outsourcing those jobs to arkansas. they would not be in the mon valley. i will fight for those jobs. >> what you said is the opposite of what i said. i said it was because of regulations that those jobs left. we lost those jobs because of you. show me a place where you stood up. you are a weak senator, a liberal senator, a career politician who wants to have it both ways. sen. casey: why don't you show some strength and support the border bill? number two, he's talking a good game about u.s. steel.

this is the guy that bet against u.s. steel, bet on chinese steel companies, non-american. >> u.s. surgeon general says the mental health crisis among young people is an emergency and social media has emerged as an important contributor. mr. mccormick, you called for a social media ban for kids under 16. how would you impose penalties on companies that don't comply? mr. mccormick: this is one of many possible contributors to a mental health crisis and i know social media companies are beginning to think about how to have approvals and buttons that allow parents to be more involved in turning off social media and there's evidence to suggest this poses a problem to mental health but there's a bigger mental health crisis than social media. it's happening across the country and with veterans. since senator casey has been in office, there's been 20 years of

22 veterans today killing themselves. this is unthinkable and indefensible. if i get to the senate, i will focus on veterans mental so 20 two a day are not killing himself. this is part of the reason we have a public problem with veterans. it says a lot about the country. >> your colleague, senator blumenthal, supports similar legislation. do you support any restrictions on children using that? >> i do and i just voted for the bill. at the same time, i also have a strong record of supporting v.a. health care every time he comes

up for a vote, and also one of the senators working to pass the packed act. it's a great achievement. on social media, though, here is the difference. i voted for that bill but here is the difference. this is a candidate who invested his own personal money in a website deplatforms hate, holocaust denial and anti-semitism. that's not good for anyone of any age to look at and there's no question that young people see that. it was a bad investment. i don't know why he continues to make money off of that kind of a platform. >> you will each now have a chance for a closing statement. mr. mccormick, we will begin with you. mr. mccormick: this is the most important election of our lifetime. our country and our commonwealth is in trouble. we have wide-open borders and a weak economy. america is going in the wrong

direction. skyrocketing prices are putting enormous pressure on families. i'm a political outsider, businessman, west point graduate and combat veteran from iraq. i want to make sure the america i love is available for all my children. bob casey is the problem. he is a weak leader. bob casey is a career politician. he went to the senate to change washington and washington changed bob casey. he has voted for borders being open and for not funding the border patrol. he has voted for all these wild spending bills under biden and harris, which have led to an increase in prices. he has been soft on crime and on china. he has voted for tax hikes for workers. bob casey actually voted for

biological males to be able to compete in women's sports. you are a liberal and this is not the bob casey you elected for office 30 years ago. we need commonsense leadership that will secure the border and get the economy back on track and keep america safe. our commonwealth deserves change. i would be honored to get your boat. sen. casey: thank you for this opportunity. every day i have been a senator, i have gone to work for the people of our state, fighting for working families, seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, and i have a strong record on all those issues. i have voted to invest in strategies that will secure the border and invest in the middle class. while i was doing that and working on behalf of the people of our state, this guy was running the largest hedge fund in the world, investing in china. he increased investments in

china by 108,000%. he invested in china's military. he invested in a company in china that made 90% of the fentanyl in china. he invested in chinese oil companies. he managed money for president xi and saudi oil companies. all of those investments hurt pennsylvania and continue to hurt pennsylvania. the voters in the state have a clear choice. we can vote for a candidate who will vote against union rights, women's rights and workers rights and voting rights or for me, who is going to protect those rights and win like i have. i respectfully ask for the vote of the people of pennsylvania on november 5. >> we are grateful both of you joined us. that concludes our debate. thank you. election day is november 5. polls in pennsylvania are open

not only is said that deadly on a country but instead allows it to continue to grow. i passed hr two.

i would like to see real action on it in a bipartisan way. the challenges the president will not change the border. >> what can you do to stop the flow. >> then again, this is a tragedy in our country for a number of people that lose their lives to this drug. for all the families that have been affected by this. my heart goes out to you. it is unfortunate that here in our country we have not stopped the flow of fentanyl. it can identify drugs like fentanyl coming through vehicles it is key for this to make it happen. we can find a way to stop it. there is no question we have to solve this issue. >> foreign policy is top of mind right now for so many iowans based on various complex happening world wide. what do you think is the biggest

foreign threat to our country right now. >> i thank you for this question serving in the iowa national guard for a years including a deployment to afghanistan. i know what it's like to go overseas for my country. i spent an entire year serving in afghanistan and a small team base where only 40 or 50 as full-time soldiers looked out for each other supporting each other. had each other's backs. the reality is spending 8400 hours on the ground there at afghanistan. for the conflicts we continue to see around our world, it is really hard. i fought in a war. to see the conflicts we have right now is unjust war crime in russia, the conflicts in the middle east. we also have a conflict here with china in iran. we have to make sure we go after

these threats had on and stand together. give a chance and have a strong national defense. >> you now have 60 seconds. >> thank you. the biggest deterrent threats are peace through strength. something they have done very admirably in the last several decades. both my opponent and i have been in from afghanistan to iraq flying operations off the coast of russia towards counterintelligence missions. it is one of the reasons i led the bill to help provide the largest troop pay increase for our forces that are on the front line. tragically in our most recent debate we had kamala harris say no americans are in harm's way. say that to the three goldstar families that lost their lives. the reality is we failed to

withdraw from afghanistan opened up a disastrous withdrawal of american deterrence in the world stage. russia, iran, china. the most dangerous on the anniversary of october 7. we have to recognize it like with israel we must face it together. our military forces are on the front line of doing it. helping to fund and pay for this >> yesterday marked one year since the hamas attack on israel where more than 1100 people were killed and 250 people were kidnapped. since then, tensions have only escalated with growing humanitarian concerns in gaza. should the u.s. get involved in stabilizing the region as more countries join the fight? >> last night i joined with families of the iowa capital. leading a two or just weeks after the tragic event in israel happened. making clear that what happens in israel could happen right here in america if we do not stand unified. israel has a right to defend itself. it is one of the reasons why it

stood shoulder to shoulder with the israelis as they defend their country. we saw of american hostages being held by hezbollah and hamas today. the reality is until hamas is able to give back those innocents and continues to hold not just americans and israeli hostages, they will hold palestinians hostage. now we see lebanon going in the same boat. i will be very clear. the number one funder of terrorism in the world. killing countless members of the u.s. troops. stopping hamas, stop has blocked and stopped the rebels and stand with israel. >> just to clarify, both sanctions that you talk about, without be the actions that you take to stabilize the region? >> it is a comprehensive effort. it is the first step in protecting israel. we just saw what the rejection of over 200 missile systems.

leading allies both arab, jewish and european to defend that country. they are very important. the third piece is a diplomacy conversation. sadly we have seen that biden has no credence left to israel at all. refusing to meet with the u.s. they are drifting farther away as a result. >> just a question to you. should the u.s. be involved in stabilizing the middle east as the work continues to escalate? >> i believe we need to stand with our allies, where they are and when we need it. israel and ukraine. from what we saw happen a year ago when they viciously attacked israel. slaughtered nearly 1200 people. look hundreds of folks hostage. can you even imagine being a parent of one of those young folks that is held hostage today i think we need to make sure we

keep the eye on the ball here. they continue to hold these hostages. they have the ability to end this conflict by returning those hostages. at the same time. when i deployed to afghanistan, for an entire year i was there. i had rules of engagement card. we reviewed those every time we went outside the wire. it is important to us to make sure that international rules of law are followed and humanitarian aid gets into the places it needs to get to make sure innocent civilian lives are not harmed. >> now moving onto the topic of agriculture. you worked for the u.s. department of agriculture. the farm bill is now two years overdue. it has stalled over what should be included in that. what policy do you think needs to be included in the next farm bill and what would you be willing to compromise?

you have 60 seconds to respond. >> well, it was incredible. >> i'm willing to do that. i think it's really critical for us to make sure we pay attention what's in the farm bill. we pay attention to ensuring support for nutrition programs and making sure that we actually support our crops versus southern crops given the proposals here.

>> same question for you, what policy should be included in the next farm bill and what would you be willing to compromise on? >> i'm thankful for all the guys that are picking and harvesting tonight, thank you for what you do for our country. >> i'm thrilled to have over 87,000 farmers endorses my team. this is why. we have lead in ag committee, we have passed bipartisan legislation. even though i'm a freshman on the committee, five-year opportunity than any other member on the committee. making sure young and beginning farmers have an opportunity to start farm. puppy mills on iowa are being

sued. the reality is right now the house has moved forward. it takes two to tango. both sides working together in a lame-duck session. >> access to private school and that includes tax credits. during your time in the state legislature, you voted for taxpayer dollars to help some iowans pay for private school tuition. this is not to take away from public schools.

it's to complement education in all of its forms. whether that's home school, charter, public or private. during my time in the state legislature we passed increases for public schools every single year i was there. democrats cut 10%. we do it judiciously. ultimately, i want to see out local school boards and local legislature driving these courses. >> if you were elect today congress would you take federal action to prevent public school programs? >> let's make sure we are clear on this because education is one of the top issues i hear about.

listening to islands, the school voucher bill, terrified of it especially in rural communities. i think they are scared of this. the surrounded communities, you might have one grocery store, one pharmacy, one school, one doctor's office if you're lucky. so if you move that school because kids are no longer down there and they are going to a private school, you need the funding for that. you need the school, the place where folks gather after cross-country meet and place you gather ahead of pep rally on a friday night for a football game, you lose that community. that's where folks gather for the community. we are terrified of what the school voucher is going to do to our communities. >> we are now going to take a short break. when we come back we will hear

from students. >> we will be right back. >> we are live and it is a fast-growing area in the district. joining us tonight is a small group of students in both northwest high school and i wanted to give them the opportunity to ask the candidates some of their own questions and we begin this evening with students -- >> good evening. i'm junior here at northwest high school. according to nep, more than 70% of high school seniors report they have voice and opinion on political matter to legislator, voter data that the youth turnout from 2018 to 2022 decreased from 35 to 26%. my question is, how do you plan to increase youth participation

in activities? >> well, thank you for your question. i thank you for participating in this. this is incredible. there's no question that young folks like you who are the future of the state and country have an opportunity to make a difference here. i was a junior class president, and it takes a community to bring folks together, to have folks engaged and bring people out to events like this to make sure people are paying attention to the issues that matter and it varies from person to person so it's really important to make sure that people find their spaces in which they care about and willing and able to get out, advocate, to join, engage, to talk to folks who are in the public eye because you are the future of this. you are the ones look to do help lead us in our communities. that's really important for our young kids to do. so i really appreciate you doing

this now. it's really all hands on deck approach. the reality is that our youth vote is probably one of the most important thing that both we public service side as well as will it's something that you can do on social media and first of all, i salute you for being involved. one of the things i try to do is make sure that young people have the opportunity to vote earlier. if you will be turning 18 on election, sometimes it's too hard to get the register to take effect when you're 17. so making sure that our senior class has the ability 18 on election is one of the billsly help lead. making sure that your voice is

heard. it's so important to have a voice and have peers and community engaged that way. thank you for doing it. >> a question for alexis moore, student at milwaukee high school. alexis, go ahead with your question. >> good evening, candidates. i'm alexis moore. student body president, my question to you is, when considering your opponent's perspective in which aspects do you agree with them? >> great question. it's important question for our democracy. we both have a background of service and comes to national defense, i believe work together and across the aisle and shows historically and are taking care

of communities. in the senate democrats can pass anything they want. making sure family is taken care of with the bill i have. signed the law by president biden and now they are working very closely on veteran suicide because we are losing 22 veterans a day to veteran suicide more than the entire conflict in both afghanistan and iran. i am proud to be top 10 most bipartisan in congress. thank you. >> you have a chance to respond to her question. >> i alexis, thank you for standing up and thank you for what you're doing in your own

school. it's important that we find common ground. congress should be able to do the same thing too. i respect his years of service to the country in the military and areas we can agree. we can find ways to support our veterans and our service members. and when i served as the usda military veterans agricultural liaison, what an incredible opportunity to work with folks in active duty getting ready to transition out of military service and get into the civilian sector, helping them get engage and finding careers in agriculture, farming, ranching at the usda, i tried to hire them in my office. they have incredible skill set that we need to leverage and get them into good-paying jobs here in america. >> thank you, thank you to our students for participation. i am seeing a lot of tv

messaging right now. we are going to give you both an opportunity to respond to some of those claims. your work as presidential campaign in 2020 and criticism of former president donald trump through social media accounts. what's your response to those claims. >> i've been clear from the beginning here. i am honor today have had an opportunity to work at usda on programs that i just talked about. helping our veterans find jobs after what they have done in active duty military. deploying programs that matter to and ensuring that we have -- doing things like that give you sense of purpose and folks that contribute on that incredible work, working in communities all across iowa, all across the

countries, i commend that because they are making a difference. they are making a difference in the work that happens, farmers and ranchers have the ability when it comes to compare, rural communities have access to programs and rebuild their communities like usda. i don't have a -- i'm not hiding from any of that. >> we want to talk about a tv ad. your donors wrote 2025 and you support 2025 proposals eliminating the department of

education, what is your response to those claims? >> those things are absolutely false. as far as i understand it's a democrat talking point. the reality is you asked the question, a manned ai gave you an answer, a clear answer because being truth, being transparent, not blaming your staff when things are deleted is wrong. i believe that i will put iowans voices first. project 2025 is not who i am. i stood up to my own party. i refused to raise taxes on iowans. i stood up to leadership and said we weren't going to include -- so very important but always recognize we have to be honest, truthful, transparent with iowans and do the best to get the job done for them.

>> you mentioned if you like, you have 30 seconds to respond. >> i appreciate that congressman responding, project 2025 is already happening in the state with what he's already done with abortion. project 2025 goes even further with it and these are positions are the congressman has supported. abortion is banned in iowa because he layed the ground work for it. abortion banned in iowa is exactly what he wanted. he wanted an abortion ban and he got it. that is a project 2025 hallmark, it's in there. he wants to eliminate the department of education. that's another piece of project 2025. >> you have 30 seconds to respond. >> look, you spent your career and it's showing tonight. it needs to stop. let's be honest with iowans. we are always going to put you first, we have always led on issues that are important to

you. we have reinvested in our communities, we have recognized that education is important in all of its forms and empowered the state of iowa to do that. i trustee ions to give us playbook and make more healthy when we go to washington, d.c. and hold those folks accountable. >> gunman shot and killed a student and principal at a school, several other students were injured in this incident as well. according to the governor's school safety bureau, significant rise in the number of reported school threats since this school year began. what do you believe is the key to keeping iowa children safe when they go off to school each morning. begin with you. >> look, no parent, no family member, no one in our community can know what it's like to lose a child particularly as a result of school violence. every morning we put our six

kids on the bus and absolutely -- not only how do we keep them safe but how do we help guide them through a difficult world right now. i made it a priority to help secure our schools. helps funds, critical aspects, new technology to help protect our communities. additional mental health to be able to assist kids and families in time of need to enforce laws in the book and importantly to make sure that our law enforcement and our schools are trained and working together so if that horrible situation hams they are able to respond as we show-case bid the success of perry high school. more than what we can do in the area. parents of law enforcement that responded for saving more lives that could have otherwise been lost. >> i will let you respond, you have a daughter, school age,

what do you believe is the key to keeping our children safe at school? >> for the community of perry first, it's a devastating tragedy what happened in that school and it's unacceptable for any loss of life. i'm a public school dad. i went to public school myself. i take my daughter to school every single morning and get ready for breakfast and for any parent in this country in this state in this district, every single parent is worried about this. no parent should wonder if their kid is going to come home after school at the end of the day. that is a terrible thing to have in this country. there's no question about it. we have to find a way to solve this issue. there are common sense ways to do this. we can bring folks back together, we can find common ground here. it's important for us to do this. we can have red flag laws to make sure guns don't get in

lands of wrong people. we have to solve this issue. >> moving on now to the topic of health care. we will start with you. what do you feel the biggest challenges to health care access in rural iowa and what steps did you take to those address challenges. >> well, incredibly important to me. i am part of this generation where a number of years ago i started the process of helping my mom and dad enroll in social security and medicare. it's so criticalically important for so many iowans. we have to find a way. we should find ways to do this. affordable care act has covered 50 million people. medicare is a key program that helps folks get health care access and now medicare has the

ability to negotiate, that's really important here. folks, my dad had a stroke years ago. he didn't tell us that he stopped taking one of those drugs. >> you have mentioned wanting to eliminate social security and medicare, i want to ask you this question as well, but, first, could you address if you want to eliminate the program? >> again, absolutely false. >> we have come out time and time again we are in support of both social security and medicare. it's something that iowans have paid into. it's a right that they deserve. i made it clear that i will fight every single day in work and the work we've done. we should eliminate fraud and

abuse. i'm also disappointed that my opponent continues and check it out right now. nonlies.com and you will see fact checks and we've never said, this he continues to run commercials talking about 100% in support of social security and medicare. >> well, again, if you want to set the record straight the congressman is part of a group in washington, d.c., part of a group that has call today raise 70. folks, my mom worked at a factory. not just her but other machine operators. i can't imagine a scenario where we asked them to continue to work and 3 extra years before they get to retirement age to 70. that's hard for working families and people to do.

>> we do want to move on and continue talking about access. you were responding to the question but we did want to give you 30 more seconds to respond to the biggest challenge to rural health care and how you would address it. >> i think by and far it's access. we need to make sure that we prioritize this. hadley my father-in-law passed away with issues from diabetes. we have made priority of making sure that $35 but making sure that we have workforce available. i think we should be talking about solutions and not just back and forth about false claims of shadowing groups. >> next question. >> absolutely, 10 of the 21

counties in the third district are considered maternal healthcare deserts. what that means is a woman's access to obstetric care is nonexistent in the county. you have 60 seconds. >> look, it's not just our rural communities. it's right in the urban communities as well. we can do with 3 solutions, we need to be able to get the workforce out there that's needed. key doctors and loan forgiveness as well as act. they are line to go get into nursing programs is far too long. 21 counties every quarter and i stopped through my county hospitals. what they really mean is access to the key technology. particularly with the farm bill

and enhance broadband to make sure family particularly mothers have access to primary care provider when they need it or don't forget 3-hour drive is still a 3-hour drive. third and last, really making investment and the medications they need and making sure rural community have that doctor and support that community. >> i will give you the opportunity to respond, how would you have extend access for expecting parent? >> we would have to get more doctors into these communities, no question about it. the fact that we continue to see maternal care unit being closed across the state, that's unfortunate to see. i want to live here, work here, raise a family here, that's what i'm doing. the reality is, the fact that we don't have access to these maternity wards is a challenge. we have to increase the number of doctors. we also have to make sure that

iowa is a welcoming place for our physicians and with this abortion ban in the state, we are telling them that you are not welcome here, that you may be in a challenging situation if you're trying to provide health care for your patients and, again, that meant lay the ground work and abortion is not banned in the state because that's what he wanted. >> well, you both -- when you have a chance to respond. >> yeah, i think this is very clear here. exceptions for the health of the mother. no medical professional is ever going to be put in harm's way. we need to make sure that anyone has access to those resources and that their health needs to be paramount as we go through the pregnancy if they choose to continue with it. >> you both are wanting the opportunity to represent iowa's third district. a district with a lot of contrast, some of the wealthiest counties in the state are in

this district and also some of the most low-income. if you were elected, how would you represent the interest on both sides of the political and economic spectrum? >> well, this district is amazing. polk county, dallas county right here in iowa, adams county, smallest county by population in the state, a county of 4,000 people. i've been multiple times and here is what i do know. as someone who was born and raised in a small community for two parents who spent 25 years working in a factory, they were able to raise 5 kids with that -- with that salary. and so now, my wife, my sisters, my family, we help care for them. it's so critically important for us to make sure that people who work for a living pay into the systems can afford to retire with dignity. we have to ensure the social

security is solvent for years to come. we have to make medicare stronger for the communities as well. we have to unleash economic in these areas by creating ecosystem and environment to make that happen. >> how would you represent both sides of the political and economic spectrum. >> they all have good recommendations. here is what we tried to do. one, make sure we have hard-earned tax dollars in local communities. that's the best way to invest. we brought dollars out of washington, d.c. and in places with 6 million-dollar economic investment, return of 2 billion-dollar for new business. help both impoverish communities, the reality is you're going oh to pass one of the best tax bills if we have a republican led house. challengingly if it fails, 90%

of iowa's businesses qualify small businesses. that's more than 50% of workforce forced to reverse to old tax scheme biden has pledged. 46% tax increase and small businesses and for families, 200,000 tax increase. >> all right, we have been peppering with policy questions for the last 52 minutes now. now we want to do the lighting round. a chance to get to know you on a more personal level. the first question is, who is your hero growing up and why, mr. nunn, we will begin with you? >> hands down, my mom and dad. my dad would take me to shop in high school and show heme how to work on cars and the guy that was there when i came home from school, taking care of my mother

and i. we could go back to the operating room and it got me working as a volunteer at the hospital. now i hope i could be the same. >> who is your hero growing up and why? >> well, congressman, i agree on that. easily mom and dad and hearing their stories growing up justin spired me. the courage it takes for a mom who is pregnant and has 3 kids to escape river in the middle of the night by herself, to escape from the war, that takes a lot of courage. my dad who worked for usaid in 1960's helping to identify humanitarian aid drops to travel groups that were fleeing the front lines of that war, again, my parents when they made it here to the united states, they instilled a love of country in me so much lift that i enlisted in national guard.

>> what is your coffee order? >> black, straight up. >> your coffee order? >> coffee guy in the morning. >> wonderful. >> we want to extend thank you to all those joining us tonight. thank you for the campaigns for being here and we would like for you to begin with your closing statements this evening, you have 60 seconds. >> thank you for moderating the debate. congressman, thank you for the conversation as well and to iowans tuning in at home, i hope that you can tell how much i love this country. i do truly do so much that i dedicated my life to give it back to it. 8 years in the military and national guard including deployment to afghanistan. farmers and especially veterans. i'm ready right now to represent

you in congress and the contrast cannot be more clear. only one person on this stage that will protect a women's right to make healthcare decisions, i will help to pass act and continue fighting for working families, seniors and small businesses, we will go after corporations to make sure we hold them accountable and we will protect social security and medicare when i get to congress i will fight for you. >> 60 seconds for closing statement. >> thank you to all the students here tonight. thank you iowans for giving us the opportunity to have this conversation with myself. >> i think it's really important that you have two choices for the future right now, you have a choice of growing our economy or a dc knows better than you tax the economy. we have the opportunity to secure our border, something that we can do totted if we had real leadership in the white house and the senate.

i want to protect our country and stop human trafficking across the border. make sure that our examples are ones that we can share with the rest of the country and growing our economy and the people at the dinner table and small businesses and small family farms and our community here. i've been proud to lead in congress and i hope that i can earn your vote and do it in another two years. >> we want to thank everyone for joining us tonight for iowa's third congressional district. we also want to thank milwaukee school district for having us here. >> thank you all for watching, have a great night. ♪ ♪ ♪

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>> here is a recent headline from the pew research center. ont report, mark hugo lopez, with us this morning. he is the race and ethnicity research director at pew research. before we dive into the various parts of that report, latino, let's start there. define what it means to be latino in america today and is that word interchangeable with hispanic? guest: by the federal government, it is. there is a definition that defines who is part of this group. if anybody can trace their roots to spain or spanish-speaking latin american countries. hispanic and latino are used interchangeably and that is a standard omb used for government documents.

however, it is going to about 65 million people, almost one in five americans by the way. many people.have different viewpoints on this some people prefer hispanic. some people prefer latino. some people prefer other terms like latinx, which are terms used to describe the community. people have different choices. at pew research, we use them interchangeably. host: one in five americans are latino or hispanic. what is the turnout rate for the latino population in america compared to other ethnic populations? guest: yes, estimates from the census bureau the turnout rate for latinos at 50% to 55% depending on the election. by comparison, for black americans, you will see a turnout rate of 65% to 67%. similarly for white americans. asian americans are about the same turnout rate as latinos. interestingly, among latinos, the turnout rate is higher among those that are immigrants compared to those born in the united states, yet it is those

born in the united states that make up the bulk of the voter pool of latinos every election cycle. host: why is that? why are immigrants more likely to vote? guest: they have taken the step to become a u.s. citizen. there is a lot of hard work. also, if you other things as well, but voting is part of the motivation for some people to become naturalized citizens. host: the headline of the report, latino voters preferences mirror that of 2020. where do the voters fallout in terms of who they are likely to be picking at the ballot box? guest: vice president harris is leading among latino voters this year. this is a poll admittedly from september but 57% at the time said they would vote for kamala harris if the election was held today versus 39% saying the same for donald trump. what we have seen here is these numbers particularly for trump are not much different from what we saw in 2020 when he won about

36% of the latino vote. the reason i am saying it is similar is because we cannot distinction between whether he has made some gains or not statistically. more recent polls from the new york times or others do show a very similar race with donald trump doing at least as well as he did in 2020. host: when you say the preferences mirror 2020, are we talking but the top issues in the minds of latino voters? guest: the democrats have leads. biden won a majority of this apartment from has not lost ground among them since 2020 .what are host: what are the top issues on the mind of voters? guest: prices of food. something they will consider in determining their vote. but it is interesting because when you look at the brink of issues by trump supporters or harris supporters among latino voters, among trump supporters, the economy is the top issue, 93% say that will be the top

tissue, followed by violent crime and immigration. that is interesting because the top three issues for latino harris supporters, 80% say the economy but that is followed by health and gun policy. immigration is much further down the list so we are seeing a different set of issues based on who they are voting for. by the way, that is the same for the american voting public. host: immigration one of their top issues. going through this report this morning in this last 30 minutes of "washington journal" today. mark hugo lopez our guest with us. a special line for latino voters. that number, (202) 748-8003. especially want to hear from you in this segment. otherwise, phone lines as usual split by political party. republicans, (202) 748-8001. democrats, (202) 748-8000. independents, (202) 748-8002.

what are the other topline findings from this report? guest: when you take a look at how strong the support is among latino voters for trump, 70% of latino voters tell us their vote for trump is a vote for trump, not a vote against terrorist. when you look at latino harris supporters, they see the boat is against trump and not simply a vote for harris. this again mirrors 2020. if you look at where it was in 2020, half of the voters said they were voting for biden. host: do you find that is different for latino voters than other ethnic groups on this question? guest: it looks very similar. it is interesting we talk about latino voters as a group, but in some ways they are not distinct from the u.s. general public. host: the question that we begin our program with today, focusing on the tina voters here, but it was donald trump's gains among black men specifically.

you follow all of these topics at the pew research center. what do you make of that, that donald trump is doing better with black men -- that kamala harris is doing worse with black men than joe did against donald trump in i think we need to see what happens on the election day. but certainly the polls are showing that kamala harris is not doing as well as say joe biden when it comes to black men. there's a number of possible issues print everything from black men but other men as well feeling as if the democrats, critically harris and biden haven't necessarily paid attention to the issues that are important to them. such a stomach sent it may feel up being ignored. it may also be about the economy. men have had some challenges in the economy particularly if you don't have a college degree. those groups are overrepresented among black and hispanic americans. that may also be part of the story driving some of the gender differences. guest: do you think it's because

of where the battlegrounds are whether it's focus on black voters in a state like michigan, latino voters in arizona. guest: those accentuate what we just talked about as it may be a challenge around the working class and those particularly you don't have a college degree. >> latino voters is the focus of the segment of the washington journal. we have that line for latino voters. 202-748-8002 --202-748-8003. alex's on that line out of brooklyn. good morning you are on. >> good morning. things were taking my call. it's interesting that you have the segment of black voters and now hispanic voters. i read the new york times article yesterday about black voting it was interesting how any black men disagree with the polls and are supporting harris. but at the same time i think

it's very wrong in thinking hispanics that are voting for harris are not concerned with immigration. if you're hispanic and don't see a lot of the problems with immigration it might not be an issue. a woman with four or five kids in a shelter not too far and hispanics are concerned about immigration. and i think, when i look at where we are just listening to republicans speak yesterday about the denial of so many things and hispanics still voting for donald trump, it just gives me pause and concern. here's a man talking about immigrants eating pets, his vice president pick saying he is lying about hurricane relief,

you have people talking about controlling the weather. i think no matter what happens we've pretty much lost because you have people who cannot see reality. host: let me pause there. guest: great points about immigration. let me be clear about immigration and harris supporters. 51% of hair supporters in our survey said immigration was important to determining their vote in the election cycle. it is important to both sides of the aisle. latino voters have told us they are concerned about many aspects of immigration policy in recent years. in the january survey we found 60% of latino boulder -- voters said it would be better if we had more judges to adjudicate asylum cases. one third said it would be better if those who are in the country illegally were deported. a number of different points of view and that's what's important to realize this year is theirs a diversity of views.

