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U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle is a rare breed amid the dysfunctional<\/a> Congress controlled by a spineless Republican majority that kowtows to President Donald Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n Boyle is actually serious about the business of governing.<\/p>\n He works at legislating, rarely misses<\/a> a vote, can talk lucidly<\/a> about policy, understands the complexities of the sprawling federal budget, and represents his constituents with honor and decency.<\/p>\n That is why The Inquirer Editorial Board endorses Brendan Boyle for another term.<\/p>\n Boyle, 49, has been in Congress for 12 years. He has kept his optimism through the grind of division, but don\u2019t underestimate his toughness. Born and raised in Olney, he is the son of a SEPTA<\/a> janitor and a school crossing guard.<\/p>\n Amid Trump\u2019s cruel deportation crackdown, Boyle\u2019s path shows the fruits of immigration. His father emigrated from Ireland, and his mother is a first-generation American whose parents also came from the Emerald Isle.<\/p>\n Boyle is the first in his family to go to college. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame<\/a> and earned a master\u2019s in public policy from Harvard University\u2019s John F. Kennedy School of Government.<\/p>\n Boyle\u2019s blue-collar roots and book smarts have served him well. He was elected to the Pennsylvania state legislature in 2008, pulling off an upset to become the first Democrat to represent his Northeast Philadelphia<\/a> district \u2014 a Republican stronghold that is also home to many police and firefighters.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: President Trump\u2019s desperate campaign to buy off voters | Editorial<\/a><\/p>\n If Democrats<\/a> take control of the House in November, Boyle will become chairman<\/a> of the Budget Committee. No one from Philadelphia has held that powerful post since the late William H. Gray III in the late 1980s.<\/p>\n The budget chair wields major influence in drafting the budget and is the primary negotiator with the Senate and White House on spending issues. The high-profile platform shapes national economic and tax policy.<\/p>\n Boyle has worked his way up through the congressional ranks, mastering the intricacies of the budget. He routinely gets calls from colleagues asking him to explain obscure budget issues.<\/p>\n It is not glamorous work, but it is increasingly important in a Congress in which too many members from both parties focus mainly on social media hits<\/a>.<\/p>\n Boyle strives to find common ground<\/a>, but is not afraid to call out<\/a> the incompetence, cruelty<\/a>, and corruption of Trump \u2014 or the laziness<\/a> of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman<\/a>, a fellow Pennsylvania Democrat. Boyle\u2019s focus on substance over style offers a life preserver in a sea of congressional silliness.<\/p>\n The incumbent has also consistently delivered<\/a> for Philadelphia. He has secured billions in federal funding for a variety of projects, including transit<\/a>, education<\/a>, cancer research<\/a>, workforce development<\/a>, and the Chinatown stitch<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Center for Effective Lawmaking at the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University named<\/a> Boyle the most effective member of Pennsylvania\u2019s delegation in the 118th Congress.<\/p>\n Boyle\u2019s commonsense approach to kitchen table issues stands apart from the current Budget Committee chairman, U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington. The MAGA Republican from Texas steered<\/a> the passage of Trump\u2019s Big Beautiful Bill, which piled<\/a> on more tax cuts for the rich, drove up the ballooning deficit, and slashed healthcare benefits for millions of Americans.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: The Case for Impeachment | Opinion Series<\/a><\/p>\n Arrington is an election denier<\/a> who is retiring this year, which is good news for America considering former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called<\/a> him \u201cincompetent.\u201d<\/p>\n Boyle\u2019s opponent in November is Jessica Arriaga, a North Philadelphia<\/a> native and Latina Christian evangelical who espoused positions that conflict with science and her own Republican Party.<\/p>\n In a meeting with the Editorial Board, Arriaga said she believes the COVID-19 vaccine \u2014 which prevented<\/a> millions of deaths \u2014 is something \u201cpeople should have never taken.\u201d But in her next breath, she said she supported \u201cfree healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n While her personal story is compelling and her desire to help her community seems genuine, Arriaga struggled to convey a coherent vision or grasp of basic issues facing voters.<\/p>\n