Editor’s note: Today through Saturday we are publishing information on key races in the general election. The polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. See our preview of the 8th district on page 5.

Democrat Bob Brooks is challenging Republican incumbent Ryan Mackenzie to represent the 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mackenzie is seeking a second term.

The district includes: all of Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, and Eldred, Polk and part of Ross townships in Monroe County.

The salary for this position is $174,000.

We asked both candidates questions and limited responses to 100 words. Responses are in alphabetical order.

Background

Bob Brooks

Age: 53

Town: Nazareth

Background: Firefighter Bob Brooks has spent his entire life standing up for working families and is running to give them a voice in Washington. Brooks spent 20 years as a Bethlehem firefighter and still proudly serves as president of the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association, where he fights for higher wages and better health care for his union.

Ryan Mackenzie

Age: 44

Town: Lower Macungie Township

Background: Ryan Mackenzie is a husband, father of two young children, ninth-generation resident of the Lehigh Valley and first-term congressman representing the Lehigh Valley and the Poconos. Before serving in Congress, Mackenzie was a state representative, where he was Republican chair of the Labor and Industry Committee and co-chair of the International Relations Caucus. Mackenzie graduated from Parkland High School before receiving his undergraduate degree in finance and international business from New York University and earning a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

Questions

Affordability is the issue in nearly every poll. Name one thing a member of Congress can actually move that a family here would notice.

Brooks: Affordability is the reason I’m running. Working people are barely scraping by while the super rich and big corporations run the show and get rich. The first thing I’ll do in Congress is go after the corruption that has Washington on fire and us paying the price. I will hold corporations accountable to make sure they are not jacking up prices, end the war in Iran that has sent gas prices soaring, and stand up to Trump’s reckless tariffs that are making everything more expensive so that in the future you can say your life is better than it is now.

Mackenzie: Our communities deserve affordability, which is why I’ve been working with both sides to reduce costs. As part of that work, I’ve helped to deliver tax cuts for workers, families, seniors and every American. I’ve also helped to pass historic bipartisan housing reform, which will help to improve housing affordability in our communities.

Now, I’m working with both sides to secure more relief. Recently, I introduced the bipartisan Child Care Modernization Act, which will help to reduce child care costs for working families. I’ll keep working with both sides to achieve price relief for our communities.

Health insurance costs are rising and coverage has dropped across Pennsylvania.

What is your plan, and what happens to people who have already lost a plan?

Brooks: Families in Carbon already drive a long way to see a doctor, and the Medicaid cuts in the Big Beautiful Bill put the rural hospitals and clinics they depend on even more at risk. When I get to Washington, I’ll fight to reverse those cuts and fund our rural hospitals and clinics. I will also fight to lower your health care costs. I’ll push to bring back the Affordable Care Act tax credits that Congress let expire last year and make them permanent, so families who buy insurance through Pennie aren’t hit with another double-digit rate hike every year.

Mackenzie: Health care costs are too high for many in our community. That’s why I’ve been working with both sides to find common-sense solutions that will reduce costs and expand access. This includes breaking with my party to pass an extension of enhanced health insurance tax credits through the House. I’ve also introduced and supported legislation that cracks down on middlemen, improves transparency and takes on health care special interests.

Meanwhile, my opponent is supporting a sweeping government takeover of health care, which would require as much as $54 trillion in tax increases for working Americans.

Seniors are a large share of this district. What is your commitment on Social Security and Medicare over the next decade?

Brooks: My mom relies on Social Security right now, so I understand the impact that any cuts to the program would have on our seniors. These are benefits that are owed to people from a lifetime of hard work. In Congress, I’ll always protect Social Security and will sign on to the Medicare and Social Security Fair Share Act, which removes the cap on Social Security payroll taxes and increases the net investment income tax by 1.2%.

Mackenzie: My commitment is clear — I will always protect Medicare and Social Security, and stand up for the needs of seniors. That’s why I helped to pass a $6,000 bonus tax credit for Americans over 65, effectively eliminating taxes on Social Security for 88% of Americans. My opponent has called for repealing the legislation that created this credit.

We also know that Social Security and Medicare need ongoing support. Last year, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was planning only a modest increase in reimbursements, I successfully advocated for a larger reimbursement to help control costs.

Energy demand from data centers is reshaping the grid and showing up on electric bills. What is the federal role, and what should be left to the states?

Brooks: Utility costs are too high. The last thing we need is data centers raising our energy costs while out-of-state corporations get rich. In Congress, I’ll fight to pass national legislation that allows communities the opportunity to veto data centers in their own backyard and ensures that higher energy costs from data centers are paid entirely by the companies, not consumers. The federal government should never decide where data centers go without input from the communities affected. I’ll oppose legislation that takes decisions about data centers out of the control of the residents who have to live near them.

Mackenzie: Working families, seniors and small businesses should not be left footing the bill for the additional costs created by massive new energy users. That is why I co-sponsored the bipartisan Ratepayer Protection Act, which passed the House and is designed to make sure data centers and other large electricity consumers pay their fair share for the energy infrastructure they require. A similar bill is being worked on to address water usage.

This stands in stark contrast to my opponent, who invests heavily in AI stocks and has accepted thousands of dollars from AI special interests.

What is your position on immigration enforcement as it’s being carried out now, and what would you change?

Brooks: I spent 20 years as a Bethlehem firefighter running into burning buildings to keep my community safe. Public safety is a priority for me, and I will work with anyone in Washington to protect you and your family. I support a secure border and removing violent criminals and illicit drugs from our streets. We also need to treat people humanely and give law-abiding people a shot at earning citizenship. Unfortunately, we’ve seen far too many instances where Trump’s ICE has violated the rights of American citizens and taken actions that do nothing to make our community safer.

Mackenzie: Under the Biden administration, we experienced the most severe border crisis in our nation’s history. In just a four-year period, the Border Patrol reported more than 10 million encounters. Since then, because of the border security measures we’ve passed in Congress, illegal crossings are down 95%.

We know that some reforms are needed to ensure ICE and the Department of Homeland Security are acting responsibly, which is why I’ve helped to pass funding for body cameras and de-escalation training. But “dismantling” ICE, as my opponent has called for, will take us back to the worst days of the Biden border crisis.

Carbon County is the newest and most rural part of this district. What have you heard there that you hadn’t heard in Allentown or Bethlehem, and how would you address it?

Brooks: Whether I’m in Carbon County, Allentown or Bethlehem, I hear from people who are getting crushed by rising costs. But Carbon has its own identity, and too many candidates forget that. The destruction of the Clean Air and Clean Water acts is a betrayal of Carbon residents. I’ll make sure to hold the EPA accountable and push for stricter federal oversight of pollution such as sewage sludge and mine refuse. I’ll work to curb the growth of warehouses and support our elected officials here who want to ensure these corporations give back to the communities they profit from and preserve our farmland.

Mackenzie: The people of Carbon County have unique needs, which is why I’ve worked to ensure that it gets the full representation that it deserves. That includes having an office in Lehighton and regularly working together with local Carbon County organizations.

We have also helped to return millions of dollars in investments for Carbon County. That includes bringing home $2.2 million to upgrade first-responder tools and communications infrastructure, as well as hundreds of thousands of dollars in infrastructure investments. I’ll keep working to deliver results for the people of Carbon County and the Poconos.