By Tom Waring
Wire Staff Writer
The National Republican Congressional Committee is criticizing the campaign of Democratic candidate Kevin Strouse for comments on oil subsidies that a Bucks County Courier Times editorial labeled as a “Big Lie.”
The Strouse campaign has created a website that purports to reveal “Fitz’s Fibs.” The site accuses Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick of supporting billions of dollars in oil industry subsidies and accepting campaign donations from oil companies.
Fitzpatrick did vote for a bill that offered subsidies. In fact, some Democratic members of Congress supported it, and President Barack Obama signed the legislation.
When House members voted to proceed with that bill, they rejected consideration of the Big Oil Welfare Repeal Act. The newspaper dismissed that bill, noting that it has a mere two co-sponsors and sits idly in a committee.
The NRCC likened the Strouse campaign to “amateur hour” and a “disaster.” It pointed to his support for taxpayer-funded sex-change operations for children; a staffer with a history of racists tweets sending fundraising emails; a narrow primary victory over underfunded Shaughnessy Naughton; and national handicappers giving him little chance of winning.
“Kevin Strouse’s bumbling campaign has managed to take Nancy Pelosi’s top recruit and put him on the path to join (2012 Fitzpatrick opponent) Kathy Boockvar in the land of disappointing also-rans,” said NRCC spokesman Ian Prior. “The blistering editorial from his local paper calling his tactics ‘a Big Lie’ is just the latest in a string of unforced errors proving that Strouse should not be representing Southeastern Pennsylvania families in Congress.”
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Meanwhile, Strouse was joined last week in Bristol Township by local leaders and dozens of supporters for the launch of “Women for Strouse.”
The Democrat is trying to link Fitzpatrick to Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, who is struggling in the polls.
Strouse said, “When it comes to a woman’s healthcare choices, Mike Fitzpatrick is just like Tom Corbett. He opposes a woman’s right to choose, and even voted to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, denying millions of women basic care like cancer screenings and affordable birth control.”
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia said, “Kevin Strouse is the only candidate in this race that women can trust. He has fought to defend our values abroad, and I know that he will continue to fight for us here at home. It’s ridiculous that in 2014 women are subjected to Mike Fitzpatrick’s backwards views that insert the government into private decisions between a woman and her doctor. Bucks County deserves a representative who will never play politics with a woman’s healthcare, and we will have that kind of leader with Kevin Strouse.”
Strouse is a former Army Ranger, CIA counterterrorism analyst and veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He lives in Middletown with his wife and two young children. He is program director of Teach2Serve, a nonprofit that teaches social entrepreneurship to local high school students.
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In other news, Fitzpatrick has introduced the Medicare Residential Care Coordination Demonstration Project.
The legislation allows for trials in communities of the latest models of care-coordination and disease management in a residential setting, such as Wesley Enhanced Living and other continuing care retirement communities.
The United States spends more than $200 billion per year on the long-term care system. Most individuals pay for care out of their personal savings until they qualify for Medicaid, which often offers only institutionalism.
According to Fitzpatrick, an increasing body of clinical evidence shows that coordinated care in a residential setting has the potential to dramatically lower the barriers to care and reduce the overall cost of healthcare.
The congressman argues that senior citizens deserve models of care that reflect the new reality that most Medicare spending goes toward chronic care, not acute care.
“Congress must act now to support medical professionals and caregivers as they work hard to provide cost-effective and accurate treatments to their patients,” Fitzpatrick said. “I look forward to working with my colleagues and local professionals to ensure the continuity and sustainability of the Medicare program.”
Fitzpatrick is serving his third term in the House of Representatives. The 8th district includes all of Bucks County and a portion of Montgomery County.
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Last week, Fitzpatrick joined members of his district Physicians Advisory Board for a roundtable discussion on health policy and an update on concerns facing the medical community.
“As I’ve made my way around Bucks and Montgomery counties this summer as part of my 100 Businesses in 100 Days tour, one thing I’ve consistently heard from workers and their employers is a concern about the state of health care in our nation,” he said.
Dr. Marilyn J. Heine, a member of the board, said, “Congressman Fitzpatrick is a champion for our patients and medical practices. He advocates for measures to help ensure access to quality healthcare in our community.”