>> good morning. >> good morning. my question is geared towards two things. one is the economy. my family came here in the 60's and one of the reasons they came in was for work and making a living. today as a child, we are very industrious people but the problem is as you said earlier the prices of everything is going up. so how much do you think that will determine whether we vote democrat or republican? my second question is more what percentage of the latino vote makes up the electorate? we know it's been growing over time so what percentage does it make up of the electorate. >> those are really great questions. there are 36.2 million latinos who are at least 18 years of age. that means they are eligible to vote. that makes up about 14.7% of

potential voters pretty of course as i mentioned earlier in the show latinos have lower rates than groups. if you look in 2020 among voters only 10% were latino all among those who did not vote, a 20% were latino. we were overrepresented among nonvoters but underrepresented among voters. that is the top issue latinos have been pointing to for some time. interestingly latinos are also split on whether or not trump or harris would be better at taking care of the economy. so when you talk about the economy for latinos, prices, inflation and housing costs have all been top of mind for latino voters in this election cycle. >> we can put the numbers on the screen about the eligible voter population and the expected makeupf eligible voters. the last point here lightly more than half of latinos are

eligible to vote. how does that compare with other groups? >> you have more than 70% of black and more than 70% of white populations eligible to vote. typically because they are older with fewer immigrants among those paid and if they're born in the united states they have u.s. citizenship. for latinos and asians you'll find significant shares. are ineligible to vote. because they don't have citizenship. >> this is reina in texas. reina, good morning. are you with us? go ahead. guest: thank you -- caller: thank you. i am from cuba and i came here legally. and my concern right now is the immigration and of course the economy. and all the other issues that are happening now with the democrats. i am voting for trump because i am tired of being just segregated because i am spanish

or cuban. and i have never received any handouts, i follow all the legal rules, vaccinations, everything, you name it. and yes i am very pro-trump with the ones that come in illegally and getting all the benefits. i'm concerned with the schools. everything that's happening with the schools. so if i vote for kamala, what it means to me going back to what cuba was or is. so that's the comment. >> thank you for the comment and it's important to note we are in a moment with a number of immigrants living in the country illegally has been rising in recent years. if you follow what's been happening at the border you know there's been record numbers of encounters at the border with people coming to seek asylum. still the number of immigrants in the country illegally remains below the peak that we saw in

2007 and many of those are in the country have protections to be in the country for example many have temporary protected status which is a status offered to those who came to the country perhaps illegally but because of a disaster in their home country. you also have others who are here and protected because of asylum or many other reasons. you look at the population of those in the country illegally it has grown. you also see many americans expressing your point of view which is immigrants are, to the country illegally appeared to be receiving more support than perhaps even those who are living in the same communities where those immigrants are. >> c-span viewers familiar with the candidates talking about immigration on the campaign trail. two recent events per donald trump in pennsylvania speaking about immigration and the economy and then we will follow that with kamala harris at a forum for latino voters sponsored by univision talking

about immigration as well. [video clip] >> so i gave you as you know the largest tax-cut in the history of our country and the largest regulation of companies that hire so many people. we had the biggest employment numbers in the history of our country. everybody was working whether they went to the best schools and colleges and got doctorates and or whether they couldn't graduate from high school. men, women, the black community, the hispanic community. the asian community. every single group, not one was left behind. and the best ones in terms of proportionately were low income people, they did the best. by the way you have an invasion of people into our country in not including got a ways, more than 21 million people. nobody has any idea how many there are. they will be attacking and they already are the black population

jobs. the hispanic population jobs. and they are attacking union jobs too. and they are all pouring in. so when you see the border it's not just a crime, your jobs are being taken away. [video clip] >> i will put my record up against anyone in terms of the work i have always done and will always do to ensure we have a secure border. which is why i also mention then in the context of an earlier question about the border security bill. i was just in arizona at the border. i spoke with the border patrol. leaders there, to your point there working around-the-clock. and they need more support. 1500 more border agents would've gone to the border. except donald trump got in the way of that bill. many months ago which would mean those many months of more

resources going to help those very agents you are talking about. many months of what could have been happening right now in terms of fentanyl resources in stopping the flow of fentanyl which we know is killing people. every day in america. the trafficking issue and again work i have done and care deeply about. so my pledge to you is that by the grace of god and hopefully with your support as well. when i am elected president i will bring back that border security bill and i will sign it into law. host: mark hugo lopez, what do you want to pick up from those clips? guest: border security remains a concern for latinos as it was interesting to hear both talking about border security but also the challenge around jobs. particularly for black voters but also hispanic voters. there's long been the story that immigrants coming to the united

states weather here illegally or not are perhaps taking jobs americans want and that's one of the concerns you find many economists starting to see if there is an impact in the labor market. some of the analysis is mixed on this but it does not mean the public isn't feeling that perhaps they are competing now with a large number of people for not only jobs, but housing and so much more. host: donald trump use the number 21 million illegal immigrants in the country. that number gets disputed. what do you think is the best data on how many illegal immigrants are in the country. >> our most recent estimate put it at about 11 million or so but that number is rising. the trend we have begun to see a rise. many other organizations coming in at around 10.5 to about 11.5 million. we also look at what's happened more recently at the border, the number of people who entered illegally over recent years there's no doubt the number is rising.

the data as shared with you is from 2022. host: you are on with mark hugo lopez of pew research center. caller: yes, my name is guillermo. how are you? host: doing well, what is your question or comment. caller: listen to me. the history of this world, when the people came from other places they called this the new world. the people they found here are native indigenous people to this land. whether they are called latinos or hispanic, they remain indigenous to this land. just because i speak english that does not mean i'm english. ethnicity is not judged by the language you speak. you're not hispanic and you're

not latino, you are indigenous to this land. you are native american because america north, america central, america south. host: back to this definition. guest: thank you and i appreciate the point of view you are absolutely right that many people in this population we refer virtuous hispanic or latino are people who trace their roots to the indigenous people and cultures of the americas and some very strongly so. in my case that is the same for me. my roots are in central mexico. including spanish but importantly also indigenous roots as well. >> this is miriam out of texas. good morning. >> i live two miles away from the border and every time the word immigration pops up into our political discourse a little trigger of racism starts to like

-- i start thinking about how people are so racist. i live two miles away from the border and i don't see any crimes, i don't see a lot of racist like donald trump says. unfortunately in our group of hispanics we have those that want to pull others down. and that's unfortunate because we are allowing a politician to divide our group even more. because donald trump is saying that immigrants are taking the jobs away but then again there's not a lot of people that want to work in the business or all those businesses where you get dirty. so the immigrants are doing all of those jobs. what i wanted to ask is how accurate are the polls. right now it is october. every election year there always sending us the message the trump

is getting all of these numbers, but compared to the last election how accurate were the polls? >> that's a great question. where latino voters were in 2016, where they were in 2020 and reiterate where we are today. in 2016 when hillary clinton and donald trump were competing they thought hillary clinton winning two thirds of latino voters according to the study while donald trump one about 28%. in 2020, abide winning 61% to trump's 6%. and more recently if you look at our polls, kamala harris was at about 57% and donald trump is at about 38%. that all suggested some of trumps gains among latinos has endured. at least through the last couple of election cycles. in some ways we've been here before. in 2004, george bush winning latino support and all the way back to the 1980's you saw

ronald reagan winning about 35% of latino voter support. it can happen but are public and presidential candidate can win a significant share of latino voter support. will this continue, it remains to be seen. one of the things the polls are showing this time around is a pretty consistent pattern for latino voters but we have to see what happens on election day. host: how big is the undecided latino population compared to undecided in the rest of the country. guest: it's about the same, about five or 6%. latinos in some ways look at just -- look like other americans. host: good morning braden caller: good morning -- good morning. caller: my question is why as latino voters as a group, why exactly and what is the issues while you're voting for trump. trump is running under a banner

where he is appealing to non-latino voters saying he is going to close the border, and so forth, so my first question is why exactly or what are the reasons why you are voting for trump. my second reason is i feel kamala harris, the reason why no one of any race particular wants to vote for her is because she is specifically wavering on the issues. she goes back and forth. sometime she goes one way, she won't savings another way. so it's really a confusing election to me for voters of any race particularly groups of minorities and also they just seem to pander to us during the election season asking for our votes and then we have to live for years where citizens are not

just denied. >> mark hugo lopez. >> so first i would say not all latino voters are saying there can vote for donald trump. kamala harris is likely to win the majority of latino voter support. however, a couple of reasons why you might find some with tino's supporting donald trump, the reasons are varied. folks saying the economy was better under donald trump and it was under biden. also as you heard some of the earlier callers mention, for some illegal immigration continues to be a concern and an issue. there's a number of reasons why you might find some voters supporting trump. latino voters are a large group. up to 36 million voters. they have distinct points of views, they are different and pending on where you are and latinos are in every corner of the country you might find different perspectives about policy issues in the presidential candidates. guest: here's -- host: there is

a chart that goes with this. latino voters and religion in the 2024 presidential election. 65% of latino protestants say they plan to vote for donald trump. while harris has the majority support among hispanic catholics and religiously unaffiliated hispanic. >> there's long been a leaning towards the republican party among evangelical protestants but particularly protestant latinos and that's not new. it's something we've seen for many election cycles. often tied to issues like abortion. however on the others. those who are unaffiliated are often times young people who recently have come of age and one of the interesting trends and latinos generally is the share who is catholic is in decline. 43% of latino adults say they are catholic. what's growing is a 30% unaffiliated. as far as the young people coming-of-age not eligible to

vote but looking like other young americans in many respects. >> the line we are setting aside for latino voters otherwise phone lines as usual. about 10 minutes left in our program today with mark hugo lopez of pew research center. this is joseph in new jersey. republican. good morning. >> good morning. listening to some of these people calling up i am like i cannot believe it. the girl before said non-latino voters what to kick out illegal aliens. non-latino photos are american. i don't know why your guest and everybody else can just call it americans if you are here legally. my grandmother came here in 1930 from ireland. not too long ago 1930's i couldn't vote in ireland -- my mother never taught me to be irish. i was american. american. do they have polls for what

irish-americans who they are voting for. some of these latinos i used to be a city bus driver in manhattan. they been here since 1950 and they still speak spanish. when are they going to assimilate and become americans. host: mark hugo lopez. guest: we found this in our surveys about identities. many latino subscribed to the idea of what makes the united states the united states, they believe in the value of hard work, and the american dream and while they may feel that things are perhaps not as bright as they have been just 10 years ago do find latinos are among the most likely to express the views and attitudes that you would associate with the american dream. in many ways latinos are just as american as any other american. also the majority of latinos are u.s. citizens. 75% are u.s. citizens. we talk about the citizenship of this population. it is largely a u.s.-born population and largely a population that sees itself as

american. >> the american dream it often makes good conversation we are chatting with viewers. the -- does the pew research center avocet definition of what the american dream is asking people about it. guest: we ask about different aspects that are often associated with it. such as owning a home or business. having a better future for your children or the value of hard work. those are some elements of it. we've also asked latinos what the next iteration will be better off. if they think they've achieved the american dream and immigrant latinos are overwhelmingly more likely to say they have achieved the american dream often times by being able to have a better life, that's why they came to the country. host: judy in colorado thank you for waiting. >> i would just like to say that i do not agree with trump's maca brand make america great again. he wants to take our country back to the old days when you

would go into a restaurant and it would say no mexicans or dogs allowed. i just am flabbergasted that a latino would ever give a vote to trump when he thinks of us as less than human. the other thing i resent is he says immigrants are taking jobs that we want. i do not want to work in the fields, i do not want to work as a maid or as a waitress. i thought that those jobs are not that those jobs are demeaning or anything it's just that i have a better education than that and so i aspire to be more than that. but he acts like that's all we are capable of. i just think he is so bad for the country in so many ways. he can never tell the truth and he does not care about our country he only cares about himself. host: what do you want to pick up from there. guest: one of the things we get asked about was how well or which candidate the latino

voters feel would do better on the economy to immigration to a whole range and on all issues kamala harris scene is the better candidate on all those issues with the exception of foreign policy and the economy where the assessment is essentially the same. when it comes to the candidates and how the candidates are seen whether or not they are down-to-earth, whether or not they represent people like them. kamala harris and all the issues we asked about their own the sense of what characteristics they have, alaris was seen as the candidate that has the characteristics more so than donald trump. host: one of our callers in his cuban-american. what's the history of cuban-americans leaning more towards the republican party than other segments of the hispanic population. guest: cuban-americans have a unique history when it comes to the united states. partly it's about what happened

in the 1960's in cuba and folks coming since then but in the 1980's ronald reagan went to visit south florida went particular to a particular restaurant in south florida to engage with the community of people who are quote unquote exiles from cuba. that connection, that sort of moving forward policy issues related to relations with cuba has long been one of the ways in which republicans have been able to engage with the cuban-american population. in south florida did much the same in terms of engaging on policy issues relevant to cuban-americans but also relevant to those who could vote. and others as well. so there's unique tailoring of message may be important for helping people to win south. host: do you know what the restaurant he went to? guest: versailles. it is still there. if you ever get a chance i encourage you to go. >> stephanie is waiting, good

morning. >> good morning mr. lopez was watching, i was wondering whether or not you ever heard the term probationary white. the way my understanding is that when people come to this country they sort of put themselves on probation in a way like they think that if they vote the way white people would want them to vote they will be more accepted as white or more american than they would be from their own country. thank you. guest: it's very interesting idea. i have not heard the phrase but i have heard of the idea that this is something that happened among immigrant groups not just latinos but others as well. we have it's not something we've taken a look at. but i've certainly heard many talk about that in some ways

many latinos who might be voting for trump, they say they might be doing so in order to move a particular way. we haven't done any research on this but it is an interesting question. >> the pew research center does a lot of research on a lot of different things and we use it a lot here on the washington journal. thanks for all the work that you do. mark hugo lopez is the race and ethnicity research director at pew resear >> c pan washington journal, our live forum involving you to discuss the latest issues in government, politics and public policy from washington to across the country. coming up tuesday morning. senior vice president and senior policy director of the committee for responsible federal budget mark goldwine talks about the fiscal impact of the candidate's tax and spending plans.

then documentary filmmaker robin on his recent film for pbs frontline examining the israel-hamas war one year later. c-span's washington journal, join the conversation live at 7:00 eastern tuesday morning on c-span, c-span now or online at c-span.org. >> as the 2024 presidential campaign continues, american history tv presents its series historic presidential elections. learn about the pivotal issues of different eras, uncover what made these elections historic and explore their lasting impact on the nation. this saturday the election of 1960. >> and for those millions of americans who are still denied equality of life and opportunity, i say there should be the greatest progress in

human rights since the days of lincoln a hundred years ago. >> we stand today on the new frontier, frontier of the 1960, frontier of unfilled hope and unfilled trust. >> close and controversial election, democratic senator john kennedy defeated incumbent republican vice esident richard nixon, watch historic presidential electioaturday at 7:00 aste on american history tv on c-span2. >> representative lori chávez and her democratic challenr participated in a debate to represent ogon's fifth congressional district. the candidates discuss housing cost in the district which included the city of bend and state ballot measure intended to improve mental health services. race is rated a ts-up by the

political rort with amy walter. the debate hosted by ktvz tv. >> first republican incumbent loriri chávez, elected to fifth congressional districtst in 202. in 2004 she was elect today the happy valley city council and ay mayor from happy valley and challenger representative janell bynum. 2 she owns fast-food restaurants and previously worked as an engineer for general motors. now let's take a look at oregon's fifth congressional district. here you see the map from the st corner of portland all the way to central oregon. the district includes sisters,

terrebonne, redmond bend and summer river. candidates have up to two minutes for opening and closing statements. one minute to answer each question and a one minute rebuttal. janelle bynum won the coin toss, so she will go first and we will alternate back and forth from there. representative bynum, you have two minutes. >> i'm janelle bynum, a sports loving mom of four and four term state legislator. i'm running because washington isn't working for oregon families. chavez-deremer has had plenty of opportunity and it just isn't happening. it's chaotic, confusing and the least productive congress we have had. i on the other hand and someone who has been working across the aisle to bring home big

bipartisan wins for oregonians. whether it was the chip sacked with 200 million dollars of investment leading to billions of dollars of economic activity or 23 police accountability and civil rights bills. and most of all, you can count on me to protect our reproductive rights. lori chavez-deremer has not been doing that and i believe oregonians deserve better. what is important to remember in this race is that i am a workhorse, i am a champion of the people, i will stand with working families time and time again. i am a champion of the people. i will roll my sleeves up and i'm ready to get to work. >> all right, thank you ma'am. now we go to congresswoman lori chavez-deremer. >> thank you to all the people watching in oregon's fifth district and across the nation tonight. i'm lori chavez-deremer. i have been married to my

husband for 33 years. i have raised beautiful twin girls who are now 30 and getting ready to have my first grandson in march. i spent the last 24 years in happy valley oregon building a small business with my husband over the last 18 plus years. i was city counselor for happy valley for six years and then the mayor for eight years. now i'm honored to serve as your congresswoman in oregon's fifth congressional district. i look forward to sharing tonight my accomplishments. and addressing what i have been working on in the 118th. when it comes to affordability and the southern border, when it comes to addressing the fentanyl crisis on our streets, and the lack of public safety respect that we have for law-enforcement officers here in oregon. and the decimation of what

measure 110 has done to the streets of oregon and they are killing our children. you will hear tonight my opponents record of almost a decade-long failure in the state legislature warehousing is no more affordable than when she started. crime is rampant. overdose deaths are up. 22% more overdose deaths above the nation's average which has started to fall, but not here in oregon. we are going to see my opponent lie to you about her failed record and we will expose it tonight. i look forward to answering all of the questions. >> time for our first question of the night and it focuses on affordable housing crisis. the average rent in bend is nearly $1700 and the average home price now ranges from 700 to $800,000. do you support any sort of federal rent control and what

can congress do to bring these housing costs down? representative lori chavez-deremer, you have one minute. >> as you mentioned, we see costs here in central oregon. a home is over million dollars. that's not affordable. if we do not address land-use issues, it is someone like myself who comes in to assist young families trying to buy their first home. i have worked through programs to make sure we can have the choice and affordability act. also the expansion of vouchers that will help not only people who are renting but also our landlords, address some of the concerns they have. those are the kind of credits we need to make sure we are offering to young families. post-covid, grocery prices are

almost wiped out. it's going to take the federal government to assist these young families. i look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle to get this done for oregonians. >> janelle bynum, one minute. >> there is no question that we have an affordable housing crisis and i have been at the table making sure that young families have access to affordable housing through the implementation of vouchers and the first-time homebuyer credit. especially people who are on the streets. i have also led in legislation on tiny homes. here's what it looks like to me. i have a daughter entering the workforce. she's going to graduate school and she was looking for a place

to live when she was looking for schools. in boston it was $3000 a month for a very small apartment. when you think about how kids are launching into this world, we have to be focused on making sure they have opportunities to get into housing and attend graduate school as well. what is really important here is that my opponent cannot be trusted because she wants to roll in the trump tax cuts again. we know they went to the top 1% and we cannot continue to afford that. >> lori chavez-deremer. >> if she wants affordability, then what she can't do as far as a math equation is you cannot fund a nonprofit called hacienda and give $30,000 to noncitizens here in the state of oregon to purchase their first home when hard-working oregon families have been trying to save and have that access. as far as the trump tax cuts, if we do not make those permanent in the next congress, 500 51,000 taxpayers taxes will go up by 20%. that's more than $2000 more a year for families who make 90

$7,000 or less. for some families, more than $5,000 a month if we do not make those permanent. it will hurt working families on the middle class. >> janelle bynum, you have one minute. >> i think what my opponent is getting at is one more reason not to trust her. one more reason she is going to ensure the top 1% of this country is always taken care of and middle-class families, young families going into the workforce can't afford anything. these are tax cuts middle-class families are paying for. these are tax cuts you are putting on our backs. these are tax cuts that as my opponent said are good for some of us. she's not worried about the rest of those. she's worried about some of us. pattison stark contrast to me as a mother making sure that we value our land but also make

permitting changes but also have things to build on. in the chips act i learned that we had land but we did not have the infrastructure dollars to get that land usable. i will make sure we have land, housing and our kids have a strong launching pad. >> thank you very much. that was a nice discussion. would you like to continue very quickly? >> the child tax credit is something i worked on expanding. if the trump tax cuts are not confirmed, the child tax credit will get cut in half. the child tax credit for dependents but pays for rent, groceries and helps young families will also get cut. my opponent doesn't know what she's talking about because she has not been a member of congress. >> how do you respond to that? >> we trusted lori chavez-deremer to go to congress and support all of us. not just some of us. she continues to focus on the

top 1% of this country. she enjoys running with her cronies including trump and the administration trying to make sure that only the rich get ahead. i think we deserve better. we can't trust her. >> all right. thank, ladies. we are staying on the subject of affordability. restaurant prices have skyrocketed. entrees in central oregon are $20 at least, even at food carts on top of customers being expected to tip 20%. how did this happen and what can congress do to bring back these prices and address tipping? representative bynum, you start. >> coming out of the pandemic, we saw a lot of our supply chain disrupted. part of the reason for that was trump's irresponsibility in managing how our supply chain

was being managed, how we were interfacing with the world and how we were going to make sure that working families had enough food to eat, had affordable medicines and affordable housing. he didn't take care of that and my opponent continuously supports him. i on the other hand through the chips act wanted to make sure we tackled our supply chain through semiconductors, things that power our refrigerators, credit card machines, almost everything in our lives. i wanted to make sure we interrupted the supply chain issues and stayed focus on the main thing. trump has been a disaster. he has been chaotic and my opponent supports him. that's why we can't trust her. >> all right. congresswoman lori chavez-deremer. >> you mentioned tipping. the former president talked about that. what it would mean to people who

work in the service industry if they didn't have to pay income tax on their tips. that would be a benefit and they could keep more money in their own pocket. people work hard every single day and they just want to keep that money in their pocket. they are overtaxed and overregulated my opponent voted nine times in the legislature to raise taxes. that does not help affordability. we have to discuss what energy costs can mean to reach the demand that is needed. a well-rounded portfolio. those are the kinds of things i have been working on with my colleagues. i have sponsored the tax relief for american families act. and measure 118 will decimate oregon's economy. i have spoken about it, the governor has an my opponent is for measure 118. >> janelle bynum, one minute. >> my opponent as you can see can't be trusted. she has asked me very directly

whether i supported measure 118. no. that's been very clear. what lori chavez-deremer and her republican cronies in washington who are part of the most dysfunctional, nonworking, do-nothing congress, what they want to do is throw small bones at the american public. they want to make you think they are making progress. they will give you a little bit here just to keep you quiet and shut you up. what in reality, what they are doing is taking their own thrills. they are taking all of our money and giving it to the top 1%. trump and his cronies are robbing this country blind. lori chavez-deremer is reaping both benefits by serving with them and rubberstamping every policy they have. she's part of a no good do-nothing congress. >> lori chavez-deremer, one

minute. >> you can trust me because i have fought for you. i fought against the tolling so you could keep more money in your pocket. i have the support of labor unions in oregon because they know and going to create jobs for them. why would 20 unions endorse a republican which typically wouldn't? because they do trust me. my opponent continues to talk about trust. i have brought $27 million back to the state of oregon so they can have their tax dollars back. and redman, we brought $1.2 million for the wetlands and $5 million back for the municipal airport. so this grows the economy. the pro-housing grants $3 million to the city of the end. so i have not been a do nothing. that's the part that she doesn't like because i have been successful in only 22 months and for almost 10 years, failed

policies, no wins that she can talk about. >> question number three turns to transgender athletes. organ state and federal law allows transgender athletes to share locker rooms and playing fields with female athletes even if they were born a biological male. where do you stand on this issue? should anyone who identifies as female be allowed to play and women's sports and share locker rooms? congresswoman lori chavez-deremer, you begin this one. >> we have to make sure we are protecting women. title ix for the last dozens of years has protected women in sports. we fought for so long for our young women to protect them so they could have access to sporting events, make the money they want and be protected. for this to continue down the road of where we are, i don't stand for it and we need to make sure we are protecting our women. i don't see a longer answer than that.

it is pretty cut and dry to me. we have to protect our women in sports and title ix and make sure we are not harming our young women that we fought for so long. we have young girls. i protected my daughters throughout and we should continue that. >> janelle bynum. >> let's go back to the previous question which i didn't have an opportunity to have a rebuttal for. my opponent doesn't show up for labor. she got their endorsements and treats them like trading cars -- cards. i have shown up on the line for them. i have been to the nabisco line where they make oreo cookies. i have been to providence hospital supporting the nurses. i have been to kaiser hospital supporting the nurses and staff there. i have been. i have shown up. she took there endorsements and set a few things in committee and then when it was time to

show up for them, she couldn't even show back up to committee. that's why we can't trust her. >> we did check. you did have a rebuttal time on the previous question if you would please keep your answer to this question, we would appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you. as it relates to sports, i support trans kids. i support inclusive sports. i support all of our children being able to play on a fair playing field anytime they choose to participate. i'm not going to target children and make them feel unsafe in our schools. that is one difference between myself and my opponent. i believe children should be safe in schools and targeting them is just immoral. >> lori chavez-deremer, you have one minute. >> i think the question was trans and women in sports.

