Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
U.S. REP. Sean Duffy (R-Wausau), left, talks to constituents in Mercer Monday during a town hall meeting. During the meeting, Duffy made the case for the tax reform bill the House of Representatives passed Thursday and answered questions about healthcare reform, global warming and immigration. Steve Schurtter, of Montreal, listens.
By RICHARD JENKINS
MERCER, Wis. - U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wausau) was in Mercer Monday to meet with Northwoods constituents, advocating for the tax bill passed by the House of Representatives and taking questions on range of topics - including the recent attempts to overhaul healthcare.
Duffy touted the tax reform efforts recently passed by the House, arguing the legislation targets corporate taxes and helping the middle class.
"We're going to get it done, we think it's going to help everyone," Duffy said.
The legislation, which passed Thursday, calls for reducing corporate and personal taxes by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years. The Senate Finance Committee passed a similar plan the same day.
"We have a focus on corporate tax reform; making American corporations competitive in this global economy," Duffy told the Daily Globe after the meeting. "The rest of the money we have left for tax reform has gone to middle income families."
"The wealthy don't get a whole lot in this bill, but the middle income and our businesses that hire our people do," he told the Daily Globe.
After making his case on tax reform, Duffy opened the floor to questions.
While several topics - including immigration and the U.S.'s decision to withdraw from the international agreement regarding climate change - were brought up by those in attendance, much of the conversation focused on healthcare reform.
Some audience members questioned Duffy on the recent failed attempts to repeal Obamacare, and advocated for expanding Medicare coverage to those beyond seniors over the age of 65.
Duffy pushed back on the idea, arguing the program was driving the country's deficit and increased federal involvement in healthcare would give too much government control over the lives of citizens.
Instead of looking to the federal level, Duffy advocated largely turning the system over the states. He said not only would this allow each state to determine the best course of action for its citizens, it would also provide 50 laboratories where solutions to high healthcare costs could be researched and tested.
The meeting was one of several Duffy has recently held in the district, according to staff members traveling with him - with events in Medford and Phillips also being scheduled. At these events, North Korea, taxes, immigration, second amendment issues were all raised by residents.
Editor's Note: The Associated Press contributed to this story.
