had to get that out. rep. slotkin: it is clear how betsy devos is connected to education. she was the secretary of education come the longest serving under donald trump, and she end every member of her family have donated to you for years. it would make sense that you adopt her approach to education, demonizing public schools and public school teachers. i don't believe in that. every kid in every corner of our state should have their access to education. >> let's turn our attention to health care and affordability. i will address you for this first question. research from the cdc showed the high cost of prescription drugs has had adult skit medication, put off refills, or take smaller doses. it is heartbreaking. there are those worried about

the bigger picture. rightly so. as health care costs continue to rise, many americans struggle to meet basic medical needs. what ideas would you propose or support in order to obtain an affordable health care system while maintaining high quality medical care? rep. slotkin: this one is particularly personal to me. i lost my mother in 2011 to ovarian cancer. when she died, she didn't have medical insurance. the same week we are finding out about her diagnosis is the same week and month that we are filling out the paperwork for her to declare bankruptcy. i believe in the united states of america all people deserve access to health care that they can afford and prescription drugs are way out of people's price ranges. i don't know if you have to imagine what i would do on this, i would have done it. we would vote have medicare negotiate drug prices. everyone understands cosco. you buy in bulk and you get a lower per unit price.

medicare was prohibited from negotiating drug costs, like cosco. people like mike rogers voted for it five times. voted for it five times. how is it possible to vote against medicare negotiation to bring down the price? for me, we start there and we had more and more drugs that we can negotiate and get cheaper prices. >> what ideas would you propose or support to obtain a affordable health care system while maintaining high quality medical care? mr. rogers: thank you for that. this is also personal for me. i was a cancer survivor at the age of 19. we were able to beat in and i went to the united states army and served as an officer, special agent with the fbi, congress, amazing. my father was also a cancer survivor, kidney cancer and had a rough go of it, but he beat it. he was, as my family would say, tougher than woodpecker wood to beat that thing. when we hear this rhetoric about if you don't do this, it is

this. the bill that they supported still has our prices, ozempic for example is $800 and in france it is $80. it means the united states is continuing to support the rest of the world when it comes to research, development, and cost of prescription drugs. i would go back, make sure that we do average sales price, including international, to bring their prices up and hours down. we shouldn't be paying for foreign governments' medical and medicine when it comes to prescription drugs. >> rebuttal. rep. slotkin: this is rich. this man voted five times against medicare negotiating drug prices. now he is upset that france pays less than us. he did that. upset that canada pays less than us? he did that. he voted five times. that is a matter of public record. google it. it is public information.

the idea that someone who voted against medicare negotiating is somehow now the champion of it, i have a bridge i want to sell you if you think that this guy is going to protect you. mr. rogers: look at the prices that have gone up in the last six years when my opponent was in office. not only have prescription drug prices and premiums, but premiums in health care. some notion that today she has the gall to stand before you and say, everything is wonderful on your prices, it is not. it is not because of the way they approach this. they did advantage foreign governments over u.s. providers and medicare. i put medicare prescription drug when i was in congress way back when as part of medicare. the first time it's ever happened. >> candidates, there are thousands of michiganders who are senior citizens watching the two of you debate. the questions that we got from them, this ranked pretty high on the list.

according to the social security board of trustees, the social security administration will be unable to pay scheduled benefits in full or on time starting in 2035, just a little over a decade from now, if there are no changes in the current system. if elected, what specific legislation will you offer to strengthen the system that serves as a financial safety net for millions of americans? mr. rogers? mr. rogers: to me, it is so important that we strengthen and protect social security going forward. again, my father and my mother, who are wonderful people, they didn't come from wealth, but they worked their entire lives, they counted on it. it was important to them to make sure that they didn't fall into poverty when they retired. it is the same with my in-laws, the same issue. they survived on social security and medicare. there is so much false

advertisement, candidly, on this. if we are going to solve social security we have to have a bipartisan commission that sits down and goes through the numbers and puts their party politics on the outside and worries about the seniors on the inside. my opponent had five years to do something and have done nothing. if you think about what is at risk, it's significant. you will hear a lot of nonsense, but i tell you, this is an important issue for the seniors and families and you shouldn't let them scare you into getting your vote. >> mrs. slotkin? rep. slotkin: the senior citizens of this state can know exactly what they are going to get with mike rogers. he voted to privatize or cut back social security and medicare over a dozen times. look at it. it is an open record. you can't deny that you voted for those things. you voted to increase the age of retirement from 65 to 67. you did that. that is not made up.

