ELKHORN -- Sen. Ben Sasse stepped into a buzzsaw of opposition to the House Republican health care reform plan Friday along with sharp criticism of President Donald Trump's budget proposals during a contentious town hall meeting with more than 700 constituents.
Sasse was confronted by hostile questions and often interrupted by shouting or occasional boos as he stood alone on the Elkhorn South High School auditorium stage responding to inquiries during a noisy 90-minute session.
A vast majority of the participants who attended the early-morning event at the western edge of Omaha raised their hands when Sasse at one point asked how many people would prefer a system of socialized medicine.
"This is not representative of the Nebraska view," the Republican freshman senator said.
Earlier, when questions from the audience were critical of efforts by Trump and Congress to ease or erase a swath of environmental and financial regulations, Sasse suggested critics are "broadly out of step with 8 or 9 out of 10 Nebraskans."
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Despite the sharp clash of political views in the room, Sasse patiently and politely worked his way through questions for almost 90 minutes, extending the time that had been allotted for the town hall by almost a half-hour.
"The House bill is not a sufficient answer" to the nation's health care policy challenges, Sasse said. "The House bill is not going to be passed in its current form."
"The American health care system is terribly broken," the senator said.
"I am completely open to a diversity of solutions," he said.
As for government regulation, Sasse said it should be centered at the local and state level, not in Washington.
Sasse agreed with a questioner who said "we need to see the president's taxes" and suggested that "things that are said today, even from the Oval Office, are not always fact-based."
One questioner broke down in tears while criticizing health care and budget proposals that would "throw sick old people out on their own," remove needy people from Medicaid coverage and wipe out Meals on Wheels assistance for elderly people who often live alone.
Sasse said policymakers need to center more on in-home care so parents and grandparents can remain in their homes.
At one point, Sasse said he believes the investigation of Russian cyber intrusion in the United States "should be moving much faster."
"I want to understand all that Russia was trying to do in 2016," he said.
Sasse mounted the stage shortly after 8 a.m. dressed in khakis and shirtsleeves, with the cuffs rolled up. He carried a bottle of water and answered questions delivered by a long line of participants who took their turns at a microphone.
About 30 people still were standing in two lines when the 90-minute session ended.
One questioner wore a large sign that proclaimed: "America is great because of women, people of color, LGBT people, immigrants, people of diverse religions."
Most of the participants carried cards that allowed them to signal agreement or disagreement with an answer by holding them aloft. A few dozen chose to yell.Â
"Sir," Sasse said to one man in a red sweatshirt, "you keep shouting, but shouting doesn't help."
Sasse said he does not believe the United States spends too much on national defense and he believes the country "needs better vetting systems" to protect itself from would-be terrorists.
"The United States is not at war with Islam," he said, "but with people who would kill in the name of religion."
Sasse said entitlement reform should protect benefits for people who are retired or within 10 years of what had been considered to be the retirement age of 65 or so when the programs were instituted.
"He hears us, but I'm not sure he listens to us," Ania Szary-Berkowitz of Lincoln said following the event.
"For him to say, this is not what Nebraskans want" is concerning, she said. "We are Nebraskans."
Szary-Berkowitz praised Sasse for being respectful in giving people a microphone so that everyone could hear and be heard, but she said, "I'm worried he see things in black and white (and) it seems he is not willing to change much."
Interviewed by phone after the event, Sasse said: "It's democracy and it's important to hear from Nebraskans."
Sasse emphasized that "I have not taken any final position on the (House Republican health care) bill" and he is certain that the proposal championed by House Speaker Paul Ryan will evolve.