Rep. Andy Harris said that people showing up at town hall meetings across the nation to voice concern over the repeal of Obamacare are "organized" and funded by national interests, and said he would not conduct such meetings until Republicans release a plan to replace the law.
Harris, a Baltimore County Republican, has faced criticism after telling WBAL-AM on Tuesday that he would hold telephone town halls rather than in-person meetings. Harris has held telephone town hall meetings for years, so his comments did not appear to indicate a change in strategy.
Harris, an anesthesiologist, described the criticism his fellow Republicans have faced in meetings over the law as "organized" and "George Soros-funded," referring to the prominent Democratic donor. That argument has been echoed by GOP lawmakers in other states, many of whom say they will rely on telephone town halls going forward.
"It’s obviously an anti-Trump organization that just wants to cause trouble," Harris said on WBAL. "They don’t want to hear at town hall meetings, they just want to disrupt town hall meetings."
Harris reiterated that argument in an interview with The Baltimore Sun on Wednesday.
Emily Jackson, a 34-year-old Talbot County woman and Harris constituent, dismissed the idea that opposition to repealing the law is orchestrated. She has helped found a group in Maryland called Citizens For Health Care that has been pressing Harris to meet with constituents in person.
U.S. Rep Andy Harris held a town hall meeting in Bel Air Wednesday night. Marijuana legalization was a major topic of discussion, and some audience members got into a heated debate with the representative.
U.S. Rep Andy Harris held a town hall meeting in Bel Air Wednesday night. Marijuana legalization was a major topic of discussion, and some audience members got into a heated debate with the representative.
She said constituents have been calling Harris and sending letters to seek that meeting.
"With the clear push to repeal the ACA, it’s on the forefront of everybody’s mind at the moment," Jackson said. "Everybody’s just sort of nervous about what’s happening next and want to feel that they’re in touch with their representatives in Washington."
Asked about Harris’ contention that groups are funded by national interests, Jackson said: "There are no funds at all."
Tele-town halls allow lawmakers to choose their questioners to ensure they receive friendly questions. In past telephone meetings conducted by Harris that have been observed by The Baltimore Sun, the congressman has received both critical and favorable questions.
Still, even if Harris takes questions from critics on the call, Jackson said it’s not the same as talking to their congressman face-to-face.
"To me, a tele-town hall is not a town hall. The fundamental point of a town hall is to get face time with your constituents — to understand that there’s a human behind this," she said. "A tele-town hall is dehumanizing."
Crowds of angry constituents have confronted Republican Reps. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, Diane Black of Tennessee and Tom McClintock of California — pressing the lawmakers to describe their plans for replacing the law, and how they will deal with millions of people who benefit from it.
Harris said he would conduct in-person meetings with constituents once the GOP replacement plan is developed.
"When the replacement plan comes out — unlike in 2010, when there was no discussion nationally — I’m going to go around the district and hold live town hall meetings and discuss the replacement plan," Harris said.
There was considerable consternation at town halls during the summer before the Affordable Care Act was passed by Congress. Angry voters questioned Republican and Democratic lawmakers at town hall meetings for weeks, giving rise to the Tea Party movement.
Those confrontations, which sometimes played out on national television, were part of the reason lawmakers switched to telephone town halls in the first place.
At the time, many Democrats wrote off the discontent, arguing the people raising questions were orchestrated and funded by the Koch family.
Harris noted those exchanges took place before Congress had a final draft of the health care law that came to be known as Obamacare. Once the draft was revealed, he said, there was little-to-no opportunity for members of Congress to hear from voters.
Republicans, who took dozen of votes to repeal Obamacare when they did not control the White House, are grappling with how to unwind the law now that President Donald Trump is in office. For one thing, some of the law’s provisions are popular and even Trump has said he wants to retain those aspects.
The difficulty is that some of the popular provisions — such as eliminating annual and life time caps on coverage and allowing people who are sick to buy into health insurance — are dependent on less well-liked components, such as requiring that everyone in the nation buy into some sort of plan or face a tax penalty.
GOP lawmakers are under pressure from the right, meanwhile, to make good on a promise to repeal the law — a vow that played centrally in the 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 elections. The issue has been complicated by inconsistent messages from the Trump administration.
The president, at one point, promised a plan that would provide "insurance for everybody."
Republicans have offered some ideas on health care — including allowing people to purchase health insurance across state lines — but independent analysis have determined that those policies would not have a significant effect on either the cost of health insurance or the number of people who receive coverage.
Democrats criticized Harris for his comments.
"Like other Republicans across the country, Maryland Congressman Andy Harris is now afraid to face his own constituents after pushing to take away their health care without a replacement plan, which would significantly harm families on the Eastern Shore," Maryland Democratic Party spokeswoman Jazzmen Knoderer said in a statement.
"Congressman Harris can’t hide on the internet," she said. "Marylanders will find him and make their voices heard."
john.fritze@baltsun.com
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