Congressman Panetta’s Townhall Calls for Action

U. S. Congressman Jimmy Panetta speaks to the overflow crowd, including dozens standing outside three doorways, at the Cambria Townhall Meeting

By Keith Pendleton

Cambria Community Services District staff  were quick to respond when an unexpected overflow crowd showed up to a town hall meeting conducted by Congressman Jimmy Panetta, (Democrat, CA-19) on March 20 at the Cambria Veterans Memorial Hall. They quickly staged more folding chairs in the auditorium, almost doubling the original setup. They brought in rolling executive desk chairs to line the walls next to the side exits. 

Panetta, who represents sections of San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties, was there to discuss the state of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid under the new administration. 

The 55-year-old Panetta, in his 5th Congress, was first elected in 2016. 

“This is my eleventh town hall since February 1,” he said. “Our goal is to create a groundswell of support to provide checks and balances to this new presidential administration in 2026. We’re focusing on capturing both chambers of the legislature for the mid-terms. I realize there is a world of hurt in the short term that must be addressed. And we, the Democratic Party, are fighting back on several fronts, whatever it takes, depending on the type of attack.

“We are holding these town hall meetings to get the word out about the Democratic Party’s response to a dizzying Trump 2.0’s chaotic megaphone velocity flooding the zone with so much controversy to keep their opponents off balance. We get it. The Democratic Party is not the best about communicating the tireless work we’ve been doing to keep this president in check.

“Make no mistake, this president who disavowed knowledge of and participation in Project 2025 is most certainly following that playbook very closely and we are keeping score. We are following their actions, as disparate as they are flung about, and answering with judicial review, messaging and behind-the-scenes confrontations.   

Panetta said that Trump’s claims that there is no planned overhaul of Social Security and Medicare is a “lie.” 

“What they won’t tell you is they pretend to have no plans to cut benefits, but they are dismantling the department by the chaotic firing of probationary employees, supposedly with cause, and employee buy-outs. They are further planning to close 47 Social Security field offices across the country.” 

In a recent virtual townhall Panetta was joined by former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley who explained how the system worked. He shared improvements made during the Biden presidency where call wait times to Social Security were cut to 12 minutes. With the new administration the call wait times are already more than double at 31 minutes. He cited employee confusion as the cause for the increase.

Panetta elaborated saying that the Department of Government Efficiency head Elon Musk, called Social Security a Ponzi scheme, but that he has no idea of how the system works. 

“Republicans say they want to privatize Social Security,” Panetta said, “as if it is a retirement program with money paid-in sitting there growing interest waiting to pay-out as retirement benefits. Current yearly receipts are paying that same year’s new batch of retirees.” 

It works more like a government expenditure policy than a retirement fund. Panetta insisted Trump and Musk are trying to wreck the system so there will be such an outcry about the failure that Republicans will gladly replace it with a privatized option. They want to wreck it to rob it, but there is nothing to rob.

“They say democracy is like blowing your nose,” Panetta said. “We have to do it, and it will be messy but if we don’t, things will only be worse. The public cannot get distracted. I know the power of the federal government to help people. That’s why I am here. I honestly see the necessity to make government more responsive to the needs of citizens and follow-through with that help.”

Panetta said he and others are continuing to fight back in five ways: investigation, litigation, communication, legislation and mobilization.

“Democrats must bring Elon Musk to accountability,” Panetta said. “He has no authority to do anything his Bro Trump has him doing, if Trump is even actually controlling this chain-saw wielding autocrat. Congress needs to force Musk to testify, to question what he is doing and by what authority is he doing it.” 

Panetta said more disclosure is needed including what is happening with personal sensitive information citizens have given to government agencies? Why is personal citizen data being found on DOGE personal devices, of “rogue unaccountable auditors?”

“There are over fifty cases brought before the courts through due diligence of Democratic members of Congress, government workers and the American Civil Liberties Union standing up for their rights that have been won,” he said. “Judges have reigned in the president and his accomplices.” 

Senate vs. the House

Panetta also spoke about the budget vote and the Continuing Resolution that Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer cast his vote with the GOP allowing it to pass.. CRs are temporary spending bills that allow federal government operations to continue when final appropriations have not been approved by congress and the president. Without final appropriations or a continuing resolution, there could be a lapse in funding that results in a government shutdown.

“The leadership messaging in the U. S. Senate was incoherent,” Panetta said. “Schumer gave conflicting messages. His own colleagues were blind-sided. He said he was against the CR but then at the last minute told the media he would vote for it without [guiding] other democrats. Nobody wanted to shut the government down. But most Democrats felt there was room to negotiate over their major concerns.

“This law gave the president baskets of laws to rescind. No more line-item-veto. Whole baskets of laws by congress could be set aside by the president in this bill for the first time.” 

The Congressman opined that Congressional Republicans and Trump wanted the government to shut down. “Then one leg of government could keep the whole federal government shut down and they could do whatever they wanted for as long as they wanted. Schumer could not trust the president with that power. In every other instance of government shutdown everyone worked like crazy to put a funding resolution together quickly to keep things running with as little pause as possible. 

“There are horrific consequences of a government shutdown. Schumer was not willing to take that chance to give Trump carte-blanche to wreck the processes of the government for as long as they wanted. So, the lead agency, the U.S. Senate, voted differently than the House. Then the infighting within the Democratic Party became the distracting news instead of the real vital underlying issues. The resulting budget bill enacted as a result is nothing more than a package to cut programs for the tax-paying citizens so that billionaires could receive an even deeper tax cut. Believe me, this president does not care one bit for the interests or welfare for the average citizens.

“Thomas Jefferson said, ‘The government you elect is the government you deserve.’ Can democracy withstand such an onslaught? Well, it is up to you, the citizens, to learn about the inner workings of government and vote accordingly.”