By Doug La Rocque
Barely three weeks in office, Representative Antonio Delgado held the first of his promised town hall meetings in Rensselaer County on Monday, January 21. Upwards of two hundred people filled the community room at the Poestenkill Fire Department, to hear the Congressman speak on the federal government shutdown, agriculture and infrastructure as well as health care among several other topics. Prior to opening the session, the Congressman asked for a moment of silence to honor Navy Chief Shannon Kent of Pine Plains (a northern Dutchess County town which is in the 19th Congressional District. Chief Kent was killed last week in Syria, the victim of a suicide bomber.
Representative Delgado spent a little more than an hour taking questions from those in attendance, and from those watching a live stream on Facebook. His first topic was the federal government shutdown, now at a record length. While admitting there are some real differences between the House of Representatives and President Trump, he called for a bi-partisan effort to get government re-opened. He pointed to the number of people affected in his 19th Congressional district, in particular farmers, who he said must wait to apply for subsidies until the U.S. Farm Bureau re-opens, and federal employees going without paychecks, citing those in the U.S. Coast Guard, who must still report to work to keep the Hudson River open and free of ice. He told those in the room, “this is the first time in our country’s history that a branch of the country’s armed forces has been shut down.”
The Democratic Congressman said that he would like to see negotiations on re-opening the government take on a heightened level of importance, even calling upon his own party to make the next move. This past Saturday, the President offered to extend DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) for three years, if Congress would agree to his border wall proposal. While rejecting the offer as not going far enough, Mr. Delgado did say, “the Trump offer should make it incumbent upon Democrats to make a counter-offer.”
Talking Farms
The Congressman also noted that the 19th District is comprised of over 1000 local farms, many struggling against the mega-farms of this country. He called not only for the renewal of the subsidies program, but also for a better form of infrastructure to help get the goods local farmers produce to large markets. He cited the proximity of New York City to the district, on average just two and a half hours away, and lamented there was currently not a better way to get the locally produced farm products to a market that he believes, would eagerly accept them.
Re-vamping Health Care
The congressman was asked if he would like to see a national Medicare program. He answered by saying he is in favor of a strong public option, but did not call for a completely socialized system that would eliminate private health insurance. He said the United States is the only developed country in the world without some sort of government health care program for all individuals. He explained his concept by saying if someone has a private insurance plan that they like and is affordable, they should be able to keep it. Conversely, if someone is struggling to provide a family or themselves an acceptable level of health care, or feels trapped in an employment position they don’t like, but cannot afford to leave because of a lack of health insurance that departure would create, there should be a public option that would be less expensive to avail themselves of. He also feels it would be a boon for small business, who struggle with high health care premiums for their workers, if these workers had other options for coverage.
Battling the Opioid Crisis
Mr. Delgado said he believes the first step in combatting the abuse of opioids is to see it and treat it for what it is, an addiction. He feels the problem was brought on in part by the over-production of such drugs by large pharmaceutical companies. He is calling for the destigmatization and decriminalization of such abuse, and cited a program that was developed by Chatham Police Chief Peter Volkmann in 2016, called Chatham Care 4 U. In an online article from a site entitled City Lab, Chief Volkmann said he invites addicts to come to his office, turn over their drugs, and ask for help. He then makes sure they get the medical assistance they need to detox, and enroll in rehab programs so they can eventually stop using all together. “We’re not going to arrest you for possession—we’re going to help you,” he said.
Congressman Delgado said it is programs like this that are critically needed, and that he plans to bring the Chief to Washington, to testify to Congress on the success of the program.
Impeaching the President
Congressman Delgado said he feels it is too early to go down that road… “don’t get caught up in the partisanship, lets let the facts come to bear.” He cited the past weekend’s report of material that supposedly tied President Trump to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential Election, reports that were soon thereafter labeled by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller as incorrect. Other topics dealt with during the town hall session were the lack of broadband communications in areas of the District, the need for an independent commission to handle Congressional redistricting, climate change and the country’s reliance on fossil fuels as well as dealing with the national debt.
Local Leaders’ Impressions
Among those listening to the Congressman’s remarks were Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin and 107th District Assemblyman Jake Ashby. Both are Republicans, and speaking with The Eastwick Press following the event, each indicated while they may hold a different political philosophy, they were appreciative of the Congressman taking time to answer questions and explain his point of view to county residents. County Executive McLaughlin said it is a big part of the representative’s job to listen and respond to his constituents, and for coming to Rensselaer County, particularly on a holiday so more people had the opportunity to participate, I thank him.