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McCollum Packs Recess With Four Town Hall Meetings

February 24, 2017

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) packed this week’s President’s Day District Work Period with four town hall meetings, listening in-person to more than 1,000 Fourth District constituents.

“As a U.S. Representative, listening to the people I represent is the most important part of my job,” Congresswoman McCollum said. “I greatly appreciated hearing from my constituents this week about the issues that matter to them: protecting our health care, acting on climate change, growing our economy, and keeping Minnesota and America vibrant and welcoming.”

Congresswoman McCollum’s first town hall event was a Tuesday night forum on labor and trade hosted by the St. Paul Regional Labor Federation and the Minnesota Fair Trade Coalition. More than 60 people attended the public event, held at the St. Paul Labor Center. Congresswoman McCollum took questions on issues related to federal labor laws and state labor protections, free trade agreements, and President Donald Trump’s failed Labor Secretary nominee Andy Puzder.

Wednesday morning, Congresswoman McCollum joined an estimated 100 community activists and nonprofit leaders for a town hall-style “Coffee with Congress” hosted by the Minnesota Council on Nonprofits at Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest in Maplewood. After making a presentation on President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ backwards agenda, Congresswoman McCollum answered constituents’ questions about health care, the environment, education, and federal support for the arts and humanities.

On Thursday evening, a standing room only crowd of 600 people attended Congresswoman McCollum’s town hall discussion on climate change. Held on the campus of the University of St. Thomas, the event also included St. Thomas School of Engineering Professor Dr. John Abraham and Minnesota Public Radio legend Mark Seeley, both climate change experts. Congresswoman McCollum and the panelists addressed a range of audience questions, with many focused on what actions Minnesotans can take to fight climate change.

Friday morning, a crowd of 300 people joined Congresswoman McCollum at the Hallie Q. Brown Community Center for her town hall-style community conversation on the Affordable Care Act, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Alongside Congresswoman McCollum was a panel that included health care and social service experts Dr. Clarence Hightower of the Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington Counties, Kari Benson of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Erin Parrish of AARP Minnesota, and Jonathan Palmer of the Hallie Q. Brown Center.

In addition to the four town hall meetings, Congresswoman McCollum was a mystery reader on Wednesday at Roseville’s Emmet D. Williams Elementary School. Also on Wednesday, Congresswoman McCollum met with St. Catherine University students and President ReBecca Roloff and students to discuss issues ranging from student debt to immigration.