Oregon Public Broadcasting

About 300 people showed up for a town hall meeting with Congressman Peter DeFazio in Cottage Grove Wednesday.

Because of the crowd, the meeting was moved outside the community center to the parking lot.

While there were shouts and interruptions, for the most part the meeting was civil. KLCC's Rachael McDonald reports.

The crowd peppered DeFazio with questions about the health care plan. The Congressman spent a lot of time trying to dispel myths and remind people it's still a work in progress.

Some people got interrupted, like this man who says he can't get health insurance because of an injury.

Many in the audience were supportive of a single payer plan, which Defazio says is *not the proposal. Others were leery of any program run by the federal government.

After the town hall, Leslie Rubenstein said she appreciated that the meeting was moved outside to accommodate the overflow crowd.

Leslie Rubenstein: “And I was also pleased that there was only minor heckling. The crowd seemed to say shhh, let the Congressman speak. Let her ask her question."

DeFazio is holding more town halls this week and next throughout his district.