Letter: Langworthy; Big on Talk, Short on Evidence

Letter: Langworthy; Big on Talk, Short on Evidence

Congressman Nick Langworthy held another phone-in town hall on March 11. He started by saying the calls have been “very popular,” but the evidence for that is slim considering the comments from voters at the March 21 protest at his Corning office.

During the town hall, he responded to 10 pre-screened calls.

Langworthy praised President Trump, claiming the American people “gave us a mandate to renew the American Dream.” Langworthy supported that claim by comparing Trump’s 49.8% of the vote to Bill Clinton’s 42% even though Langworthy acknowledged that Clinton was in a three-way race, which lowered the percentage for all the candidates.

Langworthy said the continuing resolution that the House had passed “maintains government operations. It upholds responsibility to our nation’s veterans; it protects Social Security, it protects Medicare, and it protects Medicaid recipients from the distortion and confusion that a government shutdown would cause.”

And later in the call, he said what was happening was “right sizing” the government. He gave no evidence that any of his statements were valid.

Langworthy talked a lot about “waste and fraud” but didn’t produce any evidence.

While he claimed Social Security payments are going to deceased individuals, according to Snopes.com and Factcheck.org, very few dead people are getting payments; certainly not the 72 billion dollars in improper payments he claims were paid from 2015 through 2022.

One caller criticized the mass firing of federal workers, such as those inspecting food, and said that “this is not efficiency, this is Project 2025.” Langworthy claimed that the number of federal workers is unnecessary. His justification is that workers haven’t reported to their official workplaces in years.

My niece works remotely. While that gives her flexibility, she is compelled to work beyond a normal workday to maximize productivity. Her job is not only necessary; it’s at least as effective as if she were in her workplace, and her regular promotions support that. Her employer chose this setup as a cost-saving measure.

Langworthy also claimed, “The one thing we are going to restore to this government is accountability.”

I suspect he regrets saying that now that officials have been caught discussing war plans over an unsecure phone app. 

In responding to a question about how we could build a better relationship with Canada, Langworthy seems not to understand border security. Langworthy called our northern border a security risk because “Canada has extremely lax immigration laws.” I have traveled to Canada annually for over three decades. It is the United States’ border control that regulates our reentry to the United States, not the Canadians’. Hasn’t Langworthy ever visited Canada?  

Langworthy then discussed Canada’s tariffs, claiming they discourage “our dairy industry from bringing those products into Canada.” However, Canada was the second highest importer of U.S. dairy products last year. According to the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Canada imported $530 million more from the United States than it exported to the U.S. Exactly what is the issue?  

The last caller asked about inflation and the price of eggs. Langworthy responded by explaining that avian flu had wiped out flocks of chickens, creating a decrease in supply and therefore causing the increase in price. Why didn’t he figure that out while Biden was president instead of blaming him for the price of eggs? Finally, Langworthy referred to the possibility of using vaccines so flocks stay healthy. What a novel idea to vaccinate to prevent disease!

Please, Congressman Langworthy, meet face to face with your constituents to hear their concerns and responses to your comments. Stop hiding.

Sincerely,

Joan Davis

Owego, N.Y.