i know she didn't answer that question because she's afraid to answer that question. [crosstalk] -- we had a conversation regarding our young trans youth and i was the only republican to stand up on the democratic side in that committee and make sure we were not outing our trans youth to protect them in our education system. very different issues, very different questions. you cannot seem to separate that. question no 5, you have an additional one minute. >> i can say it all day. i support trans kids. i know it is very dangerous to target children. i have stood up for children time and time again. i will make sure the trans kids are protected. this in my opinion is immoral and it's a typical republican talking point to target the vulnerable.

it's a dog whistle. and if they come after trans kids, they will come after you. that's been very clear. there are no protections for horrible herbal in their minds. they come after them, they will come after you. >> we are ready for question number four now. viewers cannot miss your campaign ads. what claims made by your opponents in those ads would you like to address? >> i don't watch her ads. i can tell you in my ads that i have full stop. i'm not mealymouthed about making sure that we protect roe . i'm not mealymouthed about making sure that we stand up for full reproductive rights in this country. we know the republicans are

coming for women in their exam rooms with their doctors. we know they want a full out national abortion ban. lori chavez-deremer has celebrated this. she has been on the fence. you can't quite figure out where she is. she will say she's in the middle. there is no middle ground. you either support women and women's health across this country or you don't. >> lori chavez to reamer -- lori chavez-deremer. >> but you don't support women in sports. that's funny. campaign ads. and ada said something about 26 times that i would not support support social security. this is a lie. my opponent likes to lie and not be able to back it up. i will not cut social security. i will support social security and medicare. i was one of the few republicans who walked down to the well on the house floor of the u.s.

house of representatives and signed a discharge position against leadership to say i will support social security and retirement for our teachers, police officers and firefighters. unlike my opponent in the house in salem who signed on and was the deciding vote on senate bill 1049 that stripped teachers, firefighters and police officers. >> first of all, there is no deciding vote unless you are the last vote. >> which you were. i was not the last boat. >> did you vote in the affirmative? >> my opponent voted 26 times the cut social security. >> site them. >> it's in the literature. >> cite it. >> baby, i will send it to you tonight. what is important to remember is that she voted to cut benefits for oregonians and americans

across the board. she is in the cuts mode for things oregonians and americans need. medicare. law enforcement. agriculture. they voted to cut 30% of the u.s. budget. they are looking to cut the department of education which helps our children especially children with special needs. they are looking to cut things from our lives that we actually need. i have the proof. >> lori chavez-deremer. >> thank you. cutting waste and streamlining as part of our job. $36 trillion. but cutting our priorities and mandatory spending is not going to happen. talking about discretionary spending which is what we have authority over, it's only 11% of the budget, it's where we can find waste, fraud and abuse. we do have to address our debt. $36 trillion in debt. you are talking about mandatory spending which i have never

taken a vote on to cut medicare or social security. unlike my opponent, for her local law enforcement, or firefighters and teachers who may not know that since they have supported her. that is again why have the endorsement by the largest police union and firefighters here in oregon because they trust me to protect their jobs, social security and retirement so they can protect their families they have worked so hard to protect. >> all right. seems like we pushed the right button on that one. when we come back, we will be joined by longtime oregon reporter heather roberts and we will hear the candidates thoughts on reaching across the aisle and the climate crisis. stay with us. welcome back to news channel 21's live debate for oregon's fifth congressional district. i'm joined by longtime oregon

reporter heather roberts. >> my first question has to do with the fifth district's unique makeup. it's one of the most politically diverse in the state. how do you plan to bridge the divide and represent all constituents, right, left, rural and urban? >> have had the opportunity to serve oregon's 25th district and get to know all the idiosyncrasies and uniqueness. it's a great district all the way from portland, all the way to bend. it felt a little unusual at the beginning to mix them. i'm proud to serve the district and a lot of the issues are the same. if you go back to the kitchen table issues, people want to talk about their children, public safety, the economy, what's working for them and what isn't. what's unique is probably the

urbanization and the concentrated crime and how difficult it is to do business in the portland metro area. in central oregon we are going to talk about wildfires and water and how to address the agricultural issues we are experiencing. some of the policies by the state, we have on affordable housing across the state and of course our homelessness, drug addiction and mental health crisis. >> janelle bynum, same question. >> have served house district 39 and 51 because i have held town halls regularly. i have had walking town halls, somatic town halls one of which was on fentanyl where i brought together law enforcement, our schools, our public health department and we talked about what fentanyl might do in the community. it's these town halls that make

me how much more savvy leader, make me in touch with what is happening in the area. one difference between myself and my opponent is that i do town halls where you can actually talk to me. i show up. they are regularly held. my opponent has been criticized for not holding town halls that people can reach her at. i think what is really important is that i -- you can trust me because i will show up. you can't trust lori chavez-deremer because she won't talk to you. >> i think it's kind of funny on the town halls. you are my representative and i have never been contacted about a town hall that you have held. it is about talking to the public. we are talking about roundtables. i just held a natural resource committee here in redmond just a few days ago to talk about the lack of water. i talked to roundtables often about what we are going to do

with the wildfires and how we are going to address that in congress. we had a round table in the streets of oregon city with all the mental health professionals and representatives from the state of oregon on what they needed from the federal government. town halls reach as many people as possible. i don't take marching orders from one single group whose only mission is to defund the police and really be extreme in their views. i want to talk to people who want to be pragmatic and thoughtful. we don't have to agree on everything, but we have to be civil and make sure we get to thoughtful solutions. >> janelle bynum, one minute. >> what i tell every constituent and even those who live in my district, your state representative, your state senator and even your federal representative, they owe you 15 minutes where you live and where you work and i am committed to that.

i have shown up at people's jobs, i have shown up for them at their homes. there was a group of triplets that wanted to talk to me about civics and i went by their house and they said really? of course, i'm your neighbor, of course i'm going to show. it's about not making any judgments, making sure people who are either not in the same political party as you or don't have a political party still feel like they can come and talk to you. that's why for the last eight years i have been very successful in serving a purple district and making sure all of the residents felt warm and welcome and well represented. >> heather roberts has submitted some fantastic questions tonight. what's your next question? >> very relevant with the multiple hurricanes that have pummeled the southeast as well as our severe wildfire season. what have you done to address the climate crisis and do you think the federal government

should take further action? >> this goes to janelle bynum first. >> the climate crisis i would say is real. just a few years ago my family and i actually had to flee and it was a memorable and very traumatic experience because the wildfires had come within three miles of our house. what i will say on the environment is that with project 2025, what we can count on with republicans is that they will try and decimate the epa, allow people to build on lands that should not be built on, and they will not intervene in insurance pricing. these are all things that have an actual impact on how we deal with the environment. i also have put forth legislation to make oregon a clean energy hub. i'm proud to have presented that

legislation and i know that oregon is going to be the center of that activity. that's what i have done on the environmental crisis. >> do you believe congress should take further action? >> absolutely. i believe congress should take action wherever it can. whether it's making sure people are not building in places that shouldn't be built, making sure we invest in technology. i'm an engineer. the technological advances that can be made through drones, the cross limited timber, smaller diameter trees and forestry, those are all things congress can invest in and i think that's what we should do. >> lori chavez-deremer. >> thank you so much for that question. absolutely congress should be involved in the space. for far too long we have not had the conversation because this is not a partisan issue. i love to talk about this space.

that's why when i got to congress, i made sure i was working across the aisle with the bipartisan climate crisis. we talk about the abundance of energy we have in the united states so we are not reliant on russia and china. we want to make sure we are talking about clean and affordable energy. as a mom, we worry about those things. my opponent just mention her and her family had to flee where you feel unsafe and you are concerned with that. what about women who are pregnant? we have to mitigate wildfire management and make sure we are paying attention to that. clean, affordable, safe, healthy , that's what we have to be focused on. >> you will get another minute to address that. janelle bynum. >> what struck me about my opponents answer was that she

talked about protecting pregnant women. and when pregnant women have to flee a wildfire and potentially go to a state where their reproductive rights are not protected as they are here in oregon, i'm curious, what will you say to them about what services are available in idaho or nebraska or michigan? that's the kind of puzzle that women shouldn't have to put together. it's really striking that we are now drawing a line between fleeing wildfires and actually protecting women across the country with their reproductive rights. this is iconic. >> i'm not really connecting the dots. i'm not sure what she's talking about when we are talking about wildfires, natural disasters like just happened in florida. several of the things i worked on in congress to make sure we are increasing pay for firefighters and making those

positions permanent. too often for far too long those positions aren't permanent. i have written letters to the u.s. forest service to make sure we are addressing. i visited the smoke jumpers who are risking their lives every single day. we have done a lot on affordability and also clearing out our corridors. making sure we are paying attention that we can cut back and get to those roads to mitigate wildfires. that takes education and funding for our district. i have been proud to work on these bipartisan matters to make sure we are protecting our climate at all times. >> that's going to be a hard one to the top. i think you have another one. >> this race is among a handful which could decide the majority party in the u.s. house. how would you work across the aisle specifically on budget bills and keeping the government running? >> lori chavez-deremer.

>> i have been so proud of my bipartisan record in congress. i made that promise when i talked to voters 24 months ago and i asked them to trust me on this issue and they did. and i went back to congress. out of the 300 ills that i'm on, 84 percent are bipartisan. i made sure to work with my colleagues in the state of oregon being one of the most bipartisan members of congress and the most bipartisan member in the delegation. i worked on education, agriculture. we talk to each other. we make sure we are addressing oregon's needs first. that was my promise to oregonians, that i would represent everybody while i'm there. while we are talking about budgeting, we can always get to a point when we can agree and make the best policy for oregonians. >> janelle bynum. >> as a mom of four, i'm a

master negotiator and i try to understand what each person's interests are, what their motivations are. that's why have been successful in bringing home multiple bills whether it was the chips act, two hundred million dollars of investment for oregonians leading to 43 billion dollars of economic activity in this state. or if it was on public safety, i worked across the aisle with my republican partner, ron noble, who was the vice chair of the judiciary committee and i made sure that no bill passed our committee without his support. i also made sure that i attended meetings outside the halls of the legislature, making sure we made genuine friendships and i loved attending the prayer meeting every wednesday afternoon. >> lori chavez-deremer, one minute. >> she certainly brought up public safety, so we will address them now.

making sure that you are working with your vice chair in your judiciary committee. he said you talked to ron noble and he rubberstamped every bill that was there. i talked to run noble as well. i mentioned it before. he wrote a letter today along with every other public safety officer to say that you are not telling the truth. that you are mischaracterizing that when they were pushed into a corner and didn't have any other choice except to take the best of the worst choices. you cannot be bipartisan, invite people into the room and not listen to them. that's the piece i'm starting to recognize. as an almost 10 year legislator of failed policies, you have sided with the wrong people and you have dismantled law enforcement to do their job and keep oregonians safe and because of that, people are dead. >> janelle bynum. >> i am in a year legislator because you lost to me tries --

twice. ron noble talked about how great the work was that we did. no one pressured him into doing that. to say otherwise is a lie. ron noble is a man of the cloth. i'm quite surprised that he would lie to you or you would lie here on national television. >> it's in public. it was released a few hours ago. >> that's unfortunate because we have really good legislation he worked on making sure that we change the rules, making sure that people when we had use of force issues that we change that. we also made sure police officers who were not worthy of the badge couldn't stay on payroll. he will tell you with a smile, he got what he wanted. >> interesting discussion. i think you have definitely hit the button on that one.

what do you say we give them an extra 20 to talk about that? >> i want to remind you the question is about bipartisanship specifically in the halls of congress and related to getting a balanced budget passed. >> ladies. >> this is the work we have to do. we passed five appropriations bills. it takes negotiation in such a split congress and that is why it does take the bipartisan work. that is why when members like myself joined problem solvers so we can come to discussions and leave out the extreme sides, work together in the halls of congress. anything else that you see on tv is nonsense because i work hard across the aisle every single day. >> janelle bynum. >> i will go back to the chips act. we were masterful in making sure we negotiated something for all oregonians to be able to benefit from and that wasn't just an idea that democrats wanted or

that republicans were going to win with this bill. this was a joint committee with inclusion and it made sure we had all oregonians at the table and they could all benefit. i have multiple examples. >> thank you to both of the candidates. thank you to heather roberts. great questions. when we come back, we will be joined by the publisher of the source here in bend and the candidates will give their thoughts on measure 110 and abortion rights. welcome back to news channel 21's live debate coverage for organs fifth congressional district. we are now joined by aaron sweitzer, publisher of the source. thanks for coming in tonight. you have some big shoes to fill because heather's questions were outstanding. >> she's incredible. my first question involves controversial measure 110. would you advocate for

supporting or expanding these programs? >> representative bynum, you start. >> voters can trust me on the issue because i believe that early in the conversation or prior to even having measure 110 on the table that we should have been investing in mental health supports across the state. i wrote an open letter with many other mental health providers to governor kate brown calling for state investment in mental health support. we know that is one reason that measure 110 was not successful. we didn't have the infrastructure. high was the visionary who called that out ahead of time and i know that oregonians across the state wanted a clear and compassionate option for people who were experiencing substance abuse and addiction. we didn't get measure 110, we didn't get the implementation at the state level at the level people needed it at and i lead

on making sure we could correct that. if you have a vision, you should be able to follow it through from start to finish. >> measure 110 has been a failed experiment and it was led by janelle bynum. >> that's not true. >> she mentioned she wanted to address mental health, but she didn't. she couldn't get to it before measure 110 was on the docket. she's the home team. all three houses. >> you are lying, that's why you can't get it out. >> when you are a visionary, you don't put something on the board unless you can finish it. measure 110 was a failure that has led to more drug addiction and more people dying on the streets. fentanyl and the opioid crisis are killing people on the street and this is why law-enforcement doesn't trust her, didn't support her and begged her not to do it. she dismantled law enforcement.

she wrote bills to fund the police and she decided it was a good idea to side with rapists. >> my opponent has fantasies of me siding with the wrong side of the law. what is really important to remember here is that i lead on the fentanyl conversation and mental health and you can't match that. >> then why are people dying and still struggling with mental health? >> we can't trust you. you were nowhere to be found when we tried to work on fentanyl as a leading issue. you were nowhere to be found when it came to working on mental health. you were not putting forth any ideas. i was the one making sure the oregon state legislature put an $80 million to grow the number of mental health providers. i made sure that happened and i will continue to make sure that happens. >> i was not on the state legislature who decided to be a

champion and sold people a false bill of goods. but what i have done to address the fentanyl crisis, it was passed into law and signed by president biden, making sure we can protect our young families. i also passed the help fentanyl act. andrea salinas is running all over tv because it's a good bill. we have to make sure we are investing to protect our children. we have to shut that southern border to make sure the drugs are not flooding into a state like oregon and we have to support and respect our law enforcement so they can do their jobs and feel good about it. >> you've got great questions, too. what's your next one? >> this question turns to abortion rights. would you support a national ban on abortion, why or why not? >> congresswoman chavez-deremer. >> i would not support it and

the reason is because we do not have the authority or jurisdiction to do so. after the scotus ruling in 2022, it is now a states rights issue and oregon has spoken loud and clear that they would like to protect their abortion rights. more than 65% of the population has said they want access. we will not see a vote on the house floor anymore. and if anybody tried to bring it forward, i would imagine it's going to end up again in a court case because it's a state rights issue. >> i have stood up repeatedly from the time i entered the state house doors until now to make sure that women across oregon have access to reproductive health care whether it was the reproductive health equity act or making sure that doctors weren't extradited to other states for their participation in caring for their patients who may have to have reproductive care procedures. my opponent has voted 13 times

in various capacities to ensure that reproductive health care rights are not protected across this country. we know republicans want her on their books. we know they want her at the table. we know they want her in the numbers so that they can limit ivf and options for woman's birth control. we know they want her for the numbers and we can't let that happen. we don't trust her. >> lori chavez-deremer. >> again, that's an outright lie. i don't know where the 13 comes from and she cannot fight it so she makes that up. contraception is important. i'm on the contraception act with my colleagues. i have my own ivf bill so women can't decide when they want to have their children. i'm on a second ivf bill for a tax credit of more than $30,000 to go toward how expensive that is. so that's nonsense.

i was the one who kept it off the floor. to even have the discussion on a national ban. we have to know the reality. sometimes we have to do a reality overlay of what's happening in 2024. at one time have i taken any vote to fundamentally dismantle woman's right to choose here in oregon. >> good discussion. janel. >> we know that lori chavez-deremer is taking more moderate approach now because i have been in her face about it because we are holding her feet to the fire about it. she promised one thing here in oregon and then went to washington and completely flipped on us. we can't trust her. i have two daughters. i want to make sure there reproductive rights are protected wherever they are in this country. full stop. no negotiation. >> very good. great discussion. let's give them a little extra

time. >> how about 20 seconds? >> i am a mom. i know how important this issue is. people want us to be compassionate and thoughtful about this. this is not in the house of representatives. this is no longer in congress. this is a states rights issue. to say that i'm in the pocket of anybody is nonsense. this is why my independent voice and leadership representing all of oregon matters. people do trust me because my record speaks for itself. >> you get an extra 20 seconds on this, janelle bynum. >> one of the things particularly important to me is making sure the issue of maternal mortality gets discussed in congress. we know the women of color are dying in childbirth because they can't get reproductive care. and they are dying in a country that has access to the highest level of health care around the

world. so this idea that we can't protect women -- we can only protect women at the state level and not nationally has also part of the reproductive health care rights conversation. >> another question. >> my last question turns to election integrity. do you believe our elections are free and fair? what if anything concerns you about election integrity at the state and national level? >> we begin with janelle bynum. >> election integrity is important to me because i'm just one generation removed from jim crow segregation. my mother grew up in the jim crow south and terror was part of the agenda. and when we think about who was encouraged to vote and who wasn't, that is still blood on this country's hands. that's why i am a pure and free defender of democracy.

that's why i make sure that my children vote, that we talk about voting as part of their civic duty and i want to make sure that we are always ensuring that our elections are free and fair. i'm proud of oregon's model. not proud of the mistake the secretary of state's office made, but i'm proud of oregon's vote by mail model. >> lori chavez-deremer. >> free and fair elections is the backbone of our democracy. we can always do better and make sure we are fixing the mistakes. here in oregon, my opponent voted for the dmv on this issue. just now is she coming out and saying -- she's never questioned it before. having 1500 people registered to vote who are noncitizens is a problem. i wrote a letter to the secretary of state asking those to be addressed.

we just cannot have any breakdowns if we can protect it and that's what i want to do. always have this conversation and make sure we protect our democracy not only in this conversation but also in america. >> your response. >> one of the things that gave me pause was when former president trump was telling a group of potential supporters that they only had to vote this one time. and if they voted this one time, he would take care of it from there. and that gave me chills. because telling someone that you're going to take care of the election, that's a problem. >> will come back to our live debate for oregon's fifth congressional district. time for closing statements. you will each have two minutes. lori chavez-deremer, you begin. >> thank you for hosting this. it is so important for oregon's fifth district to make the

decision on who you want to represent you in washington, d.c.. this job i take very seriously. i'm very grateful to my colleagues across the country who i've been able to work with on both sides of the aisle. i think we have stayed focused and worked hard to represent all oregonians paired we have some serious issues in this country. we have to secure our border and get that fentanyl off the streets. we do not need another 9/11 or a terrorist attack on a. we have to support our public safety officers and we have to have a leader who says they will have their back at all times and allow them to do their jobs and bring back the respect they deserve. as a mom and business owner and former mayor, i understand what

it takes to get the job done. we can't go halfway and then quit. we can't ruin the relationships that we have built. if my opponent has had a 10 year record almost in salem and she has lost the support of law enforcement and homebuilders and realtors and people, they don't trust her. we saw what happened that she did not protect a young woman who came to her. talk about sexual harassment, she decided to cover it up. to me, you have a mandate. you are an acquired mandatory reporter to follow the law and protect our young women. so tonight we heard she's going to protect women and when she had the opportunity as a mom, legislator and lawmaker, she chose not to do it. we cannot trust janelle bynum to walk the halls of congress. i ask for your vote and i look

forward to serving you in the 119th congress. >> janelle bynum, two minutes for closing remarks. >> i am excited about the choice you have for oregon's fifth congressional district and to me, the choice is very clear. you have the choice between democracy versus autocracy. you have a choice between a person who supports working families or a person who supports the 1%. you have the choice between someone who for stop supports the codification of roe v. wade versus someone who is half in and half out. you have the choice between someone who supports working families, who supports labor, who shows up. or a person who can't ever really be found when it comes right down to it. i have been someone that has worked across the aisle whether it was in public safety, economic questions or conversations. i have been that person that is

a strong and steady leader. i have been the person who doesn't take the bait. i have been the person who has made sure that i have held lori chavez-deremer accountable in this election for her strong unwavering love school brandon support of president trump, a 34 time convicted felon. and a person who has been credibly accused of sexual assault. don't take the bait, oregonians. don't take the bait. she's trying to make you forget. that's who her man is and she's standing by her man. you can't trust lori chavez-deremer. i am the visionary, i am the steady, i am the mom of four who is going to bring oregon's fifth congressional district doctor glory. >> thank you so much for both of our candidates for joining us here at news channel 21 and thank you for watching in

central oregon and around the nation. we have you covered everything election related. make sure to download our app, ktvz.com. our next newscast begins in just a few moments report. it's about an hour.

>> good evening. i am your host. control of the senate and white house runs through michigan. for the next 60 minutes -- the next 60 minutes will reshape the debate. our moderator is rick alvin. tonight's debate is being broadcast. we are streaming online and across the country.

before we get to the questions, let's review the rules. mr. rogers and ms. slotkin, you will have 60 seconds for an opening statement and to answer a question. rick will alert the candidates when the time is up. and now live from grand rapids, it is debate night in michigan. >> welcome and thank you for being here and thanks to everyone for viewing. we encourage everyone watching to let us know your thoughts on x. it's also where you can find the source material used in developing tonight's questions. each will get a 62nd opening statement, a coin flip determined that congresswoman slotkin will go first. you have 60 seconds.

>> thanks for having me. i'm a third-generation michigander and a congresswoman from michigan's seventh district. my life in national security began on 9/11. i happen to be in new york city when 9/11 happened. got recruited by the cia, did two tours in iraq, and worked for two presidents, one democratic and one republican. i believe we must enhance and strengthen the middle class. michigan invented the middle class. that means jobs with dignity and bringing down the cost. i'm glad we are having this debate tonight. there are some real differences between me and my opponent but the good news is we both have records. i have five years in the congress and mr. rogers had 20 years as an elected politician.

the border, gas, ev mandates. we should talk about all of this. rick: here is where we start. there is a major storm bearing down on florida. fema's response to some of the disasters we have seen have, with the question throughout the south and even in michigan. fema denied disaster relief after a tornado struck in kalamazoo county inmate. how would you prioritize fema and make sure they have the funds to meet the disasters we are seeing nationwide? rep. slotkin: we have had nine people die in the state of michigan from six tornadoes,

four in the district i represent. sometimes we got federal assistance and sometimes we did not. what is happening in north carolina and what they are fearing in florida is terrifying. we need to make sure our disaster response is prepared for the next generation. we are going to have more and stronger storms and extreme weather and fema needs to be prepared no just not just with the right personnel but with enough cash. we increased the money they get per year because we all know when the next disaster will come but is responsible -- it's the responsibility of the federal government to deal with them. rick: congressman rogers, same question. how would you prioritize to make sure fema has the money to meet the needs we see on a regular basis? mr. rogers: fema is an important organization.

one of the things that makes no sense in the last six years is the fact that fema spent almost $700 million on housing illegals and now just told north carolina they don't have enough money to take care of american citizens who are in desperate need in the middle of a disaster, so here you have a wide open border in the south where the government, including my opponent, who voted for funding of illegal immigrants, that comes out of the fema budget. this is something really important. if we are going to get spending under control in washington, the last thing we need to be doing is spending money on illegal immigrants. close the border and fix that problem. make sure fema focuses on americans in their time of need. rick: congressman, you have a 30-second rebuttal. rep. slotkin: i think no one is

proud of what's going on at the southern border, but the idea is we have to make sure we have the resources needed for emergencies that are happening right now today in our state. that means prioritizing funding. we have plenty of things to do on the border and we -- and i hope we have an opportunity to get into that. i may cia officer who spent my life protecting the country. i hope we will get to that. we also need to make sure fema is ready to address the problems in michigan now. rick: congressman rogers, you have 30 seconds. would you be in favor of appropriating more? mr. rogers: we have to get it right first of all. diverging that money from illegals coming across the border is an absolute nonstarter for me and should be for most michigan citizens. my opponent voted and voted to

allow that money to go to illegal immigrants into say now that she has done more for the border -- listen, six months of campaign ads don't make up for six years of bad policy and judgment. we have to fix the thinking back in washington, d.c. rick: let's move onto to the escalating tensions in the middle east? yesterday marked one year since the attacks on israel. israel continues attacks on hamas and hezbollah. civilians have been harmed in this. iran has launched missiles into israel. so with all of that, the question is is there a redline that israel could cross that would lose your support? mr. rogers: you know, i think one of the big problems people have been trying on both sides of this issue -- we could have a cease fire tomorrow if hamas would give up the hostages we

have four americans still there. they should be brought home. they were dragged out of their homes viciously on october 7 into the tunnels of gaza. i think what we should do is support israel getting this right, frame out a cease fire based on getting the hostages out first. they need the ability to defend themselves. they are being attacked from the north. they are having attacks coming in from gaza. where all of this has started is in tehran, if we don't contain tehran, we will have more trouble and be more involved in the middle east. rick: is there a redline that israel could cross? mr. rogers: hypotheticals don't work in this. they have to defend themselves. iran is coming at them through hezbollah and hamas. iran is attacked 200 installations across the middle

east since october 7. rick: congresswoman slotkin, the same question to you. is there a redline beyond which israel could go after which they would lose your support? rep. slotkin: it is extremely raw and personal here in michigan. for me it's clear we need a cease fire deal that brings the hostages home. israel has the right to defend itself when people come and kill their citizens, rate women -- rate women, shoot ballistic missiles out of them, but iran is now in a very interesting moment. there big proxies have been killed or wiped down in hezbollah and hamas and they just fired a strategic round of ballistic missiles, including hypersonic muscles. israel has the right to respond to it but i will not say that the u.s. should get back into a big land war in the middle east.

