When Congressman Charlie Dent faced 400 angry people at Hanover Township Community Center a few weeks ago on a cold and rainy day, it was hard for him to speak more than a few words without being interrupted by numerous catcalls over Trump’s attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare with something that Dent himself refused to support. But the weather and mood was much brighter on April 18, when Congressman Matt Cartwright faced a friendly crowd of about 90 people at Northampton Community College’s Alumni Hall. One of the messages he repeated frequently is that “democracy really works.”

Northampton County is split between Dent, whose 15th Congressional District extends along Route 78 to Dauphin County, and Cartwright, whose 17th Congressional District extends north to Carbondale.

Bethlehem Township Commissioners Tom Nolan and Malissa Davis were there, along with Palmer Township Supervisor Ann Marie Panella and Easton Mayor Sal Panto. NorCo executive hopeful Lamont McClure attended, along with county council hopefuls Bill McGee and Tara Zrinski. Easton City Council candidates Terrence Miller and Taiba Sultana were spotted, as was Saucon Valley School Director candidate Tracy Magnotta.

Cartwright began by introducing and praising many members of his staff, outlining their specialties. Then he got down to business, answering questions written in advance by members of the audience. From time to time, someone would blurt out a question, and he answered those, too.

Obamacare

Cartwright said that he and Dent are in the same neighborhood. “There are a lot of problems with ACA (Affordable Care Act). It’s too expensive on some groups. It has deductibles that are too high on some other groups, and it involves some taxes that disparately impact some groups and some industries.” He spoke of some taxes he considers unfair, like the Cadillac tax and the bedpan tax. “It actually hurts some of the manufacturers right here in the Lehigh Valley,” he said, in a reference to medical device manufacturer B. Braun. But he said, “we’ve moved the needle on this discussion. It used to be, ‘no way, no how,’ on anything like the ACA, but now it’s, ‘Let’s make it work.’” He said he is hopeful that a bipartisan solution can be achieved “to work out the kinks in the ACA and make it work for everybody. That’s what the American people want.”

Trump budget

Cartwright believes Trump never laid eyes on his proposed budge. He said it was hatched “in the basement of the Heritage Foundation” and “is dead on arrival.” He said Americans will oppose many of the cuts to popular programs.

Appropriations

“I really enjoy working on the Appropriations Committee,” Cartwright said. It’s a position he shares with Dent, for whom he had high praise.

Trump taxes

Cartwright explained that there is a bill to force Trump to release his tax returns. But he added that Republicans are in charge of the House. “They control what bills come up for vote in committee.” He said that even if such a bill were to pass the House and Senate, it would have to go to the White House for Trump’s signature. “Raise your hand if you think he’s gonna sign that,” he joked

Social Security

Cartwright supports SS2100, an attempt to extend the solvency of social security. He said Schuylkill County has 150,000 people and 38,000 are on social security.

Regulations

Cartwright opposed and voted against the Scrub Act because there were no hearings. “I don’t call them regulations, I call them protections.” He admitted “there are some bad regulations out there that need to go but we need to work on them one at a time.”

Trump

“Make no mistake, I am not here to trash Donald Trump. He won the election,” said Cartwright. “Not by a majority,” someone in the audience muttered. “He won it by the rules that are laid out and I have to work with him,” responded Cartwright. He likes Trump’s desire to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure, but not by tax credits to private corporations.

Next president

“Not me.”

Gerrymandering

Like Dent, Cartwright explained that redistricting is done by the state legislature, not Congress. Speaking of his own district, he asked, “Did you ever see a map of my district? That is a shape that does not occur in nature.”