you voted against seniors allowing to negotiate drug prices through medicare. you did that. we don't have to guess what mike rogers will do. he has shown us who he is over and over and over again. why? why does someone say to themselves i will vote against allowing medicare to negotiate? i will vote to privatize social security and medicare? why do you do that? you have donors demanding that of you. you are getting campaign donations. it is pure, unadulterated greed. he takes over $1 million from the pharmaceutical industry. why are we surprised when he votes against medicare being able to negotiate drug prices? >> your opportunity. 30 seconds to answer some of the things i heard you under your breath saying, not true. mr. rogers: dishonest in this debate and you should be ashamed of yourself. this is may be the most important issue. i get you want to scare people, but think about the last five years. 30 years ago, a quote, i'm

telling you what is happening now, people are afraid for their future in this state. they can't afford groceries. their heating bill is up and they cannot afford it. you know who gave them all of that? my opponent in the last five years. you don't hear her talking about those successes. because it has been so harmful for our state and our seniors. i'm going back to washington and fix it. >> your rebuttal. rep. slotkin: he voted over a dozen times to privatize or cut medicare/social security. he voted to raise the retirement age. his quote, we need to rethink retirement. this is not trying to scare anyone other than to outline his record. i'm not throwing insults. just own your record, mike. you voted these things in your own time within your own free will. you had a choice. you sat in that job and you made that choice. >> i have the next question. it is to you, mrs. slotkin.

it is about climate change. climate change and energy independence are critical issues, especially with michigan experiencing more severe flooding, hurting so many communities. how do you plan to balance environment of protections, energy needs, and economic growth while addressing these increasing climate-related disasters? rep. slotkin: we have not been hit as bad as other places, but we have been seeing the changes happen in our state. farmers talk about the warmer winters. we had more flooding in our lake communities. in the years while mr. rogers was away we are doing with this. i had republicans and democrats talking about how we need to plan infrastructure for more storms, more severe storms. i believe that climate change is real and we need to do something about it. for me in, we know that we will need more energy. everyone has energy in their pockets with their phones. we have increased energy needs. i do and i believe what i was trying to do at the pentagon,

which is an all of the above approach. i want to invest in traditional sources, natural gas, wind, solar, nuclear, all of those things help us maintain our independence but increase the amount of energy we know we will need. we do that and at the same time make our climate cleaner. >> mr. rogers, how do you plan to balance environmental protection energy needs and economic growth while addressing these increasing climate-related disasters? mr. rogers: this is a huge, important issue and i'm glad my opponent has had an election year conversion to be for all of the above. the votes to stymie our ability to be energy independent has been pretty brutal for people in michigan. when you look at the cost increase, huge. more in gas at the pump, more in gas for their electric bill, and it is really having a devastating impact. i believe that we can get there if we are smart. we don't do the ev mandates because it sounds good.

we are jeopardizing 400,000 working people in this state. 400,000 people by these ev mandates. we shouldn't do that. we can't get there. you have to do modular nuclear reactors to try to get our electric read up to snuff. let the market decide and take us. hybrids we should build in the state of michigan. we should be proud of them. you don't have to plug it in, it get too down the road. if we can do all of these things we can get to a better climate. >> mrs. slotkin, 30 seconds for rebuttal. rep. slotkin: when we talk about climate change, every michigander on a bipartisan basis care's about our lakes and rivers. that is our heritage. it is in our blood. to me, there is nothing more important than protecting those great lakes. it is the responsibility of anyone elected. we have different records. we have different feelings about protecting the great lakes. for me, i think that it's the number one issue and it is something that we passed many pieces of legislation to do all

kinds of things for the great lakes, but it starts by understanding we have a change in climate and a responsibility to do something about it. >> you have the last 30 second rebuttal. mr. rogers: you can do both but not at the expense of people who are worried about their next meal. the policies that have been coming out of washington, d.c., where my opponent has voted 100% with biden and harris, have been devastating to our state and cost. you can protect the great lakes, you can have a better electric grid, you can produce hybrid cars that keep people employed in michigan, but you can't do it by big, heavy government mandates that are costing you money and costing your job. >> that will do it for climate. you have the next question. >> thank you, carolyn. mr. rogers, according to the education data initiative, 14% of michigan residents have student loan debt with the average amount being $35,790.

