DAMASCUS, PA — Locals gathered at Unity Grange #1710 in Damascus on Friday, June 20, for a town hall. 

The event, which was billed as non-partisan, invited three elected representatives to come and hear the concerns of their constituents: U.S. Senators from Pennsylvania John Fetterman and Dave McCormick, as well as Rob Bresnahan Jr., the U.S. Congressman for the 8th Congressional District. However, upon arrival, constituents found only empty seats looking at them from the event stage. 

The focus of the town hall was the Big Beautiful Bill, a federal spending package. 

Organizer Roger Brinkerhoff, a local man and grange member, introduced the town hall. Officials and regular people are meant to be intermingling in a typical town hall meeting; however, in this instance, the invited representatives chose not to come out, he said. 

The River Reporter was unable to independently confirm whether Fetterman or McCormick had been invited to the event. 

Bresnahan's office provided the River Reporter with the following statement:

“This event was a radical-left protest masquerading as a nonpartisan forum. Our office received a meeting request with a vague description of the event. However, we were informed only two days prior, and with his busy schedule, we let them know Rob was unable to attend.  

 “He makes it a point to meet with constituents in the district and has attended more than 100 public events since taking office. Rob always appreciates hearing from concerned constituents on what matters most to them. 

 “Organizations interested in requesting an appearance from the Congressman can do so through our website, Bresnahan.house.gov.”

The plan was to have video of the event sent to the offices of the invited luminaries.

What we might lose

Emily Herrick introduced herself as a former federal employee at the General Services Administration whose work was related to eliminating government waste and streamlining processes. The former director of this program was replaced by “a 27-year-old Tesla employee installed by DOGE,” who knew nothing about the agency or their work, according to Herrick.

Herrick was laid off when a line in the budget was cut. Her union, in court, is challenging the firings in court, claiming that they are contrary to civil service law. 

Another local, Irene Soloway, said she worked for 25 years as a professional physician’s assistant in a substance-abuse treatment program in the Bronx. She said that people with substance-abuse disorder need continuous treatment and that the Big Beautiful Bill would result in a large number of Americans getting thrown off the active Medicaid rolls. Further, she said that people who are thrown off Medicaid often have difficulty getting back on. Given the large number of overdoses in this part of the country, this bill is going to make the problem much worse, she said. 

Another participant, Mary Ursich, pointed out that currently one in four people in Pennsylvania is above the age of 60, and that by the year 2030, this figure will be one in three. Currently nearly 30 percent of the population in Wayne County is over 60. 

Ursich said that services for elderly that are at risk include meals, in-home or in other facilities, bathing, dressing, grooming, and protective services for those elderly who are abused, neglected or abandoned. 

Local resident Mary Anne Carletta spoke about the proposed repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act , which, if done, would be detrimental to the funding of groups like SEEDS, a local community organization dedicated to developing local renewable energy. 

The funding is needed to continue assisting local folk in insulating their homes, Carletta said, adding that tax credits on home insulation, upgrading heating systems and tax credits on purchase of electric vehicles would be at risk as well. Other items of concern for Mary Anne were the rollback of incentives for clean energy and the rollback of emission controls.

‘Are we able to believe anything you say?’ 

Speaking to Bresnahan’s vacant chair, Jack Barnett noted that the congressman had recently asked the Republican leadership, in three letters, to retain renewable energy and energy efficiency programs that include installation programs that provide jobs in this country. However, Bresnahan voted for the House version of the Big Beautiful Bill, which cuts these programs, and after that, he even sent a letter to the Senate leadership asking for the retention of these programs that he had voted to remove, Barnett said. 

So, he asked “Are we able to believe anything you say?” 

‘So the constituents can make other plans’ 

Another participant called out Fetterman on his trips to Trump’s personal residence of Mar-a-Lago and his support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanhayu’s violence in Gaza. The participant contrasted these with Fetterman’s lack of support for environmental protection, and asked if the senator could let his constituents know if he is interested in quitting the senate, “so that the constituents can make other plans.”

Also, McCormick’s empty chair was asked under what conditions he would vote no on a bill that cuts SNAP benefits and Medicaid, given the need for these programs in PA. 

An incentive to put more military on the streets? 

Another attendee referenced the Marines mobilized in California during protests in Los Angeles and tanks rolling on the streets of Washington D.C. for a Trump-ordered military parade. 

“Why do we need an increased military budget when Mr. Trump has promised not to get involved in any more foreign wars,” the participant asked. “Is the increase in the military budget not an incentive to put more military on the streets of our own country acting against our own citizens?” 

Condescending attitude, canned response letters 

Much of the evening’s animus was directed at Bresnahan. Participants referenced a condescending attitude in his communications and dry form-letter type of responses from his office. One participant, Fran Clemente, said to the representative’s empty chair, “It was a waste of time to communicate with you.” 

Another attendee, Colette, mentioned that all three representatives, when she reached out, had sent back automated responses to her concerns that suggested she was ignorant. 

The ‘Everybody Dies’ bill 

Other topics of concern from those who attended related to the Big Beautiful Bill were a loss of privacy, a loss of services at local hospitals and clinics, the closing of rural hospitals, the cutting of food bank assistance, the clawback of funds already allocated and the resulting lack of services. One participant, Shann, referred to the bill as the “Everybody Dies Bill.” (Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, during a town hall in May, responded to citizen concerns about the impacts of the Big Beautiful Bill by saying “We all are going to die,” according to published reports.)

Note of optimism 

One participant, Barbara, noted that the event attracted a roomful of people in a small town who were willing to come out and speak to each other, even without the invited guests. “This is our strength,” she said.

Editor’s note: Irene Soloway and Jack Barnett have both contributed writing to the River Reporter. Their participation in this town hall happened independently of their work for the River Reporter and does not imply endorsement of their statements by the River Reporter.