we spent 20 years in iraq and i spent three towards there. i am not interested in having another 20 year war in the middle east. rick: is there a redline beyond which israel could go beyond which they would lose your support? rep. slotkin: my opponent was a big supporter of the iraqi war. i do not support a -- support another land war in the middle east. mr. rogers: my opponent was wrong on all of this. the architect of the nuclear deal with iran, the fact that she supported making sure that the saudis could not defend themselves against the houthis, taking them off the terrorist list, making iran have the capital by allowing them to sell oil into the market has engulfed us in the middle east.

bad decision. not standing up to the fact that they are using their proxies across the middle east not only to attack israel, our ally, but also to attack 100 different installations around the middle east. rep. slotkin: there is one of us on this stage who has been on the receiving end of iranian rockets and mortars and iud's in iraq -- and ied in iraq. i take a backseat to no one on the issue of iran. i am as hawkish as anyone. we need to deter and contain them. rick: this hits home, especially for some of our citizens on the east side of the state. michigan has one of the largest arab-american populations in the country. do you believe a cease fire is possible if either hamas or hezbollah has the current

political structure and is allowed to remain in charge? rep. slotkin: a cease fire deal has to actually work to get the hostages back. they took hostages a year ago and they need to be returned. that has to be part of it. and they cannot be able to project power into israel. we all deeply care about civilian casualties. we have a humanitarian disaster going on inside gaza. you have to understand that a cease fire deal means he cannot project violence into that state. you cannot. we need a cease fire deal but it needs to come at a point where they cannot project violence. israel has the right to defend itself from that. rick: same question. with this current situation, is it possible to get all the sides to a cease fire? mr. rogers: you can never go into anything thinking it is never possible.

a cease-fire could happen today if we could get the hostages out. you cannot have a cease-fire could happen today if we could get the hostages out. it's a terrorist organization. they assassinated hostages in the totals along the way -- the tunnels along the way. we need to find that place where we can get those hostages out and then have further dialogue. the problem is iran is still coming at us. i understand my opponent's notion that serving in iraq gives permission to be wrong in the entire effort for iran. we are engulfed in the middle east from bad policy. they are drawing the united states, the democrats along with the support of the congressional allies, including my opponent, into a wider conflict. bad decisions. rick: you have a 30-second rebuttal and you can address the

congressman suggesting you were wrong. rep. slotkin: it's important we reflect our records. the congressman was elected for 20 years. he was a chairman of the house intelligence committee. in the run-up to the iraq war, there was no greater supporter than mike rogers in leading us into their war. if we are talking about why the middle east is the way it is, we had 20 years embroiled in iraq and afghanistan. men and women, americans, dead. you have to be extremely cautious when you're talking about these issues. i will not succumb to bellicose talk on that. rick: congressman rogers, you have a 30-second rebuttal. mr. rogers: this is a little offensive to me. i have family in the military. and so i was more cautious than most about us being, you know,

using military force within the region. and by the way, that information that was given to congress was based on the cia at the time. my opponent was in the cia doing analytical work. if you think about how dangerous this is, and i get it, the cia has deception training. my opponent clearly went through that. you are supposed to use that against your adversaries, not michigan voters. rick: the economy, the latest emerson college poll says many voters in michigan call it their number one concern because prices are too high. this is echoed across the country. congressman rogers, specifically, if you are elected, what can and what will you do to help bring down prices? you have 60 seconds? mr. rogers: i have traveled around the state and i have never seen such hurt as i have now.

i met a young woman who has four kids. she works part-time and her husband works full-time at a small factory in michigan. in tears talked about how the last two or three days of the month she has to go to a food pantry to feed her family. this is unacceptable. they poured money -- my opponent voted for all of it. trillions of dollars of spending. that has raised the cost of groceries, of gasoline. it has made the average family in michigan about $12,000 in the hole before they start with inflationary numbers. here are the things i would do. we have to become energy independent. i'm for an all of the above policy but if we don't get gas prices down we won't get food prices down. there is no sense buying oil from venezuela we have capability here. 1.6 trillion dollars in the regulation coming out of washington, d.c. we have to get our arms around

spending. rick: you have called yourself team normal. you have said that prices are too high and your priority is tackling inflation. the same question, what are you going to do, what can you do, to get prices down? rep. slotkin: it is the most common issue i think anybody hears when they are walking around. someone telling me i cannot afford this. people are hurting. they feel shame about it. so for me there's really three things that i've been working on doing that i believe in. number one is bringing the supply chains back home from places like china. that includes the 44 manufacturing facilities being beat now -- build now in the state of michigan. you need jobs with good benefits. tackling the primary costs, health care, prescription drugs. we finally allowed medicare to

negotiate drug prices. housing, childcare. number three, you have to keep more money in your pocket that you learn. we have to do thing like the earned child tax credit. give breaks of the middle class instead of the ultra wealthy. rick: mr. rogers, you have a 30-second rebuttal. mr. rogers: if you want to help the middle class, you don't do it by raising prices, by reckless spending and washington, d.c. since my opponent has been elected, we have lost in the state 29,000 manufacturing jobs. i worked in an assembly plant in michigan. these jobs are critical. the average wage of those jobs, $72,000. you cannot continue to say you are for the middle class and eliminate the variability for people to be middle class. rick: congresswoman slotkin, you

have a 30-second rebuttal. rep. slotkin: it's important you have a record. mr. rogers says he cares about costs. let's talk about medicare negotiating drug prices. the cosco model -- the costco model. he voted against allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices. canadians can but not the americans. that is just pure unadulterated greed on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry. rick: we have seen what is happened -- what has happened with a 50% surge in housing prices from 2012 to 2022, and every year, year to year, housing prices have risen by more than 5.5%.

congresswoman, should taxpayer dollars to be used to help first-time homebuyers? you have 60 seconds. rep. slotkin: i would like to see the details of the program but i will tell you what i do believe and what has worked. we are helping to build an apartment building. it's a public-private partnership. it's some public money but a lot of private builder money and they will put aside a certain number of units for affordable housing could if you are a cop, a nurse, a teacher and you cannot afford to live in traverse city, how do we make sure you can afford to do your job and not live an hour away but in the city? there's a lot of ways we can do it but it's about increasing the housing stock. we need more production of houses. i'm not sure about the program. i have not looked at the details but i can tell you what i voted

on and it is expanding housing for people in the middle class. rick: congressman rogers, the question is, first of all, will $25,000 be enough to help somebody buy a home and should we use taxpayer money to do that? mr. rogers: if you talk to anybody in the housing business they will tell you the federal government walking in and putting down $25,000, you have just increased the cost of housing by about $25,000. it does not work. the number one reason people cannot afford homes is interest rates. people who want a house cannot do it because they are at 3% and are not about to pay 7% or 8% on a house. they cannot make up for the difference of what used to be. and my opponent has voted 100%

with the biden-harris agenda. and if you think about what that means, it means she is likely to go in and vote for this $25,000 and every other scheme that will only increase the cost of housing. if you want to get to the root of this, we have to stop spending, stop borrowing the money from countries like china that we don't have, and start bringing it back under control so we can get interest rate step. that's the number one thing. rick: congresswoman slotkin, you have a 30-second rebuttal, and within that, if you could address whether you agree with the concept of using that money for first-time house buying. rep. slotkin: it is on the issue of bipartisanship, which is important when you are running to be michigan's senator. we are a purple state. i was voted the 14th most bipartisan member of progress out of 435.

i voted and split with my party more than 97% of other democrats in contrast to mr. rogers, who was literally the whip for his party. i believe in bipartisanship and he is misstating the record. rick: you can have your rebuttal. mr. rogers: the agenda that brought us high gas prices, high grocery prices, that brought us your electric bill almost doubling, about a 90% increase in costs from 100% of voting with the biden-harris agenda. i was in congress and i know how that works. when you are talking about the issues that matter, 100%. i think it is disingenuous and certainly deceptive, saying that

you vote against your party but you vote for all of the things that have -- rick: our first viewer question. i'm happy to have this. it is dealing with social programs. happy to have my colleague here with the first question. amber: our first viewer question is from david in grand rapids. he wants to know what the campaigns will do to strengthen social security, medicaid and medicare. rick: what would you do to strengthen social security, medicaid and medicare? congressman rogers, you have 60 seconds. mr. rogers: on the day of 9/11, i had a presentation to the budget committee, and that was about making sure the congress did not continue to take money out of the trust funds to spend on other things. one of the things we should be doing is protecting the social security trust fund. my parents survived on social security and medicare.

my in-laws -- together in a bipartisan way to stop that from happening. i see no action to that end and it will be an important issue that we protect and preserve medicare and social security. rick: our viewer wants to know what you will do to protect social security, medicaid and medicare. rep. slotkin: this is an area where i think we are very different and we again both have records on this. i believe it's essential and it's been a personal issue for me to access health care. it is important that if you work your entire life you have the

safety of knowing you will not end your life in poverty. i believe in supporting medicare and social security. mike rogers voted to either privatize or cut medicare and social security over and over again. he voted to raise the age of retirement. it is all on the record. so it is not about what he's going to do but what he has already done. it's not about the talking points when you are sitting in front of a tv camera but what you will do and what you have done when you were in the job. so for me whether it's allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices so we actually save something for medicare, whether it is changing retirement, redefining it as he proposes, we could not be more different on this issue. rick: you obviously disagree with what congresswoman slotkin just said. you have 30 seconds to rebut. mr. rogers: dishonest and deceptive and we have seen that over and over again and on this

issue it is the same. i'm not even sure she could pass the polygraph test at the cia anymore. when you look at what we have to do to protect it, fear is not going to get it done. nor did i do the things she suggested i did. my opponent came from a very wealthy family. i did not. we came from a middle-class family here in michigan. we counted on social security and medicare. my father had cancer. i had cancer when i was 19. these issues are big in their personal. rick: congresswoman slotkin, you have 30 seconds in rebuttal. rep. slotkin: there is no need to throw names around or yelp epithets at each other. he voted to raise the retirement age. that is not a fabrication. he has been down in florida for a few years, but when you vote your record is public.

we know you voted to privatize or cut social security. he voted five times against allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices. it makes sense. to me it's not about throwing names or deception or mentioning the cia. it is about what you did when you held the job. rick: it is time for you to take a breath and maybe a drink of water. we are going to take a quick break. when we return, we are going to talk about ev battery plants in the state of michigan onto me -- on debate night in michigan. now back to our questions. i want you both know that these next couple questions are going to deal with the subject -- with a subject i am sure there are divisions on but i want to be as clear on them as possible. sales for ev's compared to what had been projected by some auto

dealers are just not there still. in michigan, we have plans for two ev battery plants and they continue. we saw the downsizing in battle creek. along with a plant proposed in big rapids that has been embroiled in controversy. congresswoman slotkin, here is the question. are ev battery plants right for michigan and if they are why are the? rep. slotkin: i don't care what kind of car you want to drive. i don't care if it's a gas powered car or an ev. i live on a dirt road. i cannot have an ev for the foreseeable future. i care about who is going to build the next generation of vehicles. it is either going to be us or china. right now, china is eating our lunch on these types of vehicles, and michigan has had the experience of missing these trends. in the 1970's and 1980's, we

said no one will ever buy a fuel-efficient vehicle, and then the japanese and koreans came in and ate our lunch and we have never made up that market share. i don't care what you want to drive but if the answer is who is going to build them, i want that to be team america, not china. i just don't understand this idea of just ceding that ground to china. my opponent is happy to let them eat our lunch. i'm not. we should make them. rick: congressman rogers, are ev plants right for michigan? mr. rogers: i worked on the assembly line in michigan in i will tell you what. they know more than what's coming out of washington, d.c. 85% of everything that is processed in an electric vehicle has to go through china. why we would see that auto market to the comet's party of china is beyond me.

my opponent has multiple times supported ev mandates, trying to pick the cars the companies have to building the cars you have to buy. that got us 2400 layoffs at stellantis, 1000 at general motors, ford is talking about closing two lines. the ceo of ford said this is unworkable. there's a better way to get where we want to go, like hybrids. you don't have to plug it in and you get to keep the autoworkers in the state. about one million are rely on building something for a gasoline engine. why we would take it off the table is beyond me. rick: you have a 30-second rebuttal. rep. slotkin: i don't understand for someone who claims to care about national security. if you are worried about ev;s being -- about ev's being built

abroad, join us in michigan where we have been trying to bring back our supply chains since covid. we all had to figure out we overextended ourselves into china so we started bringing parts back, mining back, things that are important to the supply chain. i'm not going to just give it up to china. rick: you have a rebuttal. you have some differences here so you have 30 seconds to try to point out what those are. mr. rogers: my opponent signed a nondisclosure agreement to facilitate a chinese company going out near big rapids to bring in chinese engineers to build a factory that makes components of which 85% have to be processed in china. when it is fully operating, it takes 40% of michigan autoworkers and gets rid of them. why that is a good plan when there are other things we can do

-- the electric rate cannot handle it. we have to fix that. eb china by selling americans cars they want to buy. rick: i will give you 15 seconds. the congressman said you signed an indian. this has been a point of contention between the two of you. did you? rep. slotkin: i have never signed an nda with the chinese government or entity or company at all. i found out about that plan in the paper. he repeats it. it is alive. the detroit news and every other news source that is credible has said so and he should stop repeating. rick: you have expressed concern over the potential ties to the chinese government. he did that at a rally near to the site where it is supposed to be built. what evidence do you have that you can document that the

chinese company, and feel free in your 60 seconds to address the conversation. mr. rogers: go to slotkinnda.com. you will see the nda, number one. two, the incorporation papers for this company says it is affiliated with and must abide by the chinese constitution. we knew this was going to be a problem. leon panetta said this will be used for espionage activities. there's no doubt in my mind why they are bringing chinese engineers here to michigan, and if you think that is crazy, the fbi just arrested five chinese nationals spying, which is pretty close to where this factory will be. we need to take a deep breath and step pretty darn close to her this factory is

going to be. we need to take a deep breath and step back. there's a better way to get where people want to go and it's not to bring the chinese to michigan as she has been part and parcel of doing. >> congresswoman slotkin, do you have any concerns about the appearance of chinese government involvement in the goshen plant and what would you say to people near where the plant is being proposed to do have? >> again, i have never signed an nda with any chinese government or company. he repeats it. it's a lie. the mike rogers of 2024 seems happy to do it. i'm sad about that.

here's the thing. i was the one who wrote the legislation that said we should be able to ban the chinese from buying our farmland, manufacturing facilities. it's bipartisan legislation. i would love to have his support from it. you shouldn't have these companies buying our manufacturing or farmland without full national security vetting. we passed legislation to do it. this is where i stand on this issue. the reason he likes to repeat these lies is because when he left congress and went to work as a consultant, he was the chief security officer of at&t when they were actively working to get chinese companies into our telecoms. for me he's trying to distract from his own record of helping the chinese get into our cut -- telecommute acacian system. >> you have a 30 second rebuttal. >> the congresswoman knows that when i was in the private sector for the last 10 years, i had a security clearance. if i wanted to work for a chinese company which i would not, i couldn't do it. so she makes these charges. they are aspersions and it is unfortunate.

this is the same member of congress who has been deceiving us on the nda. i never signed an nda. we find out she did. she has been involved. she did take money from chinese agents who were involved in the process -- >> i have to respond to this. what he just said honestly it is offensive. the mike rogers of 2014 that people thought they knew who cared about national security would say it should never be divisive at the water's edge is now a completely different guy. to accuse people of these kinds of things, especially a cia officer is offensive and he needs to rethink how badly he wants this seat, how desperate he is to make a move like that. >> all right members. we are going to change the subject although i know there's a lot of passion on that and we could go on. the biden administration announced support for 1.5 billion dollars in federal loan

guarantees to restart the palisade nuclear power plant in van buren county. if the nuclear regulatory commission gives the go-ahead, it would be the first restart of a nuclear power plant in u.s. history. congresswoman slotkin, do you support the plant and the use of federal taxpayer dollars for nuclear projects? you have 60 seconds. >> i supported actively the restart of the palisades plant because we are going to need more energy. everybody knows we are going to need more energy as a country and we need the grid to be updated to deal with that. for that we need the whole menu. we need nuclear, traditional forms of energy, wind, solar, natural gas. the whole gambit. for me what's important is to take a very practical view of this. i worked at the pentagon. we mitigate risk by having diversity of sources.

you never want to be just devoted to one energy source. god forbid you run out of fuel. so you have redundancy. for me and all of the above approach including nuclear is the way to do it. >> congressman rogers, do you support using federal dollars for that and other nuclear projects. >> we are going to have a 57% increase in need off of our electric grid. everything from ai operation, cryptocurrency, you're going to need a lot more power. our electric grid can't handle it. nuclear and small modular nuclear reactors something of been working on for a while is exactly the way to do it. i get the huffing at the microphone. if you care about national security, you cannot see it our

economic future of the commonest party of china. >> i agree. let's do it in michigan, man. let's do it. >> absolutely. you should have done it that way. bringing the opportunity for chinese companies to operate in the united states -- you cannot get promoted to the senate if you don't understand how the chinese operate. >> congresswoman slotkin, we have a 32nd rebuttal. i don't think you have to set it up for you. you both have expressed yourselves. >> the thing that's tough is in washington and the armed services committee, it's one of the most bipartisan committees that still exists. because it's on national security, it really remains a bipartisan place and the most bipartisan issue is china. it's where we worked together and banned things like huawei. it's where we took on the tiktok issue. it is sad that a guy who

considers himself a national security guy can't see that we need to work together on this issue, not lie repeatedly. let's get to work, man. >> congressman rogers, 30 seconds. >> i will look for every opportunity to be bipartisan. but this is a fundamental flaw in judgment about what the chinese are doing to us. intellectual property f. the fact that they are buying homeland. my opponent has been there six years. we haven't seen anything get done. an election year is great. you can be bipartisan in an election year. the slotkin agenda that made groceries more expensive, your kids can't buy a home, your car payments are high. 23% repossessions of cars up. >> let's go back to amber with another viewer question. >> in 2022 michigan voters approved prop three called reproductive freedom for all

with a vote of nearly 57%. bonnie asks, why do you believe it is ok for the government to interfere in women's reproductive health decisions? >> that's bonnie who says why do you believe that the government should interfere in women's reproductive health decisions if you do? you have 60 seconds. >> thanks for the question. i think this is the most heart wrenching decision a woman will ever have to make. i think those decisions are best made where her doctor, family and faith is. in 2022 to set aside what was a divisive issue across america, states got to make the determination. the people of michigan voted overwhelmingly to make abortion legal and part of the state constitution of michigan. i will do nothing when i go back to washington, d.c. to do anything that would change with

the michigan constitution voted on by the people of michigan have given us that guidance to go back. >> congresswoman slotkin, do you believe it is ok for the government to interfere in women's decisions about reproductive health? >> i believe in a woman's right to choose. i did not support overturning roe v. wade and if a bill came in front of the senate to codify it i would support. this is an important distinction between the two of us. mike rogers 22 years as a legislator voted for every single restriction, every bill that came across his desk to make it harder for women and to ban and some cases a woman's right to choose. 56 times in total. we checked the math. to me every single time he was casting" and was saying to women, he does not trust you to make your own decisions about your own family planning every

single time. when it comes to our rights and protecting ourselves i think it is important that we have someone in the seat who does that. he voted and sponsored bills that would make it impossible to have ivf and contraception. if he does not trust us to protect our own rights, do not trust him. >> congressman, you've got 30 seconds. >> deceive and deception has been the constant theme of my opponent from the beginning of this campaign. i have talked about making sure ivf is available for families. it's a very personal thing for these families and i support it 100%. what she is saying is i don't trust you people of michigan. she's going to go back to washington, d.c. and put our vote at risk with the rest of the country with states that don't agree with us. i'm telling you that this is such a personal issue and we have decided.

this issue is decided as of 2022 i won't go back to washington -- >> i was in washington. you voted in florida. for some people this issue is a talking point. he has put his finger in the wind and said now i won't look good if i don't change on this issue. he has changed 30 years of being unilaterally pro-life and never breaking once with his party on this issue. it's not a talking point women. it's our lives. it is whether we bleed to death in a parking lot. do not trust him. >> another viewer question from amber. >> more than 10 million migrants have crossed the border since 20 21 without authorization. according to estimates by the pew research center. michael from granville wants to know what is your plan for these 10 million immigrants? >> as we look at the question from michael, he makes a point.

it took biden three years to come up with some executive orders like trump era remain in mexico policy. congresswoman slotkin, are you in favor of keeping those in place? >> our immigration system is broken. it has been broken for a long time and what's going on at the southern border no one is proud of. as someone who has protected the homeland my entire life as a job as a cia officer and pentagon official, every country in the world has to write -- the right to know who's coming in its borders and what they are doing. we absolutely need to do more at the southern border and we are working on a deal to provide more resources to the bleeding ulcer that we have down there. to me, if you are not here legally, you should not be here. you should be removed to your home country. that's why i have done more border legislation than any member of congress. it's why we passed a bill system

fentanyl. it's also if i can be honest part and parcel of a bigger conversation. we need legal immigration. our farmers need it. our folks in mackinaw needed. -- need it. >> congressman rogers, former president trump has called for mass deportation of some of these migrants that we are talking about who entered the u.s. illegally. is that something you would support and how would you go about it? >> i'm very delighted to hear my opponent has had a conversion about border security. she has been there for six years and voted with biden harris 100%. and here's the thing. you can't voted against the wall. you can't vote against sanctuary cities. you cannot do the things you have been doing and allowing 10 million people to come into our country.

we have spent something like 450 billion dollars on taking care of illegals. room and board and phones and health care. that's enough money to pay for every michigan teacher and every state trooper for 15 years. the fentanyl that's coming across the border has killed almost 3000 michigan citizens every year. this has been a catastrophe and we have seen absolutely nothing. saying you signed a few letters, this is something that should get our blood going for what it is doing to the united states of america. i'm going to go back and i will fix and secure the border first thing. >> you said i was proudly part of team normal. i don't care if you are democrat or republican. just be normal. civil, reasonable. get in and solve your differences. we had a negotiation going on that would provide tremendous resources to the border. it was exactly what democrats and republicans want their leaders to be doing.

sitting in a room, no twitter, no tweeting. mike rogers and his allies came in and said we would rather use it as a political talking point. i want to close the border. he wants to keep it open apparently. >> nobody was more bipartisan when i was chairman of the house of television. i know how to solve big problems. there has been no problem solved by my opponent in the entire six years she has been back in washington. the bill she is talking about had bipartisan opposition. you can't make legal 2 million illegal immigrants every single year. look at the crime. look at the problems it creates. that was not a bill to solve the problem. it was a bill to exasperate and make permanent the problem. it was really a disaster of a bill. >> candidates, it is hard to believe, but we have come to closing statements.

i'm going to ask you both to stick to 60 seconds on the news. we started with you, congresswoman slotkin. you will go with the first closing statement. you have 60 seconds. >> thank you for holding a really good debate. i think at the end of the day the issue comes down to trust. hoodoo trust to come and talk to you and go and fight on your behalf in washington. fight on behalf of the middle class, lowering your health care costs, protecting your rights. it's the question of who do you trust. for me, we couldn't be more different on a bunch of issues. let me make a particular appeal to the republicans watching like my dad. the republicans who feel like their party has left them. you will always have an open door in my office. you will always have a place at the table because i want to hear from you. i am very transparent. if you come to me with a good idea, if you come to me with

pushback, i'm going to be open-minded. i will even change my mind. if you are wondering where your party has gone, come and vote for someone who actually gives a crap about you. democrats and republicans civilly and decently. >> i was a young fbi agent working the sexual trafficking case. a young gal 15 years old ran away from home, got spotted by organized crime, recruited, they made her a stone cold heroin addict within 30 days. we found her 30 days later. she has track marks between her fingers and toes. she gets in the car, stares out the window for 10 minutes, never saying a word. after about 10 minutes without looking at us she says, do you know why i didn't kill myself? why? because i knew somebody cared enough to come find me.

when you look at the problems around this state, families are hurting from the policies that have come out of washington, d.c.. this choice could not be clearer. killing jobs or creating jobs. higher grocery prices, lower grocery prices. this was exactly the kind of choice we have to face. a closed border or a wide-open border that brings the problems of the south. thank you very much. i would appreciate your vote on november 5, i will have your back come november. >> candidates both, thank you very much. i want you to keep in mind that even as we are here tonight, people are voting. so absentee ballots are available and if people are watching tonight, we encourage you to make a choice and vote. we have no vested interest in how you vote, but we think it's important that you do vote. early in person voting will begin october 26 and election day is november 5.

i want to make a personal note to all the people that helped make this program work for this past hour. i couldn't tell you many -- how many people in and outside of this building have been working nonstop to make it happen. having a politician make a decision to do a debate in the heat of a campaign is not easy. you have other considerations. sometimes a debate may not begin your best interest. sometimes you might not have time. to all of our viewers tonight, we urge you to vote thanks again for being able to join us for this very special hour and i hope and informative one. we will say good

the debate was hosted by wcny tv in syracuse. host: good evening and welcome to wcny's debate for new york's 22nd congressional district. i'm david lombardo, host of wcny's the capital press room and connect new york. joining me in the studio are republican congressman brandon williams and democratic state senator john mannion, who are vying for a two-year term in congress, representing onondaga and madison counties and parts of oneida, cayuga and cortland counties. we are going to spend the next hour discussing domestic issues of both national and local importance, with rebuttals, follow-ups, and additional time at my discretion. we are going to hear introductory remarks from the candidates. and as a result of a meticulous

coin toss backstage, state senator john mannion logo first. -- we'll go first. senator, you have 90 seconds. >> thank you so much. thank you to wcny and pbs for hosting this and thank you to dave for moderating. i was born here. i have lived here my entire life. i love this region and i have served my community in the classroom. i was an ap biology teacher. my wife is also a teacher. we raised our kids here. we both grew up in the city of syracuse. we live in the town of gaddis, and we have made our life here as so many have. but we have also watched the challenges that have existed in this region, and i have that built into my dna. i will always fight for this region, always be a good reflection of this region. i left a job that i loved, the greatest job in the world. the most gratifying job in the

world, to advocate for central new york and now the mohawk valley, to represent the 22nd district, the place i love. >> congressman brandon williams, you have 90 seconds, as well. >> thank you, thank you for hosting us. i am glad to be here. good evening. i brandon williams, congressman am for central new york. and i just want to start by remembering the families that are facing incredible hardship in our heartland, in western north carolina, tennessee and elsewhere, as well as those are bracing for the historic storm in florida. i began my career as an nuclear submarine officer in the navy, i spent the last 20 or so years as a businessman and entrepreneur, i am a political outsider. three years ago, i didn't know anyone in politics. so why did i run for congress? i am concerned for our children's future. my wife and i have been married for 32 years, have two grown children, and i am generally concerned about our constitutional republic and what

that looks like going forward. the fact is our nation needs better leaders, leaders of the lead on common sense, on energy, on inflation and the economy, on the border, and on crime. i hope that is what you hear tonight. since being elected in congress, we have solved 1500 constituent cases. i have brought back $45 million of funding to our local community, and i am glad to be here with you tonight. >> now we will turn to the question portion of the evening and start with congressman brandon williams. you have 60 seconds for your responses and then the other candidate will get a chance to respond as well. congressman, this week, a dozen state attorneys general from around the country sued tiktok arguing that has been designed , to be addictive and is ultimately detrimental to mental health of young people. here in new york state, state policymakers adopted a law this summer regulating how miners use social media platforms like instagram.

