Mrvan warns of increasing extremism by redistricting in front of large Portage crowd

U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan made some jabs at the Trump administration and the Republican leaders in Congress while answering constituents’ questions about redistricting, immigration and other issues on Wednesday at a Portage town hall meeting.

“They are masters at distraction,” he said.

Mrvan, who sits on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said the legislation President Donald Trump referred to as his Big Beautiful Bill was anything but that. The legislation bypassed the Appropriations process, where “our goal is to be able to find common ground,” Mrvan, D-Highland, said.

As a result, 270,000 Hoosiers will lose Medicaid benefits, he said.

“Senior citizens who are in nursing homes are at risk because that benefit may not continue,” Mrvan said. People will disabilities could suffer, too.

“There is a perfect (storm) where Indiana is short on funding and the federal government is cutting funds,” Mrvan said.

Employers offer health insurance plans with high deductibles because that’s what they can afford, and employees with insurance go to federally qualified health care centers to receive treatment.

Fewer providers means decreasing access and longer waits, he said.

“I would not sell my soul for the reduction of benefits” for Hoosiers, Mrvan said.

Another provision of Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill was to provide income tax relief. Tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations, “that lasts for infinity,” he said, while the provision to eliminate taxing tips, while affecting a sliver of the population, expires in 2028.

“So for four years, all I heard was the deficit, the deficit, the deficit, the deficit,” Mrvan said, referring to Republicans during former President Joe Biden’s administration. But this legislation made the deficit far worse.

“You have to win the majority to make that change,” he said. Democrats being in the minority in both the House and Senate reduces their ability to influence public policy.

With an eye on the mid-term elections next year, Trump is pushing Republican states like Indiana to redistrict to deliver more seats in the House of Representatives to the GOP.

“You are, beyond a shadow of doubt, going to increase extremism,” Mrvan said, when gerrymandering to make states even more blue or red than they already are.

Mrvan said tornadoes factor into the redistricting discussion in Indiana.

After some severe storms with small tornadoes this spring and people needing relief, Trump called Gov. Mike Braun and offered $15 million in federal aid, Mrvan said. That conversation included redistricting efforts.

Then, Vice President JD Vance visited Indianapolis along with House and Senate leaders. On Tuesday, Republican leaders in the Indiana General Assembly and other legislators went to the White House, ostensibly to discuss education, energy and Social Security. “They’re not talking about adding Social Security. They’re talking about either privatizing it or cutting it,” Mrvan warned.

The talk that White House officials gave Tuesday included redistricting, “Trump policies, and how great Indiana is,” Mrvan said.

“You can run but you cannot hide from the American voters,” he said. “In my humble opinion, it is a self-destructive board game.”

When one state is already heavily Republican, and you punish one state and reward another, “you no longer have the United States,” Mrvan said.

He gets asked often if he’s worried about his re-election chances. “As an elected official, I worry about my district. I worry about the people in my district, and I make sure I worry about them.”

“I do not work for the president. I do not work for Biden,” he said. “It is a separate form of government on purpose.”

“I do what is best for my district on each and every policy,” Mrvan said.

Policies decided in the past are often overlooked.  “People sometimes have short-term memories,” he said.

The American Rescue Plan Act, which was passed during the Biden administration, gave more than $1 billion to Indiana. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb turned it into READI money, providing grants for projects with major regional significance.

All those warehouses along I-65? READI money. Corporations and warehouses and cold storage put people to work, Mrvan said.

Mrvan noted his Republican colleagues voted against the federal law but were present to cut the ribbon for the projects anyway.

The northern part of the First Congressional District is heavily industrial, but the south is heavily agricultural. Mrvan noted the federal infrastructure spending package enacted during the Biden administration included improving internet reliability in rural areas. Combines and other farm vehicles now use WiFi to plant, fertilize and harvest with precision, he noted.

“That’s why I work in a bipartisan way,” he said. Despite redistricting, “I still am going to have my hand out and say how can we fix these problems.”

One of the top questions he’s asked, Mrvan said, is, “What are your plans for this administration trying to take over our democratic way of life?”

Trump has a habit of acting like he has the power to do anything he wants, then challenging the courts to rein him in when he takes illegal actions, Mrvan said.

“You consistently have to fight that issue after issue after issue after issue,” Mrvan said.

Members of Trump’s Cabinet have proved problematic, too. Mrvan recalled interviewing the energy secretary about major projects in Northwest Indiana. The secretary “looked me in the eye and said we’re going to work with you,” but months later proved otherwise when the Trump administration pulled tax credits for the Midwest hydrogen hub project.

“We have to be able to hold them accountable. And when you’re in the majority, you can do that,” Mrvan said. Elections have consequences.

“Everywhere I go, from the supermarket to the gym, everywhere I go, people talk to me about this,” he said, trying to make sure we don’t have an authoritarian regime.

Turning to immigration, Mrvan said, “We need a safe, secure, and humane immigration policy.”

Mrvan backs bipartisan legislation, torpedoed by Trump during the Biden administration, to secure borders, deal with people who are breaking the law and give them due process.

The shortage of work visas for farms and agricultural industries is driving up food prices. “They don’t have workers and production in time.”

“If they have less output, you’re going to pay more,” he said.

Mrvan also favors requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to show identification. “The appearance of ICE coming in in masks, unidentified, is not acceptable to me.”

Requiring ICE agents to identify themselves is a public safety issue. Without requiring identification, other individuals can exploit that loophole and do things that aren’t appropriate, he said.

“Behind the scenes, people understand that,” he said. “If you’re the great negotiator, don’t be afraid of the checks and balances.”

The Republican leadership in Congress called a recess a week early when pressure to release the Jeffrey Epstein files was mounting in late July, Mrvan said. That also delayed discussion of holding ICE accountable to Congress. “When we get back, will be we briefed on what those plans are?”

There should be sufficient technology and manpower to guard ports to block the flow of fentanyl to the United States, Mrvan said.

“Intimidation is not a way to govern in any facet. It benefits no one,” he said.