Speaking to the Pennsylvania Press Club on Monday, Rep. Chris Deluzio made the case for what Democrats can do when they fight for people in the middle class.

“The fight for the American dream has to be the heart of what we do every day in Washington, every day in every election,” said the western Pennsylvania congressman. “Americans’ health, safety, well-being, and prosperity ought to be the mission that every member conquers, that everyone who stands in front of the voters and asks for a job should take to the job.”

The 41-year-old Deluzio, who was the starting pitcher for the Democrats in the annual Congressional Baseball Game, shared the background of his grandparents who he said lived a good life, but a life that “probably sounds out of reach to a lot of people in Pennsylvania and all over the country. That’s a series of choices that our government has made over decades.

“I think that is something that we in our government have to change.”

Deluzio referenced last week’s Franklin & Marshall College poll that said 40% of those surveyed have “no faith” that their financial situation will get any better a year from now.

“I think the American dream is about a lot more than just affording your life,” he said. “Making it to me should just be the floor, not the ceiling, of our ambition.

“I talk about the good life, which is security and dignity at every stage of life,” he continued. “It looks like having the freedom to start a family when you want, affording that family to live in the place where you’ve got family roots, where you’ve got a church and a community, sports teams, where you have time to spend with friends, where you can take a modest vacation, go to the doctor or the dentist when you need to, afford your kids youth sports and activities, go see a ball game, retire with dignity, all of that. Those are things that shouldn’t be luxuries in the United States of America, but for so many people, they are. “So when I talk about addition broader than just getting by, those are the items that I think should not be a luxury in our life, that anyone who’s working hard and playing by the rules should have that kind of good life, that slice of the American dream.”

The second-term congressman who represents Beaver and Allegheny counties placed a great deal of the blame at the feet of Wall Street.

“I see a an ideology that’s driven by ultra financialization on Wall Street that says that only thing that matters is shareholder value, that says that is the only interest that matters for corporate America. I disagree,” said Deluzio.

“We’ve seen decades of bad trade deals and decisions in Washington to deindustrialize the country to erode manufacturing power, and our government at its core, in doing this, traded away good jobs for cheaper goods, and now we don’t really have either of them. We’ve seen rising inflation, we’ve seen deindustrialized country, and I saw a lot of elected officials in both parties carrying water for the very forces that dismantled this part of the American dream over decades. I see corruption in Washington contributing to that broken trust.”

Deluzio also spoke about the corruption he sees every day in D.C.

“The corruption is not just in the Congress, it’s not just in the White House, it’s even the gifts and things that Supreme Court justices have taken, all contributing to eroding trust in our government, and I see it happen in parts of our economy outside of government.

“Profits matter. I believe this is America,” he continued. “You’re supposed to make it in our honest buck, but it’s not the only thing that matters. It has to be that something else matters, whether jobs, communities, our country, those are interests and stakeholders that have a real value in all this.”

The Iraq war veteran laid out a vision, but admitted that all of his goals are not attainable by one thing.

“If I don’t confront the corruption of money in politics, those goals are stymied,” he said. “I would be crystal clear about taking on what the Supreme Court decided in Citizens United. That’s something that Congress should take on, and we can. We have powers under our Constitution about the jurisdiction of the courts and the types of cases they can hear. I think the Congress should start taking back some of that power and tackle this corruption of money in politics. None of these are small goals, but I’m laying out what I hope is a pretty ambitious vision for what the American government experience can be to bring back the American dream, and these are not small fights.”

During a Q-and-A session, Deluzio was asked if he would consider a run for the U.S. Senate in 2028 against incumbent Sen. John Fetterman.

“I will look at it at the time when it comes,” he responded. “I don’t know what the senator’s plans are in 2028.”

He was more direct when asked about Fetterman’s support for the Iran war.

“They have no problem cheerleading, sending our young people to war,” said the graduate of the Naval Academy. “I’m a veteran of the war in Iraq, which I think was a disaster then where we never should have fought. My generation of veterans will pay for the cost of that war for as long as we are alive, and I do not want to see another generation of veterans go through something similar.

“I’ve had intense anger and frustration with many politicians, John Fetterman one of them, and my own party and in the Republican party who have cheerleaded this war, and I have a pretty simple standard. I believe in the fall of 2021 that my standard for whether I would ever vote to send Americans to fight and potentially bleed and die was kind of look the young people in my district in the eye or parents and grandparents and say you or your kids or your grandkids should risk your life for this. I don’t think this has met that standard.”

Deluzio also spoke to his “Let Kids Play Act”, a bicameral bill to combat private equity’s takeover of youth sports.

“I think what we see is once private equity can roll up in industry, they then do all these vulture practices that raise costs, they push out, they own ice rinks, and they push out the revenues,” he said. “They have the stay-to-play schemes, where families are forced to stay in a specific hotel at a specific rate they’ve negotiated, or your kid can’t play. So, again, I don’t think the problem is parents wanting to give their kids a shot. I’m hopeful some Republicans I serve with will start to get on board with this, because it’s a problem all over the country, and parents from all over the political spectrum want something to change.”

Looking ahead to November, Deluzio is optimistic about what the general election may bring for Democrats.

“You’re seeing candidates who are much more aggressive on the fight for the economy, economic populists like Bob Brooks, who are winning when Bob is able to put together a coalition of me and Bernie Sanders and Josh Shapiro, that tells you something,” said Deluzio “I think it’s where the future of the party has to go.”

Inside Elections ratings just moved Deluzio’s PA-17 race from Likely Democrat to Solid Democrat, providing some breathing room headed into the fall. He said he plans to be involved around the Commonwealth doing what he can to support Democratic candidates.

“I’m going to continue to show up in Harrisburg area, in Bucks County, in the Lehigh Valley, up to northeastern Pennsylvania. Those seats are ones Democrats can win. I’m proud of the candidates we have there, all of whom I supported in their primaries, and I keep saying this, the way those members of Congress vote affect my constituents in a real way, and so I’m doing what I can to help us win the House. There are a bunch of seats in Pennsylvania that could determine it.

“I refuse to accept that America’s best days have passed. They haven’t. It is a choice, and I think if we make different and better choices, America’s best days are ahead of us.”