A week in the political life of congressman Ryan Costello (R-PA 06). One of his dedicated constituents is doing the massive research needed to record speeches, mentions in the press and social media, and votes.
Actual votes are particularly important, as they are on the record. In fact, they are the record.
What is the PA-06 incumbent saying and doing? What is Congress voting on?
See it all by downloading this week’s report here: Costello 11 March 2018.
Calling on Costello (R-PA 6), 21 W. Market Street, West Chester PA
Friday, Jan. 22, 11:30am to 1pm
THIS WEEK’S FOCUS: WE THE PEOPLE DESERVE BETTER; DO YOUR JOBS!
Good governance has 8 major characteristics. It is participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive, and follows the rule of law. Good governance is responsive to the present and future needs of our country, exercises prudence in policy-setting and decision-making, and that the best interests of all citizens are taken into account. We expect our representatives to follow these simple rules.
1. Rule of Law
This does not include bribing mistresses, using the government as an ATM machine or making false allegations against opponents.
2. Transparency
Transparency means that information should be provided in easily understandable forms and media; it does not mean remaining silent and complicit when your party’s leader approves of the KKK.
3. Responsiveness
Good governance requires that our elected officials serve the best interests of their constituents and LISTEN to them.
4. Consensus Oriented
Good governance requires consultation with experts and constituents, NOT blocking them on Social Media.
5. Equity and Inclusiveness
Government that works for all people, not just certain races.
6. Effectiveness and Efficiency
Good governance means that the representatives don’t shut down the government because they are anti immigrant.
7. Accountability
Accountability is a key tenet of good governance. Our elected representatives will be held to account for their actions.
8. Participation
Participation needs to be informed and organized, including freedom of expression and assiduous concern for the best interests of society in general.
If you cannot attend but would like to submit a letter, email it to us at contact@ccag-d6.com and we will deliver it for you.
Host: Concerned Constituent Action Group
Location: 21 W. Market Street, West Chester
Friday, Jan. 19, 11:30am to 1pm
Host: Concerned Constituent Action Group
Location: outside 21 W. Market Street, West Chester
On-street parking or the Bicentennial Parking Garage at 20 South High Street, West Chester.
DACA stands for “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” and was an Obama executive order to protect undocumented people who arrived in the US as children. There was a bipartisan solution for these people called the DREAM Act but it never got out of congress.
In September, Trump refused to honor DACA and threatened to deport these innocent people who have not known any other home in their lives but the United States.
There continues to be bipartisan support for a DREAM act but it remains a political football that both parties have been using as leverage, meanwhile the lives of 800,000 people who consider themselves American remain in limbo.
Trump says that he will not sign any solution to DACA that doesn’t include funding for his border wall with Mexico (that he famously said Mexico would pay for). We already have 654 miles of border wall with Mexico and it’s an environmental disaster, disrupting critical ecosystems and exacerbating flooding where the wall acts as a dam. Even worse, many experts don’t think expanding the existing border wall will have any effect on illegal immigration. The last thing we want is to make things worse.
The continuing resolution that is keeping the government open expires January 19th and the Democrats are calling for a clean DREAM act while Donald Trump is muddying the water with his “sh*thole country” comments.
Rep. Ryan Costello has expressed his support for the DREAM Act in the past but we need him to speak up for a clean DREAM Act that doesn’t include funding for the wall.
Rep. Costello Statement on Reported Remarks by President Trump
January 12, 2018
Press Release
Washington, D.C. — Rep. Ryan Costello (PA-06) today issued the following statement on reported remarks made by President Trump:
For decades, my wife and her family have done missionary work in Haiti. I’ve always been impressed and inspired by the stories they have shared with me about their experience of service, grounded in faith, and the commonalities we all share as human beings. As Americans, we have a proud history of advancing economic, educational, and personal opportunity for millions of people around the globe, and as a country we should recognize the countless contributions and positive impact immigrants have made on our country.
Our country is a nation of immigrants, and we should appreciate and value what each person brings to this country. We should take pride in the fact that most of us have passed down the stories of our families traveling from somewhere else in pursuit of the American Dream. I’m proud to be the descendant of Irish, Italian, and German immigrants who sought a better life in the United States. I believe it is inappropriate, unfortunate, and offensive that the President of the United States reportedly said what he did. I hope he clarifies what was said, apologizes, and focuses on addressing the immigration-related issues for which many of us are seeking bipartisan solutions.
[n.b. If it comes to a censure vote in Congress, and if Rep. Costello bucks his party leaders to back censure, it will help him reduce his “Trump Score,” currently standing at 93.1% votes that Trump approves. Anyone reading this West Chester Dem site knows that votes are the bottom line.]
by Bill Rettew, Daily Local News, 12/16/17
“It’s nice to see that your colleagues on council are paying attention to the same things you are and everyone else is,” Galey said. “We’re all watching the news.
“It’s great to have a collaborative team that feels very strongly about these issues.”
All seven borough council members are Democrats.
Councilman Michael Stefano, W4, said that issues on the federal level are more often decided by partisan politics.
“At the local level we don’t make decisions Democrat or Republican,” Stefano said. “We’re thinking more locally with our constituents in mind because we’re not thinking along party lines.”
Galey noted in the letter that Costello has voted against the party in the past with votes favoring the ACA and to preserve CHIP….
read more at Daily Local News
A few of the 15 protesters this morning sitting in Rep. Costello’s (R-PA 06) West Chester office demanding that he vote against the GOP tax bill that gives tax cuts to the wealthy while hurting students, the sick, and the elderly. They have pledged not to leave until Costello commits to a No vote. For more on the GOP tax scheme, see Molly Sheehan, “Open Letter to Rep. Pat Meehan on the GOP Tax Plan.”
