As for southwest Pennsylvania House Republicans, they were also digesting the ACHA before commenting. “I am already reading and reviewing the legislation to determine it addresses the concerns I have had for seven years, and I welcome feedback from constituents on the proposal,” said U.S. Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-12, Sewickley, in an emailed statement.

Rothfus has made repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act a chief part of his congressional agenda since being elected in 2012. Rothfus is a former member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, which had some members criticize the GOP plan on Tuesday for not abolishing all aspects of Obamacare and promise to introduce their own plan.

Toomey, however, did discuss overhauling the healthcare law during a stop Monday at a Philadelphia television station for a question-and-answer session.

The Associated Press reported that he said addressing the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, as Pennsylvania and other states have done, should be a “negotiated agreement” and that Americans with pre-existing conditions and serious health issues should obtain coverage in a high-risk pool subsidized by the government.

Casey Contres, the spokesman for U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-9, Bedford County, said Shuster was also reviewing the legislation. ... Tim Murphy said, “Despite the promises we were told seven years ago, with nearly 5 million Americans who were kicked off their insurance, $1 trillion in new taxes and an average increase of 25 percent in premiums this year, the Affordable Care Act has failed

About 50 people came to the Vanport Volunteer Fire Department hall Tuesday evening to listen to representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection talk about the agency’s response to elevated levels of a chemical being found near Vanport’s water supply.

That chemical, an industrial solvent called trichloroethylene or TCE, was first found in 1988 in test wells about 1,500 feet from Vanport’s drinking supply. The incident prompted a boil water advisory that lasted more than 20 months, and routine testing in the area has been in place since.

Mike Keeliher said there is a hospital, an elementary school and two senior citizen centers in Brighton that rely on clean drinking water from Vanport’s system.

“This isn’t just a Vanport issue,” he said.