Miller-Meeks holds tele-town hall, answers questions about government shutdown

As she continues to face state and national pushback for not holding in-person town halls, Republican Iowa U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks answered questions from constituents during a telephone town hall Wednesday night.

During the hourlong tele-town hall, Miller-Meeks answered questions about the federal government shutdown, immigration and clean energy tax credits. More than 10,700 people attended the tele-town hall Wednesday night, according to her office. This was her third event of this kind this year.

Miller-Meeks, who represents Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, has received recent pressure to hold an in-person forum after she pledged to do so earlier this year.

Attention around the subject was reignited last week after CNN reported on Miller-Meeks’ statement at a Johnson County Republicans of Iowa meeting, where she said she will hold a town hall “when hell freezes over."

Miller-Meeks argues that she frequently makes herself available to constituents at public events, including Rotary meetings, county fairs and the Iowa State Fair.

During the tele-town hall, Miller-Meeks said the format allows her to reach more people who can listen in at the end of the day.

“I can reach vastly more people in this format and we try to have it in the evening when people have finished dinner and maybe when you're doing the dishes or sweeping,” Miller-Meeks said.

Concerns over the government shutdown

Multiple callers asked questions and expressed concerns about the government shutdown, which is going into its third week as Republicans and Democrats fail to reach an agreement over health care funding and extending Affordable Care Act tax credits, which lower monthly premiums for more than 110,000 Iowans. The tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year unless Congress votes to extend them.

Miller-Meeks doubled down on her stance that the ACA premiums have continued to “skyrocket” since the law was enacted, calling it an “ailing system.”

How are the tele-town halls conducted?

In April, Miller-Meeks’ office started using an RSVP link posted on her social media, instead of putting out a number and asking people to call in like they did in the past.

On average, around 7,000 people attend the tele-town halls, with 70 to 80 people requesting to ask questions, according to Miller-Meeks’ office.

Anthony Fakhoury, a spokesperson for Miller-Meeks, said the office had to change the system because “Democrat advocacy groups from around the country abused that system and began encouraging Dems from all around the country to join a (tele-town hall) meant for the people of IA-01.”

Fakhoury added that a February tele-town hall for which the office put out the number ahead of time drew an audience of 12,000, with 6,100 of those identified to have been from out of state.

During the tele-town halls, callers who want to ask a question press 3 and are directed to call screeners, who are members of Miller-Meeks’ staff. Callers are then asked to confirm their name, location, question and topic they want to ask about before they are selected at random and put through to Miller-Meeks.