Congressman Lloyd Smucker didn’t say much about the federal government shutdown that he hadn’t already said, during a tele-town hall with constituents on Wednesday evening.
The fifth-term Republican, who has risen the ranks to become vice-chairman of the House Budget Committee, slammed Democrats for not supporting a stopgap spending bill, arguing their recalcitrance forced the shutdown, which has already become the longest in history.
“There is no reason that we should be doing this, but it’s squarely on the Democrats who are not supporting it,” Smucker said in response to a constituent on the call who criticized Republicans and complained that his son-in-law in the Army National Guard is going without pay.
Democrats in Washington have withheld support for a stopgap budget until the Republican Party agrees to extend subsidies for people on Affordable Care Act health plans. During the call, Smucker alleged that people are “fraudulently” signing up for Obamacare plans.
“The money is all going to the insurance companies, and the individual may not even know they’re signed up, or … we know for certain that they’ve never accessed the care,” Smucker said.
Health care research group KFF analysed that argument earlier this year. Among the researchers’ points was that the federal government has the legal power to investigate and combat fraud in ACA plans, and “improper enrollment” is not the same as fraud.
Smucker also repeated the misleading claim that Democrats want to provide health care coverage to undocumented immigrants.
“They want to remove the work requirements on Medicaid that we had just put in place,” Smucker said, referring to the stricter regulations included in the GOP’s tax and spending cut law adopted over the summer. “They want to increase Medicaid funding that is going to illegal immigrants.”
Numerous fact-checking organizations, including the Associated Press and FactCheck.org, have declared the oft-repeated claim about Democrats wanting to give free health care to undocumented individuals is false.
Smucker said Republicans are open to extending the ACA credits once the government is reopened. However, earlier this year, he and fellow Pennsylvania Republican Mike Kelly opposed an amendment to the GOP’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” during a committee vote that would have extended the credits.
Smucker’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Smucker has not hosted an in-person town hall open to any interested constituent for more than a decade, the last one occurring when he was serving as a state senator. His tele-town halls are organized by his office. Staff members select which callers can pose questions to Smucker after they have been submitted in advance through an online registration form.
Several constituents on the call — only identified by first names and the municipality they listed as their residence — pushed back against Smucker’s characterization of the budget fight in Washington.
“I would suggest everybody listening, if you’ve made it through this far, that you just fact-check everything,” said a caller identified as James from Mountville. James, who said he is a Republican who supported John McCain’s unsuccessful bid for president in 2008, continued to express his dissatisfaction with the GOP’s agenda in Washington.
Smucker eventually cut James off, saying, “We’re running — getting close to the end of the time here.”
The congressman then pointed to the fact that a majority of voters chose President Donald Trump last year.
“I love what we’re accomplishing under this President,” Smucker said. “And I think the American people voted for change, and are getting the change that they voted for.”