Delaney returns to Jasper County

Returning to Jasper County just days after the first rounds of the Democratic Party presidential debates wrapped up, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, D-Maryland, reaffirmed his moderate stances on immigration policies and health care, while also touting his past experiences working with both major parties to find solutions.

Delaney, who stands out as the first Democrat to throw his hat in the 2020 race long before Iowans in all 99 counties began regularly listening to candidate stump speeches this past year, met with constituents Sunday morning in the club room of the Newton Hy-Vee.

Like his fellow Democrats, Delaney pitched what he perceived to be a divided country, a description that echoes the title of his book, “The Right Answer: How We Can Unify Our Divided Nation,” copies of which were displayed on a table or clutched in the hands of guests; Delaney had even autographed a few.

Health care remained a popular talking point. Delaney asserted he has no negative feelings toward Medicare, the second largest health insurance program in the country behind Medicaid, but clarified the proposed Medicare For All bill is “in many ways a dishonest use of the good name of Medicare.”

Rural communities, Delaney claimed, are getting older, which means the percentage of patients with Medicare or Medicaid at rural hospitals and health care providers are much higher, and the amount of commercial insurance patients is smaller.

“Which is why these hospitals are coming under pressure,” he said. “And the point is if you took all those commercial insurance payments and put them in at the Medicare rate, the hospitals will all close. That’s just a cold hard reality that no one wants to talk about.”

However, Delaney clarified he is not defending private insurance but said that half of U.S. citizens have private insurance, which “provides a lot of money to the health care system.” Delaney spoke in favor of Medicare Advantage, which he said provides more coverage with lower copays.

As president, Delaney said he would leave what’s working and fix what’s broken with the current health care system, such as the “tragedy” of uninsured Americans, the faults of Medicaid and the cost curve of health care. Starting over from scratch, he added, is a “terrible idea” that will lead to upheaval.

Asked how he would “bend the fences” between both parties, Delaney suggested a change in attitude might be a good start. A president should not “walk around acting like half the country is entirely wrong about everything they believe.” Instead, he said, a president should “wake up every day and try to unify the American people.”

Once ranked as the third most bipartisan member in the U.S. Congress, Delaney recalled his experience creating a bipartisan proposal to build trillions of dollars of infrastructure, supported by 40 Democrats and 40 Republicans, including heads from the most conservative and liberal caucus in congress.

“Compare that to this current president, who when (Nancy) Pelosi and (Chuck) Schumer go over to the White House to have a meeting about infrastructure — which is, like, everyone knows if we had the right leaders we can find common ground on infrastructure — he walks out of the room,” Delaney said.

Transitioning to immigration and border control, one guest said she was unsure what the Democrats’ stance is on the issue anymore. Speaking for himself, Delaney said he does not support open borders.

Instead, he is vying for comprehensive immigration reform, relating it to a bill he said almost passed in 2013. Delaney said that bill gave more money to border security and involved creating a pathway to citizenship for the “11 million undocumented residents” in the country.

“They gotta wait 13 years,” Delaney said. “If in 13 years they don’t commit a crime, they pay their taxes and they learn English, they can get citizenship in the United States of America. But while they’re waiting they have permanent legal status, so they can’t get deported.”

Delaney approved of asylum seekers but said laws should still be enforced.

“That doesn’t mean we should be inhumane. That doesn’t mean we should separate children. That doesn’t mean we should have the horrible conditions at this facility,” he said. “But what it does mean is we do have to support the laws of our country. And a lot of Democrats don’t want to say what I just said.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com