JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said Friday that he tries to be as accessible as possible to his Alaska constituents and frequently holds public meetings on specific issues.
The Republican said it’s not constructive to attend town hall meetings if their sole purpose is being “shouted down and shouted at.” Nationally, mainly GOP members of Congress have faced feisty town halls, and there have been protests and rallies at events they attend.
Sullivan spoke with reporters after addressing a joint session of the Alaska Legislature, saying his schedule is “aggressive in terms of outreach” when he is in Alaska.
A group rallied Friday outside the state Capitol, where Sullivan spoke. Protesters held signs touching on a range of issues, including support for Planned Parenthood and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Earlier this week, Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Lisa Murkowski, told state lawmakers she would not vote to defund Planned Parenthood or to repeal an expansion of Medicaid.
She said as long as the Legislature wants to keep expanded Medicaid, which has helped thousands of Alaskans, the state should have that option.
Murkowski also urged a deliberate approach to reworking the federal health care law.
Sullivan said Alaska’s health care system has unique challenges and that he wants to understand those in as much detail as possible before deciding how to approach addressing the law.
There are elements that he and Murkowski both see merit in preserving, such as allowing people younger than 26 to stay on their parents’ insurance and barring insurers from discriminating against pre-existing conditions.
Sullivan said his goal is to ensure that coverage continues for lower-income Alaskans who benefit from expanded Medicaid. But he said that’s a heated issue in the Senate.
He said funding for Planned Parenthood should instead go to community health centers that can help focus on women’s health issues.
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