2,691 participate in Burns’ Telephone Town Hall meeting
Constituents favor drug tests for welfare recipients, posting of ‘In God We Trust’
Rep. Frank Burns August 31, 2016 | 11:26 AM
EBENSBURG, Aug. 31 – Overwhelming majorities of respondents to polling conducted during state Rep. Frank Burns’ Telephone Town Hall meeting Tuesday night supported positions he’s staked out representing the 72nd Legislative District.
Burns said he was not surprised by results, gleaned from 2,691 who participated in at least part of the meeting, which showed:
-
A whopping 98 percent believe welfare recipients should be required to take drug tests and prove U.S. citizenship.
-
95 percent think schools should be allowed to post the national motto “In God We Trust.”
-
85 percent support Burns’ proposal to make assaults on law enforcement officers a hate crime.
-
57 percent say Pennsylvania should not accept Syrian refugees, with another 38 percent saying they should be accepted only after rigorous vetting.
“These responses fall in line with the values and positions of the majority of those I represent in Harrisburg,” Burns said. “It also was a pleasure – and democracy in action – to field questions from constituents during the Telephone Town Hall.”
During the hour-long meeting, where people participated by staying on their phone line when the 7 p.m. call came through, Burns answered inquiries on property taxes, the drug problem, the state pension crisis, welfare fraud, job creation, the minimum wage, natural gas, buying American goods and helping seniors in need.
Burns said the results will help sharpen his focus when conducting legislative business, and he looks forward to adding additional Telephone Town Hall meetings to his repertoire of constituent outreach.
Click here to listen to Burns’ Telephone Town Hall in its entirety.