Group Protests Outside Sen. Toomey's Local Office

A handful of demonstrators gathered for a second day Tuesday outside U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey's (R-PA) Salisbury Township office to protest what they say is the senator's lack of action to create jobs, including his vote against President Obama's jobs package and the senator's support for tax breaks for corporations and the wealthy.

Toomey, a freshman senator from the Lehigh Valley, was named in August to serve on the 12-member bipartisan deficit-reduction supercommittee, which has a public hearing today.

The protestors are part of the American Dream Movement, a coalition of progressive groups and labor unions that is demonstrating at the offices of other Republican lawmakers' who voted against the jobs bill.

Jessica Walls-Lavelle, who came from Harrisburg to be part of the protest, said the group will ask to meet with Toomey each day and protest daily outside his office until he talks to them about the policies he supports.

Passing motorists occasionally honked in support as the group stood outside Toomey's office at 1150 S. Cedar Crest Blvd. and held signs with messages about jobs. One sign said, "Occupy Sen. Toomey's office."

"We're very inspired by the ," Walls-Lavelle said. "We wanted to take (our message) straight to the politicians who are representing the one percent instead of the 99 percent of us who are the rest of the country. "

Demonstrator Dan Haney of Philadelphia said he's been having a tough time finding work since he was laid off from his job as a customer service representative in February. "The one percent can become part of the 99 percent at any time," he said.

"People need jobs," said Nancy Tate, a staff member of the Lehigh Pocono Committee of Concern (LEPOCO), whose sign read, "Make jobs No. 1." 

"Sen. Toomey needs to know a lot of people are in pain in this country," Tate said. "People are losing jobs, their homes, and they're afraid their Social Security will be turned over to the stock market. I don't think Toomey believes the government has any responsibility for addressing the pain. He has a tremendous responsibility on this supercommittee."

Toomey has said he opposed the jobs package in part because it would expand the government workforce.

He said the U.S. needs to reduce business regulations, reduce tax rates and get the deficit under control in order to stimulate job creation and economic growth.

He supports simplifying the tax code and lowering tax rates for all Americans, according to his website.