By Fran Maye, Daily Local News [online only in e-paper], 9/30/17
“Without the EPA’s protection, communities would be unable to argue that our constitutional rights to a clean environment should be protected. We need to set the example and demand that our legislators stand up for the environmental rights that our laws allow.” — Carol Armstrong, The Way Forward
WEST CHESTER » In a rally at the old courthouse Friday afternoon, community leaders called on U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello (R6th Dist.) to answer for his vote to cut $800 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Interior’s budgets.
State Rep. Carolyn Comitta speaks to a crowd in West Chester on Friday, calling on U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello to answer for his vote to cut $800 million from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Interior’s budgets.
“As a former county commissioner, I am sure Congressman Costello knows Chester County has a strong record supporting environmental protection,” said Diane LeBold, West Chester council president. “But with his vote to cut the EPA budget, it is clear Congressman Costello has fallen in line with those who are answering to a different constituency – the powerful corporations who are jumping at the chance to take apart the EPA and block enforcement of existing regulations. This is very disturbing. I am here to tell Mr. Costello and his colleagues in Congress that they are fighting a losing battle.”
State Rep. Carolyn Comitta told the crowd they can take action by writing to their local lawmakers, and to join her in the fight to protect the environment.
“Our DEP has seen funding and staff cuts over the last several years that seriously hinders their ability to do their job,” Comitta said. “The potential harm to our streams, groundwater and air from lack of consistent enforcement pose serious public health hazards.”
Dianne Herrin, chair of the West Chester’s sustainability advisory committee, said climate change is real, evidenced by recent natural disasters.
“We are facing complete federal inaction on climate change,” she said. “The reality is at the federal level we are going backwards and yet we are in a time of environmental crisis. Think about what has happened in the past few months….
read more in e-paper (by subscription)
By Justin Heinze, West Chester Patch, February 2, 2017
Demonstrators will protest President Trump’s immigration orders in front of U.S. Rep. Costello’s office in West Chester Friday.
WEST CHESTER, PA — Demonstrators will protest President Trump’s immigration orders in front of U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello’s office in West Chester Friday.
The organizing group is called the Costello Constituent Action Group, which has a stated purpose of “demanding that our elected official, Congressman Ryan Costello, take a stronger stance against the discriminatory EO (executive order) against immigration.”…
read more at West Chester Patch
More details: Friday February 3rd: Join the Costello Constituent Action Group for a demonstration at Representative Ryan Costello’s West Chester office. Look for the group at the corner of Market and High, 11:30 am-1pm.
Mission: To protest, speak with staff and hand deliver our letters.
Details: We will protest outside as a large group, then rotate into the office in small groups to speak with staff and deliver letters.
Please bring: Signs and personal letters regarding the following executive orders:
“Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals”
“Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements”
by Adam Farence, Daily Local News, 1/28/17
WEST CHESTER >> Roughly two dozen protesters rallied outside of a local Republican congressman’s office in West Chester, hoping to convince him to vote against potentially repealing the Affordable Care Act.
Organized by an group called the Costello Constituent Action Group, protesters began protesting at about 11:30 a.m. in front of the Market Street office of U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello, R-6.
“I am here because we believe we need to protect the weakest members of our society,” said Paula Terrell, 56, of North Coventry and Owen J. Roberts swim coach. “I’m here to be the voice of our generation.”…
read more at Daily Local News
Please join a pop-up demonstration outside Ryan Costello’s office on WEDNESDAY MORNING Feb. 1 at 11:30 to protest his mealy-mouthed response to Trump’s un-American and unconstitutional attack on immigration law and human rights. We also expect that Trump’s Supreme Court nominee to be announced tonight will be worth protesting.
Below see Costello’s evasive blah blah blah. Does he know that immigrants and children of immigrants from those 7 countries have never committed terrorist acts in the US? Does he know that Saudi Arabia supplied 15 of the 9/11 attackers? Does he care that Iraq is our ally and that restricting people on the basis of religion goes against our Bill of Rights? Does he think it is fair for people who have waited up to ten years to be vetted and receive visas to be sent back to the extreme hardship and danger they have been trying to escape?
If he has answers, why isn’t he answering constituents who have been trying to contact him over the past weeks?
Does he hope we will forget about our constitution and others’ human rights during a “comprehensive review” as our country’s reputation plunges abroad? Does he think we will fall for the blandishments of another “compassionate conservative”?
Come and let Rep. Costello know what you think. Bring immigration-oriented signs. Outside his office on the north side of West Market St., just west of High St., downtown West Chester, 11:30 a.m. Wednesday February 1.
Costello has been complaining that “PA-6 is now one of the Democrats’ top targets in the country in 2018.” Maybe there is a reason.
Thanks if you can join us!
As the yard signs say: Hate has no home here!
Here’s your daily practice in reading between the lines of political statements:
Ryan Costello
Press Release, January 29, 2017
Washington, D.C. — Rep. Ryan Costello (PA-06) issued the following statement on the President’s Executive Order:
“Job number one of the federal government is to protect the American people, and I support a comprehensive review of this process over the next 90 days, and especially concerning the 7 countries identified by the Obama and Trump administrations as being dangerous terrorist hotspots. This review is something every new administration should be expected to do. But green card holders and those assisting us in the war on terror should not be denied entry, and actions to the contrary must be remedied immediately. America is a country that can go about achieving our security objectives while maintaining compassion.
I interpret these executive orders as temporary. We should all want a robust yet humane process for entry screening, and I am confident we can and will continue the American ethos of welcoming the persecuted and oppressed in a safe and orderly manner, with very strong security protections for our citizens.”
West Chester Borough Democrats 
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