Guarantee affordable health care and lower out-of-pocket drug costs
- Build more apartments and prohibit private equity funds from purchasing housing stock
- Tax the ultra-rich and cut taxes for working people.
“I have been a labor leader and union member for several decades – reversing the declining power of working people is my top priority. It starts with expanding union membership,” he said. He says he wants to make it easier to join a union and “it’s long past time for more people to get good-paying union jobs.”
He shared a personal story of having to choose between going into medical debt or forgoing medical care for a loved one. “The federal government should guarantee health care for every American,” he said. “As we work to achieve this goal, we must reverse the cuts to the One Big Beautiful Act and extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that Ryan Mackenzie allowed to expire and cause health care premiums to skyrocket.”
Brooks lamented the fact that the average age of Americans buying their first home has increased from 28 to 40. “We must significantly increase the number of apartments we build, increasing supply to reduce costs. We must also prohibit Wall Street from buying up the housing stock by passing legislation like the Stop Wall Street Landlords Act, which would help stop mass investors and Wall Street from buying up the housing stock intended for working families.”
He also calls for taxing people with a net worth of at least $50 million and signs on Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and her The “ultramillionaire” tax.claiming it will generate an estimated $6.2 trillion in federal revenue over the next decade.
Warren supported Brooks, saying he “has spent his entire career fighting for people and their well-being, not billionaires and corporations. I’m proud to support him and help him get to Washington.”
“It’s time for the ultra-wealthy to pay taxes and invest in Pennsylvania’s working people,” Brooks said.
In a recent poll of PA-07 Democrats, sponsored by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, Brooks has a seven-point lead (24-17%) over McClure, with Obando-Derstine and Crosswell leading by 12 and 9 percent, respectively.