should congress take actions to restrict the use of social media by minors, and if so, what are the steps you would take? >> i am concerned about tiktok. funny enough, i was the only member of congress that actually was in tiananmen square during the protests in 1989. i have seen with the chinese communist government can do upfront. tiktok is directly related to the influence of china. we see that with social media, a declining mental health of our young people. and the closing in. it is very different from the childhood that i grew up in. playing out in the community with lots of neighbors and lots of sports outside. it is something congress is tracking very carefully and it is definitely something that it needs to do about. >> state senator? >> i spent over a generation in a classroom. i taught before cell phones, and i talked afterwards. and i watched the negative

impact that apps like tiktok have on our children along with a bunch of other easily accessible social media items and otherwise. the algorithm that exists within these systems is designed to honestly change the human brain. it is designed to perpetuate a message that is destructive to the brains of our kids. also, tiktok is also concerning from the national security standpoint. therefore, i am supportive, this is where the federal government should step in and take action. we have done that in new york state to protect our children. it is long overdue. we need to make sure that our kids have the resources and the technology available to them, to be able to learn effectively. but what we do not need is the change of brain chemistry, which absolutely occurs under these algorithms, sending awful messages, repeated messages to these kids that are more and

more disturbing as it relates to potentially drug use, suicide, violence, and other issues. so i fully am in support of highly regulating an organization like tiktok. >> today the biden administration issued a requirement that drinking water systems across the country replace lead pipes by 2030 seven. given the prevalence of lead pipes in upstate communities like syracuse, state senator manion, do you support this mandate? and regardless, what should the federal government to help facilitate the replacement of lead pipes? >> thank you for the question. in upstate new york we have old infrastructure. we have been here a long time so we have integrated systems including in our pipes. another's problem is lead paint in the dust that comes with that.

this is incredibly dangerous to our children. we have elevated levels in our city. as a state senator, we have taken an initiative. we are helping to fund the replacement of the lines going into residents and businesses. we absolutely have to do it and we have to support our municipalities to be able to do it. that is where the federal government can come in. the money we will be saving when we keep our kids safe, when they don't have lead poisoning, when it is not impacting their learning skills is a win for all of us, because they can go on to a successful life. we have decreased rates of violence, decreased rates of incarceration. increased rates of graduation when we keep our lead systems -- we keep lead out of our systems. >> congressman, same question to you. >> sure. as senator mannion

mentioned, lead is very destructive to children, particularly in the middle stage of their life and their brain development. i am also echoing the senator about being concerned about paint, particularly in public housing. there are several things i have done since being sworn into office on exactly these kinds of issues. as i mentioned, i have championed $45 million of project funding for communities here. many of those are water projects in the town of hamilton, elbridge, lafayette, as well as in madison county. this is long overdue investment in our community. with the anticipation of macron and the development that is coming here, there is a lot of work to do to get caught up on that, and that is where a lot of the $45 million that i have brought in has gone. i directly addressed it in the last year and a half in congress. >> i went to photo op with you on the ruling today from the epa. essentially, this is a mandate

to drinking water systems. are you ok with the federal government passing down a mandate like this? >> when it comes to drinking water that will impact the physiological systems of our kids, we absolutely have to take steps to make sure our communities are safe. what we did do in the state was passed legislation so that we would have more frequent testing of drinking water in schools, and that the lead levels that are acceptable within that water have been adjusted so that threshold is such that we can flag the problem and address it immediately. >> and are you ok with the epa basically doing a mandate on water systems around the country and in new york specifically? >> there is a lot of precedent for this already. there is the failed system in michigan that the federal government got involved in an mandated change, that the epa would step in and do this does not surprise me, doesn't seem

beyond the scope of the federal government. part of my technology background that i bring is from what is called the process industries, wastewater system and water systems is part of that, to have alerts, look for changes in levels, it is part of the experience i bring to congress, and from my business experience. >> before we go on, i want to announce that the mets have defeated the phillies 7-2 in game three, taking a 2-1 leading the division series there. moving on to congressman williams. since 2021 college athletes have , been able to get paid for their name, image and likeness. the current dynamic has raised questions about the rites of students as well as the future of nonrevenue-generating sports. should congress dip into this vacuum? what are the key tenets of national regulations in the space? >> i met with the head of the

ncaa who also happens to be president of baylor university. by a strange twist of fate, her husband with my counselor. he played professional basketball. i am concerned about the flood of money into college sports, there is even talk of a super league stability from the ncaa. look, college is about getting an education and it is about showing up. when there is so much money coming in, a disadvantage is programs like syracuse university that top tier, the division one, but they are unable to compete with giant programs and all the money that goes into attracting talent. there has to be a balance to that. the fact that athletes get paid, i am ok with that socket is to be more sharing and a lot more control over how that happens. >> state senator? >> what has happened with these recent standards is like it is like the wild wild west.

it really is. we have great can international additions in this country. the leaders of those institutions have great concern about the lack of emphasis on academics and more focus on athletics. we love our sports, absolutely. and we love the players of those sports. but we need overriding federal legislation that should be negotiated with the ncaa. we have got to -- we did pass legislation in the state. we were doing that because we had to play catch-up with other states as we were approaching the end of the legislative session. we know other states may have had an advantage. i am proud of the universities in the district, and i want to make sure that we support them, so we did that. but the infusion of money into the system, along with the way the transfer portal is, in many way, it is ruining college

sports. we have to get this right. it takes a collective negotiating effort with leaders of different conferences, universities, the ncaa. >> it is a tricky one. [laughter] we have had other state lawmakers back in a data mix at the naacp>> and the ncaa. >>[laughter] so you are in good company. you mentioned the transfer portal. thumbs up, thumbs down? the unanimity on that issue though, congressman, should student athletes moving forward be treated as employees of the institutions that they are attending, including the collective bargaining rates that might come with that? >> in terms of them being employees, they do function within the university system. they are not free agents outside the university system so they should be employees within the system. you have seen in unions and all the professional sports -- in

all the professional sports. whether that should go to college sports, i don't know. they are there for a finite amount of time in their college careers. the primary thing about college, again, is to get an education. we can't get that lost in the flood of money and rules and the excitement of sports. >> state senator? >> we went to make sure these students are protected, and they are protected by collective bargaining rates. i know there is movement in that direction. i support it. there are individuals we are not focusing on, the non-revenue generating athletes. they are important in many way, these universities. they make the universities and enriched environment for many. my own children have participated at that level. so this is something that, again, to protect everyone in participation in these intercollegiate sparkles, i do

believe that is a good fit. , again, it would require negotiation and partnership to make sure we get it right. we are in a situation with a lot of money floating around where there is a history of young people being taken advantage of. >> my next question will start with senator mannion. at 46%, syracuse has one of the highest rates of child poverty in the country and new york's rate is above the national average. in new york, state policymakers have set a goal of getting child poverty in half by 2032, but they stress the need for federal action to make substantive improvements. what changes to the social safety net do you a to address child poverty at the federal level? >> it is going to be hard to answer this in one minute. poverty does not happen overnight. what my work has already done -- and i want to transfer this to the federal level, is the number of things. we need to make sure our schools, which are the great equalizer, our public schools, have every resource they need to support our students including

at the prekindergarten level, which we have expanded to upstate new york. students should be able to go to school and we should have universal school meals. so there is both breakfast and lunch for them. we are already preparing food in that setting. beyond that, we need to make sure we are supporting apprenticeship programs, like i have in the state. the manufacturers alliance of central new york, i carried a budget item which i more than doubled -- from $750,000 to 1.75 million dollars. that is changing lives. people are earning money while they are learning and changing careers. it is opportunity that is necessary. i tried to get as much in in that many. i would say housing, health care, transportation, are all a big part of making sure there are no barriers to that opportunity. >> congressman williams, 60 seconds, child poverty. >> that is a big topic.

since being elected to congress, i have championed the children's raised center program in east adams neighborhood. in fact, there are $3 million that we have been able to secure it in federal funding exactly to that problem, targeted to the most vulnerable community that we have. i have also championed the child tax credit, giving parents more resources to escape poverty while having children. i always come back to education and income from -- and i come at it from a different point of view. we have already spent more money than any other country in the road on education. my wife and i are both products on public schools. we have benefited from those. but i support school choice for parents. i hear this all the time, particularly in poor neighborhoods, that school choice, or vouchers that give

their children the best educational opportunities available, not just the local school, but available to them, is one of the key ways that we can drive an end to child poverty. >> i want to follow up on the program that you mentioned there, congressman, the idea of the child tax credit. we saw an expansion of this benefit during the pandemic, and and it dramatically reduced child poverty cutting rates right here in new york by nearly 50%. thinking about the credit moving forward, what should the benefit look like? >> there are proposals now being discussed. this is a budgetary issue and we are championing extending the child tax credit. all of that will be hashed out in the messy process of congress. but the fact is that we need to support families that are choosing to have children. if you look at the actual birthrate in america, it is underneath the 2.1 self-sustaining rate.

immigration, of course, helps with that, but it is also critical that we encourage families to have children, make it affordable for them and incentivize them. . which is important for our country. >> state senator, any thoughts on the federal level? >> in new york state, we delivered for the people in this state, we acted and responded and wanted to provide relief for evergreen families. at the federal level, we absolutely have to support it, in fact, it should already be extended. but what we're seeing is a congress right now that is not getting anything done. they are playing theatrical politics. removing speakers. but the people of this country and this region expect more. when we talk about families and making sure that they can make ends meet, we can talk a lot, or we can take action. we can work together in a bipartisan way to make sure that we are delivering of those

folks. i am ultimately supportive of the expansion of the federal tax credit. >> i went to pivot to some questions i have decided to be a yes or no responses. we will start with the congressman. the right to contraception has been affirmed by multiple supreme court cases, but nothing stops the supreme court from reversing past precedents like we saw with the dobbs decision in 2022. given that background, should congress passed legislation affirming a right to birth control such as hormonal contraception? >> yes. >> state senator? >> yes. >> follow-up, state senator, federal regulations require most private health insurance plans to cover contraception methods that require a prescription. in light of the fda of the rising opill, a daily oral contraception available without prescription, should the insurance mandate be expanded to

cover over the counter birth control which would not require a prescription? >> we absolutely should make sure that contraception is covered by insurance companies. it makes perfect sense. and the people of the 22nd district would support that. >> is that the over-the-counter prescriptions, as well? >> yes. >> excellent. congressman, same question, do you support expanding the mandate to over the counter birth control i have to tell you? >>, we have two kids, and that is probably a broad range of what over-the-counter birth control is. without full knowledge of that, i don't know of any restrictions that would prevent insurance providers from covering that. >> no restrictions, but amended to require that they cover over the counter birth control. >> if that is through the aca, the mandate system. >> it is not part of it now, they only cover things that are

require a prescription. this new opill doesn't require a prescription. should that be under the mandate? >> there is a number of religious organizations that are opposed. when we get into these kinds of questions, federal mandates that force people that have a position of being in the systems, that is currently in review in the judicial system. so when we talk about federal mandates, i certainly do not have any opposition to birth control, and nor would i try to admit that in any way. but you are asking the opposite, you're asking for the federal government to take an even heavier hand. in general, i would like for people to decide for themselves. >> 15 seconds for a follow. this'is about health care. this is not a theocracy. we have to make sure we are ensuring the health of individuals in this country as they are preparing for their families i.

>> think in a free market, people should decide. >> another yes or no question. senator, both presidential candidates have entertained some form of eliminating federal taxes on tips, despite economists and physical analysts across the spectrum panning the idea. do you think congress should eliminate taxes on tips? >> first thing i will say is i support the wage system the way it is. there was discussion about the elimination of tips. i don't support that. i believe if we don't eliminate it, they should certainly be a different structure related to the taxation of tips for our service workers. >> yes or no answer as well? >> sure. no tax on tips. >> that was easy. we will start with the congressman. for a decade and a half, the federal minimum wage has been set at $7.25 an hour. the new york minimum wage is approaching $15 an hour.

in upstate new york it is scheduled to increase. is it time for congress to raise the minimum wage, congressman? >>, as you mentioned, new york state's minimum wage is already twice the federal level. the federal government mandating higher prices will not affect new york state. i am here to represent the people of new york. the federal government, it doesn't matter what they do. new york state is what is going to set the prevailing minimum wage. >> just a follow-up, to be clear, are you saying congress should act then? >> it will not affect the people of new york state, so, no. >> senator? >> people across the country deserve a living wage. in this state, we have provided as well as we could with the rising minimum wage. there are many individuals, in the care community specifically, direct support professionals in

the disability space, where we have tried to increase their wages. i don't know who can live in this country on 7.25 dollars a, especially if they are an a demanding profession like one of these. talking to my colleagues across this country, that is exactly what is happening in some states. >> we went to go back to over 62nd question and you can wax poetically. senator, sticking with affordability, one child in a childcare center can run an average of $19,000 per year. what can congress do to make childcare more affordable? >> there's a few things you have done in the state already and i am proud to have been a leader on that. number one, we can raise the level above the federal poverty level to make it more manageable for them to go to work if they choose to do so. number two, we have staffing concerns in a childcare solutions. we have provided a 100 million

dollar fund so that institutions in deserts or micro deserts which we have many of them in this area, could expand their services to a larger population, or establish new childcare facilities. i also think there needs to be incentives for establishing different centers at educational institutions and in the workplace, and i do believe that our employers in a tight labor market should be of childcare at those institutions. i do believe that the federal government should be consistent in initiating some of those childcare facilities to be established. >> congressman, what can congress do to make childcare more affordable? >> as a member of congress, have sponsored a bill that does exactly that, particularly for law enforcement professionals. you may know that law enforcement professionals have crazy hours, they are working

shift work and they have to be there. we rely on them 24 7, 365. one of the challenges that we have attracting talent to law enforcement, is this very issue of child care, particularly women. we have a crisis of not being able to fill the roles, these important roles of public safety people. that is why i introduced this bill. it is, i think, a good model to explore how the federal government can get involved in helping with childcare. we are starting with law enforcement first. >> i want to follow up on this issue of childcare and turn to the staffing side of things that the senator referred to in his answer. in addition to the affordability of childcare, there is an issue of simply not having enough spots to care for kids, largely due to the low pay for the workforce and regulations and industry.

congressman, what can be done at the federal level to boost the number of providers that are out there? >> it is not only about childcare. i hear this in lots of different arenas. particularly around health care, for example, like memory care for elders, or rehabilitation care. we faced this when my mother was in declining health. the low pay has very high turnover in places like childcare, which is so critical for working families, particularly single parents. i have a lot of families asked me about some kind of help, that if a family member is helping to take care of their children while they work, that if there is some mechanism for a tax break or a mechanism for payment there. i think those are all things that need to be explored. in terms of raising up our

children, i don't think there is much that is more important than that. >> senator, can you expand on what we need to do to boost the workforce? >> our children are our greatest gift. we should make sure that we have them in settings that are safe and with individuals that can do this challenging work. that is my own piece of legislation that was signed into law, regarding cmb, which protects providers, informing their workers of potential exposure to this virus when working in childcare facilities, and it was particularly impactful when a person is pregnant. but back to the staffing. we have to make sure that these workers are compensated. when you look at other countries as it relates to childcare, it is much more robust, and often much more affordable for families, because there is an emphasis on making sure that we

support the systems and stock that will require funding. >> next question is for the senator. in the wake of the 2018 supreme court ruling, some states legalized mobile sports wagering. in new york, it has resulted in hundreds of millions in tax revenue. at the same time, the proliferation of advertisement in the industry have been blamed for exacerbating problem gambling. in the vein of, say, alcohol regulations, should congress impose stricter controls on how sports betting sites are advertised? >> as we talked about algorithms with tiktok, they are predatory practices here. in fact, i saw something on social media, ironically, an article referencing just that. i do think there is a space for that. if people want to engage in mobile sports betting, they will find that. , again, -- again, it can be

addictive and predatory. i am supportive at looking at that. i know that in new york state, a lot of, or a significant amount of funds, i should say, that are deemed as revenue that come to the state, are put back into the state. and supports are in place to address that addiction. >> she congressman, should there be controls on sports betting advertising? it is interesting to see the proliferation of the industry. >> at one time i'll ago, it was about ticket sales. television rights have taken over and that is where the money is. you saw how much money given to sports in my lifetime. what is very interesting is that this gambling has driven an enormous amount of revenue into

the sports formula itself, including for the owners. that is who is of championing this. so long as it is entertaining, gambling on sports, -- i don't do it myself, so i have never used those apps. maybe it makes it more engaging and entertaining. but, as was mentioned, before, it is addictive. the amount of marketing towards young people and towards kids, marketing towards people that are prone to addiction to this, just like i used to be the case with alcohol and to on television, should be curtailed. >> we are going to give both you and the viewers at home a break from me for a second, and we will share a question that my producer collector this afternoon at armory square in syracuse.

>> i have one question. i am a's vegas. i present to you, what do you propose to do about the homeless epidemic, in relation to the drug epidemic, which seemed to coincide? >> congressman, the question was about the issue of homelessness, and the issue of drug addiction, and the intersection often between those two questions. >> about 10 years ago, i was asked to volunteer at the syracuse rescue mission to do jobs training for homeless men. what it allowed me to do is to engage with them on a weekly basis over, i think, a couple of months to really dive in and try to help them establish the tools of getting back on their feet and back to the workforce. i encountered firsthand what these challenges were. i learned a lot. and as was mentioning in the question, it goes hand-in-hand

with substance abuse. one of the challenges we face, in particular is an open southern border since biden and harris have taken over. this has been -- this has led to a flood of fentanyl and other kinds of dangerous, addictive and harmful drugs that is expanding the homeless population. i was just at the syracuse rescue mission a couple of weeks ago and saw the the incredible work that they do, the amazing services they provide, and how much addiction and mental health is tied into that. so i have been directly engaged and involved in that and i think securing the border, believe it or not, will at least start stemming the flow of drugs into our country. >> state senator, same question. >> listen, when people are addicted to drugs, it can lead to homelessness and that is a tragedy and a cycle that perpetuates itself. when someone has been charged with a crime related to drug use, certainly, drug trafficking

is a different issue that we have to address very seriously -- but we need to fund drug courts we. need an expression of drug courts and a real plan towards treatment, towards healing. we want individuals to be successful. we want them to be on the path towards wellness. sometimes we are basically perpetuating that cycle. we need programs tied to our drug courts to make sure we are truly investing. when individuals may need inpatient care, we need to make sure they can remain with their children. there are programs around the state where women and children can stay together as they are going through treatment. last thing i will say about the comment on the southern border is, my opponent had an opportunity to advance a bipartisan bill that was passed by the senate that would have done a lot, it would have funded our courts, it would have made sure we funded our border patrol . there was an opportunity to do

that, but at the direction of the former president, the congressman rejected data, and we still have a brick-and-mortar as result -- rejected that, and we still have a broken border as a result. >> congressman, 32nd. >> this is the most flimsy of arguments. what we are actually part of the house of representatives more than a year ago, house resolution 2, would have secured our border, ended the catch-and-release, would have implemented remain in mexico and would have undone the damage done by the biden-harris administration. it is the weakest argument and not even based in fact. there was never a vote in congress, the bill he described never made it to a vote in congress. it didn't have enough democratic votes in the senate to pass. this is frankly based on a lie. >> leadville he is referring to was draconian and lacked funding to properly support our border patrol agent, our ports, and as

a result, it was not going to get anything done. it was done solely for political purposes and it was never negotiated in a bipartisan way. >> i want to come back at least tangentially, to the issue of substance abuse. during the pandemic the dea issued waivers enabling health providers to prescribe controlled substances via telehealth without an in person visit. with those waivers set to expire, should legislation be authorized by congress extending this flexibility to ensure uninterrupted access to prescriptions such as medication to combat opioid addiction and adhd? senator? >> number one, i am a supporter of telehealth and making sure there is parity when it comes to reimbursement for those services. this is absolutely something that we should be doing when we are in the midst of a staffing health care crisis. unfortunately, it is more and more challenging to get into our

health care institutions. this is a way that simply makes sense. we are in the future right now, so let's do the right thing, let's extend this program. particularly for some of our rural communities that have had various health care centers or hospitals shut down. this is the right thing to do. it is convenient. people don't have to travel several miles to do it, they can build a relationship with an expert in the field. and we should extend it. >> congressman, sin question? >> i am a strong advocate for their health. it is one of the few good things that came out of the covid shutdown, and all these kinds of prescription treatments for addiction, and i would even go further, things like methadone, things like some of the hallucinogen drugs that are being experimented with. we need to get a lot more

creative in how we are addressing the crisis not only of mental health, but of addiction. i have personally had a family member that has gone through this, had to seek treatment outside the united states in order to begin this incredibly difficult journey back to sobriety. they have been successful, because they were outside of the u.s. medical system. there is a lot more that can be done. the fda has to move a lot faster. i am a strong advocate for that, including as it gets implemented over telehealth. >> congressman, sticking it in the same vein, in order to ensure the continuum of care for incarcerated new yorkers receiving mental health or addiction services while behind bars, would you support federal legislation ensuring that medicaid coverage is reinstated prior to their release so there isn't any sort of gap in coverage when they go about their reentry process? >> you know, i have spent a lot of time recently engaged with

people in the corrections institution. but mostly corrections officers that have walked me through the unbelievable crisis of violence, of drug use inside the prisons, as well as the mental health challenges that the corrections officers face everyday. there are violent attacks on these corrections officers, exactly from these kinds of crimes. so if i am going to address the issues going on in our prisons, i will focus on rescinding things like the halt act. and that my opponent has championed, that have made it the best time in new york state to be a criminal. it's the best time to be incarcerated in new york state, because you get special privileges that make it incredibly dangerous for the people that stand up as corrections officers and, frankly, implement what society asked of them. it is to take these incredibly

dangerous people off the street. that would be my first priority. >> so, just a follow-up, what would that mean for legislation that would ensure medicaid coverage reinstated prior to their release? >> let's get the halt act repealed. let's stand up for our corrections officers, then we can talk about medicaid for released prisoners. >> senator mannion, we will take that first part of the question, then we will give you a second to talk about new york state's prisons. the getting reinstated prior to medicaid coverage getting reinstated prior to release to ensure the continuum of care is that something you support? >> when people are incarcerated and pay their debt to society, we want them to be successful. we don't want them to be back incarcerated and therefore, a tax burden to individuals and their lives are further lost. it's the right thing to do. my opponent must not be informed, because i voted no on the halt act, and that was

because of my engagement in correctional facilities, talking to the corrections officers, to incarcerated people, to also individuals that work in our correctional facilities outside of the corrections officers, like social workers and health care practitioners in those institutions. i have toured those facilities, looked. at them i have spoken with everyone and parked made an informed decision and voted against my, party majority because i listened to the corrections officers. they supported me when i run for office. i listened to them and we can treat people in a human way and put them on a successful path toward a dignified future. and we must make sure that we also protect the individuals working in these facilities, that can be very challenging. >> 15 seconds, congressman. >> when we are on the topic of free health care, my opponent has been the champion of free

health care to illegal immigrants. this is not the priorities of our government, our government is to the law-abiding citizens, the citizens and families who are struggling to pay for their own health care today. these are not the priorities of the people of central new york and certainly not to provide free health care for illegal immigrants. it was so radical, i think even the governor rejected your proposal, senator. >> there is not free health care for individuals here that are undocumented. >> if viewers want to learn more about the state's solitary confinement laws, they should check out the capitol press room archives, which you will find at capitolpressroom.org, or wherever you download your favorite podcasts. in new york, they are has been a paid family leave program in place. it covers when you want to raise a new child for an ill family member or assist loved ones when

a family member is deployed on military leave. at the federal level, there is a family and medical leave providing up to 12 weeks of unpaid, protected leave. should the federal benefit be expanded to include compensation? if so, what should the benefit be, and how should it be funded? >> if we want to support our families with new children, we absolutely should be supporting them with, again, programs that individuals that are working would be paying into, that employers would be paying into, to make sure that these families can make these decisions, whether they will care for a family member, for a new child, whatever the case may be. these are the things we should be doing. when you look at other places in the world that have these programs that allow families to support each other, those are the things we should be doing. we also have to look at the variety of different professions out there, because some

individuals that work in certain capacities like in steel workers, construction, they have a multitude of different employers as they are not eligible for some of the paid family leave. so i am supportive of the moves we have made in the right direction. i also believe we need a system in place where people can care for their family members and not have to make those hard decisions and, of course, have guardrails around the program. >> repeat the question for me,? >> please should there be a paid family program level -- paid family leave at the federal level, and how should it be funded? >> there should be paid family leave for the reasons we have talked about, to support working families. that we can have more children. a lot of people don't have children or they are put off child rearing because of the cost. the information has been out of control in the last three and half years. we have seen prices rise on everything from housing to all the groceries. having a robust economy is a

great place to start. to support working families. we really need to change the incentives -- change the policies of the federal government that actually start reducing costs and making life more affordable. paid leave for new mothers and fathers, i definitely would support. >> congressman, next question is for you. for nearly two decades ago, congress created the law effectively shutting the window for civil claims against gun manufacturers and distributors. should these federal liability protections for negligent or reckless behavior by a gun company remain at the federal level? >> there is always a strong attempt to go around current law and actually to use the law to selectively go after political

opponents. this is an excellent example of trying to enact nationwide gun control by implementing tort liability onto the gun manufacturers. we have a crime problem in america. a crime problem in new york state. that problem comes from cashless bail. from the halt act. from raise the age. it comes from the incredibly reckless policies that have come out of albany under the participation of my opponent. these are the things that have to change. in fact, my opponent said that resending cashless bail would be a mistake to repeal. i disagree with him. i disagree on the lawfare that is trying to go around the second amendment and the constitutional rights that we have.

