HAMLIN, PA — Like many Republican members of Congress, constituents of Rep. Tom Marino are asking him to hold a town hall meeting. So far, he has not done so, and there are no plans to hold one soon.

On February 27, a group of about 30 constituents stood outside his Wayne County office to demand a town hall meeting. They didn’t get one but they were able to meet—five at a time—with David Weber, Marino’s district director and deputy chief of staff.

In the small meetings, which the media were barred from attending, the discussion centered around the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many people have expressed concern that while Marino has indicated a desire to repeal the ACA, he has not outlined his vision of what type of program would replace it.

At one point Marino’s spokesperson Ryan Barton issued a statement about town halls and said Marino had hosted “many town hall meetings throughout our 15-county district” and he also hosted a number of telephone town halls that keep him connected to constituents.

It’s not clear when or if Marino plans to hold another town hall meeting. The plan by protest groups is to continue them in “Marino Mondays” events.

Senator getting the same treatment

Sen. Pat Toomey is getting the same demand statewide from his constituents in “Toomey Tuesday” actions. Voters in Pennsylvania want him to hold in-person town hall events, not meetings over the phone, where critics say he has the ability to cherry-pick the questions that are asked.

Two groups of activist voters invited him to attend a town hall event that they organized at a church in Allentown on February 21, but he declined to attend. They held it anyway, and there was a large turnout.

In Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Scranton and other cities in PA, protesters have organized weekly “Tuesday with Toomey” events, which highlight a specific issue each week. A post on the group’s Facebook page says, “We join together every Tuesday to ask Senator Toomey to listen and address the needs of all PA constituents.”

On Tuesday, February 21, Toomey invited five picketers in front of his Harrisburg office in for a discussion. Then two days later at his Pittsburg office he met with a small group of protesters who had been picketing that office weekly. One of the protest organizers said the meeting resulted in a “respectful exchange.”