Frelinghuysen's Teletown Hall: What You Need To Know

MORRISTOWN, NJ — U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican representing the 11th district, held his second telephone-based town hall on Tuesday night, answering questions from an even mix of supporters and critics.

These teletown halls, as his office has been calling them, are conference calls where people can listen in and ask questions. Frelinghuysen has not held an in-person town hall since 2013.

Residents across Morris and Sussex counties were robo-dialed at 5:15 p.m., the primary way for residents to join the call. Anyone who requested to be called through his office was also dialed. No dial-in line was provided for constituents, although a listen-only dial-in was provided for members of the media.

Like many other town halls across New Jersey, the teletown hall was occasionally combative, as people expressed their dislike and fear over the new presidential administration. Because callers' microphones had to be turned on before they could speak, there was no back-and-forth yelling, but a few callers made it clear they were unhappy with the way things had been going.

>>> Read More: Frelinghuysen Holds Controversial 'Invitation-Only' Telephone Town Hall

The call was, at times, awkward. Callers and Frelinghuysen frequently spoke over each other, not because they were arguing, but because it was difficult to tell when the other had finished speaking.

Residents also called in to express their trust for Frelinghuysen, with one caller saying she voted across party lines for him, and another describing his voting record as "moderate."

For those who were unable to listen in on last night's call, here are some highlights (there's also an audio player at the end if you'd like to listen in full):

Health care

Health care was a common question, and Frelinghuysen looked to assuage constituents about their fears. He said he did not know if older workers would be charged more for plans but that he wanted to prevent people from preexisting conditions from facing higher rates.

"I think certainly one thing members of Congress agree on in a bipartisan manner is to preserve and protect Medicare and Medicaid," he said when asked about possible cuts to those programs.

Frelinghuysen offered generic drugs as one way of lowering prescription costs, another concern that was raised. When the caller said her prescriptions did not come in generic forms, Frelinghuysen gave her the name of a Morristown staffer and asked her to call the office so they could help lower her costs.

Immigration

Frelinghuysen told callers he supported the idea behind the so-called travel ban, but not the way it was executed.

"I do think a pause for those seven countries [included in President Trump's executive order] was not a bad idea, and it may be controversial, with some issues relative to green cards that were dealt with..." he said.

In response to another question on immigration, Frelinghuysen said that Trump "needs to do a better job explaining exactly his rationale and make sure these executive orders are better executed and understood."

Party Allegiance

Multiple callers expressed that the congressman's voting record was too closely aligned with the Trump administration's wishes, something Frelinghuysen denied.

"Let me assure you, that there have been reports sometimes, articles written, [but] I have always voted on behalf of my constituents in northern New Jersey, I have always voted my conscience," he said, offering the Frelinghuysen Amendment, which secured post-Sandy funding for North Jersey, as an example.

Russia

Frelinghuysen made clear he is not on the same page as Trump when it comes to Russia.

"I don't view Russia or Putin as benign; they're highly destructive and have been working to destroy democracy in Western Europe, and they've been doing things in terms of cyber attacks," he said. He said he supports continuing sanctions against Russia.

Gun Control

Although Frelinghuysen voted to overturn a last-minute Obama-era regulation that provided the names of those receiving mental health disability benefits to gun background check registries, he said that vote was against the way the rule was enacted.

"My view is, I don't have any problem with background checks, but this [rule] was done with an end run around Congress, just in the last days [of the Obama administration] ... it was an end run so I condemned it through my vote, but I certainly don't allow the notion that we would allow people with a history of mental illness to have weapons, that is the current law and should remain the law," he said.

Planned Parenthood

"I’ll be quite blunt, the Republican Congress or caucus, and I respect their views, is largely pro-life, but I’ve been supportive of Planned Parenthood for a long time. I think the people in Morristown that run the operation there do some remarkable things to provide health care for women," Frelinghuysen said when asked about the clinic. He stressed that he supported a "woman's right to choose."

Later in the call, Frelinghuysen was unable to explain why he voted yes on H.J.-Res. 43, a a bill that would allow states to defund Planned Parenthood. During a tense exchange, the congressman said he did not immediately recall the bill, telling the caller, "I don’t have it — alright well, thank you for telling me what I voted on, I just don’t have the bill right in front of me to comment any further."

You can listen to the full teletown hall here:

Image: Congressman Frelinghuysen's Official Portrait