>> senator, 90 seconds to answer the question. >> i appreciate that. first of all, i am supportive of responsible gun ownership. there were only two counties in the state where rifle hunting of bears and deer was not allowed. in onondaga. and it took two years to do that. we did it. we have great ownership of sportsmen's clubs. i have spoken at their meetings. i am for responsible gun ownership. but there is consensus across this country and certainly in the 22nd district, that we need to make sure that weapons of war are not in the wrong hands. a piece of that has to do with a responsible manufacturing and the sale of guns. as it relates to the comment about bail, first of all, there was great consensus about the fact that bail laws of needed

reform. the consensus didn't just come from the advocates, it came from the enforcement and from district attorneys. i was not in office when those laws were passed. if you watch my opponent's aps messaging and his commercials, he will make it seem like i was. that is simply not true. >> thank you, senator. congressman? >> these were his words, repealing cashless bail would be a mistake. not my words, editor, those are your words. i don't know a single law enforcement professional in new new york state that agrees with you. >> in my four years in the state senate, three times i was a very strong voice in advancing changes to those bail laws that were flawed. we give judges greater discretion, made more crimes bail-eligible, we addressed the reoffending issue. i listened, i responded, and i have done what i could to make

significant changes to those laws prior to me being in office. >> new york policymakers legalized recreational use of marijuana and since then there's been an effort to set up a legal marketplace. at the same time though marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, creating challenges for businesses in the empire state at every step, such as accessing basic financial services. should congress take any steps to make it easier for these businesses to operate, or does the status quo on marijuana make sense at the federal level? >> the status quo does not make sense. the fact is because marijuana still at the federal level is listed as a schedule one drug, it is not able to use the banking system. and i have never used marijuana, i have -- i am not

personally interested in it. i think it is a very good potential for medical treatment. friends of mine that have been through cancer and through chemotherapy have strongly advocated that there be easier access to cannabis treatment, particularly here in new york state. in the poison control center here in syracuse, my concern is that products are being marketed to children. many times they are packaged like candy. we all remember, if you are my age you remember what the tobacco industry was like in the 50's, 60's and 70's, actively marketing to young people. it has to stop. there has to be a lot more control over what the chemicals are. and the potency of marijuana products. there is a lot more that can be done. >> i supported the legislation in new york state because i believe marijuana should be legal first of all, because its use was pretty prevalent. we need the regulation behind

it. we need a controlled setting. we need changes at the federal level, because when talking with individuals that are establishing, either processing or retail sales, there absolutely has to be a system that works as far as securing financing or the banking system. the laws of the federal level are antiquated. i believe the patchwork of laws we have in the state needs to go away. we should have a federal law that legalizes marijuana. that would allow for additional changes to the laws on finances. >> we are at the point of the night for closing remarks. congressman, you have 90 seconds first. your closing statement. >> what you have heard here tonight is at differing visions of what leadership looks like. i have supported securing our border and supporting our border

control personnel. my opponent has advocated for free health insurance, free health care for illegal immigrants. i have advocated for the law enforcement, providing resources to law enforcement, stood up to law enforcement. despite his claims overperforming bail reform, there isn't any law enforcement professionals that like the laws as they are now. they are exhausted by it, and it is keeping good people out. while the economy, i am a businessman. he has been kathy hochul's wing man for the last four years. it has made living in new york state even harder and even more expensive. i want a better future for our children. that is why i got involved in politics. the fact is we need better leaders. i bring confidence and experience that is just different, and i hope you will consider voting for me in november.

thank you. >> state senator, you have 90 seconds for your answer. >> i do agree with my opponent. there are different visions. my opponent brings a vision of doom and gloom and negativity. i bring a vision of hope and forward thinking. what i have seen in the state senate or in the classroom, something that needed to be addressed, i addressed it when i saw it. i addressed it, whether it meant opposing my party or otherwise. i did it in the best interest of the individuals of the 50th senate district and in the future in the congressional district, new york 22. i left a job that are not in the classroom, because i simply could not watch the chaos that existed in politics so i left the job that was gratifying . because i watched 16-year-olds watch a presidential election in 2016 like i had never seen before, and it may have been the only election they had ever

seen. we need calm. we need positivity. we need collective nice. we cannot tear each other down. we cannot sustain the negativity any longer. so let's come and work together, look forward, stop the gloom and doom and negativity and get a promise to our kids that we must be in making sure that this country is more than it is today. >> i should have had more faith in you both to stick to 90 seconds. i have another second here. i thumbs up for yes or thumbs down for no, we do but to whether you would support federal legislation banning partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts? is something like that was to come up in congress? you both would? that is great. >> my opponent supported gerrymandering to benefit his own seat. >> oh, boy. >> congressman does not live in the district that he represents. the independent redistricting commission -- the independent redistricting commission --

>> unfortunately, that is all the time we have. my thanks to republican congressman brandon williams, and democratic state senator john mannion for sharing their time. as a reminder to the viewers, october 26 is the start of early voting and the last day to register to vote. election day is november 5. if you would like to visit any part of tonight's coverage, visit w s -- visit wcny.org. on behalf of everyone at wcny, i am david lombardo. thanks for watching and good night. ♪ [captions

independent carlton bowen are running. this is a live coverage on c-span. [applause] >> that evening i'm glen mills honored to be your moderator this evening. welcome on behalf of the utah debate commission were pleased to come to you tonight from weaver state university crown center tonight were hearing from three candidates who met the qualifications for this debate carlton bowen, john curtis and caroline. we are looking forward to a lively civil debate tonight with the goal of giving utah voters first-hand exposure to tenants and good information for your decision-making. random drawing held prior to tonight's debate determine the following get the initial response of the first question

will alternate turns on the remaining question throughout the debate on that note, candidates let's begin with this question. talk to us about what you are interested in the job and why you believe you are the most qualified person to represent our state as his neck senator? >> welcome to our weaver state university alma mater all of those to help this debate happen, thank you. my name is carlton bowen i'm running to be your u.s. senate replacing mitt romney. a lifelong republican. iran as an independent american to ensure you have a pro trump conservative option on your ballot. i'm for the u.s. constitution and running on a platform of traditional values, traditional money and our tradition of freedom for traditional values

is so simple and basic it's almost silly when he to talk about it. we are at a point in our nation's history or we do need to stand up for what we believe in and be silent no more. so boys are boys and missed girls are girls. in other words only two genders mail and female. marriage is between a man and a woman. >> your minute for the first response is up. we'll have to move on thank you very much mr. curtis. the question goes to you. talk about why you would like to have this job and what qualifies you the most? >> thank you. thank you to the debate commission thank you to my two opponents i look forward to a delightful conversation with you tonight. i was a young man starting out in business i had a mentor who told me that when you hire, look for a pattern of success. so, with that in mind i share a few highlights from my life. as a young man i wanted to be an entrepreneur by business partners we jumped in had a business, and worked hard to prove we were successful became a world renowned for our

products and successfully sold that business after that iran and was successful in being mayor work we learn how to cut budgets, cut government spending and enjoy 94% approval rating. and for the last seven years ever-present utah's third congressional district where i was recently rated number nine most effective legislator and all of congress my office was rated number one. most important, 42 years of marriage, six kids and two grandkids because it's a fun response on this question goes to you. talk about why you want the job and why you are most qualified? it sounds inspired the call for the next generation of leaders to step up it is our generation is going to have to deal with the issues that congress is failing to address right now. utah is frustrated by the lack of action on most pressing issues and challenges their face with today. things like housing affordability, attacks on our public lands, the lack of real action on immigration, and the air quality of the overall

challenges that we are facing. we cannot keep sending the same kind of politicians expecting a different result. it's time to change the people that we send to be our leaders. i am carolina gleich and your candidate for u.s. senate. i got my start working on politics with ted wilson who was governor gary's environmental advisor were compiled to the local, state, federal of us have testify to the house and senate i hope to pass the largest clean energy bill in united states history. if you are ready for change, joint me and please vote carolina gleich by november 5. >> next topic is the national debt approaching an astounding $36 trillion. cannot comprehend we think about it. quite frankly voters have hurt lipservice from politicians we figure this issue. talk about specific ways you

would chip away at this debt. we'd also like to get your ideas whether or not you believe we can get back to balance federall budget. mr. curtis you first. path to washington d.c. is littered with politicians who to setback to fix the deficit. as a matter fact the deficit today is three 100% larger then when we sent the tea party back to washington d.c. to fix it. it's clear that what we're doing is not working. one of the points have been advocating for and washington an d.c. is modeled on hearing the adults called the baseline budget. the beginning of every legislative session they agree that they don't agree on a budget instead of going to a shutdown or omnibus they continue on lester's budget. if we could enact that one thing in washington think that would do more to bend the spending curve than anything else we do. last year i was successful with thomas massie getting a similar amendment put into it. it was a little bit different

had minus 2% penalty. a better option would of been to stay on they just didn't omnibus because of the 2%. that is what i'm working on and hope to be successful at. ask ms. gleich tell us how you would approach national debt. >> i grew up with family value. my parents so their own sleeping bags and outdoor equipment. as a small business owner i carried forward that same ethos of not spending more than a brought in. making sure to save for emergencies. we need the federal government to do the same thing. right now future generations like mine are going to be saddled with this enormous burden. currently the interest on the federal debt is more than the entire federal budget. the situation is completely unsustainable. as u.s. senate out close the billionaire tax loopholes that

allow them like jeff bezos to pay an effective 1% tax rate. and, i would work to end other loopholes for corporations to bring more money in as resin boot. we're not going to achieve this unless we change we sent to be our officials for. >> mr. beau in your thought question requester on a platform of traditional money. our founding fathers envisioned the u.s. constitution still requires. it also means free-market capitalist economy, not crony capitalist not socialism but a true free market were consumers, not the government choose the winners and losers. but also its fiscal responsibility balance budget reduce the national debt. i agreed mr. curtis were doing is not working because in both parties are in office there both increasing the debt that does not matter if either party controls all the branches of government the debt continues to go up. we need to do something different from when finished my

last statement about traditional families because it is important. families are extremely important. we need to make sure -- ideally they have a mom and dad, married tried-and-true don't like, don't cheat, don't steal, don't kill, honesty and integrity still matter. quicksort thank you very much. we will now turn to a question from colin nelson he's a student here. >> utah has long been called the best state to live in. current rising costs are pushing many young utah like myself to leave the state for economic reasons. what specific plans you had to ensure utah is an affordable for all utah students and young professionals included? ms. gleich that goes to first for. >> thank you for that question but on the campaign drive heard it from a lot of students like yourself i've heard from folks working multiple jobs, going to school full-time and they are still struggling to pay for the rent, or for their mortgages,

wrote worried about being one healthcare crisis from losing the roof over the head rate that is not okay. we need to ensure future generations have the same potential to live the american dream. as utah's next senator i would support expanding a first-time homebuyer tax incentive to help people get into the purchase of the first home. i would also support developing federal agency to study how many americans in utah and the ark sprinting home assess what factors are leading people to have to live on the streets? we can do a lot better for young people by addressing this and raising the federal minimum wage up from $7.25 an hour. i don't know about you but i could not get out of the grocery store for less than $50. if you're getting paid minimum wage that is a full days work. >> mr. bowen. >> i would like to point out this is a state and local issue but not a federal issue but there are a couple of things the federal government does that impact it. this was under the traditional

money platform pillar. i get socialism but am also against price controls. but we have with interest rates was a huge part of affordability is a price controlled by the federal reserve. they artificially set with interest rates are. we have seen our interest rates go from 2%, to 7% and a little more than a year's time over the past year. this limits the free-market parr like to see a free market rate which would then work better. also, i do not agree to the state legislation the rewards of builders which are special interest by making state credits only available to new -- for example for new construction. the other part of this is inflation the federal spending is driving the inflation prevents was driving the housing crisis. quicksort, thank you very much. mr. curtis upon response post to your. >> i'd like to agree a couple of points. let's art the state, city, county role.

a lot of this can be done at that level. but there is a role for the federal government. as you mention inflation of the single biggest problems. right now you have to point squarely at the federal government. they taught me i was at byu inflation is a result of too much money on too few goods. what are we doing is a federal government? or turning on the positive faucf spending. and, we're putting our neck on the supply chain. we need to do those two things. specifics as well we just -- me and my staff introduce the homes active. it actually allowed those of us who have ira money currently you can use ira money to invest in real estate. but you cannot do for your own home or your children's home but my bill would change that. i would also point out senator lee's bill that houses act which uses federal land for housing here utah. that would be a very big deal for. >> thank you very much. definitely a topic on the minds of many plants we have seen her skyrocket seemingly overnight.

another contentious topic here in the state of utah was public lands. many disputes between the state and federal government. in fact as of lately's and the pendulum swing depending on which party controls the white house. let's now get into what you dofind a successful partnership when it comes to managing our public lands? and how would you work to foster that question first response to this question goes to you mr. bowen. quicksort of things i would do when elected is to rewrite the antiquities act. this fact has been abused by presidents clinton and obama and others to set aside millions of acres of utah land. much larger than the entire state of rhode island. it was not done with congressional input. took president obama signing them. president clinton and these monuments locked up public roads used and had privately owned

lands inside of them. i really appreciated what president trump did. i am the only pro- trump candidate on the ballot. as might republican opponent a former democrat refuses to endorse president trump and culture his censure and for an impeachment inquiry. i think we can do a lot with federal lands. >> mr. curtis were going to go to you. that does warrant a rebuttal you will get 30 seconds to do that. so let's first get your approach on public lands what would a beneficial partnership between the state and federal look like? and then once we get to this round i'll give you 30 seconds of rebuttal brick works thank you i don't this any better example of what the right relationship with the federal government in the state government is that every county public lands act. i think as i look back on my time in congress i will be most pleased and proud of that specific act.

which of 1.3 million acres and designated where we would graze, where we would recreate where we would extract and where we would protect her. we put that through congressional legislation. so today it is law. the only way you get the true congressional legislation if you have a consensus between the environmental groups for between ranchers, off-road enthusiast, that trumps an antiquities act and that's the way to beat the antiquities act which i agree as being overly abused. it's hard to do but that's congress' job. one of the very most important things we can do as we look at monuments we can solve the back and forth. >> your thoughts on public land? what's public lands are national treasury. when i was growing up i struggled with anxiety and depression. i found a lot of happiness in healing through my time on your top federal protected public

lands. i know so many other people feel the same way these lands are places we should be able to go to find the joy in refreshment from life. right now our public lands are under attack. we have seen a massive effort to transfer public lands to state control. we have the vast majority of the time that happens they are sold to the highest bidder for energy developments, mineral extraction, and so politicians can line their pockets with the sale and privatization of other development or close forever. this is wrong we seen the attacks and antiquities act before continuing the attack is a waste of taxpayer dollars we need a champion in the u.s. senate who work on the budget and appropriation committee to give birth federal funding they deserve. >> mr. curtis, it was brought up about you specifically. one former democrat and republican. into referring to the impeachment. you have 30 seconds rebuttal

time. >> i'm going to fight the urge to rebut that. i don't think it is worth the time of those watching. mike record on president trump is clear. he's doing things in my mind with utah values i'm one 100% behind with the wind at its back. when he's not, i'm not afraid to push back and that's what they want but that i wield my time. >> we are going to move on to water a very important topic in the state of utah with rapid population growth in agriculture demands. how do you balance those multifaceted government cleanly federal, state local entities to craft what is needed here which suited would be an innovative solution to meet the water needs both urban and rural. but also for long-term sustainability. mr. curtis echoes you. >> i want to start agriculture is not the enemy. i am afraid of not careful we

tend to demonize our good friends in agriculture. i actually believe they are not a negative judgment are not the enemy double negative. we need to be listening to them. i would also like to point out this last week we had our caucus summit we talk about these issues literally had a businessman approached me today that i will raise a million dollar for the people who come up with the most innovative water conservation solution at your next summit. think that combination of the private sector, not demonizing using innovation will help us solve this in a way that will help us grow and prosper the way that we like to do it. what are some innovative ways we can approach the water situation? what's with the top concerns i prefer utah voters is about this. especially what's happening to regret following because right now our great salt lake is not a

record low. this expose lakebed with the toxic minerals is causing just a blow. think about my baby nephew i think about his lungs and the poison he is being exposed to. it's not okay. we are not going to dan our way out of this currently 71% of the water diverted from the great salt lake is going to agriculture. not only do we need to speed up a water conservation methods to get more water to the great salt lake, we also need to redefine and re- vamp our entire western way of looking at water for the entire colorado river basin is connected. water is a finite resource. were not going to get another drop we need action on the climate crisis. we cannot keep's in the same politicians expecting a different result. it's time for the next generation step in. mr. bowen your thoughts on water? sent like to address a couple points at this for the utah legislature passed a law allowing water to be going to

the great salt lake to beneficial use. this was actually a big mistake. to carolina gleich's point you cannot legislate the lake level i was alive in utah in the 80s it was at flood stage is there pumping it out into the desert. will be at flood stage is again. the pioneers to recognize the waters of critical resource for utah. a beneficial use for farming, to live and drink. changing that definition to allow a certain amount to go down to the lakes is a very dangerous for our state should. i republican opponent was a former democrat i will point out that. he chaired the party from 2001 until 2002. pass legislation giving federal money to utah water authorities. that's also very dangerous because i just want to remind all kids anytime you specifically refer to have a kid candidate on the stage they will get an additional 30 seconds.

i heard both ms. gleich and mr. curtis revert here in a negative way you need to respond too. so mr. curtis we will give you 30 seconds for quick negative about being a former democrat if you were? >> whether it's negative or not it warrants a were bottle. you have 30 seconds for that. >> i am very proud of everything i've done the past. i have worked hard consistently throughout my life promote what i call utah values. in three decades ago, i did work within the democratic party. because i thought the republican party without anyone having a chance to vote on is done in back rooms there are lots of reasons but i cannot explain 30 seconds. if you are damning somebody because they were once a democrat you have to rule out donald trump. you have to rule out ronald

reagan. we are going to have to move on. >> he did mention my name. i will give you 30 seconds. >> okay, great. my problem with being a democrat, getting elected as a republican. but on several key issues continued to vote like a democrat. he mentioned climate is his main issue. this is more of an issue of the left is very involved in the claimant going into the un climate caucuses which have an agenda that's harmful to you tongs. it's not for the party affiliation it's what that represents after being elected as a republican. >> ms. gleich? >> i like to chime in and illustrate this is extremism. this is something voters of utah are most concerned about. it's not about who marries who or who's in bathroom people can

go too. that's not the role the government. i feel our current leadership is taking us down a dangerous path. some who study risk and risk. it's time for the next generation to come in to get our country and state back on track. >> this conversation leads quite nicely to our next topic and that his political climate of the day. utah voters listing it as one of their top concerns when it comes to political discord in this year's election. take a look at some things that have gone on in the senate. there have been some pretty harsh partisan divide. particularly when it comes to nominations, the filibuster rules and also spending bills. so, as senator how would you work to bridge" divides? ms. gleich the first response goes to you. >> we have seen extreme level of polarization. i think back to what i got my

start working in government working for ted wilson democratic environmental advisor. an absolute legend for utah working for republican administration for governor gary herbert. i saw a beautiful example of people coming together do not always agree on things. sitting down, finding common ground in finding a path or. i know is a voter in citizen i don't think about issues as red or blue i do not attach d or are things like clear about likely air, claimant action a reasonable government solves problems. one of the things i think is leading to that office today and the extremism of the republican party pulled to the right by the bishop of donald trump. that is something i will continue to stand up to and get back to addressing the issues that we need solutions on. >> your thoughts on how you would work to bridge that?

>> number one having this agreement does not mean you're being disagreeable. just because i bring up things i'm not doing it and disagreeable way is very factual so it's very appropriate. i disagree utah voters don't care about values. we care a lot for bc men competing women's force we see women getting injured. we see title ix arbitrarily interpreted by the biden administration to mean including the men can compete in women's sports their intent of that legislation was for women to be able to compete against women. these are very relevant issues. this seat, this is mitt romney's old seats. mr. prominent was the only republican of the entire house houseor senate to vote to impeah donald trump in 2020. i think most utah ones didn't like that. i think he was very out of touch with what they expected that u.s. senator to be i am concerned my gop opponent who is a former democrat will be a mitt

romney 2.0. >> the question goes to you. once again mentioned by name you will get a thirty second rebuttal as well for. >> will just start. i think what you are seeing a little bit of this back-and-forth. although not terrible is exactly what utah voters are tired of. it makes a great campaign slogan governing. i would love to point out i just won a republican primary for contenders almost 50% of the vote. to govern and not campaigns. you like to solve issues for a pessimist 20 bills into law the seven years have been in congress. almost all of that time his venn in a divided congress. that means you have to get democrats. you have to get republicans defined the cross-section where they can both agree to that legislation. i pointed out the public lands bill. i will switch and mary in my 30

seconds because carlton is bent on this former democrat thing. utah voters get to decide who represents their values. i will point out again but thatalmost half of all republics picked me in a four-way republican primary because i represent their values. nobody on this stage is known better to the voters and i am. i like that lane. i like where i'm at. i think the voters like it and once again they will get to decide in a couple of weeks if that's in harmony with their values precautions as mentioned by name? >> is mentioned twice by name for. >> i did not hear carlton bowen come out of that frequency said carlton twice. >> we are going to move on. we have a student hear from weaver state university is a very important question that she wants aspen were going to move on to that. her name is marina and the floor is yours. >> and work with weaver state

boats to register, prepare for campus for julie the younger eligible should be more involved in the voting system and how do you plan to reach them so they stay engaged? >> mr. bowen you are first paid. >> as of the younger generation has a lot of potential to influence elections. i think there's a lot of great people in the younger generation that do not register to vote and do not vote. i would encourage them to do so. there's a? of how to reach this generation. other than video games left let her through social media. depending on the jumper gender it may be because there are differences. although i have a daughter-in-law who is an excellent game at. [laughter] i think it is important to reach out to the younger generation. for them to be involved. you talked earlier about portico climates. on the campaign trail i've had an opportunity and i know some people are triggered you bring up the word trump and reason

goes out of their head. they get emotional. they walk away. that is in fact impacting the younger generation. there love people that are free just be cap on issues like values because they feel like they will be silenced. when basically reject it which is unfortunate. >> thank you for your response. click select a point of the third congressional district which i currently represent is the youngest district in the country. here in utah is a big deal social media is a big part of that. that me and my team does on social media to connect too. by reach out to people. with understand the issues it's a big worry too many people in

the climate has been brought up that's been a big issue to me with got to be able to talk about these things in a way they relate to them. i fear that too often my party just complains about not being engaged in does not spend enough time explaining our principles and why we feel the way we do. and hopefully do a better job at that. >> the biggest both of my campaign is to inspire young people to get more involved politically. to inspire the next generation of leaders to step up and run for office. i am the average age of america utah's youngest state in the nation for where the fastest growing states of the nation. meanwhile the average age of the united states senate is 65. it's more in touch with the issues young people are facing today. sure young people have access to

government in a problem-solving tool. when you get your drivers license but i will work to have universal vote by mail using a great model that we have here in utah. i will pass -- voting day, election day a national holiday also pass a comprehensive campaign finance reform to end the citizens united and ensure corporations and billionaires cannot buy an election. >> we referred to a little earlier nomination specifically. which is a responsibility of the senate. let's dig deeper to judges. how they are nominated and more importantly confirmed by the senate. it was not that long ago judges could go before the senate. talk about what it is the most important qualities you would look for whether or not you give them your confirmation vote this

goes to mr. curtis first. >> obviously for me number one qualification is do they understand the constitution? are they committed to the constitution will they interpret the constitution and the way the founders intended rather than the whims of the political. that's very important for me. if there is a second characteristic it would be the character of that individual. and then of course their service and their education and the other things play into it. number one for me is constitution and the inherence of the constitution intended by our founders. >> i firmly believe the founding foundingfathers vision and the separation of powers the check and balance overseeing the executive judicial and legislative branches. currently our supreme court has been radicalized by the appointment of these nominees. we have seen troubling decisions that are impacting our everyday

lives that are eroding the separation of powers especially on the executive branch but we should all be deeply troubled by the chevron decision by the presidential immunity decision and the overturning of roe versus wade with the dobbs decision. some of the things i would do to do that are to enact a biting code of ethics for supreme court justices and to enact 18 year supreme court justice term limits. to ensure these leaders are not being influenced by billionaires, special interest groups or other types of corruption. >> if you were the next u.s. senator from utah, how would you assess a judge? >> i would use the u.s. constitution. i will note that u.s. constitution had very few rules for the federal government. the founding fathers established our constitution to basically provide for national defense and diplomacy. what my opponents are proposing

and what they have voted for is way more than that as far as what they fund. we said about the supreme court rulings. we think the supreme court rulings are excellent herby think the justices have been put on the bench are applying the text of the constitution. it's the main criteria is much different than my opponents. >> i'm going to take a follow up on this went real quick. we're going to have 30 seconds each. potential terms and limits when it comes to the supreme court would you support those or not and way their not in harmony

with individuals belief somehow it is the fault of the supreme court. i join carlton the chevron doctrine is incredibly important decision. not just for the united states but for utah. a federal agencies have grown way out of control and that doctrine is one way to ring the men i do not support term limits for them. do not support increasing or impacting the court. and the supreme court has done for the last few years. i have not agree with all of their decisions. >> i absently support term limits for our supreme court justices. by foreign actors corporations

billionaires, we need to make it easier to have new leaders step up so we get fresh ideas we get better leadership representation for. >> mr. bowen your thoughts for. >> u.s. constitution that establishes the judiciary is for life. had to do a constitutional memo to change that and i'm opposed to that. we just need to have good betting by the u.s. senate which is one of the primary roles of the senate to make sure the judges are going to vote the weight they say that we understand their judicial philosophy. i am opposed to changing the constitution to do that. >> we are going to dip into foreign policy. there are several global hotspots. talk to us about who you think or what you think is the greatest threat to the united states interest currently? what specific actions will be taken to manage that. ms. gleich it does to you first

for. >> on the most abiding moments of my life when at the opportunity to visit an aircraft carrier deployed in the adriatic sea. i was inspired to go on that trip by my father who was a career air force veteran put onn this aircraft carrier felt enormous pride in the young men and women that serve and worked with nato countries around to ensure we are standing up to the rise of dictators nationally. and internationally for what worries me is seeing the party at the republican party trying to get the u.s. to withdrawal from nato. that will harm our standing. it will be a huge in fadiman fruit democracy worldwide. i'm deeply troubled by the rise of authoritarian regime around the world. we need to stay in nato and stay with our democratic allies around the world.

