I wrote Congresswoman Houlahan this invitation and asked for a public community conversation this fall. Not a debate built to score points. A conversation between two veterans, on the issues that reach kitchen tables here, with questions from the community. I offered to use a date already on her calendar. I offered a long-form, one-on-one conversation if a larger forum was not her preference. I asked for a response by September 4 so there would be time to give the public notice.
Her campaign manager, Sue Walker, replied to my invitation with this email and noted that serving in Congress is not a role to be taken lightly. I agree. She then said that before a joint discussion could be planned, I first needed to publicly state my positions on nine national issues handpicked by her team.
Those questions belong on the public record, and I answered all nine. My responses are published below.
But a public forum should begin with the voters, not with conditions placed on the conversation.
In a letter to our community, I published the nine answers in full. They are now part of the public record and will remain available.
The same week her letter arrived, the Chester County Medical Society asked both campaigns to respond to questions about the challenges facing independent medical practices in Chester County. I answered because voters deserve transparency and the opportunity to know where I stand on issues affecting their doctors and their community. Houlahan’s campaign said it would not participate in candidate questionnaires this cycle and directed the Medical Society to her website.
After October 1, Congress will be out of session for several weeks, giving members time to return home to their districts. Next week, my campaign will announce an open public forum in the district for October. I will be there to answer questions directly. The full video and transcript will be published the following day.
The invitation remains open. The second chair will be there, with Congresswoman Houlahan's name on it.
The Nine Answers, On the Record
Elections
Only American citizens should vote in American elections. That is the law. I support a version of the SAVE Act that requires a state or federally issued ID, with the same transparency standard Pennsylvania already has: full and public disclosure of who voted. We should not make it hard to vote. We should make it hard to cheat.
2020
Joe Biden was elected President. I will not spend a term relitigating it. After January 6th, I deployed to Washington with the National Guard to help secure the peaceful transfer of power to him. I took that oath seriously then. I take it seriously now.
Immigration and ICE
Public safety here starts with local police. I am proud to have the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police, Chester County Lodge. Washington should do the work only Washington can do: the border, the cartels, human trafficking, and serious criminal offenders. It should stay in that lane — and be held accountable when it does not.
Organized Labor
Workers have the right to organize and to bargain. I have spent twenty-five years in rooms where those contracts get negotiated, usually with the company on the edge of failing.
The minimum wage
Pennsylvania’s has been $7.25 since 2009. The Commonwealth should raise it. No one in Chester or Berks is one wage vote away from affording a house here. I would rather spend my time on the things that actually put homeownership within reach.
Reproductive policy
My position is the current TRICARE rule: coverage when the life of the mother is at risk, and in cases of rape or incest. I will not vote for a national ban. That is the standard military families already live under. People of good faith disagree here. I am not going to pretend otherwise.
The Epstein files
Release them. Protect the victims. Hold offenders accountable regardless of party, wealth, or title. Congress should hold itself to that same standard, starting with the taxpayer-funded settlements used to bury misconduct in its own building.
Iran and war powers
Congress declares war. Congress controls the purse. I will not rubber-stamp an unauthorized war or unauthorized spending — including from a president of my own party.
President Trump
I will work with President Trump, as I would with any president, when it helps this district. I will tell him no when it does not. Specifically: spending that routes around Congress, military action without a vote, and healthcare, where my plan is mine. I am a Chester County Republican. I intend to vote this district.