nationwide, only 18 other states and the district of columbia have higher college debt then the state of michigan. are you for or against forgiving student loan debt? how do you propose to address the rising cost of higher education? mr. rogers: this is a huge problem for all generations, but this generation particularly. here is what i believe. i don't believe that your neighbor should write you a check for your school debt, but i do believe that you could provide a service to the country of which we need to work it off. we have desperate need for school counselors. let's make sure that if you have that debt and you spent time in a public school during school counseling you get relief on your student debt. we have not recruited a military class for the army, navy, air force, marines in all four years, the last four years. that is a problem. there are ways that you can pay back your student debt.

go into the military. it is a magnificent thing. i served as an officer in the army. four generations of rogers served. my son, my wife's family water generations that served. it's a great way to give back. let's find a way to give back to your country and we can help you in that way. >> are you for or against forgiving student loan debt, and how do you propose to address the rising cost of higher education? rep. slotkin: for this generation and the generation before, people are living under a mountain of student debt. even at our great state institutions, 50 years ago the state was paying 75% of tuition and student 25%. now that has flipped. the student is paying 75% and the state is paying 25%. we should cap student loans at 2.5%. we have students taking out loans for 12% interest and they are leaving under that debt for the -- living under that debt for the rest of their lives. going to school is different

than building a deck on your house. it is an investment in society. capping student loans. actually we may agree. we should have a program in michigan where, if you agree to serve in one of the really important, much needed job professions, teaching, nursing, mental health professionals, fire, first responders, police, you should get tuition reduction or tuition free if you sign a commitment to stay in michigan and work in those career fields. it may be something that we agree on. >> you are against forgiving student loan debt? mr. rogers: how we forgive it i think is important. i agree with my opponent. i believe that service is important. we have gotten away from that, and i think that if you provide a need, a service for a need that we need in michigan, or around the country -- i think that this is absolutely the right way to get students to understand that you signed a contract, you have some obligation. some obligation could be a great

service to your country, number one. the other thing we have to do is stop raising prices for these kids so they can afford their student loan payments. >> i wish we had all night long to answer these questions. thank you for going with our time constraints. 30 seconds for you. you are for forgiving student loan debt? rep. slotkin: i am for 2.5% on all student loans. for me, i don't think doing debt relief all in one fail swoop for one group of young people solves the underlying problem. it doesn't help a michigan state student who is a freshman now. we have to do something about the debt. there is a bunch of different ways to do it and for me capping student loans at 2.5% is the way that i would propose. we need to do something on this issue, because this generation isn't facing the same even playing field that the last generations have had. >> thank you for your answer. carolyn? >> this hour has flown by. we are now to our final question of the night. it goes to you, mrs. slotkin. with rising partisan divide, the

spread of misinformation and growing incivility in political discourse, what specific steps will you take to encourage bipartisan cooperation, safeguard democracy, and promote respectful dialogue in congress and among your constituents? rep. slotkin: i think because i come from the national security world, really, you don't ask people how they vote. you work alongside them for 15 years and you have no idea because it doesn't matter. for me, civility, decency, respect between parties is a positive thing. we want two healthy parties that debate the role of government in our lives, how it should be. we know that we are going through a period of instability. for me, you have to start with our democracy. it's critical that every decent person supports the democracy that our founders believed in and set up. that is our birthright. i have a real problem with the misinformation and disinformation that is spread about our election.

for me, as someone who barricaded herself in her office on january 6, i know what it means when senior officials openly talk about misinformation and disinformation about our democracy. i think everyone has the responsibility to support free and fair elections and i will respect whoever wins the next round of elections. >> do you want me to repeat the question? mr. rogers: i think i got it. i served as chairman of the house intelligence committee and proved that you could be bipartisan and get big things done. it isn't easy to do. honestly, it took us a long time. but my vice chairman, i was the chairman as a republican and my vice chairman was a democrat. we ended up coming together, working hard, spending time line by line in a budget that is 78 billion dollars and cut 7.5 billion dollars at the height of the iraq and afghanistan war because we decided that it was more important that we work together than be partisan when it comes to national security. that takes leadership. it takes effort. it takes a lot of work.

