Molinaro Town Hall
By Teresa Barensfeld
Our new congressman Marc Molinaro began his Columbia County Town Hall on March 6 by living up to his reputation as an affable and accessible elected official.
He joked a bit with the audience before opening up the meeting to questions and comments from constituents. He also told us that he joined the Problem-Solvers Caucus, which is a bipartisan caucus—a positive step.
Molinaro ran on being a moderate and even centrist, though many of his responses voiced some of the common, tired Republican views about how the government needs to spend less, but not saying how that could be done or even approaching the idea that some of the previous administration’s and Congress’s tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans could possibly be reversed.
When it was my turn to speak, I commented—very politely—about the “gas ban” survey he recently sent out, which I said was divisive by asking only one question: whether one was for or against a supposed ban, with no other information or facts about timelines and such. I mentioned that the proposed regulations would apply mostly to new construction. For existing structures and appliances, there is a long timeline, adding that many health and safety measures work this way, implemented gradually over time as old items wear out and are replaced with newer, safer ones. I added that sending this kind of survey is admittedly a common practice of all elected people to their constituents, and I’d like to see his office send more neutral, informative messages and ask people about their concerns and questions, opening up discussion to find common ground.
Though he nodded a lot at what I was saying, he didn’t actually reply to my comment/question. The audience applauded, though.
Another person raised a question about the serious needs of some of his constituents—the additional SNAP being cut since the Covid Emergency has been declared over. He agreed that poor people need help with food prices being so high, but basically said he couldn’t do anything until the Farm Bill came up for negotiation and votes. He did not commit to asking for more SNAP benefits, and did not suggest that any shortfalls could be made up by the wealthiest people paying their fair share of taxes.
When asked about the debt ceiling and whether he was in favor of combining it with other budget issues and possibly holding the government hostage, he said he was against that and said that raising the debt ceiling and working out the budget are two separate things. But — and this is the crux of his reply — he would not commit to pushing for a straight, up-or-down vote on raising the debt ceiling with no strings. He said that it was a matter of negotiation with the administration, and it would definitely be worked out, with no government shutdown.
Added by Communications Team member Carol Moore: “My favorite takeaways were his statement that George Santos should be removed from office, and his emphatic declaration that he was sent to Congress to represent all of the people in his district, not just the ones who voted for him.”
