9th District Congressional candidate Tony Barr made a trip to the Penn State Altoona Campus today.  The scheduled campus visit was supposed to be a debate between Tony Barr and incumbent Bill Shuster.  Shuster declined the invitation of the League of Women Voters and the Political Science program of PSU Altoona to debate.  Tony Barr went to the campus to meet students.  Tony Barr released the following statement:

"Thank you all for coming out today.  You have done better than my opponent.  At a time when this district and this country faces grave challenges, Bill Shuster has decided to hide.  Over the past 8 years, which is the time that he has spent in Congress, we have watched over 20 major employers leave this district; we've lost 5000 jobs in Blair County alone. We have watched the price of gas more than double.  We have watched the price of health insurance double. All the while, our wages have remained flat and our purchasing power has gone down.

Bill Shuster has voted against the people of this district time and time again.  He voted against the GI Bill, health insurance for the children of working people, the minimum wage, and student loans for college kids, and the list goes on...

Bill Shuster says that he won't debate me because we had some difficulty filing our FEC paperwork months ago.  Wow, problems with a federal government website and customer service number... Is this really a good reason to NOT answer to the people of the district that he has been elected to represent.  Is making an issue about a paperwork problem that was fixed months ago really a good reason to NOT stand in front of the people who he is supposed to represent?

Is this really what Mr. Shuster's absence is all about?  Or is it about his recent vote for the bailout of Wall St. Bankers?  Is it because he voted to give $700 billion to the Wall St. bankers that created the mess?  Is it because he voted for a horrible bill whose money will most likely disappear into Wall St. banker pockets while voting against the things that the hardworking people of this district need time and time again?

We have real problems in this country right now.  We need people of courage down in DC who will do their homework, ask the tough questions, demand real answers, and find the solutions that we need.  We do not need people that are afraid to answer voter questions.

One last thought before I take questions, has Bill Shuster done a good enough job over the past 8 years to warrant another term in Congress?"