SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Several different groups have been asking for in-person town hall meetings with their elected officials across the county, and Representative Kevin Kiley’s 3rd District in California is no different.

Kiley held a constituent town hall via a phone-in service on Monday evening with 25,000 people participating. He said he’s had them in the past, reaching out to a total of 53,698 people calling in previously.

‘This is the most important part of my job, the entirety of my job,” Kiley told those calling in.

With a district that runs the eastern part of California, covering ten counties, there are about 700,000 living in his boundaries. Many more than the 25,000 participants wanted to speak during the virtual town hall, and many of them got a message that stated “line is overwhelmed” when they attempted to call.

“Tonight Representative Kiley held a town hall with more than 25,000 constituents participating, answering a wide range of questions and even extending the session an extra half hour. We are working to schedule another as soon as possible so more constituents can provide input and ask questions. Regrettably, a small number of people using one method for joining the event were unable to connect because of a technical issue. That issue will be resolved for our next town hall,” said a spokesperson from Kiley’s office.

One by one, Kiley took questions from the public during the 90-minute session (extended by the original 60 minutes due to the call volume).

The calls asked questions about USDA forests, national parks, Social Security, Medicare, students with special needs, the stock market and the economy, Project 2025, water, and more.

One caller said she saw Kiley’s letter that he supported an increase in staffing levels for national parks, but asked why that action did not include the national forests. She asked, “We are close to the summer onslaught and are you working on anything on how to protect the land and the communities around the forest?”

Susan Chandler of the Lake Tahoe Democratic Club asked about the forests as well, stating he was protecting national parks, but 78 percent of the Lake Tahoe Basin is national forest land. “What will you do to keep them staffed and maintained?” she asked.

Kiley answered that he signed the extension of the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act last year, and that will unlock $300M in funding for the Basin for the next decade. “This will go a long way in protecting the lake for generations to come,” he said.

California has seven national parks, and 18 national forests but the congressman did not answer the question about the forests. Staff has been fired from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) and there is no ranger assigned to the heavily visited Desolation Wilderness, and summer hiring has been suspended. The impact is unknown as LTBMU is not allowed to answer questions and they are only directed to Washington, DC where no direct Lake Tahoe questions are answered.

“These forests are where your constituents come to use the public lands and people living near public lands are facing an economic fallout,” said a caller.

Kiley said he hadn’t heard of a ten percent cut to the USDA Forest Service staffing levels, but he’s watching the cuts. He said getting resources to the US Forest Service is a high priority and “we will continue to make sure we advocate for it.”

Kiley was a co-sponsor with two dozen other members of Congress on the Fix Our Forests Act. This act bypasses critical environmental laws that protect ecosystems and restricts scientific input and public engagement, but it does promote logging and other fireshed management practices to reduce the risk of wildfire.

The congressman said they need money released for forest safety projects but DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is holding them up. “I have raised concerns with our narrow time frames. We need to get projects moving forward,” said Kiley. He said he is conveying to the administration that grant funds have to be released on forest safety project.

One caller named Melissa asked about families with special needs kids and their need for Medicaid and special education financing where a large percentage comes from the federal government. Kiley’s mom was a special education teacher, so he said he said he understood the need to continue funding their programs. “We need to make sure we are protecting those funds and it gets to students who need it,” said Kiley.

The congressman criticized California Governor Newsom and the state’s high taxes on gas, a failed train system, and the failure to store water.

A caller said they were concerned about water in northern California with four dams recently decommissioned. The PG&E-owned Scotts Dam and Cape Horn Dam are set to be decommissioned by the company as part of the Potter Valley Project.

“I will look into the situation closer,” said Kiley. He said California failed to build needed water infrastructure and referred to an empty reservoir and no water in fire hydrants in Los Anegles during the recent fires.

“We need new water storage in this state and need to save water when we get it,” said Kiley during the call. He said hundreds of millions of dollars are headed to Colusa and Glenn counties near Chico, California for water projects.

Another caller asked about fire insurance and the skyrocketing costs, and Kiley said the Fix Our Forests Act will help protect communities. He said people will be able to have deductions on their taxes for home-hardening projects. “The most important thing we can do is forest management,” said Kiley.

Other callers during the virtual town hall concerned Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. “We need to protect Social Security and Medicare, and preserve Medicare funding for legal residents,” said Kiley. He highlighted the California issues with the large deficit in funding the medical program for illegal immigrants.

“Are you standing up for it, or what are you doing?” said one caller about NATO and the falling stock market.”

“There has been some volatility in the market, but a survey just said we are on the right track,” said Kiley in response to the stock market. “A lot of good changes to the border (reduced illegal crossings by 95 percent in February he said),” He said there are signs of optimism in the economy.

Kiley said he supports keeping Social Security and will “fight to protect those benefits.” He said seniors will start seeing more money. “I am protecting Social Security and benefits, and the Social Security Fairness Act.” This protects benefits, stating he will fight against his own party so seniors could get access to their benefits.

Kiley said being a sanctuary city, isn’t beneficial to California and it “hasn’t done us any favors.”

Callers told the congressman they are concerned about the dismantling of NOAA and the National Weather Service (NWS), and how important these services are in light of extreme weather. Just that day there were two unusual tornadoes near Sacramento. Kiley said the NWS is important and “I believe climate change is a factor in these extreme weather situations, but I don’t agree climate change is the only factor in wildfires.”

“We need effective forecasts,” said a caller.

Kiley bashed California on high unemployment rate, high gas prices, wages not being increased as in other states, “highest poverty rate” due to the cost of living, and said he will make sure “we are fighting for workers and the kind of economy where everyone can thrive.”

“I’m fighting for the direction of our country, our state, and our district,” said Kiley.

There is an in-person town hall scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Lake Tahoe Community College Aspen Room. Organizers said they invited Rep. Kiley but he already had events in South Lake Tahoe scheduled. The Town Hall will still take place