Letter to the Editor 10/11/26

Standing Up for Healthcare and Schools

To the Editor,

Living in Potter County means knowing the value of community, but it also means seeing how Washington’s neglect hits our daily lives. From the grocery register to the doctor’s waiting room, working families here feel squeezed. That is why Ray Bilger has my vote for Congress in PA-15.

Healthcare in our rural communities is reaching a breaking point. While providers at UPMC Cole work tirelessly, families face long drives along Route 6 just to see a specialist or access critical care. Glenn Thompson made this crisis worse by voting against extending Pennie health insurance tax credits, leaving rural families to shoulder soaring premiums or lose coverage altogether. Ray Bilger understands that healthcare is a necessity, not a luxury. He will fight to protect Medicare and Medicaid and deliver the support rural hospitals need to recruit and keep medical professionals.

Our classrooms face the same uphill battle. Small districts like Coudersport Area, Northern Potter, and Oswayo Valley already stretch every dollar to keep programs running. Yet Thompson voted to cut federal grants designed to recruit expert teachers to rural schools. Bilger treats public education as an essential investment in our children, not an expense to slash.

If we want the next generation to build their lives right here in Potter County instead of moving away to find opportunity, we need a representative who prioritizes our clinics, classrooms, and Main Streets. Ray Bilger is that voice.

Brent Bryant

Coudersport, PA