Upd8: Strouse receives endorsement from Senior Votes Count!

Kevin Strouse, the Democratic candidate in the 8th Congressional District, received the endorsement of Senior Votes Count!

Strouse is challenging Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick.

Strouse said, “Eighth district voters deserve a pledge from Congressman Fitzpatrick to not repeat the same shutdown disaster that he brought us through last year. Before the shutdown, Fitzpatrick said that, ‘A shutdown of the federal government is the ultimate admission of failure to do your job.’ Well, by his own measure, Congressman Fitzpatrick is a failure.”

Senior Votes Count! was co-founded by Jon “Bowzer” Bauman, a member of the band Sha Na Na. Bauman slammed Fitzpatrick for his 16-percent lifetime rating from the Alliance for Retired Americans.

Strouse said, “Congressman Fitzpatrick told us last year that he wouldn’t allow a government shutdown. But then in a blaze of partisan glory, he ignored his constituents, shut down the federal government and voted 17 times against efforts to reopen it. While it’s clear that a promise from Congressman Fitzpatrick doesn’t mean much, voters deserve to know his stance on the issues.”

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Meanwhile, Strouse last week unveiled a to-do list for Fitzpatrick and what he calls a “dysfunctional Republican Congress.”

“Every day, people from across the district tell me that they are sick of dysfunctional Washington politics. They are sick of having an entrenched Washington politician betray their interests day in and day out. The people of the 8th district deserve an agenda that will address Washington dysfunction and put the middle class first. That’s why we need to end subsidies for big oil, make education accessible to those who work hard and ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists — permanently,” he said.

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In June, Strouse pledged to never become a lobbyist and challenged Fitzpatrick to join him in his pledge and to publicly disclose all meetings with registered lobbyists.

The challenger is criticizing his opponent after news that former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who resigned in August after a stunning loss in the Republican primary, is joining a Wall Street investment bank.

“It’s not surprising Congress has a historically low approval rating when one of Congressman Fitzpatrick’s top allies would rather resign his seat for a multi-million-dollar payout than represent the best interests of his constituents. I want to make it crystal clear to the voters in Bucks and Montgomery counties that I believe this behavior is unacceptable, and when I’m elected to Congress this fall, I will introduce legislation to ban all members of Congress from becoming lobbyists — permanently,” Strouse said.

Strouse is a former Army Ranger, CIA counterterrorism analyst and veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He lives in Middletown with his wife and two young children. He is program director of Teach2Serve, a nonprofit that teaches social entrepreneurship to regional high school students.

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Fitzpatrick announced legislation last week aimed at crippling the funding and financing abilities of ISIS.

The Isolate ISIS Act would cut off income to ISIS by codifying sanctions and penalties on any institutions engaging in trade or commerce with the terror group, including individuals and corporations in the United States.

“ISIS is a unique terror organization in that it is able to self finance at an extremely high level — giving itself the resources and influence to expand its reign of hate and oppression,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s reported that ISIS now controls tens of thousands of barrels of oil a day, netting the terror group nearly $2 million in sales through foreign markets. To halt ISIS’ growth, we must stop its ability to fund and finance — that’s what the Isolate ISIS Act does.”

Fitzpatrick is serving his third term in the House of Representatives. The 8th Congressional District includes all of Bucks County and a portion of Montgomery County.

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In other news, Fitzpatrick and fellow Republican Reps. Patrick Meehan and Jim Gerlach wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry, urging him to suspend U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency pending an investigation into the group’s ties to Hamas.

“Over the last decade, American taxpayers have contributed more than $2 billion to UNRWA,” the letter says. “But events in Gaza during the last year, particularly in recent months, have demonstrated that American taxpayers should not continue to subsidize UNRWA operations without a full and complete investigation into its ties to Hamas.”

Fitzpatrick, Meehan and Gerlach have long been critical of UNRWA, most recently when they wrote to Kerry last year seeking answers about an anti-Semitic documentary filmed in an UNRWA school.

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Last week, Fitzpatrick joined 52 members of the House of Representatives in calling on Senate leaders in both parties to consider a series of House-passed human trafficking bills.

The letter was sent to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The letter read, in part, “The issue of human trafficking is not a partisan one, and we believe it deserves to be made a priority in both the House and Senate. Working together, we can ensure meaningful legislation is signed into law to eradicate this disgusting industry and empower survivors. We look forward to working with you and your colleagues to do all we can to put an end to human trafficking.”

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Also, Fitzpatrick joined a group of lawmakers and victims’ rights advocates on Capitol Hill last week to urge the Senate to take action on legislation to protect students from sexual predators in school.

The Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act passed the House last year. It requires schools to perform background checks on all new and existing employees.

Additionally, it would forbid schools from hiring persons who have been convicted of certain crimes — including violent or sexual crimes against a child. The bill would close the loopholes that led to the death of a 12-year-old boy.

“The transferring of teachers known or suspected of sexual misconduct between school districts is known simply as ‘Passing the Trash,’ ” Fitzpatrick said. “This shameful practice was first brought to my attention in 2006 when I learned of the story of 12-year old Jeremy Bell, who was drugged, sexually abused and then murdered by his elementary school principal who had been passed between schools despite multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. This could have been stopped.”