By Tom Houghton, Special to The Times
Tom Houghton
As a parent, husband, self-employed attorney, former township supervisor and state representative, I watched with dismay as our Washington representative, Joe Pitts, was the only representative in southeastern Pennsylvania, who supported the recent government shutdown. Whatever you think about the new healthcare law (ACA or “Obamacare”), shutting down our government and risking damaging our nation’s credit rating, simply because you don’t like a law, sets a very dangerous precedent.
As a Democrat who held elected office in a heavily republican region (southern Chester County), I do realize that there are some who support radical Tea Party-type actions from their elected officials. I must say though, from the 40,000 homes I have visited over the years during my campaigns to talk about issues that matter, the vast majority of folks simply want their elected officials to get along and compromise to get things done. Does this mean that they want you to give up on your principles once you reach office? Of course not. People are just tired of the Sen. Ted Cruz ‘my way or the highway’ approach of some radicals in Congress.
Joe Pitts is a good man and a long-time public servant, having spent decades now as a state representative and congressman. Unfortunately, his extreme positions on a multitude of issues like jobs, the environment and women’s healthcare have been harmful. In voting to shut down the government and risking our nation’s credit rating because he and his other tea party members don’t like a law, he has simply gone too far.
Tom Houghton is a West Grove attorney who represented the 13th District in the state House of Representatives.
The negative consequences of Representative Pitts’ support of the government shutdown go far beyond the nation loosing its credit rating, mentioned by Mr. Houghton. PEOPLE were affected — negatively — by Representative Pitts’ teaming up with the Tea Party, almost all of the people in the United States.
Federal workers were “laid off” and didn’t bring a pay check home. Who would feed their kids ? Federal contractors were also “laid off” and cut out of pay. For what ?
The National Institutes of Health were shut down, halting cancer research, research on asthma and arthritis and an endless list of other diseases. Research in academic institutions funded by the NIH was jeopardized. Does Representative Pitts think that his constituents are invincible, and not subject to cancer or arthritis or whatever ? From personal experience I know that we are not invincible to cancer. And what about the pay checks for NIH workers … who fed their kids ?
Another safeguard for the health of Americans that was shutdown is the Center for Disease Control … the CDC. The CDC does a myriad of important work, including disease occurrence, geographic distribution of disease outbreaks, etc. No one was monitoring the occurrence of flu outbreaks in the beginning of the flu season, nor were the strains of the flu being identified. Identifying the specific type of flu is important just for the sake of knowing what it going on (epidemiology) but also on helping in the selection of constituents for next year’s flu vaccine. Well, I guess all of us and Representative Pitts will just have to wait til next year to see how things go.
So, at least in this one vote, it doesn’t seem as though Representative Pitts was acting as a competent public servant when he voted to shut down the government. Not does it seem that he is interested in the health of his constituents.
John Fordice
Kennett Square
It seems to me that Congressman Pitts has aligned himself more and more with the extreme right as the years go by. I too was angered by his vote to shutdown the government.
I have to say that I have written to him many times over the years and always receive a response, albeit always a response that has absolutely NOTHING to do with what I wrote about – simply a form letter.
I think he has forgotten that his entire constituency is not Tea Party.
The Shutdown cost us 24billion plus . We need to be represented by legislators who vote for our interests not Ted Cruz’s or the Tea Party .
Thank you for calling him out on this. Joe Pitts left his constituents’ needs in the dust long ago. He is Tea Party to his core and that is not what we in Chester County need. It is long past time for him to go. We need someone who will listen to us and fight for us. It is long past time for him to go.