Perriello, Goodlatte address health care overhaul

Rep. Tom Perriello has dived into the health care concerns of his constituents, scheduling 21 town hall meetings around the 5th District during Congress’ August recess.

In the first six meetings, people have told him they don’t want a health care system run by the federal government. Loud and angry voices have set the tone, at first.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte is taking a more measured approach to the hottest topic of the summer.

Goodlatte plans some tele-town hall meetings to let 6th District participants ask questions about health reform by phone — but just one at a time, with no cheerleading or heckling from a crowd.

The telephone town hall meetings haven’t been scheduled yet, Goodlatte’s spokeswoman said.

Goodlatte has held three public meetings recently. One, in Lynchburg, focused on energy. At another, in Staunton this week, Goodlatte talked about energy and health care. Both times he criticized Democrat-backed legislation that would drive up the cost of energy with the goal of creating new sources of power for homes and cars.

Tuesday, Goodlatte met with veterans at Woodstock in Shenandoah County.

Perriello has visited six communities, mostly in the Martinsville and Danville areas. He was in Bedford on Saturday, where a crowd estimated at 300 turned out.

Sometimes the meetings start with boos.

People demand to know if Perriello wants to ration their health care. Some have asked if he would vote for forced euthanasia for the elderly.

Perriello tells them “no,” and after awhile the meetings have quieted down. He explains that the various proposals pending in Congress generally seek to let people choose a form of health insurance they can afford to pay for and have it cover more people.

He also says he hasn’t decided how he will vote, although there are certain specifics, such as funding abortion, that he would vote against. The proposals haven’t yet merged into a bill, he points out.

Perriello’s next meeting in the Lynchburg area comes Aug. 20 in Lovingston. Another is scheduled Aug. 28 in Rustburg; still another is Aug. 31 in Appomattox.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., plans to hold some public meetings later this month. He is getting about 1,000 e-mails and calls per week about health care, his spokesman, Kevin Hall, said.

For now, Warner is taking questions on health care through Twitter and his Web site, and plans to answer the most frequently submitted questions via video. He also has conducted telephone town halls with constituents, the last of which drew about 4,300 people, Hall said.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is on a two-week trip to Asia, and his office says it will decide how to proceed when he returns.