HAZLETON –  Republican Congressional candidate Lou Barletta sent a letter to Democrat Congressman Paul Kanjorski challenging him to a series of six debates on local radio throughout the summer to be followed by public debates this fall in each of the five counties that make up the 11th Congressional District.

The proposal is:

• Six Summer Debates on Radio
• Five Fall Debates (one in each county)
• One 60-minute debate in each of the five counties (Carbon, Columbia, Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Monroe) of the 11th Congressional District
• Debates will be open to the public and members of the media

“There has been a great deal of rhetoric in this campaign about who is willing to speak on the issues and who is not” Barletta, the current mayor of Hazleton said.  “This is a chance for Congressman Kanjorski and me to stop the rhetoric and debate the issues. If Congressman Kanjorski would like to debate other issues, I am open to it.”