With just a little more than two weeks remaining until Pennsylvania’s May 19 primary, Democratic candidate for the 7th Congressional District Bob Brooks is laying out his agenda for what he will do for Lehigh Valley voters in Washington if elected.

Brooks, president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, unveiled his “Put Out The Fire” agenda that focuses on lowering costs for middle and working-class people, while also rooting out the corruption that allows elected leaders to ‘get rich off their backs.’

“I became a firefighter because I wanted to serve the community I loved,” said Brooks. Over 20 years, I learned about courage, selflessness, brotherhood, and what it means to run toward fire. 

“As the President of the Pennsylvania Firefighters Union, I learned how to advocate and deliver on behalf of working families like my own and those of my members. I fought for legislation that made an impact in the lives of those who put their trust in me. But I also learned how broken the government can be, especially when it is used as a tool by big corporations and the ultra-wealthy to further their own interests and exploit regular people.”

Brooks, who faces three other challengers for the Democratic nomination in former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, and energy executive Carol Obando-Derstine, played upon his background with the PPFFA in explaining what he feels needs to be done in D.C.

“Right now, Washington is on fire, and the arsonists are a corrupt political class concerned about growing and holding its own power, and big corporations that game the system so it works for them and no one else,” he continued. “When corrupt Washington politicians give tax breaks to their ultra-rich buddies or pass legislation that benefits their ultra-rich campaign donors, that just means they’re not working for you. We need to get back to Congress working for the working people of this country, not just the wealthy and well-connected.

“Putting a stop to Donald Trump’s agenda and defeating Ryan Mackenzie must be our immediate priority, but that alone is not why I decided to run for Congress. I decided to run to stand up for regular people in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional district the same way I have for my union members. If elected, that will be my mission, every single day.”

His “Put Out The Fire” agenda has two prongs – ending the corruption that politicians engage in on a daily basis and lowering costs for the working people and middle class of this country.

• Ban members of Congress from trading stocks
• Ban members of Congress from becoming lobbyists
• Institute term limits for members of Congress
• Overturn Citizens United v. FEC and end corporate control of the campaign finance system
• Break up the corporate monopolies.

“No one should get rich off of public service,” said Brooks. “If you’re a member of Congress, you shouldn’t be able to make a profit trading stocks while you’re writing laws regulating our economy or receiving classified briefings the rest of the public doesn’t have. When I’m in Congress, I’ve committed to divesting from all stocks. This should be simple.”

Brooks said that he favors term limits of 10 years to the U.S. House (five terms) and 12 years to the U.S. Senate (2 terms) and would sponsor a bill to enact them, while committing to serving no more than five terms himself.

He also called for a constitutional amendment that would overturn Citizens United to end the corrupt influence of big money in politics and for a breakup of corporate monopolies that are in violation of antitrust laws.

Brooks, the lone candidate of the four who did not attend college, has taken the mantle of fighting for the middle class and working people and proposes the following:

• Pass the PRO (Protecting the Right to Organize) Act
• Guarantee affordable healthcare and lower out-of-pocket prescription costs
• Build more housing and ban private equity from buying up housing stock
• Tax the ultra-rich and cut taxes for working people.

“I’ve been a labor leader and union member for decades – reversing the declining power of working people is a top priority of mine. That starts with expanding union membership,” he said. He says he wants it to be easier to join a union and “long past time to get more people into good-paying union jobs.”

He related a personal story of having to choose between going into medical debt or forgoing medical care for a loved one. “The federal government should guarantee every single American has healthcare,” he said. “As we work toward that goal, we must reverse the cuts in the One Big Beautiful bill and extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that Ryan Mackenzie allowed to expire and cause healthcare premiums to sky rocket.”

Brooks lamented the fact that the average age of Americans buying their first home has risen from 28 years of age to 40. “We need to significantly increase the amount of housing we’re building, driving supply up to bring costs down. We also need to ban Wall Street from buying up housing stock by passing legislation like the Stop Wall Street Landlords Act, which would help stop massive investors and Wall Street from buying up the housing stock meant for working families.”

He also calls for taxing those with net worths of $50 million or more, signing on with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and her “Ultra-Millionaire” tax, saying it would raise an estimated $6.2 trillion in federal revenue over the next decade.

Warren has endorsed Brooks, saying that he has “spent his whole career fighting for the people and their well being, not billionaires and corporations. I’m proud to get behind him and help him get to Washington.”

“It’s past time to make the ultra-wealthy pay their taxes and invest in the working people of Pennsylvania,” said Brooks.

In a recent poll of PA-07 Democrats sponsored by the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, Brooks has a seven-point lead (24-17%) over McClure with Obando-Derstine and Crosswell trailing at 12 and nine percent, respectively.