Democrats running for Lehigh Valley congressional seat talk tariffs, economy

EDITOR'S NOTE: Three Democratic candidates for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District — Ryan Crosswell, Lamont McClure and Carol Obando-Derstine — visited the Univest Public Media Center for one-on-one policy interviews with LehighValleyNews.com. The conversations are the basis of a five-part PA-7 Talks series this week ahead of the May 19 primary election. A fourth candidate, firefighter union boss Bob Brooks, initially agreed to participate but later canceled. His campaign did not respond to requests to reschedule. The winner of the primary is expected to face U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, in November. Mackenzie is uncontested in the Republican primary.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — For several years, affordability and rising costs have proven to be a driving issue in American elections.

That may prove to be a critical issue again this midterm, with national polls finding Americans disapprove of President Donald Trump's handling of the cost of living.

Given the persistent challenge, Lehigh Valley Public Media spoke with former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell, former Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure and energy engineer Carol Obando-Derstine about how to address stubbornly high costs and Congress's role in tariffs.

Tariffs

All three Democrats were critical of President Trump's tariffs, which they said have contributed to high costs at the grocery store and across the economy.

Crosswell and Obando-Derstine also pointed the finger at U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, saying the freshman lawmaker hasn't served as a needed check on the president's authority.

"This is one more place where the president has abused its power and Congress has abdicated its responsibility," Crosswell said.

"The tariffs are driving up costs for groceries, home construction and electronics — essentials," Obando-Derstine said.

McClure said, "This was supposed to help our trade imbalance, exports and imports. But our trade imbalance actually got worse."

However, the candidates had different opinions on whether Congress needed to remove a president's ability to set tariffs or if Congress just needed to act as a check on Trump.

While Congress traditionally has the power to set tax rates, it has granted the president leeway to set tariffs for about a century.

McClure and Obando-Derstine said that Congress needed to reassert this power for itself. The power of the purse strings has long been the domain of Congress and tariffs should be no different, especially when American consumers are the ones footing the bill, they said.

"What we'll have to do is have legislation that makes it clear that the Constitution requires all taxation to start with the Congress and specifically in the House of Representation," McClure said.

"And tariffs are a form of taxation."

Crosswell, however, was more open to letting future presidents retain some tariff powers. Past presidents, he said, have had a better grasp of economics and worked within the powers granted to them by Congress.

"I don't think we need a fundamental change," he said. "I think we just need a president who abides by and follows the law."

Affordability

The three candidates offered different strategies on how to best tackle the ongoing affordability crisis.

Obando-Derstine focused her attention on raising wages and refocusing tax policy to assist the middle class. The federal minimum wage, she noted, hasn't increased since 2009.

Addressing wages would directly put more money into working class Americans' pockets and help them pay for the essentials, she said.

"I've talked to families and parents specifically who are working two or three jobs just to make ends meet," she said. "This is not a personal failure. This is a policy failure."

She also criticized the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Congress passed last summer, calling it a handout for the billionaire class.

Thousands of households across Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District now pay more for food and health care. Restoring those programs would go a long way toward helping local families, she said.

In addition to rolling back tariffs, McClure called for an end to the conflict of Iran, which he called an "unauthorized war."

While America may have reliable access to oil, the closure of Straight of Hormuz sent global oil prices skyrocketing. Given the need for oil to transport goods and grow foods, the conflict has caused inflation to spike.

"The first thing we need to do is bring our brave young men and women home from the Middle East so we can calm those markets down, calm those oil markets down," McClure said.

Crosswell, meanwhile, rattled off a host of policies, including creating universal pre-kindergarten, shifting some student debt onto colleges and making more affordable housing.

He spent the most time speaking about the need to pass major tax reforms that would require the wealthiest Americans to pick up a greater share of the tax burden.

That includes taxing assets and not just income, he said.

"We have, increasingly, a regressive tax system that gives tax breaks to the very, very wealthiest of the wealthy, and it shifts the burden on the middle and working class," Crosswell said.