AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Well, Congress' month-long recess is coming to a close, and lawmakers will soon return to D.C. after spending some time back home with constituents. And in this final stretch of summer recess, NPR's Barbara Sprunt went to town halls in two very different districts in Missouri and Ohio to see what's on people's minds. Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA SPRUNT, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: OK, let's start in west central Missouri, where I understand you visited the district of Congressman Mark Alford. He's one of the few House Republicans who even held town halls this month, right?
SPRUNT: Yeah, that's right. And the ones that we've seen before have gotten pretty contentious. And Congressman Alford didn't just hold one town hall. He did 15 this week. And he told me he was a little nervous. You know, we've probably all seen the really tense confrontational videos that can come from these events, but he said he thinks they're important to do.
MARK ALFORD: That's where I gain insight. The better listener I can be, the more effective voice I can be.
SPRUNT: And ultimately, you know, there were some heated moments and exchanges, but it didn't devolve into this unending shouting match that we've come to expect. You know, he thanked people for coming who disagreed with him. He made sure to let people say their piece. It was a much more respectful atmosphere than we've seen.
CHANG: OK, well, that's good to know.
SPRUNT: Yeah.
CHANG: What kinds of questions did his constituents bring up?
SPRUNT: People asked about the National Guard being deployed in D.C., wondering if they'd be sent to blue cities in Missouri next. President Trump has threatened to send the force into other Democratic-led cities like Chicago and Baltimore. Alford supported the D.C. deployment, but said he has questions about whether sending them to other cities would be appropriate.
And in what feels like the original point of town halls, people brought their own personal stories. A veteran at one event, Jeff Carneal, shared that he was without a specialty nurse in the spinal cord and brain injury unit at the VA because of an earlier hiring freeze this year. He's an independent voter, and he says he wants to see Alford be more aggressive in pushing back on the administration.
JEFF CARNEAL: Try and say this respectfully. I think he's just toeing a line. Whatever Donald Trump says - yes, sir, master. And I wish he wouldn't be that way. I voted for him, you know? I've met the man. He seems very nice. If things change, yes, I will vote for him if he stands up to Donald Trump.
CHANG: OK, well, I'm wondering - a big achievement for Republicans this summer was, of course, passing President Trump's tax and spending bill. So did that come up at all?
SPRUNT: It did. A big thing the legislation does is extend the 2017 tax cuts. And Alford told constituents the bill ensures their taxes won't go up. But he acknowledged it's kind of a hard message. You know, it's tough to sell people on the fact that something didn't happen, like their taxes going up. And Congressman Alford said even the name of the bill can turn people off.
ALFORD: There's a lot of dissension and divisiveness in politics, and I have been guilty in the past. I'm trying to choose my words more carefully and not trigger - you notice tonight I didn't say One Big Beautiful Bill. I'm saying H.R. 1 because I want people to listen to what I'm saying. Once they hear One Big Beautiful Bill, they stop listening.
CHANG: OK, well, Alford's district is very red. But the next day, I know you traveled to a very, very different district in northeast Ohio, which is represented by Democrat Emilia Sykes, right? What was the message there?
SPRUNT: You know, it's interesting because her message is different not just from Republicans but from a lot of Democrats as well. She represents a toss-up district. It's a big target for Republicans to flip. And right from the get-go, she told everyone she has to acknowledge that the district split for President Trump and Kamala Harris. So she was open about the idea that she's going to focus on what she can do for constituents instead of making it all about being against Trump.
CHANG: That is NPR's Barbara Sprunt. Thank you so much, Barbara.
SPRUNT: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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