Congresswoman’s Telephone ‘Town Hall’ Focuses on Trump

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On Thursday, 3rd District Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, held a phone-in town hall for her constituents, and topics surrounding the commander-in-chief were at the forefront of the questioning.

Herrera Beutler addressed a number of issues related to Southwest Washington during the event. She explained her stance on protecting Columbia River salmon from egregious predators. She noted her concerns related to Apple Health. She reassured her constituents that she would not support light rail over the Columbia River without the voters’ backing. She said there need to be more mental health services, and she took some questions about her views on Social Security and health care.

Still, much of the hour-and-half call was spent addressing various elements of one topic — what exactly is President Donald Trump doing?

Being Southwest Washington’s primary vein to Washington, D.C., callers leaned on Herrera Beutler for explanations of the president’s recent actions, policies, appointees and accusations against him.

While Herrera Beutler did her best to address the various concerns and provide an answer as to what her stance is on a variety of topics, she was quick to admit that she too was at a loss in some areas.

Here are some of the concerns Southwest Washington voters brought before their representative about the Trump administration and the ongoing conflict between Democrats and Republicans in Congress.

Trump and Marijuana

John, from Battle Ground, questioned Herrera Beutler on how marijuana could be sold at the state level while being illegal federally.

Herrera Beutler — who did not support the legalization of recreational marijuana — said the inconsistency between state and federal laws has created “murky water” for some banks and credit unions. She hopes to see the ambiguous nature in which marijuana laws are regulated gain more clarity under the Trump administration.

If the Trump administration chooses not to enforce federal law, she feels changes need to be made to better “harmonize” state and federal regulations.

Trump and Free and Reduced Lunches and Meals-on-Wheels

Herrera Beutler said she will not vote to cut free and reduced lunches and Meals-on-Wheels programs, which are a part of Trump’s proposed $18 billion dollars in cuts to the discretionary budget.

She talked about her recent bipartisan push to put more funding toward National Institutes of Health (NIH), and how Trump’s proposed budget would “basically repeal all that money.”

“Through the last 60 years and through the recession we have cut about a trillion dollars worth of spending she said,” while explaining that she feels Congress has already done a good job of making cuts where needed and prioritizing programs.

She added that there may be room for cuts in other areas, but not for “lifeblood” programs.

Trump, Betsy DeVos and Special Education

President Trump wasn’t the only one callers asked Herrera Beutler to answer for, but also some of his appointees.

A caller voiced her concern over Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and rumors that funding for special education would be taking cuts.

Herrera Beutler said to her knowledge, it was just that — a rumor. She has seen no proposals that suggested funding cuts for special education. She said she’s been on the lookout.

On the contrary, Herrera Beutler said she supports special education being fully funded, and many of her colleagues on the hill feel the same.

Trump and Veterans Affairs

“No one is going to take away someone’s right to go to the VA,” Herrera Beutler said, addressing a concern that Trump planned to privatize the Veterans Affairs.

She said that along with Congress pumping funding into the VA in recent years, they’ve worked to give veterans the right to seek alternative health care options. This has helped combat problems some veterans face when not living near a VA facility or when placed on a long waiting list for treatment.

“This is especially important in some rural areaS,” she said, adding it was matter of giving veterans more flexibility.

Trump and a Plan in the Middle East



Herrera Beutler was asked if she could explain what was going on and if Trump had a long term strategy in place for the Middle East. The question came just after the U.S. dropped one of the biggest non-nuclear bombs in U.S. history in Afghanistan earlier in the day.

Herrera Beutler said she attended the classified briefing regarding the strike in Syria before flying back to the West Coast, but she promptly said, “I don’t have an answer.”

In the coming days, though, Vice President Mike Pence will be meeting with Congress to explain the Trump administration's goal going forward, she said, adding that she hopes for more clarity following that meeting.

She said the caller’s question — of what the overall strategy and doctrine is — is the same question her colleagues in D.C. have been asking among themselves.

“I’m all for defeating ISIS,” she said, but added it’s important that congress fully understand what the long term plan is.

Trump and Russia

One caller asked if Herrera Beutler would put “country over party” and support an independent investigation into alleged Trump-Russia connections.

“This issue as a whole is concerning,” said the congresswoman, explaining that Russia has been attempting to tamper in U.S. dealings beyond just the election.

“I completely support any and all efforts to get to the bottom, to the truth in these matters,” she said. “Because no one, no one is above the law.”

She went on to say that she attended classified briefings for this matter as well, and feels the intelligence committee is taking the situation seriously and sparing no resources in their investigation.

As of now, she said, there simply isn’t any hard evidence to suggest collusion.

“I can’t just move on innuendo and accusation,” she explained. “I have to have evidence.”

Trump and a Failed Health Care bill

“Why can’t they sit down at a round table and make this work?” one caller asked of the Republicans’ recent failed health bill, which Herrera Beutler said she would not support days before it was pulled.

Herrera Beutler said she believes health care is a right and holds strong that there is a better way than the Affordable Care Act.

Furthermore, she felt the most recent bill was not an improvement, and that’s why she chose not to support it. Going forward, she hopes to see more involvement in the health care community when putting together an alternative plan.

The holdup now, she feels, is “just plain politics” — Republicans want to maintain control of the House and Senate and Democrats want to gain control.

Trump and North Korea

Herrera Beutler said Kim Jong-un is unstable and out of touch with reality. She said she was pleased to see the Trump administration reach out to China and hopes to continue seeing that relationship grow.

Trump and the Wall

As she did in her last phone-in town hall, the congresswoman doubled down on her support of the wall.

“I don’t think it’s radical in any way, shape or form, to say we want to know who is coming in and out of this country,” she said, adding that the she believes the Constitution requires the governing body to keep American citizens safe, and part of that comes through border control.

What she isn’t sure about is how it will be funded. Chopping up the discretionary budget to pay for it, as Trump is proposing, isn’t something she is in favor of.

The challenge, she said, is figuring out where the funding will come from if the president can’t follow through on his promise to have Mexico pay for it, she said.