>> mr. bowen your thoughts on the biggest threat to united states globally? >> let me say to start off but since i did not get include in my opening statement is that i served in the 96 air force honorably. and my wife of 37 years, linda and i who we have six children of 14 grandchildren, have lived in texas, virginia, and south korea. so i disagreed the republican dn party has been trying to withdraw from nato. i think president trump very wisely was getting nato member countries to increase their donations to nato. i think he helped today to a lot. and again i am the only pro- term candidate. i really support what our president has done in the past and what he will do again in the future. i do not know why a republican candidate for u.s. senate from utah would not endorse our president trump the republican nominee for president. >> mr. curtis your thoughts and the biggest globalist threat to

our interest? wessel could be a long-term or short-term. for me long-term is china. i lived in taiwan for three years. i speak mandarin i was on the chinese task force in the house of representatives. while i dearly love the chinese people and the chinese culture i am very worried about their leaders, the dictatorship they are as hard on their own people as they are in other people. our relationship with china is severely broken and when to fix that relationship. we don't have the option of decoupling we need to fix the relationship. that poses the greatest threat. short term i'm worried about you ukraine and the middle east. had the chance to live in jerusalem when jimmy carter signed the peace accord is there in my office the three of them shaking hands which people said would never happen. bottom line we have to distinguish who are friends and who are our enemies. iran is not our friendship.

israel is our friend. hamas is not her friends. we've got to be very clear putin is not our friends but we've got to be clear who are our friends and who are not too. >> immigration as our next topic. a big concern also for voters. it has really been a focus of campaigns here at the state level and the national level. congress has talked about but struggled to pass legislation when it comes to immigration. so, as a senator at west must be included in legislation for you to be able to support it? but would be a deal killer? >> thank you. i can tie that i support legal immigration i'm opposed to illegal immigration but we need to enforce the law. the problem with immigration is not that our laws are effective. we are enforcing our laws. we will note my republican opponent was a former democrat sponsored a bill hr 6637 that basically provided amnesty for illegal immigrants.

and i am opposed to amnesty but you asked what i would not include. i would not include amnesty. it encourages people to break the law again in the future. it is a huge a problem for if you do amnesty as a compromise you continue to have the problem be worse more and more down the road. >> mr. curtis, the question goes to you but when it comes to immigration what would legislation need to include and what will be an deal killer because her. >> could i ask if you question more to deal with amnesty. >> guess if you would like but let's get your answer first. >> i think what you are seeing is politicking versus governing. it's very easy to stand back and say amnesty. it's very easy to stand back and say whatever we did not vote for this bill or that bill. the reality of it is we have a broken border and we have a broken immigration system. and anybody who puts their neck out and tries to put a plan for it has their head whacked off by

the political extremes as you alluded to. i agree with you there are political extremes. let me tell you what amnesty is by his definition according to this bill. in the bill that i support it and i'm proud to support is called the dignity act is one of the best answers i have seen it. it had a provision that said if you are here illegally for the next 10 years you have to pay a $1000 fine every year. you have to report to the police and designate you came into this country illegally. you have to demonstrate english proficiency. and at the end of 10 years you go into an another five-year program if bush proficiency. at the end of 15 years after you paid 10,000 dollars 2% you are now eligible to go to the end of the line. it's called amnesty.

you can see what were not making progress on us in washington d.c. we've got to get away from this narrative. we could solve this in an afternoon. >> we need to wrap that up or give you a minute 30 to answer that prayer. >> thank you. all right ms. gleich the question is yours i will be lenient with your time as well. >> we need to tackle this issue. we need to solve this issue. we need to secure the border where it's economically and environmentally feasible to do so. we need to find more border agents me too deploy modern technology to stop the influx of fentanyl. beyond that we need to provide immigrants, that's it immigrants with legal pathway to citizenship. and folks in congress have the opportunity to do that but they failed to take action but i would pass the bipartisan immigration bill that congress works for over a month on. beyond that we need to put ourselves in our immigrant communities two. utah was founded by people who came here to find a better life

for themselves and their families. i would expect our officials and our leaders would have more kindness and compassion in our hearts to how we treat our immigrant communities. we need to do more to ensure they feel safe. this we see in iran are immigrants less about we cannot go back to the trump era family separation. those are inhumane and cruel. i feel strongly there immigrant communities deserve better. >> could i get a rebuttal to that as she referred to ms. hateful? >> i did not hear her refer to u.s. hateful. >> i didn't hear it as though she was directed specifically at you. think of a conversation with those who work here to hear from you as a kid i like to make the judgment call and move onto the

on to thenext topic. and that is abortion. u.s. supreme court overturning roe v wade. roe v wade living to the states to decide. what we have seen since them as a patchwork of laws throughout our country. many because of that are calling for federal legislation to make a standard across the board. do you believe that is the way to go? or do you support it at the state level? this one will first go to mr. curtis. >> people know i'm absolute pro-life. but we don't talk about it enough that i am also pro life of the mother. i'm also pro life of the baby after it is born. the supreme court did make a decision that sent that to the states and my support that decision i believe that's where it needs to be. i also think that's what we are going to find the most thoughtful conversation about how to deal with this.

let's be honest republican scent of talk about the babies incessantly. democrats is a stereotype into talk about the mother's incessantly. both of those are important. we have got to find the common ground between those. i think that is best done on a state level. i think what you are seeing here in utah there is a vast agreement we need exceptions for the life of the mother for rape, for incest and we have to have this awful conversation of the overall health of the mother altogether are important conversations that will happen better on the state level. >> would you support a national standard or you believe it's a best handle of the state level? >> and c overturning of roe versus wade two years ago we have seen dire unintended consequences of the dobbs decision. we've seen one in five ob/gyn considerately think it we've seen an increase of the number of women who die during childbirth. we've also seen the spread into an attack on ivf. my husband rob and i may be the

only way we can start a family in the future. my opponent has said i wish as a man i did not have to make these decisions. well, representative curtis you don't. it's long past time to end this drug reaches into her most personal intimate decision. utah deserved a u.s. senator that trusted families to make the best decisions for themselves, free from government intervention. >> mr. bowen your thoughts? >> are several things to unpack here. a baby's heart is beating by six weeks. it has its own blood supply which is different from the mother's blood. by 10 weeks a baby is fully formed 10 fingers, 10 toes, organs, the entire child. abortion ends a human life without that human life having any input into it. i'm one 100% opposed abortion. now my republican opponent was a former democrat said he is

pro-life on i'm glad to hear that because there is a recent interview on one of his snappers i'm glad to hear that he is. to get to what my other opponent was talking about with abortion, the leftist rhetoric is harming women. there is no state in the united states that where you cannot get healthcare for a miscarriage from an abortion bear but there are women who are afraid to get it paid the same with ivf. that's not an abortion related issue. >> or mr. curtis in ms. gleich are both specifically mentioned ms. curtis we will start with 30 seconds for you and then ms. gleich 30 seconds for your projects first of all the call is not as you quoted for the quote was i wish there were more women in elected office to help us make this decision. and i stand by that. i wish that were true. second of all i think what you are hearing from both of my opponents is and why this is so divisive. let's agree to begin with it's very divisive. when you throw out things like i

don't support idf how ludicrous is that i don't know anybody does not support ivf improve you it is pro-life. i think it's time we dial down the rhetoric that we have serious conversation about how to move forward. >> okay ms. gleich? >> my opponent and other house republicans that would effectively ban ivf life begins at conception project 2025 agenda would defund planned parenthood's around the country. now, planned parenthood is where people go to receive treatment for std to get cancer screenings to be seen for a barren, cervical and other types of cancers. and so these decisions will have a dire effect on american's ability to receive life-saving or productive healthcare. because abortion is healthcare. >> are getting close to time for closing same are going to go to a few quick lightning round questions. we will give you about 15 seconds each on these. the first one, is the federal

government doing all it can to provide assistance after natural disasters? this one goes to ms. gleich first. >> i would say no. just last week we sought 200 americans die and the aftermath of helene. our current politicians have voted against funding for fema. so no i don't believe we are and we are not doing enough to address the climate crisis. all right mr. bowen? >> about self-government. response to help each other out. and if fema is preventing people from doing that there's no constitutional authorization for fema to go in and take charge and prevent other people from helping. absolutely no we are doing a poor job. >> fema is availing for i wish everybody could go watch rhonda sanchez be interviewed about his response. he was ready. his state was ready they had tens of thousands of utility workers ready to go to work. i suspect you child did the same thing we cannot just run the federal government too.

>> next question we are quickly approaching i want to remind you that are time for closing statements. day one, if you get elected to this going to office what would be your first priority at your first line mr. bowen? because it's really important to audit the fed who have federal reserve organization that's never been audited by congress. it handles a lot of money. a lot of potential for corruption. >> 10 seconds you mr. curtis? hex permanent reform it's one of the most impediments to our national security to our energy future, so clearly reform. >> ending fossil fuel subsidies. making polluters pay devastating impact of the climate crisis. >> of not reach the end of this debate debate and branding random drawing held early the first payment will go to mr. curtis one minute to mr. curtis for your closing topic works thank you. you've done a great job tonight thanks the debate the prick

commission, thanks her audience but thanks to the voters of utah. if you watch me closely you will know this is not an easy decision to run for this office. i wanted to know myself that i could be the type of senator that you would like me too be. and they want you to know after serious thought and reflection are several things i'm certain of. the founders believed we should serve for a season. if i'm fortunate to serve you, my season will be hallmarked by stewardship and service. i want you to know that your issues will be my issues. your agenda will be my agenda. my voice will be to amplify your voice. my vote will be to reflect our values together we can bring washington d.c. closer to it utah values. more importantly, make our country the type of country we needed to be for our children for our grandchildren. >> ms. gleich your closing statement too. >> about this campaign i've had

the opportunity to travel estate and hear from you. i've heard you, your top right you are concerned about housing, about paying your rent and mortgage. and about being one healthcare crisis away from losing the roof of your head. i have heard from young people who have debilitating anxiety about the future of our planet. about the air quality. i've heard concerns about the attacks on our public lands and the lack of access to lifesaving reproductive healthcare. you deserve a leader that truly reflects the will of the people. i am an environmental advocate. i reduce, reuse, recycle but we cannot keep recycling the same old politicians expect them to get out of this mess. i'd sign for the new generation to step up. if you feel like utah is headed in the wrong direction, we need to ask ourselves a question. what you call a politician's been in office too long? you call them home. representative curtis it's time for you to come home. to send the next generation in.

>> that is your minute. mr. bowen will end with you one minute. >> this race is about who will replace a mitt romney to represent utah in the u.s. senate. there is a democrat on the ballots for there is a former democrat on the ballot, who while is a republican has refused to endorse his own parties and presidential nominee. who, like a democrat -- much like the democrats did call for a century and for an impeachment investigation. his main cause and the u.s. senate as a republican has been climate change. kind of like the democrats over the green new deal? who was one of only a few republicans to side with joe biden in exempting china from some trade tariffs. and then there is in me a conservative approach trump independent american who is for the u.s. constitution. for traditional values, for traditional money and for our tradition of freedom. if you want something different than what you've had for the last six years and that u.s.

senate i urge you to have the courage to do something different. vote independent, american carlton bowen for senate. >> thank you candidates but we appreciate being your time and for participating but also your dedication to public service and a willingness to step up in this matter. we appreciate that greatly. we do want to remind all of you election days to state november 5 to be sure to contact your county clerk to get any questions about how to make your vote counts in this year's election. we greatly appreciate state university for donating the browning center for this debate. we are also grateful larry h and gayle miller foundation. in the george s and dolores story eccles foundation for their generous support. this debate and others are available online. you can find it utah debate

commission.org. it has been my honor to serve as your moderator tonight. i appreciate the opportunity and really want to remind you get out and vote. make your voice heard. have a great night, everyone. aa

public media. this is live coverage on c-span. moderator: incumbent democrat mary peltola and republican challenger nick begich. while there are four candidates on this year's ballot we invited only the two to earn 5% of the boat during the open primary. moderator: both campaigns have agreed on the following rules. questions have time limits and moderators may ask follow-up actions based on answers. everyone gets equal time for regular questions and

follow-ups, and a bell will sound when your time is up. moderator: the candidates will have the opportunity to ask questions of each other. moderator: we would also like to hear from you, the audience. write the issues that matter the most to you. if you were watching on tv or online scan the qr code on your screen. go to alaskapublic.org/poll. let's introduce the candidates. incumbent democrat mary peltola has served as a representative since 2022 and is the first alaska native member of congress. before that she was a alaska house of representatives. republican candidate nick begich is an alaska businessman who comes from a family of alaska politicians and started several businesses and work for the ford motor company, alaska policy

forum and served as a board director for nta. on to the questions. we'll start with one of the day's top stories, the response to hurricane milton. one week after another major hurricane hit florida. we know climate change is causing more extreme weather events everywhere including alaska. this is making homeowners insurance less affordable and in some states increasingly unavailable. does the federal government have a role to play in solving this problem? mr. begich, you will go first. mr. begich: i believe we need to do more to lower insurance rates, and the first thing we can do is encourage competition. right now the regulation to be an insurer is quite high, because you have two layers of insurance. you have the retail insurer and the reinsurer. for people to become a reinsurer

it is difficult and drives the cost of insurance up by 15% to 30%, so it is important we lower the barriers to competition in the insurance marketplace. if we do that we will have lower rates for insurance consumers. moderator: thank you. representative peltola, you have one minute. rep. peltola: my heart goes out to the people who are experiencing hurricanes at this point, and it seems as if it was one right after another. alaska is no stranger to our own natural disasters. we have had landslides in historic storied communities that have been deadly. we have had flooding in juneau on august 5, at the same year as last year. two homes were impacted. this year 300 homes were impacted, and one of the things that we need to understand is that fema is currently funded to cover 16 natural disasters a

year. year after year we have seen double, sometimes triple that amount. we have got to make sure our homes in alaska are able to get coverage for flood insurance, landslide insurance as well as earthquake insurance and money for all disasters. moderator: thank you. one of the biggest issues for our current congress, the israel-hamas war turning into her regional crisis and the ongoing russia-ukraine war. if elected will you continue to fund support for ukraine and israel? rep. peltola: the conflict in palestine and gaza is terrible. it is a real humanitarian crisis , and as a mother of seven and a grandmother of two i want peace and prosperity everywhere. i think that it is really important that we continue to

provide humanitarian relief wherever we can. we need to make sure people are getting adequate amounts of food and water and we are preventing as many civilians from being killed if possible. this region has a long and bloody history. i am spending a lot of time listening to people who are experts in this field. i think it is important we support ukraine and the fight against russia. they are fighting our war in many ways, and i with the efforts they are making. i think we need to make sure any aid going to gaza is for humanitarian purposes only. moderator: mr. begich, your turn. rep. peltola: we need to continue to support our ally in the middle east, israel. they are a counterweight to terrorism in that region of the world. if we do not confront terrorism there terrorism will confront us here, so it is important to

continue to support israel in their efforts to stamp out terrorism in the region. i also think we need to prioritize the needs of americans first. we were recently in kodiak for a fisheries debate, and one of the things i have heard from people in the fishing industry in our state, fishing families that have been relying on disaster relief payments waiting up to six years for those payments to be received. we accelerated $200 billion for aid to ukraine but not accelerating the needs of americans. i want to make sure we are putting the needs of americans first, we are not putting other people's wars on our credit card expecting future generations to pay for them. moderator: mr. begich, you have mentioned to cryptocurrency as a way to protect american financial sovereignty. what role are you suggesting cryptocurrency should ablate in u.s. and the alaskan economy? rep. peltola: i think cryptocurrency provides a suite

of opportunities as a hedge si class for a devalued dollar. what we have seen with the united states congress over the last many decades is a lack of discipline, and that has resulted in the inflation we are experiencing today. it is important to have a backup plan, and i think cryptocurrency can provide that. it is a suite of innovative technologies i am excited about and provides a great alternative in the long run. moderator: representative peltola, do you believe predicaments he has a role to play in the alaska u.s. economies? mr. begich: i believe predicaments he has a place in the american economy and alaskan economy. we need to be supporting innovation wherever we see it. if there are more innovative ways to have currency, we need to capitalize on that. if you go to any of the remote villages, what you see often is the same check being transferred

around the same community 50 times sometimes. that is the kind of unfortunate situation we have been many remote bases. moderator: we want to hear from you about what issues met at the most. follow the qr code on your screen or go to alaskapubli c.org/poll and fill out a survey about your priorities as a voter. let's talk about alaska's housing crisis. this question is for both of you. between 2020 and 2023 the average price of a home and alaska climbed to 20%. what specific policies would you support to make housing more affordable in alaska? rep. peltola: one of the things i need to make sure we are doing is keeping the federal government open. many programs are available for veterans, first time home buyers.

we need to make sure we do not have a close federal government impeding those kinds of transfers. i think homelessness is a huge problem in alaska, and we see it here in anchorage. 40% of alaska's oma's -- homeless population are children. need to be working collaboratively to alleviate on my situation we have right now. i think that we need to be looking at energy, utilities and figuring out ways to stream like that. i think permitting is a huge problem. i think we need to have more land available from anyone who will partner and make sure that we are providing low-interest loans for future homeowners. moderator: mr. begich, you have one minute. mr. begich: in alaska the issue is exacerbated because so many

of our lands are not in private hands. there is land available if it will be unlocked from our federal government, and we need to do more to unlock federal government lands that they hold currently in alaska and make those available to people who would like to build homes. i think we do have a challenge. we talk about the prices of homes to being up 20%, that the interest rates exacerbate that. when you look at the average home payment in alaska it is up over 100%, and that is a huge problem for first-time homebuyers. i have met with many young people across alaska who said i saved, i did everything right, i have got my money for a down payment but now i cannot afford my payment for the home once i put my down payment down, so it is important we have lower interest rates to facilitate first-time homebuyers. moderator: how do you get those lower interest rates then? mr. begich: i think pressure has

to be mounted on the federal reserve. what we saw was their reaction, their response to a heated up economy was to raise interest rates. in this case i do not think it was the appropriate one, because the root cause of the inflation we have seen is excess money printing by the federal reserve. the federal reserve went out in order to finance access to government debt, they printed money to do that. they should have pulled liquidity by selling holdings that they had. moderator: congresswoman peltola, i went to give you 30 seconds into -- as well. rep. peltola: the government provides many different categories of home loans and we need to look at broadening those. it is important we have interest rates people can afford. i do not agree with the proposal to give first-time homebuyers at $25,000 check. i think that will exacerbate the

problem. i think we need to be looking at interest rates. moderator: a portion have turn into one of this election's biggest issues. there have been attempts in congress to codify roe v. wade after the u.s. supreme court overturned the decision in 2022. would you support a federal ban on or a guarantee for the right to an abortion? mr. begich: i would not support a federal ban or guarantee. we need this decision with the states, and i do not think people in alaska one folks in d.c. deciding this issue for them. they are 1000 miles away from us. we can make our own decisions here in alaska, and when we do we do a great job. i believe in local control. i would not support a ban or guarantee either way. moderator: thank you. ms. peltola?

rep. peltola: i absolutely do not support a ban and i believe in reproductive rights. i trust women and their doctors. i do not think politicians have any business being in this discussion. antichoice extremists are committed to making sure there is a majority in congress who will end abortion across our nation, and nobody wants that. it should be safe, legal, and rare. we should be doing everything we can to prevent unwanted pregnancies and protecting the lives of women to have complicated medical situations. being pregnant and delivering a baby is one of the most lethal things a woman can do in our lifetime. this is one of the deadliest propositions a woman can undertake. it is not anyone's place in d.c. or the state legislature to get

between a woman and her doctor. moderator: we have video questions. this first question comes from amelia. >> i am amelia brooks, a senior at a secondary school and a member of anchorage youth vote initiative of the league of women voters of anchorage. local youth pointed out school shootings are an ongoing tragedy across the country. what adventures would you take to help ensure the safety of schools and youth serving communities? how do you protect both the second amendment as well as our schools and communities? moderator: congresswoman peltola? rep. peltola: this is a big concern. the state of alaska experienced the first school shooting in the nation, and now they happen so frequently that there are multiple in a week. the common thread among these

terrible tragedies is a person, somebody who is inflicting this who is isolated, who does not feel seen or heard. we need to make sure that every child in our community, every child in our school feel seen and heard. we need to make sure we do not have people in isolation and we need to do as much as we can as gunowners to protect and safeguard guns and ammunition's from getting in the wrong hands. for those of us who grew up with firearms in our home hunting, we know the importance of gun safety. we know you did not ever point a gun at another person, and this is something we have got to get our arms around. moderator: mr. begich? mr. begich: the right if the people to keep it to bear arms shall not be infringed, right? it is something i believe strongly in. i have had the opportunity to

travel across the state and there are a number of competitive youth shooting leagues that they would like to train youth on gun safety and responsible firearm ownership, and that is important and something we need to continue to invest in. there was a time here during the harris-biden regime over the last few years, they actually said and pushed for the regulation that school district that supported these programs and archery programs would be denied funding for their schools if they continue these programs. that is wrong. our delegation push back on it, and i am proud of that, but at the end of the day i believe training, responsible firearm ownership at an early age is a great way to push back against the risk. moderator: i went to give you 30 seconds to follow up there. would you support any sort of limits, red flag laws, any sort of limits, background checks? mr. begich: i do not support red

flag laws, and i am on the record. i do not think we need to create databases to create databases of people who own firearms in our nation. i think that is a slippery slope that leads ultimately to the erosion of our second amendment rights. moderator: representative peltola, would you like to follow-up? would you support any limitations? rep. peltola: i think we need to look at what is already on the books. we already have a system that is supposed to protect domestic violence victims. often times that does not happen. many of the perpetrators who have executed these terrible executions, there have been warning signs, and those warning signs were ignored. i think we need to look at all of the ways we can protect our community, and we need to have trust and a discussion among all user groups, but the rest of the trust. moderator: let's get specific

about mental health resources. according to the national alliance on mental illness more than 40% of adults in alaska reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, but over 25% of them were unable to get needed counseling or therapy in 2021. name concrete steps you could take in congress to increase the availability of mental health care in alaska? mr. begich: i think we see the effects of an untreated mental health population with the homelessness crisis we are experiencing in alaska. so many of the people going through homelessness are struggling with mental health issues, and i believe that right now what we are seeing is all of these people that are on the streets today, they could have been helped at a much earlier point, and it would have cost society less, made their lives better. we have got to do a better job of early detection and

intervention of mental health issues, and that is something we need to invest in both as a state and the nation. i think we also need to make sure we are investing in workforce development for mental health professionals. right now it is difficult in alaska to find sufficient numbers of mental health professionals to treat a number of people reaching out for help, and when they cannot find that help that they turned to drugs, behavioral characteristics that are not conducive to a solid society. moderator: congresswoman peltola , you have one minute. rep. peltola: one of the key pieces to this is to make sure we have good internet throughout the state. we have invested $2 billion. we are improving our broad event across the state. i know that some people think there is a stigma in talking about mental health, in seeking out somebody to talk to about your mental health. i think that we need to start talking about wellness, and many

of our young people have overcome this stigma. in younger generations the same stigma is not there that is been there in the past. we need to make sure we have wellness programs in all of our schools at all levels. we need to help parents find tools to promote wellness for their kids. it is also important we are providing wellness for our soldiers and veterans. these are some of our most vulnerable people as well as our young people. moderator: a follow-up on that when with both of you. how do we get these programs? and how do we pay for these? rep. peltola: i was even thinking about mental health is not just inpatient beds. it is important all of us be working on our mental health especially as you live in a state with as much darkness as we have been potential isolation. what was the question again?

moderator: how would you pay for them? rep. peltola: we need treatment beds in a host of areas. alcohol treatment, opioid treatment, mental health treatment. moderator: thank you. mr. begich. mr. begich: the founders of rsa -- of our state foresaw this issue so they created a founders trust. most of the land is still in the trust, and we have to unlock the potential of that land. some of it has timber potential, minimal potential, and some of it is just great land. that land needs to be used for its original intended purpose. moderator: we want to move on to alaska's addiction crisis. because of overdoses spiked to an all-time high in alaska last

year despite a national declining trend. what would you support at the federal level to lower these rates in alaska? you have one minute. congresswoman peltola? rep. peltola: again, i think that making available wellness programs is a huge piece of this. i think with the terrible influx of fentanyl through our southern border and into every community in alaska, fentanyl has impacted every family one way or another in alaska, and we need to make sure we have protections at the border to prohibit that fentanyl from coming across the border, and i think that we need to arm people with the antidote to fentanyl overdoses and heroin overdoses. i think this is an important piece to it, but i really am back on making sure that we are

teaching our young people positive ways of dealing with stress, positive ways of soothing stressful situations and not resorting to substance abuse. moderator: our next two questions will be specific -- so sorry, pardon me. mr. begich: all right, so this is an important issue to me. the fentanyl crisis in alaska has taken far too many lives. there is a friend of mine who is a mom who lost her son to a fentanyl overdose, and it is a heartbreaking story. and there are so many stories like that across our state and our nation. the challenges that we do not have a secure southern border. so many of these drugs, and it is not just fentanyl. so many of these drugs are coming across our southern border impacting people's lives, destroying people's families, they are killing youth. we have got to have a secure

border. in congress should you elect to me my commitment to you is to always support americans first. prioritize the people of our nation first. make sure our borders are secure and do everything we can to stop these substances from entering our homes. moderator: i went to follow-up on that one as well again. in alaska specifically we are hearing reports that cartels and drug dealers specifically come to alaska because the prices are so much higher here, and they can make so much more money, so how do you address that federally? mr. begich. mr. begich: these drugs initially come across the border, and they will often enter the mail system, the united states postal service. they will be sent up through drug mules. we have to do more to interdict to those drugs in the post

office and at the airports. when you enter a number of other countries around the world they use drug dogs heavily. we need to make sure we are investing in those programs to stop those drugs from entering our state. moderator: congressman peltola, you have 30 seconds. rep. peltola: i think a huge piece of this is examining packages at the post office as well as ups and fedex. i toured the fedex facility and they have a robust process where they are examining suspicious packages. a lot of alaskan communities are specifically targeted because they can make more money. i think that the state of alaska drug prevention programs are critical. moderator: thank you. now our next two questions will be specific to each candidate with a one minute answer. your opponent will have an opportunity for a 32nd response. mr. begich, a bill in congress

that would have strength and border security died in congress the session. it had bipartisan support and approval from border patrol officials. would you have voted yes or no on this bill and why? mr. begich: i would not have voted for that specific bill. there were several people of legislation that republicans on the outside offered up including the secure border act of 2023. at the end of the day we have to make sure these bills are not just addressing one part of the problem. that particular bill would have dramatically increased the number of border agents and turn them into immigration officials. we are continuing to bring these people in from foreign nations. upwards of 20 million people are in our nation illegally right now. these people are receiving free health care, free medical

attention, free housing, free transportation, free education, and it is not free. we are paying for it. at the end of the day and a bill that will not fix that part of the problem is not an actual solution. it exacerbates the problem. moderator: congressman peltola, 30 seconds for a response. rep. peltola: i have voted for several bills that called for tougher enforcement. i voted yes on condemning the president for his handling of the border, but this issue has been mishandled by both parties. it is now being used as a political football. it should not be used as a football especially when we have things like fentanyl coming across the border. we have got to have new emergency authorities to shut down our border if it becomes overwhelmed that we have got to have a faster system for asylum-seekers. moderator: congressman peltola, in april to join the rest of the alaska delegation supporting a

goldmine. what is your position on the mine change? rep. peltola: it is important when we are looking at projects around the state to listen carefully to the regional corporations that are involved in those projects and can benefit from them. the corporation chose the land near the site because of its minimal potential. i think that it is as your representative in alaska for alaska in d.c. i need to make sure i am upholding federal laws. the alaska native claims settlement act was a promise to alaskans that the land they selected they could develop. 50 years later we have now turned her back on that promise and have put everything in front of regional corporations to prohibit them from resource development and the profitability of their own land. i think it is important that we

listen to the stakeholders in the region and alaska native corporations. moderator: mr. begich, 30 seconds. mr. begich: i am a full supporter of mining, responsible mineral development. i tell people all the time, if you care about the earth, you would develop the resources of this earth where it is done most responsibly, and it is done most responsibly in alaska. you should be consistently supportive of minimal development in our state. i can tell you if i get elected i will not flip-flop on this issue. i will always be supporting alaska's right to produce. moderator: we have a couple more candidates specific questions. these will be asked without an opponent response. mr. begich, during the recent vice presidential debate republican jd vance declined to say whether joe biden was the winner of the 2020 election. do you believe president joe

biden legitimately won the election? mr. begich: i believe joe biden won the election because he is the president today, but we have to look at is all of the thing that was required in order for them to do that. we saw a great deal of censorship on facebook and google, social media at suppressing free speech. it these are the things that happened by the scenes in order for joe biden to do what he did. we sought last-minute changes under the guise of going emergency and how elections were administered in a number of swing states. i think it is worth looking at that. it is acceptable and reasonable for any american to question is this reasonable? is this what we expect in a free and fair election? and i think the clear answer is no. i think we need to make sure that our elections are open, free, fair, and that information is allowed to transmit between

one person and another in our country. moderator: are you saying the election was fair and honest election, that he was a legitimately elected president or not? mr. begich: as i stated, key was elected president. the techniques that were used to get him elected were not legitimate. suppressing free speech in our country is not a legitimate mechanism to get elected. when you saw big tech cooperate to eliminate the ability for conservatives to communicate, that is not legitimate, but he won the election. he is the president, and he will not be president here in just a few months. moderator: congressman peltola, data from pro-public art shows you voted against your party. why aren't you openly supporting your party's nominee for president? rep. peltola: i think it is

important that alaskans who represent all alaska are not overly partisan. i do not see the world through a partisan lens. i see the world as an alaskan, and i am constantly thinking about what is best for alaska? what is best for the alaskan people? if it is our economy, regarding guns, i am happy to vote against my party. i think that endorsing either of the presidential candidates is -- you know, i think a lot of people would say what would you endorse -- if you plan on working with either of them whoever is elected, why would you use your time focused on a race you really do not have any control over? talk about running your own race. i am running mayoral race and i have a full plate running our

own country -- state. moderator: we will voting for kamala harris? rep. peltola: it is a secret ballot. both of our candidates have flaws. much of the concern will be around who are they choosing as their senior advisors. i think both candidates are flawed, and i do not know why i would use a bit to get my gas on a race i do not have any control over. moderator: thank you for your responses. we need to take a short break, but before we do would like to remind you again we want to hear what issues matter most to you? go to alaskapublic.org to fill out a survey. moderator: after a shortmoderatr

