Carroll County Comet

Popular Categories

Carroll County to have Town Hall meeting

Donnelly to meet with residents at month's end



Blue Dog Democrat Joe Donnelly announced Monday he will host a Town Hall meeting at the end of August. Donnelly spoke at the Legislative Dinner in Delphi, but he spoke to the Comet prior to that engagement. He said he considered the local media an independent arbiter and watches what is happening in Carroll County by reading the Comet. He added that discussion of issues is very important for readers.

Donnelly said he considers himself a conservative Democrat leader who would rather take time to develop a healthcare reform plan that would be beneficial to all Americans rather than rush to pass something by the end of August.

“It is important for us to get this right,” he said. “We need to be listening to the people and not press it. We have an obligation to get it right.”

Congressman Donnelly said he has not read the entire proposed healthcare legislation but has “not come out for or against it.”

He is a proponent of the free enterprise system. He said the country should enforce anti-trust laws to increase competitiveness in business and services. Donnelly explained that he voted to make loans to the automakers because there were many local residents who work for the industry. He said doing nothing was worse than offering the automakers the loans. He said workers would have become unemployed if the federal government had not stepped in and saved the jobs.

“The loans are to be paid back as quickly as possible,” he said. “General Motors will begin to repay loans as soon as next year.”

Donnelly said the country must show economic progress to eliminate the deficit. He indicated that he expects Congress to decrease the annual debt of the country by one-half in three years.

“The goal is to spend less as we move forward,” he explained. “I would like the debt to be eliminated tomorrow. My preference is to eliminate the annual national debt completely.”

“We need slow and steady growth,” he added.

Donnelly said he encourages all citizens to participate in the Town Hall Meeting scheduled for Aug. 26 at the Delphi Public Library. He said he expects everyone to be respectful when expressing opinions. Donnelly explained House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was referring to protesters who were roudy, loud and disrespectful as “un-American” rather than those who gathered to protest peacefully. He said he was ready to listen and engage in a spirited exchange of ideas from all participants on Aug. 26.


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.