ICYMI: Rep. Bresnahan is fighting – and winning – for NEPA

ICYMI: Rep. Bresnahan is fighting - and winning - for NEPA

In an interview this week with the Washington Examiner, Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan discussed how he's fighting - and winning - for NEPA.

From protecting Medicaid to preserving Pennsylvania's hospitals and championing infrastructure permitting reform, Rep. Bresnahan is delivering real change for Pennsylvanians.

Read the full story here or excerpts below:

Pennsylvania GOP freshman eyes next fight after Medicaid win
Washington Examiner
Hailey Bullis
June 10, 2025

Five months into his freshman year in Congress, Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) has learned how to elbow his way into key negotiations with decision-makers.

Bresnahan, who flipped a blue seat in November by beating incumbent Rep. Matt Cartwright, knows his career in Congress depends on delivering for his northeastern Pennsylvania district that includes Scranton, former President Joe Biden's hometown.

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As House Republicans battled to negotiate an agreement to advance Trump's tax and spending bill, the freshman Pennsylvania Republican was publicly opposed and worked behind the scenes to advocate against steep cuts to Medicaid.

"Listen, we're all for getting rid of waste, the fraud, the abuse, the illegal aliens, absolutely. But when it comes to providing the benefits for the people of northeastern Pennsylvania that deserve them, it was nonnegotiable, and I was very clear and adamant that this was not going to be something that we would support," Bresnahan told the Washington Examiner during an interview.

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The Pennsylvania Republican was also against reductions to the federal Medicaid assistance percentage, known as FMAP, pushed for by fiscal hawks as a means of reducing government spending due to the effect they would have had on two hospitals in his district that are struggling to stay open.

"We have a hospital situation taking place in Lackawanna County right now, where Commonwealth [health system] is in the process of potentially closing two of our hospitals, and we need to do everything within our power to make sure there's a continuity of care for the epicenter of our district. And we would not feel that we were doing right for the district if there were some kind of reconfiguration of the provider tax," Bresnahan said, adding there was a proposal on the table during a meeting he attended with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and other GOP members to reduce the provider tax over eight years.

Bresnahan continued, "There were gigantic savings in there. But again, there would be long-term consequences to our ultimate beneficiaries that deserve these benefits, as well as our hospital systems. And that wasn't something that I was willing to wave on."

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Now, though, as the reconciliation bill sits in the Senate, Bresnahan is eyeing his next project: permitting reform to streamline infrastructure projects.

"I'm a big believer in infrastructure, and I'm very honored to serve as the vice chairman of highway transit. I think 25% of our district has structurally deficient bridges," Bresnahan said. "There's a lot that goes into infrastructure, but in order to have a functioning society … that foundation needs to be proper and adequately reinvested in."

Pennsylvania is second in the nation in structurally deficient bridges, according to data collected by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. However, because of the current permitting process in the United States, it can take years for a bridge to get fixed, Bresnahan said, referring to one bridge in his district that is expected to take years to reopen.

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