Faso questioned on issues at forum

Sept. 01--PORT EWEN -- Rep. John Faso fielded questions from the public Thursday evening about issues ranging from health care, the income wage gap, tax reform and a border wall in a much-anticipated town hall forum.

The forum, held at Esopus Town Hall, follows a tumultuous political season in which other Republican Congress members have faced heated criticism at similar gatherings in their districts over their party's plans to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Move Forward New York, a liberal activist group, had asked to hold a joint town hall with Faso him in May, and Faso accepted. Both Faso and Move Forward each distributed 70 tickets in advance while the remaining 60 tickets were given at the door on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Faso, a Kinderhook Republican whose district includes Ulster and Sullivan counties, spoke for about 10 minutes and then took audience questions. And though Faso's answers were sometimes met with groans, boos and pointed criticism, the forum generally remained civil.

In a question and answer period that lasted more than an hour, Faso told constituents he couldn't commit to vote for or against a tax reform bill that hasn't been written yet. He said he didn't agree with singling out Planned Parenthood for defunding, even though he voted for the bill that included that provision, among many others. He said while he does support enhanced border security, he wasn't an absolutist about a border wall.

"I don't support a wall on every nook and cranny of the Mexican border," Faso said.

Faso also said while he thought the Paris climate accords were more symbolic than effective, he believed the United States should not have pulled out of the agreement. He was met with "boos" when he said he supported President Donald Trump's appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and groans when he said he didn't support impeachment of the president "at the present time." He said he supported so-called "dreamers," those who were brought to the country as children illegally, and immigration reform that supported farmers.

Asked several times about his support of the Republican healthcare reform that failed earlier this year, Faso generally shifted to talking about the future and how he was working across the aisle to find bipartisan to healthcare reform.

But even before the forum began, the deep divide between political perspectives was palpable. John Crispell of Lake Katrine left the forum before it began, saying there were too many people there who "stand against what we oppose." He wanted to ask Faso if he continued to support repealing the Affordable Care Act, which he said was too costly for working people.

And at the entrance to the town hall, about 100 chanting protesters lined the driveway with signs that summoned Faso's connections to hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, criticized his votes on health care and supported Planned Parenthood.

But during the forum, Faso was most passionate near towards the end, when he spoke with zeal about the burdens on upstate taxpayers from state mandates.

Faso said he plans to continue to fight for a measure that would stop New York state from billing its county governments for part of the cost of Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor. An amendment to the Republican healthcare bill this year included that amendment and sparked a bitter war of words between Faso and Gov. Andrew Cuomo over the cost of the measure before the healthcare bill fizzled out.

Speaking after the forum, Faso wouldn't specify exactly how he plans to revive the Medicaid measure.

"Stay tuned," Faso said. "I have a plan."

jnani@th-record.com

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