In the News

More than 110 residents of Fairfax and Prince William Counties attended Congressman Gerry Connolly’s town hall meeting, held September 5 at Westminster at Lake Ridge.

Much of the discussion during the two-hour session focused on issues and programs impacting seniors, including Social Security, Medicare, and scams.  But the discussion also focused on the use of chemical weapons and Connolly’s work with Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland to draft a resolution aimed at stopping Syria’s use of such horrific weapons.

Connolly was flanked by an expert panel that included representatives from the Social Security Administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Federal Trade Commission, and the AARP.  Connolly and the panelists spent much of the meeting fielding detailed questions from the attendees on issues affecting senior health care, federal programs, and the dangers posed by scam artists who prey on the elderly.

Connolly has held a town hall at the Lake Ridge site each year since taking office in 2009.  Along with other similar meetings held across the 11th Congressional District, Connolly regularly holds telephone town meetings, which allow many more citizens to participate without traveling to a central location.  The meetings often attract thousands of participants. The largest such meeting, held in August 2011, drew more than 12,000 participants from across Northern Virginia.