Biggs jeered in Mesa
Health care is key issue at lawmaker’s town hall
Often drowning in jeers from liberal critics in his heavily conservative district, U.S. Rep. Andy Biggs maintained that the nation’s current health-care system is failing and insisted he wants more dramatic changes than those sought by GOP leaders in Washington.
Biggs, a freshman holding his first town hall since taking office in January, expressed other views, from skepticism about climate change to broad support for the private sector over government, that were a flop with most of the 600 people gathered at Without Walls Church in Mesa.
But health care, the issue that has cast the longest shadow over the congressional agenda in the early stages of the Trump administration, remained a front-burner issue, with few seeming to embrace Biggs’ opposition to the GOP plan in pursuit of a more-conservative approach.
“I do not like that bill because it does not keep a promise we made to repeal (the Affordable Care Act),” Biggs said to a smattering of applause and another round of boos. “It leaves the framework in place. Those of you who like Obamacare, this is your best alternative.”
Biggs was among the conservative hard-liners in the House Freedom Caucus who would not back House Speaker Paul Ryan’s American Health Care Act. That bill has stalled, but Republicans have not given up on the issue.
The GOP’s approach, which has to be calibrated to work within the Senate’s rules, could result in a final product that still results in rising premiums, he said.
Biggs said he would not be surprised if the latest changes by Republicans to Ryan’s bill are enough to hold a vote on the measure.
Some of the loudest boos came when Biggs, a member of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, was asked whether he agreed with the overwhelming consensus of climate scientists on human-caused global warming.
Biggs noted a recent hearing that raised doubts about the integrity of certain climate data and indicated his own doubts on the issue.
In a halting answer frequently interrupted with boos, Biggs said he read reports from people who believe in climate change as well as those who don’t.
“I think that what they say is actually valid and is something that maybe you should look at as well,” he said. “There are credible scientists who say climate change exists; we aren’t sure why. There are credible scientists who say that. There are credible scientists who say it doesn’t.”
Other questions reflected views also more in sync with liberals and Democrats. One question reflected anxiety about high-risk insurance pools that could leave people with maladies such as Type I diabetes struggling to pay for care. Another man seethed about a vote to overturn an Obama administration rule that many fear would now allow internet providers to sell consumer browsing histories.
Biggs turned the question into an example of how he often sees government as the problem.
“I am a big believer that when the federal government starts regulating, and they look into things like the internet, they start botching it up,” he said to groans from the audience. “I believe that the marketplace will rule. And that’s what happened in this instance.”
On a question about supporting a bill to protect knife owners from losing their weapons in transit in states with more restrictive weapons laws, Biggs suggested it would protect them from losing their knives while changing planes. It was an explanation that seemed to satisfy many.
But if Biggs feels political pressure, it would figure to come from other conservatives. President Donald Trump won his district by more than 20 percentage points last year. Biggs carried it by 28.
After an hour of questions, Biggs’ supporters left unimpressed by the hostility directed at the congressman.
“I think it was an ambush. The people who were here were not really interested in answers to their questions,” said Betty Breeden, 70, of Gilbert. “They were here to jump on him . ... I think he did very well under the circumstances.”
Wendy Bergsman, a Mesa resident who agreed with many in the crowd, gave Biggs credit for holding the event.
“At least he heard from people on the other side,” she said.