9th District candidates: How do you pay for roads, bridges?

UNIONTOWN -- The three candidates for Pennsylvania’s 9th District seat in Congress squared off Friday at a candidates’ forum in Fayette County.

The three gave very different answers when asked how Congress should fund the dwindling Highway Trust Fund that pays for roads and bridges. Federal gas taxes are dedicated to transportation projects, but fuel consumption has been declining.

• U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Everett, ducked the question. The chairman of the House Transportation Committee instead defended his record of passing the nation’s most recent five-year highway bill.
• Art Halvorson, a Tea Party conservative who won the Democratic ballot slot in the primary election, said states should be responsible for roads, not the federal government. (Shuster disagreed.) The money should not be sent to Washington where it can be used on Congress members’ pet projects, he said.
• Adam Sedlock Jr., a write-in candidate for the Democrats, suggested looking at raising taxes or fees. “Our top 1 percent is not paying its fair share,” Sedlock said.

The three-way race for the 9th District is extraordinary. Shuster is seeking his eighth full term, but defeated Halvorson by a slight margin in the GOP primary. Halvorson, a commercial real estate developer and retired Coast Guard captain, won a surprising write-in nomination from Democrats and is a conservative on the party’s ticket. Sedlock, a psychologist, has support of Democratic leaders for his write-in campaign. Election Day is Nov. 8.

Four of the questions in the forum dealt with federal involvement in coal issues. Again, Shuster defended his efforts.

Sedlock and Shuster gave similar supporting responses to current federal legislation dealing with strip mine reclamation and propping up the coal mining union’s ailing pension fund. Halvorson was unfamiliar with the legislation.

“We need to look at combating climate change,” said Sedlock, whose father and grandfather were coal miners. “Let’s build a clean energy economy. The pollution is horrendous in Fayette County.”

The government can help with the transition, he said.

Halvorson held close to his theme of anti-incumbency and attacked Shuster’s record, while Shuster defended it.

Shuster also announced that presidential candidate Donald Trump said earlier Friday in Johnstown that he support's Shuster’s re-election. "I appreciate his endorsement," Shuster said.

A video of the hour-long forum is to be available at www.heraldstandard.com. The Uniontown newspaper sponsored the forum at Penn State's Fayette County campus.

Jim Hook 717-262-4759