U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan says she isn’t the type of politician to hide from her constituents by staying in Washington.

She wants to engage the people she represents. She wants to make sure they know what she’s thinking and that she’s aware of what’s on their minds.

That’s why she visited the Village Library of Morgantown Monday afternoon to hold a town hall meeting. It’s the 63rd such event she’s held since taking office in 2018, a number she says is the highest among all members of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation.

“This is a deliberate effort on my part to be available, to be accessible, to be transparent and to be present all the time,” said the Chester County Democrat who represents all of Chester and parts of southern Berks County, including the city of Reading. “There is a reason why we try to do this as often as we do, and there is a reason why we ask for civility. It’s because I really do believe that our community wants that. I don’t believe we want to be yelling at each other.”

Facing challenges

Houlahan acknowledged that times are tough for many of her constituents.

Ongoing inflation — fueled by pandemic-related breaks in the supply chain, increased demand for products and the Russian invasion of Ukraine — has sent the cost of things like groceries and gas skyrocketing. People have been forced for months to try desperately to make their money stretch as far as it can, and a quick fix doesn’t appear likely.

For a majority of Americans, it has become the issue that concerns them the most.

Houlahan said she’s aware of that and has been working on finding solutions. As a member of the moderate New Democrat Coalition, she joined a group of her colleagues to craft an action plan to fight inflation.

Some of the measures included in the plan are:

• Strengthening global supply chains and increasing price competition by reducing trade barriers to help prevent similar crises from arising again.
• Bringing more people into the workforce by increasing access to affordable child care and improving transportation to help get people to and from work faster.
• Lowering oil prices by investing in renewable energy sources.
• Decreasing food prices by helping farmers and producers get their products to market faster.

Houlahan has been a leader in pushing for the passage of the America COMPETES Act — a $52 billion package to bolster national dominance in technology. Its supporters say the legislation would increase U.S. production of semiconductor chips, strengthen the supply chain to make more goods in America and invest in scientific research and new technologies.

When it comes to another issue on the front of many minds, Houlahan applauded the recent passage of federal Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It was the first time in three decades that such significant gun legislation has been enacted.

Houlahan said the bill is a good first step in the fight against gun violence.

“I believe in the Second Amendment, but I believe there are things we can do to make our community safer and to protect our children,” she said. “I really think the vast majority of us really believe there are things we could be doing.”

On the other hand, the congresswoman acknowledged that the Supreme Court decision to strike down the constitutional right to abortion established nearly 50 years ago in Roe v. Wade has upset many constituents. She noted that she voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act that would prohibit governmental restrictions on the provision of and access to abortion services.

Although the bill has not made it through the Senate, she said she will continue to support efforts to codify reproductive rights.

“I am firmly pro-choice,” she said to applause. “I recognize that’s not all of us in our community and I respect that. But I will vote to protect a woman’s right to control her own reproductive freedom.”

Voting record

During the question and answer portion of the event, Houlahan was asked about the frequency with which she votes with her Democratic colleagues.

Houlahan defended her voting record, saying she ranks in the top 20% of most bipartisan members of Congress. But, she added, she has to constantly work to make sure she’s representing all of her constituents.

She noted that her district is made up of 40% Democrats, 40% Republicans and 20% independents.

“It’s a purple place,” she said. “And what’s really, really about that is that there aren’t many of those districts in our nation. There are only about three dozen of those purple places, so we’re ununsual. When I’m down in Washington I explain that to people but I note that we work together to get along.”

Houlahan also pointed out that some bills that she views differently than party leadership does never make it to the floor for a vote because it’s unlikely they would pass. That’s not reflected in her official voting record.

Celebrating success

While filling the crowd in on what has been happening recently in Congress, Houlahan highlighted two pieces of legislation that she called tranformational and representative of what can happen when members from both sides of the aisle work together to get things done.

She spoke first about the comprehensive $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that was passed last fall. She said the legislation has opened the floodgates of federal funding for all sorts of projects in communities across the country.

Houlahan said that means major improvements to highways and bridges, upgrades to wastewater treatment plants, improved access to broadband in rural areas, new passenger and freight rail systems and investments in environmental remediation efforts to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Houlahan also touted the sweeping $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that she helped muscle through Congress. The measure provided direct payments to millions of people, pumped funding into small businesses, extended federal unemployment benefits and helped cover the cost of vaccine distribution. It also included $350 billion in aid to state and local governments and $130 billion to assist schools with reopening.

The plan continues to have a big impact on Berks, pumping at least $338 million of pandemic relief funding into local governments and school districts across the county.