Reschenthaler, Saccone sound off on the issues in 14th Congressional District GOP race
State Sen. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Jefferson Hills, and state Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth Township, will square off for the Republican nomination Tuesday in the newly formed 14th Congressional District, each hoping to represent the party that political pundits expect to have an electoral advantage in the district, which has trended Republican in recent federal elections.
Both men are military veterans who see jobs and the economy as the issue of greatest importance facing constituents across the district. And both recently spoke with the Herald-Standard to highlight how they would pursue economic development, school safety and other topics of concern in the district, which spans Fayette, Greene, Washington and much of Westmoreland counties.
GUY RESCHENTHALER
Reschenthaler, 35, was elected to represent the 37th District in the state Senate in 2015 in a special election and won a full four-year term in 2016. He was a magisterial district judge for Pleasant Hills, Jefferson Hills and South Park prior to becoming senator. Following law school, he served in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General Corps, volunteering in Iraq.
Reschenthaler advocated for making tax cuts approved by the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress last year permanent and cutting red tape that he said was strangling job growth.
“I’m very bullish on our energy sector,” Reschenthaler said, adding that further natural gas drilling and energy exploration will lead to reduced energy costs and petrochemicals that are “at the ready.”
Reschenthaler noted that he sponsored a bill last year designed to prevent municipalities and counties from designating themselves as “sanctuary cities,” which he defined last year as mayors and other elected officials preventing their police from honoring an immigration detainer by failing to notify agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of the pending release of an individual who has a detainer issued.
That bill, state Senate Bill 10, passed the Senate 37-12 but stalled following referral to the House Judiciary Committee in Feb. 2017.
Reschenthaler said that Congress’s attempts at repealing and replacing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, was the “right thing” to do and backs Health Savings Accounts, which he said would empower consumers through private market concepts.
Reschenthaler said that mental health is the biggest component in fighting the opioid epidemic and called for lifting a decades-old federal rule that prevents states from allowing Medicaid to reimburse for care at treatment facilities with more than 16 beds.
“As a district judge, you would refer defendants to facilities and you’d hear about … these wait lists to get treatment for a mental health issue and substance abuse,” Reschenthaler said. It’s absolutely inexcusable that in today’s America, there’s a scarcity of beds in clinics. These people need help.”
On the topic of school safety, Reschenthaler said that while education issues should be handled at the local level, school resource officers will lead to more safety and help students acclimate to law enforcement.
“It’s truly community policing within our schools,” Reschenthaler said, again touting the importance of mental health in reviewing the causes behind various recent school shootings throughout the country.
Reschenthaler said he would move into the district from Jefferson Hills, which is not in the 14th Congressional District, if elected.
RICK SACCONE
Rick Saccone, 60, was a counterintelligence officer for the U.S. Air Force, defending against espionage and commandos from North Korea. The four-term member of the state House also served as a senior counterintelligence agent in Iraq.
Saccone narrowly lost in March to Conor Lamb, D-Mount Lebanon, in their nationally scrutinized special election race for the old 18th Congressional District.
Less than six weeks later, Saccone said campaigning for a seat in the new 14th feels different, allowing him to get out in front of people more since it’s “not a national race.”
Saccone said that someone tells him almost every day about how the tax cuts approved by Congress last year are helping businesses and families.
Saccone said that every school district should complete vulnerability assessments of every building.
“We need to keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and criminals,” Saccone said.
Saccone noted that he has written multiple books about North Korea and complimented Trump’s handling of diplomatic negotiations with North Korea.
Upbeat about his chances of securing the Republican nomination, Saccone observed that he won Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties in March’s special election and added that he was also well-known in Fayette County, which was not in the 18th Congressional District that he and Lamb were running in.
Saccone touted his “A+” rating from the National Rifle Association and said he would move into the district from Elizabeth Township, which is not in the 14th Congressional District, if elected.