Cravaack defends budget-cutting stance at town hall meeting
U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack faced a crowd with tough questions at a town hall meeting Wednesday night. About 60 people attended the meeting in Cambridge, about an hour north of the Twin Cities.
Cravaack, a freshman Republican representing Minnesota's 8th Congressional District, spoke to the audience about the federal budget deficit and what he thinks should be done to reduce federal spending.
Among the steps he would recommend are eliminating federal agencies like the Department of Education, and cutting the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Only one person in the audience, Terry Bell, argued with Cravaack about his responses. But Bell said he was glad he came.
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"I gotta try. The problem is the facts weren't presented here tonight," said Bell.
Cravaack said it's good for people to hold him to account.
"I try to be honest with them," he said. "I gave them the numbers to the best of my ability. Some people don't want to hear it. some people don't want to believe, because it's quite stark."
Cravaack added that he hasn't heard anything in the town hall meetings he's held in the district to make him reassess his positions.
One of those meetings, in Mountain Iron earlier this week, reportedly grew heated. The Duluth News Tribune says some attendees questioned Cravaack's statistics and objected to his use of the term "Obamacare" for the Affordable Care Act.