I Flew Halfway Across the District to Hear My Congressman Talk
I lifted off a power line in Cambria County with a simple errand. Find out what John Joyce plans to do for the twelve counties he represents.
That should have been a short flight. It wasn’t.
First stop, public radio. WPSU invites House candidates in for an interview each election season. On October 22 the station posted its page for the 13th District. Where the interview belongs, there is a single line. Joyce did not respond to WPSU’s requests.
WPSU posted the same notice in 2024. In 2020, his campaign ignored multiple requests. To give listeners anything at all this year, the station linked back to a conversation from his first primary run, eight years ago.
Public radio exists to keep the public informed. A congressman who keeps turning it down is telling you how much informing he plans to do.
Picture it at your job. The boss calls you into the office and asks what you’ve been working on. You lean back and say, nah, I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, you figure it out. Around here, that gets you walked to the parking lot.
Second stop, Gettysburg. On September 27 the People’s Town Hall Committee set up at the Barn Resort and invited him. Organizers told the Gettysburg Connection they contacted his office and his campaign over and over and got no reply. His challenger showed up and answered residents’ questions. He didn’t.
That room has seen this before. In 2025, about 250 people filled the same venue, and organizers set out an empty chair with his name on it. Beth Farnham wrote afterward that he had also cancelled a confirmed appearance at the Adams County Republican breakfast that same morning.
Third stop, back over the ridges to Johnstown. WJAC got him on camera on October 21. He and Farnham sat for separate taped interviews with the same questions on groceries, energy bills, data centers and rural hospitals. That one happened, and he gets credit for it. It was a sit-down with no opponent across the table and no follow-up from a crowd, which is how he likes it.
Last stop, Altoona, his hometown. His January reelection announcement went out from there as a written statement. In it he named affordable, accessible health care in rural communities as a top priority. He also said he has proudly supported the president’s America First agenda.
So I finally had his words. Then I laid them next to his votes.
Health care first. In January the House voted to extend the premium tax credits that keep marketplace insurance within reach for working families. Joyce voted no. Before that, he voted yes on the 2025 budget bill that carved into Medicaid. This outlet has walked through that ledger before. The rural hospitals he says he’s protecting are the ones absorbing it.
Then oversight. Joyce chairs the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Checking power is supposedly his line of work. On June 3, the House voted on pulling U.S. forces out of an unauthorized war with Iran. It passed 215 to 208. Joyce voted to leave the decision with the White House.
Then trade. On February 11, the House voted 219 to 211 to end the emergency behind the president’s tariffs on Canada. Joyce stood with the president. He talks about grocery bills, and then he votes to keep a tax on imports in place.
That’s the gap between what he says and what he does. People in this district don’t have much patience for a man whose words and votes point in different directions.
The one thing he says plainly matches his record to the letter. He supports the president’s agenda. He told us so in January, and the roll calls bear him out.
Compare him with Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican from Bucks County. Fitzpatrick broke from the White House on the Iran vote and again on the Canada tariffs. The congressman from Altoona stayed in line both times.
I flew from Cambria to Altoona to Gettysburg to collect a handful of sentences from the man who represents me. After reading them next to his votes, I understand the silence. A congressman with good news for Pennsylvania would be on the radio telling it. This one has a plan, and he told us whose plan it is.
Twelve counties, every day, no appointment necessary. — Silas Corvin.
Sources
- WPSU, “Race for U.S. House, 13th District: Republican John Joyce,” Oct. 22, 2026
- WPSU, same title, Oct. 29, 2024
- WPSU, “Democratic Candidate for U.S. House Todd Rowley…,” 2020
- Gettysburg Connection, “Democratic candidates discuss data centers, housing at Gettysburg town hall,” Oct. 2026
- Gettysburg Connection, “Adams Residents Confront ‘Empty Chairs’ at People’s Town Hall,” 2025
- Gettysburg Connection, “Town Hall report from candidate Beth Farnham,” 2025
- WJAC, “Election 2026: John Joyce, Beth Farnham face questions in 6 News congressional interviews,” Oct. 21, 2026
- WTAJ, “Rep. John Joyce announces reelection campaign, highlights Trump’s endorsement,” Jan. 28, 2026
- Office of the Clerk, U.S. House, Roll Call 199 (H.Con.Res. 86), June 3, 2026
- Politico/E&E News, “House votes to disapprove of Trump’s Canada tariffs,” Feb. 12, 2026
- Pennsylvania Capital-Star, “US House in bipartisan vote defies Trump, agrees to end his tariffs on Canada,” Feb. 11, 2026
- House Energy and Commerce Committee, member page for Rep. John Joyce
- Office of the Clerk, U.S. House, Roll Call 11 (H.R. 1834) and the OBBB final passage roll call, per prior Raven columns
