Democratic senatorial candidate Joe Sestak fought back Saturday against a negative television commercial from his rival, incumbent U.S. Sen Arlen Specter.
Appearing at the Centre County Democratic Committee’s annual brunch at the State College Elks Club, U.S. Rep. Sestak, D-Media, called Specter’s approach ‘understandable.’
‘For 30 years, he has supported Republican interests. What’s he going to do? Run on a Republican record?’ Sestak said of Specter, who in 2009 switched his affiliation from Republican to Democratic. ‘ … This ad says someone will do anything to keep his privileged job.’
The Specter commercial, appearing in markets including Centre County, criticizes Sestak over his attendance in the House of Representatives.
Specter did not appear at the annual brunch, which, according to organizers, is open to any Democratic candidates running in primary races. Sestak was the keynote speaker, appearing for about 20 minutes.
Among his positions, Sestak said Pennsylvania should mandate that workers tapping into the Marcellus Shale natural-gas reserves here must be Pennsylvania residents. He lamented that seven counties have already seen contamination from the fracking process, used to drill into the gas reserves, and he said Pennsylvania ought to halt drilling on public land until the state develops a more comprehensive, cohesive approach.
In addition, Sestak called for an end to tax credits given to U.S.-based companies for opening factories overseas. The audience of about 120 Democrats gave him a standing ovation as he left the Elks Club.
Earlier, before his public presentation, Sestak touted his support for legislation expected to provide $62 billion in new funds for Pell Grants, Stafford Loans and other student aid. Sestak, talking with reporters, said the legislation will help improve access to higher education over the next 10 years. President Obama signed the aid law last month, stripping private lenders of the ability to offer federally backed education loans.
The loans will now come directly from the government, cutting out the middle man, Sestak said. He said the $62 billion projected in new student aid will come from that reorganization process.
Sestak, a member of the House Education Committee, said higher education is a top priority of his campaign. He said Pennsylvania’s state-affiliated universities and colleges, over the past eight years, have seen the highest tuition increases in the U.S. Penn State tuition is routinely ranked as the highest among public universities in the country.
So many people aren’t going to college, Sestak said, that 15 million U.S. jobs requiring college degrees will go unfilled by 2025 if current trends continue.
He also said any college or university that receives federal funding — such as Penn State — should be required to make its detailed budget information available to the public, to deliver a thorough sense of transparency.
(It was not immediately clear whether Sestak would like to see more of Penn State’s budget information be released to the public, but StateCollege.com is following up with the Sestak campaign for some clarification. Penn State does post a breakdown of its budget on the Web, but details of very specific, line-item expenses are often not made available.)
Other speakers at the county Democratic brunch included state Reps. Mike Hanna, D-Lock Haven, and Scott Conklin, D-Philipsburg; Democratic gubernatorial candidates Dan Onorato and Jack Wagner; state Senate candidate Jon Eich; and U.S. Congressional candidate Michael Pipe. Hanna is running for reelection to his office; Conklin is running for reelection and for lieutenant governor.
Wagner and Onorato both have advocated increases in student aid. Onorato’s approach would double the amount of grants given by the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency to in-state, college-bound students. He has said new tax revenue from the Marcellus Shale could free up some state funds to finance bigger PHEAA grants.
On Saturday, Wagner said his approach would launch a new student grant program funded with state gaming revenues. Annual grants would be equal to tuition in the State System of Higher Education universities — about $5,550 a year for in-state undergraduates. Students could use the grant money to help them enroll in the State System; in the more expensive state-related universities, including Penn State; or in private colleges and universities in the state.
Grant recipients would be required to be Pennsylvania residents and to maintain a certain level of academic performance, Wagner said.
As it is now, he said, ‘we’re actually chasing our children out of Pennsylvania to adjoining states,’ where tuition is lower.
