PEN ARGYL, Pa. – Lehigh Valley residents raised concerns about broadband funding, spreading sludge and the war in Ukraine to U.S. Rep. Susan Wild on Tuesday evening during a town hall at the Lookout Fire Company.
- U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, who represents Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, hosted a town hall in Pen Argyl
- Wild touted recent federal spending packages which have funded projects in the Valley as "tangible wins"
- Wild also said she supports continuing military aid for Ukraine, but that the conflict needs to "be brought to an end." She also said the U.S. should have provided more advanced weapons to the country sooner
Wild appeared with Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, who began the town hall by praising her response to the damaging floods in the region in mid-July, saying she was the only public official from whom he had heard.
“I called her and I said, 'Congresswoman, you said you would do everything you possibly could to help us try to meet this disaster.’ And then she came,” said McClure.
He and Wild both encouraged anyone whose home or business was damaged in the July 16 floods to report the damage on the Northampton County Emergency Management Services website.
Before taking questions, Wild touted “tangible, real wins” for Northampton County resulting from federal spending packages like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the American Rescue Plan Act.
Some of these funds were used to upgrade the security checkpoint at Lehigh Valley International Airport; other money is slated for projects to increase access to high-speed internet.
Wild shared ongoing plans to apply to make the Lehigh Valley a regional innovation hub, a U.S. Commerce Department designation that comes with “place-based investment,” according to a statement from Wild’s office.
The innovation hubs program became law as part of the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act.
Questions began with Chief Adam Waterbear of the Lenape Nation of Pa. asking Wild to weigh in on the tribe’s push for recognition by the commonwealth, something Wild said was “long overdue” in response.
A pair of audience members asked questions about the ongoing war in Ukraine, prompting Wild to elaborate on her stance.
Wild said that she supports continuing military aid for Ukraine, but said she “think(s) this war needs to be brought to an end.” The United States should have given more weapons sooner, she said, and should have helped provide “air power.”
“I'm hopeful that we are now at the point where the level of support for Ukraine means that this war will get wrapped up.”Lehigh Valley Congresswoman Susan Wild
“I'm hopeful that we are now at the point where the level of support for Ukraine means that this war will get wrapped up,” she said.
Annamarie Robertone, a Washington Township resident who has previously run for Northampton County Council and Bangor Area School Board, asked Wild who the “watchdog” would be overseeing spending on broadband access.
Ultimately, Wild said, the state Broadband Development Authority is responsible for doling out the Commonwealth’s share of most federal broadband grants, and members of Congress like herself also have “oversight abilities.”
Melanie Christopher, who lives in Palmer Township and works as a teacher in Allentown, asked Wild about grants for school refurbishments, especially geared toward improving student safety. Wild said she “will always be fighting” for public schools, but offered few specifics beyond saying school funding is mostly handled at the state level.
Still other attendees raised questions about allowing sludge on farmland, particularly in the case of a farm in Plainfield Township purchased by the Nazareth Borough Municipal Authority. Wild deferred to McClure on that question, who said under the Pennsylvania Right to Farm law they can't legally do anything about sludge.
Susan Cooper of Delaware Water Gap voiced concerns over the ongoing closure of route 611 in the Portland area, which has placed enormous pressure on businesses. Wild said she is applying pressure to the National Park Service to get the project finished as quickly as possible.
