Senator Casey Holds Lehigh Valley Town Hall

BETHLEHEM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WLVT) - About 100 people came to Northampton Community College Thursday evening to listen to U.S. Senator Bob Casey answer questions from Lehigh Valley voters.

They came ready to ask questions and share their concerns.

"I don't see that our government is doing anything to make our votes more secure, more trustworthy and more accessible," said one person.

"Will you support Senate Bill 1126 to guarantee healthcare as a human right?" asked another.

The Democratic senior senator from northeast Pennsylvania did not screen questions, allowing people to ask whatever they wanted.

"Are you going to do everything you can to back whoever we send forth to be your next partner?" asked one man.

"What advice can you give to help us maintain our Endangered Species Act?" added another woman.

The questions Casey got covered a lot of ground from infrastructure and climate change to campaign financing and impeachment. He even brought his own copy of the Mueller report. He said it's important to look past the conclusion.

"What didn't get a lot of attention...is just the detail of the evidence on obstruction, and I think that warrants that kind of review," he told reporters after the town hall.

PBS39 asked Casey about gun control. Last week, he released a video message on social media, pushing for universal background checks and other measures after six police officers were shot in Philadelphia.

Possible legislation includes what’s known as "red flag laws," which temporarily take away access to firearms if individuals are at risk of hurting themselves or others.

Casey said Congress needs to take real action.

"If at least you have a series of votes, I think the country would respond to that with a sense that, 'Okay, at least they debated this issue that I have great concern about.'"

The senator also talked about infrastructure and the need for public investment. He called for a national bill that would address major issues across the country, including Pennsylvania.

"The last number I saw was more than 3,700 bridges [are] structurally deficient, and lots of them [are] in the Lehigh Valley, lots of them where I live, lots of them in any place you go to," he said.

While many who came to the town hall were old enough to vote, 14-year-old Gabriella Punter from Harrisburg said she wants to make sure she's ready when it's her turn.

"The future generations, this is our world next," she said, "so, I think it's a good idea to get exposure to different types of things before we grow up, and we don't know anything. We're just kind of stuck there, so I think it's a good idea to get exposure to politics and what's going on in the world."

"I'm actually very optimistic about the next two years -- about what can happen -- because of what you did leading up to the last election," Casey said. "This region is very well positioned for the future."

People who went to the town hall told PBS39 that they were glad to see Casey in the Lehigh Valley. Pennsylvania's other senator, Republican Pat Toomey, will be at Lehigh Country Club in Allentown on Thursday, August 29 for an event organized by the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce.