Area residents will get the chance to talk to their congressman on Monday afternoon by way of a “Tele-Town Hall” telephone conference call.
U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, M.D., is hosting the Tele-Town Hall on Monday, Dec. 5, from 5-6 p.m.
During the conference call meeting, callers will be able to ask Roe questions and he will answer as many as he can, during the allotted hour, Roe staffer Tiffany Haverly said.
At the start of the call, Roe will take a few minutes to provide callers with an update of activity in Washington D.C., including recent legislation and votes. After the brief update, Roe will begin taking questions.
To ask a question to the Congressman, callers will be asked to dial *3 on their telephone dial pad. They will them be transferred to a staff member who will take their question.
“We do that to make sure that we can get to as many concerns as we can,” Haverly said.
When there is an issue that affects a lot of people, many callers may have the same question, Haverly said.
Having the questions taken down by staffers helps ensure that each question is only asked once and a variety of issues can be discussed.
“We only have an hour and he wants to hear from as many people as possible,” Haverly said of Roe. “That is his favorite part of these calls, getting to talk to the voters.”
Roe frequently holds these teleconference meetings to help him touch base with his constituency while he is working in Washington D. C., Haverly said.
The calls are just one way Roe works to keep his constituents informed of what is going on in Washington and answer their questions and concerns, Haverly said.
While the Tele-Town Hall conference calls provide an easy way to touch base with voters from the capital, the meetings do not replace the traditional town hall community meetings, Haverly said. Roe will continue to have traditional in person meetings when he is in the district, she added.
“This helps those who might not be able to make it out to a regular town hall meeting,” Haverly said.
Those who wish to participate in the Tele-Town Hall should call 1-877-229-8493 at 5 p.m. on Dec. 5 and enter ID code 19641. The number will not be a working number until the call is scheduled to begin, Haverly said.