Farenthold visits Brownsville for ‘listening session'

Several dozen people, many with questions at the ready, appeared Tuesday evening at Burns Elementary School to meet with U.S. Congressman Blake Farenthold for his scheduled gathering with the public.

Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi, spoke for 20 minutes — mainly about the hotly-debated budget crisis —before taking questions from the audience.

He said he was proud of what he and other members of the House of Representatives, both newly elected members and “old-timers,” had accomplished.

“When I moved to Washington, D.C.,” he said, “it was whether or not there was a problem with spending and whether or not to cut something. Now we’re talking about how much to cut. That’s a huge step in changing the thinking in Washington.”

Brownsville residents Doug and Candy Hodgson said they came to get answers from Farenthold on his position on key issues, citing changes in health care as one of their main concerns.

"I want to talk to Mr. Farenthold and find out whether or not he’s going into fall into line with the other Republicans on Obamacare," Doug Hodgson said.

Farenthold did address Obama’s healthcare program: “We in the House of Representatives voted to repeal it and start over again. There’s no question we’ve got a problem with getting health care to the people we need to get healthcare to, but a massive federalization of the program, I don’t think is the answer.”

Farenthold said he tries to visit the communities in the Rio Grande Valley as often as possible when he is not in Washington.

“My job title is to represent," he said. "I’m committed to representing the Valley just as much as the rest of my district.”

Farenthold was scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon with the editorial board of The Brownsville Herald, but he did not appear for the meeting.