Congressman Dan Meuser meets with Chamber members & protesters in city

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA9) met with local protesters at the Lebanon County municipal building prior to delivering remarks to county business leaders at a Lebanon Valley Chamber of Commerce luncheon held at Lebanon City Hall on Thursday, May 29.

Meuser meets with critics at courthouse

Meuser said the 75-minute meeting with the protestors was quite civil.

“They offered questions and had comments that were important to them, and frankly, important to me,” Meuser said.

Michael Schroeder, one of the organizers of the protest group “Mondays with Meuser,” concurred with congressman’s comment, noting there was a great dialogue exchange.

Read More: ‘Where’s Dan?’ Local protesters push for meeting with Congressman Dan Meuser

He said the group and Meuser discussed concerns about proposed changes to healthcare benefits, the “slashing of government services under DOGE” (Department of Government Efficiency), and actions by President Donald Trump that the protestors believe are unconstitutional.

“We did not agree on a lot of things, but that’s okay,” Schroeder said. “This was an opportunity for a representative leader to hear a perspective that he rarely hears.” 

Schroeder said the group has held protest rallies each Monday (except Memorial Day) and on two Saturdays since March 24. Those protests have called for Meuser to hold a town hall-style meeting with constituents and to keep his oath to protect and defend the U.S. Constitution, according to Schroeder.

Meuser represents Bradford, Columbia, Lebanon, Montour, Northumberland, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, and Wyoming counties.

Meuser said during a press conference following the chamber event that a comment was made at his meeting with the protestors calling Trump, Republicans, and him “Nazis.”

“At the end, unfortunately, I shouldn’t discuss this, but I will. There was a reference that I and Republicans and President Trump were Nazis. And I didn’t appreciate that because a Nazi is an animal of a human. And murderers and the worst of types of people. That sort of language is hateful, and hatefulness can lead to violence,” he said.

Schroeder told LebTown that he didn’t think Meuser’s comments were accurate, and said that the word Nazi was not stated by anyone in his group.

Schroeder said he expressed concerns during the meeting that Trump has turned the U.S. government into a neo-facist regime and stated that it’s the job of Congress to defend the Constitution as a co-equal branch of government. Schroeder said there were then comments from “Meuser’s end of the table” that included a statement that “you are making us out to be a bunch of fascists.” Schroeder told LebTown one of his group members responded under her breath, “well, you are one.” Meuser responded that he wasn’t going to tolerate that kind of insult and left the room, bringing what was described as an otherwise productive meeting to an abrupt end.

Schroeder said his group will continue to protest on Mondays at the Lebanon County municipal building until Meuser meets publicly with his constituents and Congress begins to defend the U.S. Constitution from what he said are the president’s unconstitutional and illegal actions.

Meuser speaks to community leaders

Meuser discussed a number of federal issues, including Trump’s tax and spending bill, workforce development, Medicaid, and child care costs during remarks to chamber members at the organization’s congressional luncheon held at Lebanon City Hall.

Meuser said the tax and spending bill recently passed by the House is “not the end, it’s the beginning,” adding “there’s a lot in it and there’s a lot more to do” to get it passed.

Medicaid

Meuser said an audit is needed to remove those who don’t deserve to receive federal healthcare benefits. 

“Medicaid has gone up, we’re at the expense of Medicaid, in the last five years, pre-COVID, 2019, 2018, from basically $600 billion a year to $940 billion,” Meuser said. “The other thing is, and what was brought out wasn’t necessarily my idea, but it existed in the past, under the Clinton administration, they had work incentives.”

Meuser added that individuals who are between 18 and 60 years old, have no dependents, disabilities, not expecting, and don’t have a doctor’s waiver would have to work a minimum of 20 hours a week in order to continue to receive Medicaid benefits. Georgia is the only state that currently has Medicaid worker requirements.

“There’s no other cuts to disabled communities, there’s no cuts to social workers and there shouldn’t be any other cuts to hospitals, particularly if savings are realized,” he said. “It should strengthen the plan for those who need it, and all the while root out potential waste, abuse and fraud.”

America’s biggest problem

During a question-and-answer session with chamber members, Meuser said the biggest problem is the national debt, currently at $1.8 trillion. Meuser added that the country needs to focus on “must have versus what it would be nice to have,” and there would have to be some cuts along the way.

“We’re going to be paying service on the debt of $900 billion, if not a trillion dollars, this year,” he said. “Just service on the debt … we’re spending $7 trillion a year where we were at $4.6 trillion five years ago. Fortunately, revenues have gone up really well, almost 40 percent, but not as much as spending has gone up.”

Workforce development

Meuser said there’s funding availability for vocational and trade schools. An aide noted there’s also an expansion of 529 savings accounts to allow those accounts to be utilized for vocational career technical schools. Meuser stated he believed the proposal would permit up to $5,000 to be placed into a savings account for a child’s education.

Read More: Chamber’s 2025 State of the County focuses on needs of local workforce

Child care costs

A question was asked about the rising cost of child care and what Congress is doing to address it in the new proposed spending bill. 

Meuser said the amount of the full child tax credit was increased a little bit, but not enough to change anybody’s life – adding $500 to the tax credit. Meuser also reiterated the expansion of 529 savings accounts for educational purposes.

Meuser noted a working group has been formed to discuss this issue and invited the Lebanon area chamber to participate in it. Chamber president Karen Groh publicly accepted Meuser’s invitation.

Groh said annual child care costs are about $11,000 in Lebanon County per child, with the average child care worker earning about $12.50 an hour.

“That really prohibits families from having both parents back at work,” said Groh. “To pay child care workers higher, you would have to raise the rates on parents, which makes it even more unaffordable.”

Meuser for governor?

When asked by the press concerning his intentions to run for governor of Pennsylvania, Meuser said he plans to make an announcement by the end of June or early July. Meuser said he’s held discussions with Trump about a possible gubernatorial bid, and he needs to decide what’s best for his family. Meuser said he changes his mind daily on whether to run.

On Friday, Trump was quoted by The Hill saying that he would support Meuser if he ran for governor in 2026. 

Meuser said he was elected to implement federal policies but added he wants to do what’s best for state residents.

“It’s really about a plan for Pennsylvania, and I think Governor Shapiro has a plan for Pennsylvania Avenue, not for Pennsylvania,” he said.