Gov. Shapiro calls out Rep. Bresnahan on voting record

PITTSTON TWP. — When asked if, in all his years in elective office, he ever expected issues like feeding people in need and providing affordable health care to become so politicized, Gov. Josh Shapiro had the answer.

“Well, understand that your congressman, from this district, voted to cut 510,000 Pennsylvanians off of their health care, and at the same time voted to cut about 140,000 of those 2 million Pennsylvanians off of SNAP,” Shapiro said during a news conference at the Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Weinberg Food Bank in the CenterPoint Commerce & Trade Park in Pittston Township on Thursday.

Shapiro was referring to freshman U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan, R-Dallas Township, who has voted with the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives on the issues Shapiro referred to.

“And the third thing they did was gut payments for Medicaid to rural hospitals, which is going to likely end up with 25 rural hospitals shuttering here in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “That’s what your congressman voted for, and he was the deciding vote on that measure that President Trump signed into law.”

The Governor said he was “very, very clear” to those congressmen, as they were weighing this bill, about the impact it would have, not just here in northeastern Pennsylvania, but all across this commonwealth.

“They voted for it, eyes wide open, knowing what the results would be,” Shapiro said. “I also was very clear that the state does not have the ability to backfill these cuts, and so this is a decision your federal government made to knock a half a million people off of Medicaid, knock over 100,000 off of SNAP, and really harm our rural hospitals.”

Shapiro did not stop there.

“I think it’s shameful, and hopefully you will see a new Congress come and reverse those cuts going forward,” the governor said. “And if Tuesday night is any indication, I think you’re going to see a lot of change going forward here and hopefully reverse these damaging cuts.”

The Governor was referring to the Nov. 5 General Election, which saw significant Democratic victories in Pennsylvania and across the country.

Bresnahan issues response

Bresnahan provided an e-mailed response to Gov. Shapiro’s comments:

“The people of Northeastern Pennsylvania would be better served if the Governor from this Commonwealth worked across party lines to get a state budget passed instead of engaging in partisan politics that only adds fuel to the Democrat-caused gridlock we are seeing in Harrisburg and Washington.

“I have consistently acted to protect SNAP and other essential services during this Democrat government shutdown, and I will continue to do all I can to support working families and those most in need.”

Rep. Bresnahan will run for re-election in 2026. Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti won a resounding mayoral reelection victory on Tuesday, and she has declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 8th Congressional District, which Bresnahan represents.