2024 debate for the statehouse he. what questions do you two have for each other? moderator: candidates will have no more than 15 seconds to ask their questions followed by a one minute response and rebuttal. representative peltola, you may ask the first question now. rep. peltola: ok, nick begich, you are one of eight candidates that the freedom caucus has invested in. do you think that alaskans want someone who will spend their time in d.c. engaged in twitter fights putting out speaker after speaker? mr. begich: i am not an obstructionist. we need to get work done to be serious about the work happening in d.c. the work that has been happening in d.c. is not good. it has resulted in inflation, made it harder for people to stay in alaska.

we see 67 executive orders issued by the biden-harris team targeting alaska specifically. it is making it harder and harder for alaskans to make a living, harder and harder for alaskans to stay here. i do not think we need to be supporting an agenda that is obstructionist. we need to make sure government is staying in its lane, doing what it is supposed to do constitutionally, balancing budgets, protecting the american people and putting the needs of the american people first. when it is not doing that it is incumbent for people to stand up who have been elected to represent americans across the country and say this is not working. moderator: would you like 30 seconds to rebut? rep. peltola: i would not categorize the freedom caucus is working to stabilize government or keep it funded. every time we turn around we are on the precipice of a government

shutdown which affects every alaskan. we are right now in a placeholder on our continuing resolution that it will quickly be revisited again in november because of the freedom caucus. there are bent two motions to vacate the speaker, which puts us at a deadlock. moderator: mr. begich, you may now ask your question. mr. begich: the average salary for an alaskan is $36,000 a year. can you explain to alaskans what is cryptocurrency and how does it work? rep. peltola: well, i know that it starts with a block chain. i am not an expert on crypto, but i do believe in innovation. i believe in creating ways for people to buy and sell goods in different ways and not have to rely on using the same check over and over within a

community, do not have to rely on dollar bills, writing checks, or exorbitant portions when you were doing transfers using venom will -- venmo and other apps. one of the most exciting things we are seeing in our country's innovation around this kind of currency, and i went to see and learn more about it, but i went to see where this goes. like you said, you supported -- support it. i think it is good to embrace intimation -- innovation. mr. begich: i think it is great to embrace innovation. i just find it amazing someone can receive $2 million in a campaign that someone knows very little about. this is how people buy votes in congress. they find a candidate they know they can rely on for their

specific pieces of legislation, whether they know anything about it or not. moderator: next of question from the alaska black caucus. >> hi, i am celeste, president and ceo of the alaska black caucus. my question is what specific initiative do you propose to address economic disparities and create opportunities for underrepresented communities? moderator: congresswoman peltola , you have 30 seconds. what specific initiatives do you propose to address economic disparities and create opportunities for underrepresented communities? rep. peltola: specific opportunities? the think that i am working on and interested in is not specific small groups of

people. i went to work for all of alaskans. this job is to represent every alaskan in the state, and the best way to do that is look good our collective challenges. things like high cost of heating, energy, groceries. extremely high cost of air travel. we need to be embracing everything we can, whether it is promoting natural resource development to up make sure we have good, livable wage jobs and providing energy in a clean and well-regulated way, in a humane way to our state residents, and if we can export that to the rest of the world. i think it is important that we are intentional about making sure that everybody benefits for the programs we work on. moderator: mr. begich? mr. begich: i think it is so important that everyone have a seat at the table, no matter

what community you are part of, no matter what ethnic group, no matter what religion. it is important. america's promise is a dream that enough people can make it here with hard work and right living. we have to do more to ensure that people have access to high-quality education, particularly here in alaska. we need to make sure our university system is producing enough graduates in the right field to support or industries here so we do not have to look outside of alaska. we can do that inside alaska. i think it is also important we take those opportunities and cascade them down through k-12. there is so much disparity in our education system in the state of alaska. we need to make sure every kid no matter where they are has the same opportunities for great education. moderator: to follow up on that one, and her question she did ask what specific initiatives do you propose?

i would like you have 30 seconds. mr. begich: we need to make sure that the department of education is removing so many of the restrictions on the funding they are providing to the state. they are being too prescriptive in alaska. we have diverse communities, and when the federal government hands down standard so-called to alaska, they are taking up valuable classroom time, removing the creativity of an educator to adapt the curriculum, and we need to remove those roadblocks to a education in alaska. moderator: congresswoman peltola? rep. peltola: i focused so much of my time in making sure that programs are available to every alaskan regardless of ethnicity or interest group. specific initiatives, i think education helps level the playing field. i also think it is important to

have a diverse group of leaders to lead by example and showed the gorgeous mosaic that alaska has to offer. moderator: we went to return to alaska's economy. mr. begich, alaska's delegation is against the proposed merger between kroger and albertson. do you support this merger? why or why not? mr. begich: i think it is really important when we look at blocking mergers or supporting mergers, we have to look at the competitive environment. here in alaska we need to make sure the competitive environment remains. it helps keep cost down for everyone in the state. when you lose that competition, when you lose that ability for people to compete on price and service, you end up driving the cost up. i think need to make sure any merger that goes through between those two important grocery

chains it competition in our state. as proposed under the merger some of the stores would be sold to another operator. that would do some things to preserve competition, but there is more than we see get the retail level. there are things happening back in the supply chain. back consolidation can end up costing consumers more. i need to take a closer look at it to ensure competition remains in place. moderator: to follow up on that one, do you supported? -- support it? mr. begich: i support the ability for firms to emerge, but we have to protect the consumer as well. i think it is really important that an environment for competition remains throughout the entire grocery supply chain. one of the things we have to recognize is amazon as dramatically disrupted this entire industry, so a number of

the goods you would purchase at a store you are now buying online. moderator: congresswoman peltola, you oppose this merger? what requirements would there need to be to protect consumers from higher prices? rep. peltola: this merger not only threatens alaska, but it threatens the balance across the nation. i have been the leader on halting the albertson-kroger merger. we work with the ftc, and the ftc talked about the new model they were exposed to in hearing from stakeholders, and i am proud of the work that i've done on making sure alaskans can talk about this merger and the negative impacts we have seen from another merger. a number of local grocery stores closed really impacting neighborhoods, communities, and

we need to know how many stores would possibly be divested not under the merger. we need to know where those stores are and what the game plan is for that community. need to make sure people have bargaining rights if this merger goes forward. moderator: before we continue with our questions, we would like to remind you again that we want to hear which issues are most important to you. scan the qr code on your screen or go to alaskapublic.org. next we turn to public safety. the need for policing in rural alaska is a long-standing problem. in 2019 then attorney general william barr declared the lack an emergency. world citizens do not have adequate protection from lawlessness.

what would you propose to fix this chronic problem? rep. peltola: i served on the budget subcommittee for corrections and public safety when i served in juneau in the legislature. this is a pressing issue for people across alaska, and i think it is critically important that when the federal government has an overture of $1 million that the $1 million is not taken out on the backend by the state. if the funding needs to go through the bureau of indian affairs were some other agency to make sure we are not getting shortchanged and seeing no progress whatsoever, those are the strategies that we need to employ. i think we need federal money and federal help with our public safety issues. we have over 200 communities, and just a handful of them have any public safety whatsoever,

and we have seen a diminishment in the workforce that we have, whether it is municipal police officers, tribal or state. mr. begich: i think there are a number of challenges with public safety in rural alaska. that is because it is difficult to scale that support effort at a smaller level. i think it is important that we make sure that criminals are locked up. if you go out to court view and you and look to see some of the rap sheet's, you will see some people have been charged with crimes 30, 40, 100 times. these people need to be put in jail and stake in jail. if you want to clean up the streets you have to remove the criminals and start the rehabilitation process. we also need to make sure we are pressing federal charges.

we need these people to be put into federal prison, and that is something the federal government needs to do. those are positions that i would work harder to find. moderator: let's talk about funding for projects like roads and bridges. should alaska's delegation should -- get as much funding as you can? mr. begich: this is a really important question, and it is important because we are both alaskans and americans, so it is really important that we are considering both. we are a young state. we need to invest in infrastructure and make sure that infrastructure is real infrastructure. i am talking about new roads, bridges, ports, harbors, and yes, broadband, but that broadband is to evolve satellites as well. so many of these communities reliant on broad event solutions

have skipped and gone straight to satellite. when we invest we invest with hard, real and true infrastructure, that we are not mislabeling bills to get other priorities past in congress. i am a full supporter of investing in infrastructure, but i believe if we will make an infrastructure investment make sure that it is real infrastructure. moderator: representative peltola? rep. peltola: i wholeheartedly believe in investing in infrastructure. all of our great leaders in alaska worked on this and made significant headway. we live in a huge state. we are the size of a country, of a medium-sized country, and a lot of the infrastructure that has been handed over to municipalities from the state needs upgrades. with the inclement weather we have here, with the challenges with just time.

we have to make sure our boat harbors are being maintained, our bridges, our roads. we have these generational bills passed before my time in congress, but i have made sure are staying competitive. i hired a woman in my office named aurora who is helping communities in different agencies to look through these generational bills to find ways that alaska can capitalize on those investments. moderator: next up our final video question of the evening from aarp alaska. after the video, mr. begich, you will have 30 seconds to respond. >> if washington does not take action social security could be cut by 20% or more. do you see a path in congress to a bipartisan solution to protect social security? mr. begich: absolutely, i am a wanted to percent full supporter of social security despite what you may have seen on ads and tv,

i wanted to percent -- i wanted to percent support meeting our commitments. i have said the federal government as taken the social security trust fund, and they have suspended on current operating expenditures. it is being reappropriated for deficit spending. that is wrong and we have to do more to protect it. moderator: representative peltola. rep. peltola: i wholeheartedly support social security. every elder i know it relies on social security, and i do not see that need to away anytime soon in the state of alaska and across our country. this is a promise that we made and something we can never go back on. i see opportunities to work in a bipartisan way to fix this as long as it is not being used as a political football in campaigns. this is one of the most sacred promises we have made and i will do everything i can to uphold

it. moderator: we had two questions tonight for our poll. rate your priorities as a voter, while the second has asked have you already made up your mind? economy as their top priority followed by reproductive rights and public safety. moderator: let's look at the decisions about voting. there were 201 people who said, yes, they will vote. 32 said no and one person does not plan to vote at all. it is time for our closing statements, and we did drop from the hat, so congresswoman peltola, you have one minute for your closing statement.

rep. peltola: i have been in this job for two years now, and it has been the honor of my life did i believe firmly in deliverables, and that is what i achieve. alaska in the last two years because of the role i have played within the delegation to closely with both of our senators, we saw rail get approved for a second time. we saw a president go back on his campaign promise and ignore senior advisors. because i was able to make compelling and convincing arguments for the development of this project, we curtailed russian seafood imports, an issue that our senator has worked on for 10 years. i was able to get the president to issue an executive order to curtail that. we have gotten $2.56 million for the real grid. we are working on helping the

albertsons-kroger merger. moderator: thank you. mr. begich, your closing statement. mr. begich: we have a nation to save. we have a country to safe, and at the end of the day there are two groups in d.c. who have different divisions. you have the hard left that controlled the agenda for the democratic party. they have issued 67 orders targeting alaska. joe biden, kamala harris, and their allies in congress have it out for a state. that is the truth. and the reality is if we want to open alaska we have got to do a better job at advocating for our state. i was recently on the radio this week with majority leader steve scalise. is commitment is in the first 100 days of the next congress that alaska's needs are prioritized in the budget reconciliation act and that we

push back against joe biden's agenda. i believe in the potential of alaska. moderator: and that concludes our u.s. house debate or the state 2024. i would like to thank our candidates for joining us. moderator: election day is november 5, and we encourage every alaskan to vote and to make your voices heard. for alaska publicook

political report. this is one hour.

>> all right, thank you all for being here. i am orion donovan smith ashcroft said i am the spokesman news reported in washington, d.c. i'm happy to be here in spokane for today's debate in a race to represent washington state in the senate between senator maria cantwell and dr. raul garcia. senator cantwell what a coin toss backstage and chose to give the first opening statement which means dr. garcia will close last. dr. garcia will be standing at the podium to my right. as drops of my ask a question for each candidate will have 60 seconds to answer followed by 30 seconds for rebuttal or to elaborate on the that response. i'm also have follow-up questions in which case each can have another 30 seconds to respond. because of a lot of credit, i would like to ask the audience to please avoid any disruptions

and applied only twice tonight at the end and now as we welcome our candidates to the stage. [applause] >> all right. senator cantwell, you have been in the senate since 2001. to take it so you become the first woman to be chair of the senate committee on commerce, science, and transportation. dr. garcia, you have worked as an emergency physician for the past 25 years. i would hereby each of you thinks you're the best candidate to represent washington state in the senate for the next six years. senator cantwell. >> thank you so much and thank you to gonzaga, to the spokesman review for the great work that

you're doing with the black lens. as of late in the unique model that is being prepared for journalism. i have to say a special go zags welcome to the pac 12. i believe we should send people to the united states senate are going to work in a bipartisan fashion to get things done. that's what you guys sent me there to do i worked hard of what i thought were our northwest values, to bring the supply chain back, to make sure we were low in cost on prescription drugs and out-of-pocket expenses for seniors, and getting the ability to negotiate on drug prices so we could help lower the cost of all. i know think still cost too much and that's why we're fighting now on building more affordable housing. housing is 70% of inflation. while it's coming down we know here in spokane if we build more affordable housing like don's agates even, more people will see lower costs for the future. thank you. -- gonzaga haven.

>> dr. garcia. >> good afternoon. i'm doctor ruehl carsey and i'm running to be our next u.s. senator from this great state of washington. i want to take everybody that had their hands on putting this debate together, to thank senator cantwell preventer at all of you watching, carrying about the future of washington state. want to give a special thanks to my wife who i call my 75%, who is been in this crusade with me for four and half years and truly without whom this would never happen. [speaking spanish] i hope everyone watching this debate that he sees a new choice, someone that is not a career politician that is a husband, a father, and the scientist that is going to look at every situation according to results and bring true solutions. but most important, represent

the will of the people of washington. thank you. >> take you, doctor. senator, which alike respond or elaborate? courtship 30 seconds for its very important in this environment people are doing too much on tv back in washington, d.c., are spending all their hours on the late-night cable shows. i didn't do that. i got four major piece of legislation passed that i wrote most of their big parts of the chips and science act which help honeywell is going to use here in spokane to build more jobs and bring the supply chain. i'm going to keep fighting for those kind of opportunities. >> thank you. doctor, would you like to elaborate for 30-second? >> my story is very easy. as mr. smith goes to washington i don't like what i see a side my door so i'd like to change it. i don't like the crying. i do like the open drug use. i don't like our kids are not safe. i don't like the fact our families can't afford our lives in washington state.

and i'm here to represent the people of washington and bring about true solutions from a science perspective that looks at problems according to results. >> thank you, doctor. the pandemic upended the global economy and lead to higher prices around the world. inflation in the u.s. has fallen to 2.5% after peeking over 9% in 2022. the federal reserve cut interest rates for federal reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years. what americans average wages still haven't caught up to inflation. as senator how would you address the changing economy and high costs of the think? we start with dr. garcia. >> thank you. the fact that we have people in washington state that are choosing between groceries and other activities for the children is not a good thing. we can't afford to afford, to

buy a house. we can't afford our gas. so the federal government needs to take accountability. we have spent a lot of money. inflation happens because of two things. we increase taxes or we print money. well, yes what? were doing both. we need to stop doing that. we need to audit the federal government and get rid of ineffective programs and give that money back to the community. because economics 101 tells us if we have more money in our pocket we are going to it in our community and growth is going to happen. that is the solution that i think scientifically would work for our state. >> thank you, doctor. senator cantwell same question. 62nd. >> we all know a global pandemic caused a major inflation by cutting products and services that were no longer provided. and now that we have climbed out of the pandemic i want to make

sure we don't ever see that again, that we are bringing the supply chain back to the united states of america and lowering costs. the recent economic report shows we are growing wages and even growing them higher, that i know here in spokane because of talk to get through all the time that we need more to do to lower the cost of groceries and that's why i oppose the kroger albertson's merger that would gouge people with higher prices if we don't have competition and wife i have fought hard to make sure we spread these same discounts on prescription drugs, now fight of the same $35 insulin for everybody not just for seniors. our ability to negotiate on drug prices is saving the taxpayer about $7 billion in addition to seniors. this kind of negotiating power is what our fight for. >> thank you, senator. dr. garcia you have 30 seconds to respond. >> yes unfortunately our present

government voted for inflation reduction act that even economists from harvard wrote to the ap and said would not lower inflation. washingtonians are unfortunately paying so many more taxes to the pot for the inflation reduction act and getting back little. this is what we have today. we need change. and the right change. >> thank you, doctor. senator cantwell spread the inflation reduction act was paid for and it actually did reduce costs. and the question is, if you buy at costco and you get a discount? facet we insured for taxpayers and for the seniors that were buying prescription drugs for. if we spread those same benefits to a larger medicare population we will save more money. that is one of the key things i want to do is to make sure we are using this ability to drive

down costs on so many people with out-of-pocket expenses are so high for prescription drug. >> thank you, thank yo. we have the question now from the editor of the black lens. april everhart. >> my mid april everhart and i am added of the black lens. today this is my question. according to u.s. department of education students of color more likely taken up federal student loans in order to pay for college and are more likely to report the student that has caused them a high amount of stress later in her life. how would you mitigate this disproportionate burden, and which is about debt relief by the targeted are widespread? thank you. >> thank you for the question and thank you to the black lens, and thank you for being there in the memory of sandy williams. yes, i support student loan debt forgiveness, particularly for public sector jobs whether we are talking about in my office or whether we're talking about

the people who go into public service, or even people like drd medicine in rural areas. yes, we should have debt forgiveness to make sure the expense of student loans is not prohibiting us. we could be doing more in this area at a think it's very important to try to achieve that kind of perspective. i went to school on a pell grant and at the time pell paid for much more of the college education that today's pell but definitely go from working class to middle-class. we need to create those same opportunities today for more young people. i believe one way to do that is to create more opportunities for running start programs for people and target them to schools that would help get more minorities into college. >> thank you, senator. dr. garcia, yet one minute. >> thank you. i arrived in this country as an 11-year-old skinny kid didn't speak a word of english.

and was lucky enough to live out that the american dream. and along the way there were people that helped me achieve that goal. so as your next united states senator, of course i'm going to do everything i can to bring the resources necessary for marginalized cultures to get to an even playing field. we have two responsibilities here. first of all, to educate our country about the fact that these marginalized cultures exist, that they don't have the same resources. and second of all to make sure the education resources are there all these individuals can get that education and get out of that marginalize system that they've been a part of. >> thank you. senator cantwell would you like response? >> i just want at i'm a huge fan

of our carl perkins system and did anything you can do to drive down the skills training to our high school level. friendship and the united states of america should be our goal and an information age with are so many technical jobs. literally, six-figure jobs with two-year degrees. but if we teach math and science in our high schools and help provide running start, some of these can help in the enormous amount of skills that we we n the trend of america. lots of job. >> thank you, senator. dr. garcia would you like to 30-second. >> well, seems that senator cantwell and i are on the same page on this. apprenticeships are the way of the future. you don't have to go to college to have a great job and to support your family and have a great life. and that education is lacking in the junior high level we need to increase that education. and to answer the question

completely, certainly i would support student loan relief specifically for public service after that education. >> all right, thank you, dr. garcia. from student that i want to talk about national debt now. the u.s. national debt has surpassed $35 trillion. in the currents as good of the federal government has spent about $1.9 $1.9 trillion, n it's collected in revenue. we haven't had a balanced budget since the turn of the 21st century. how concerned are each of you about the nation's debt, and what should congress do about it? we will start with the dr. garcia. >> very concerned about the nation's debt. look, i came from humble beginnings and we didn't have a lot of money. but we always learned that you spend as much as you have. right now we are in a situation where americans are putting their groceries on credit cards. and us as a federal government

should be accountable to make sure we're not wasting the taxpayers money. that's why i propose an audit of the federal government. and i'm not proposing a big bureaucratic group that comes in and audits the federal government. i am proposing a single account with a pencil behind his ear that gets down on a table and says you know what, this is an ineffective program and we need to eliminate it so we could bring that money back to the community. >> thank you. senator cantwell. >> it's, the debt and deficit are an issue. in the pandemic we had to do some things that took care of people slides and help sustain economies for the future. in fact, the united states has come out of the pandemic with more resources and ability because we did that. but what we don't want to do now as former president trump is

suggesting is tariff, tariff, tariff and put back the 2017 bill that would as economists are saying at summer between seven and eight, $14 trillion to our debt and deficit. i believe in pay go. i believe in making sure like inflation reduction act as we do policy and we pay for it as we go. the reason i'm so enthralled over our make opportunities on apprentice is because you can grow the u.s. economy and help pay down the debt if we trained and skilled americans that on americans and they will do the rest. >> thank you, senator. i would note the discretion spending congress approves each year accounts for about a quarter of the nation's budget better spent on programs like sosa to come medicare, a big portion of that. dr. garcia which is like 30 seconds response? >> yes. americans, we don't do well when they take our rights away.

medicare and social security are things that at the end of our life, at the end of our effort we expect to get. so i will be a senator that support those programs and finds the funding for it. my answer to reducing the debt is stop spending money that we don't have for ineffective programs. >> thank you. senator cantwell would you like to respond? >> i'm going to fight to protect salsas good and medicare, and project 2025 taking aim at some of this is disturbing to me. but i do think that there are things that are state is done in healthcare that should lead the way to help build a value-based healthcare delivery system and help us look at costs in the future. if people would do more of that and reward good delivery of healthcare i think there are things we could do in our system today. >> thank you. i like to turn now to abortion.

one of the biggest topics in this year's president election certainly. for nearly half a century the supreme court guaranteed a nationwide right to abortion with states are not restrict the procedure later in pregnancy except when a pregnant woman's life or health was in danger. since the court overturned those protections in 2022 some states like idaho have restricted abortion. what should congress do in response to this new reality after the dogs dobbs decis? senator cantwell. >> i fully support restoring our rights. this is something that should be between a doctor and the patient, not people in washington, d.c. this is 50 plus years of a right that was upheld by our courts that were stripped away with the decision of the supreme court. and it is affecting the state of washington. i produced a national report that shows how people here coming to our state and people from idaho are literally creating a demand on our system

that's hard to serve. i want women to have the rights back and and i will fight te roe v. wade restored as the law of the land when i am return to the united states senate with your help. >> thank you, senator. dr. garcia, you've one minute. >> washington state is a pro-choice state dictated by the first the washington state. and i as your united states senator i'm going to represent the defendant that every day. i agree that the reversal of this law has caused burden in washington state from having patience from other states come to have abortions here. going back to america it's not like taking a rights away. in my experience i have been there with the mother whose daughter was raped by her uncle. i have been there with the husband whose wife is dying of an ectopic pregnancy or demise

or other ob/gyn emergencies and it had to send them to the operating room to terminate the pregnancy or the woman would die. this is who i am. this is my experience, this is how i'm going to represent you as your united states senator. >> thank you. senator cantwell, would you like response? >> avs said people are losing their life over this as a saw in georgia. we need people who are going to stand up and fight for this right to be restored. the challenges we face is that the republican party except for key people in the united states senate have basically decided they want this to be up to individual states. i am saying this is a right that women should have added national level. that i'm going to spend my time advocating for it to pass into federal law. >> thank you, senator. would you like response per? yes. the dobbs decision to create a lot of anxiety and discomfort ro