Rep. Miller-Meeks’ tele-town hall draws more than 6,300 callers

During a tele-town hall Tuesday evening, U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks assured attendees that she will continue to inquire about potential job cuts at the Rock Island Arsenal, adding that she still is waiting for a response.

Earlier this month, Miller-Meeks and other federal lawmakers in the Quad Cities sent letters to the U.S. Army Secretary urging jobs at the Arsenal be protected after union leaders sounded the alarm bells for impending cuts.

One town hall caller from Bettendorf asked if Miller-Meeks had heard anything back on her letter to the U.S. Army Secretary, adding that he and his co-workers at the Arsenal fear losing their jobs.

“I have a lot of people that I work with that haven't been around as long as I have, and they're really scared … they devoted their lives working for the government,” the caller said.

Miller-Meeks doubled down on her inquiry, adding that she hasn’t heard anything back yet.

“It is one of those areas where I think the role that it plays within our military, in the defense of this nation, I think, is very important and critical,” Miller-Meeks said. “Have I heard back yet? As far as I know, I've been very busy this morning, but when I walked in the room, I had not yet heard back.”

Congresswoman says she will hold in-person town hall

Miller-Meeks’ telephone town hall came nearly a week after the congresswoman committed to an in-person town hall. Protests across Iowa’s 1st Congressional District have called on her to do so.

Other members of Iowa’s congressional delegation, including 2nd District U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Sen. Chuck Grassley, recently held in-person town halls despite the National Republican Congressional Committee urging U.S. House Republicans not to hold them after many faced fiery confrontations from constituents.

Miller-Meeks' last tele-town hall was in February, where her staff said 12,000 people joined. More than 6,300 attendees joined the call Tuesday evening, according to Miller-Meeks’ office.

During a private event with Americans For Prosperity on April 23, Miller-Meeks urged the group to attend her tele-town hall and get on the call early.

"Jump on early," Miller-Meeks told the group. "Our last telephone town hall, the Democrats shared the number … Every caller, every person for the first 35 minutes … were all Democrats with questions."

Miller-Meeks ended Tuesday’s town hall with a confirmation that she plans on holding in-person town halls in the district.

“In the future, we'll have more telephone town halls, but also be doing town halls within the district,” Miller-Meeks said. “I look forward to seeing you in the district.”

Potential cuts to Medicaid

During the call, Miller-Meeks answered questions about the status of the Farm Bill, prescription drug prices and Iowa’s physician shortage.

One caller from Keosauqua asked Miller-Meeks how requested cuts by the U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee — the committee that oversees Medicare and Medicaid, and which Miller-Meeks sits on — will impact Medicaid funding, adding that it will be “mathematically impossible” not to make cuts to the program.

“When you talk about Medicaid reform, those are just cuts by another name, because if you, say, institute work requirements, that's going to kick people off the rolls,” the caller said.

A Republican-proposed budget resolution adopted by the U.S. House last week directs the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find at least $880 billion in savings over 10 years. An analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows the resolution can’t reach its savings goals without reductions to Medicaid spending.

Miller-Meeks denied that cuts to the program would happen and reiterated her support for Medicaid work requirements, highlighting legislation she introduced to mandate state Medicaid programs regularly verify beneficiary address information.

Earlier this month, Iowa requested a federal waiver that would allow the state to implement work requirements for the roughly 171,000 able-bodied Iowans on the state's Medicaid expansion program.

Under the requirements, qualifying individuals would have to work 100 hours per month, be enrolled in an educational or job skills program or provide caregiving services to dependents with a disability.

Quad-City Times reporters Sarah Watson and Gretchen Teske contributed to this report.