Lentz Wins Fifth Debate Siding With Working Families

Meehan unable to explain why he billed taxpayers thousands of dollars on luxury hotel to attend annual black tie event four times
 
Springfield, PA – Tonight Bryan Lentz, the Democratic nominee for Congress in the 7th Congressional District, won the fifth and final debate of the campaign season by standing alongside working families on issues ranging from creating good-paying jobs to public safety. When given the chance to do the same, his Republican opponent clung to the failed, job-killing policies of the Bush administration, and showed that he’d rather listen to his donors like the NRA than the real concerns of residents of the District.
 
Lentz said he supported policies that would lead to good-paying jobs, like continuing tax cuts for working class families, and giving companies tax breaks to invest in areas like research and development and the addition of new equipment. Lentz also said he supported making it easier for companies to hire new workers by giving them tax breaks for providing on-the-job training and education. 
 
“We have a middle class that is vanishing because of the same Republican policies that Pat Meehan is pushing,” Lentz said. “I want to go to Washington, DC to fight for the middle class. They are the reason we have become the greatest nation on earth.”
 
At the same time that Lentz outlined his forward looking vision for job creation, Meehan clung desperately to the failed economic policies of the Bush administration, saying he’d rather give tax breaks to millionaires than take steps to bring the deficit under control. He also failed to explain how he’d make up for more than $2 trillion in tax breaks he is calling for the nation’s wealthiest individuals.
 
Meehan was also at a loss for words when Lentz pressed him for an explanation of the thousands of dollars he billed taxpayers for four stays at New York’s premiere luxury hotel, the Waldorf Astoria to attend an annual black tie junket that is a social gathering for politicians and lobbyists. From 2002-2006, Meehan attended the event four times and billed taxpayers more than $4,548.
 
Meehan’s only explanation for why he chose to spend taxpayer money at the Waldorf Astoria instead of choosing a more modest option was “This is where the event takes place.”.
 
 A former Airborne Ranger, criminal prosecutor and Iraq War veteran, Bryan Lentz currently serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Delaware County. He was awarded both the Bronze Star for Service and the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal for his military service. He lives in Swarthmore with his wife Jennifer and their son Thomas.

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