SCRANTON, Pa. — Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District covers Lackawanna, Pike, and Wayne counties and parts of Monroe and Luzerne counties.
Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright is currently serving his sixth term. His Republican challenger is business owner Rob Bresnahan.
The candidates agree there is a need to improve workforce development in northeastern Pennsylvania.
On the topic of immigration, Cartwright and Bresnahan both support securing the southern border.
"We have to get a hold of securing our southern border. That's why I am one of the democrats for border security task force. That's why I would've voted yes on the Jim Langford bill. He came up with a bill that was very tough, but it achieved border security that everybody could have lived with. I wish we could have passed it this congress, but unfortunately, Mike Johnson, to put it very bluntly, he chose politics over people," said Cartwright.
"I've been to the border two separate times. And I've seen it, and this isn't a Republican or Democratic issue. This is a humanitarian crisis. When you're talking about the illegal migrants or the migrants seeking asylum that are already in the United States, we need to get these people working whether they are through work visas and they need to be contributing to whether through social security or into our workforce," said Bresnahan.
As for housing, Bresnahan believes in targeted programs, "I think we have to be targeted on the way that we deliver it by making it more cost-effective for people to reinvest and make those affordable housing opportunities because you need to for the workforce. If you're going to attract people to NEPA, you need a place to live," he said.
While Cartwright believes housing might best be handled by the private sector, "There are some things that government can do well. I hesitate when you come to housing, and I'll tell you why. Private developers are really good at doing housing. And housing isn't one big monolith. It's one project at a time at a time at a time," he said.
When it comes to transportation and the proposed Amtrak connection between Scranton and New York, Congressman Cartwright says it would be a boost for the local economy, and he supported the bi-partisan infrastructure bill that included funds for it, "When you cut off a connection to a major commercial center like greater metro NYC that hurts your economy. Amtrak has economists, and they have reinforced my own belief; they have validated my idea by estimating that we're going to get an awful lot of economic development money once that line goes in."
While Bresnahan agrees it is a great opportunity, he has concerns about its operations and the costs, "My concerns on the project would be how do we police the systems, because we are within close proximity to New York, so we'd have to establish a port authority of some degree, hire more officers, to protect our community, because we don't want bad actors to find their way back to Northeastern PA. What I don't want to see is taxpayers of NEPA having to foot the bill after federal subsidies run out."
According to the Greater Scranton Chamber, healthcare is the largest employment sector in the 8th district, and the candidates answered questions regarding prescription drugs and healthcare costs.
Cartwright touted his support of the Inflation Reduction Act, which lowered the cost of insulin for seniors to $35 per month, "To cap insulin at $35 a month is huge. I don't think there's any family who has someone who's diabetic who hasn't had to pay through the nose for insulin."
Bresnahan says it's misleading, "We can cap insulin at $35. that's a 30-day supply. That doesn't include a 40-day prescription, a 60-day prescription."
Next Tuesday, the candidates will participate in a live debate, hosted by WVIA. It will be simulcast on WNEP and streamed on WNEP+ at 7 pm., and Lisa Washington will serve as a panelist.
Rob Bresnahan is engaged to Newswatch 16's Chelsea Strub.