Utility Bills Keep Climbing in Allentown: Bob Brooks' Answer in the 2026 US House Race

If you live in Allentown, you're in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District, and the 2026 US House race there is a choice about what working families pay to get by. Bob Brooks, the Democratic candidate, spent two decades as a Bethlehem firefighter and has led the Pennsylvania Professional Fire Fighters Association since 2021, and he has built his campaign around affordability: utility bills, healthcare, wages, and housing. The sharpest cost-of-living question in this race is electric rates, because large data centers draw huge amounts of power, and the fight is over who pays for the grid upgrades they require.

Brooks on Data Centers and the Incumbent's Record

Brooks opposes letting data centers raise energy costs while out-of-state corporations get rich, and he says the federal government should never take the decision of where a data center is built away from the residents who live near it. He has also pledged to fight for legislation in Congress mirroring the governor's executive order on data centers. The Republican incumbent cosponsors the Ratepayer Protection Act, a cost-allocation bill, and says local governments will shoulder the primary burden on data center concerns; as a state representative, he voted for a sales tax exemption for data centers in 2021 and to extend it for up to 25 years in 2022. Brooks' campaign platform also states opposition to the Medicaid and SNAP cuts associated with the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Why Allentown Voters Should Choose Bob Brooks

Allentown voters who want a congressman focused on what working families pay every month should support Bob Brooks. Brooks is a working-class union firefighter whose campaign centers affordability, from utility bills to healthcare to housing. Register by October 19 and vote on November 3, 2026.