it isn't just throwing a boat here and there, it is about digging in and getting it done. i think we can do this. and passionate believer in it. my wife tells me that my eternal optimism may be a genetic defect, but i tell you we can get back to this. what we have to do is go back and fix the problems happening to families in michigan. it is so important. >> you have 30 seconds for a rebuttal. rep. slotkin: the only way to fix our system and the polarization is if we start by reinforcing our democracy. what is really concerning to me is the 2014 mike rogers was happy to be bipartisan. the 2024 mike rogers a couple weeks ago said he is worried about "shenanigans" in our voting systems in southeast michigan. we know what that means. he sits next to mr. trump as he spreads misinformation. our democracy has to be sacred and i want the 2014 mike rogers back. >> thank you for that. chuck?

did i miss your rebuttal? mr. rogers: first of all, the reason 2014 mike rogers is absolutely here. here is what is different. your gas prices are up, your grocery prices are up, your energy prices are up, housing prices are up. people are afraid not only for their kids to buy a house, but if they can stay in their house. this is the most consequential election i've ever seen. the policies, 100% my opponent voted for all of the policies that gave us these bad outcomes, including ev mandates. all of that has to be fixed. we get that fixed, we will get along just fine. >> congresswoman, congressman, thank you for your answers to our questions. it is time for your closing statements going back to what i said at the top of the show. mrs. slotkin, you go first followed by mr. rogers. rep. slotkin: thank you,

moderators, appreciate the time. i will end where i started. at the end of the day, your vote is about who you trust more to come, to listen, to learn from you, and go fight for you in washington. we outlined really big differences between us. middle-class, bringing supply chains home, competing with china. they are big differences on substance and style. to me, there is no greater responsibility of an elected official than to represent all michiganders. i want to make a particular outreach to the republicans watching this debate. just like my dad, republican lifelong, who felt like the party had left him. for all of you wondering where you have a home, you always have an open door in my office and i will always listen based on the merits and substance of your argument. there is no monopoly on good ideas. i think that the only way we go forward is with decent republicans and decent democrats debating and push and pull in a

civil, decent way. at the end of the day, i think there are real differences on substance come on style, but also motivation. for me, as someone who served my entire life, who proudly worked for democrats and republicans, bush and obama, for me, this is about our country into doing what is right for the place that we love. mr. rogers, i fear, has different motivations. at the end of the day, i appreciate the opportunity to talk with you, to earn your vote. thanks for the debate. >> mr. rogers, you get the final word. mr. rogers: thank you. i've traveled all across this great state. literally, i've met thousands and thousands of people. michigan families are hurting. any of the fancy talk, or let's look what happened 30 years ago, needs to be set aside. what happened in the last four years, i talked about this in the beginning, are you better off that you were four years ago? my opponent voted 100 percent

with biden-harris on all of the things that have raised your prices. i ask you this, if you are worried about your grocery prices, if you are worried about your job being here from heav eeev mandates that might -- heavy ev mandates that my opponent supported, if you wonder what the next generation of housing costs are for your family, i ask for your vote. i've done it before, and i will tell you this. i will go back to washington, d.c., i will work as hard as i can as a guy who worked on an assembly line, a guy who is the youngest of five boys, a guy who served in the u.s. army as an officer, a guy who worked the streets in street crime watching human trafficking at its ugliest, drug trafficking at its ugliest. know this, i will fix the border and secure it for our families. i will do something about the education system in america. i will bring your prices down.

i will go back to washington and make that change. i will have your back when it comes to november 5. >> thank you so much for a very spirited debate and a civil debate. to our viewers at home, thank you so much for tuning in. we will have a complete wrap up on seven news detroit at 10:00 and 11:00. if you want to watch the debate in its entirety, go to our website. >> we've got you in the morning as well. continuing coverage and live, expert analysis of this debate all morning long starting at 4:35 and 6:00 on seven news detroit this morning. >> don't forget to vote on tuesday, november 5. you can vote three different ways, absentee ballot, early voting, or just show up and cast your ballot. from all of us here, thank you. good day. ♪

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deadline january 20, 2025. >> and flow debate for connecticut ice fifth district hays andlogan, nonpartisan polil report, race leans democrat. ♪ ♪ >> good evening and thank you for joining us i'm erin and we want to welcome you here to connecticut state community college, i will be serving as the moderator of tonight's debate which is host bid wfsb, ct insider and watr radio. we are looking forward to a spirited discussion on a number of topics that are very important to voters. with that, let's introduce the candidates. and first we want to welcome hays, a democrat and her

republican challenger george logan. we appreciate both of you being leer tonight. it is important to note this is the first and only debate between these candidates prior to application day, tonight the candidates will be taking questions from our 3 panelists, next to me we have channel 3 suzanne raft, chief political reporter after that we have dan harr,av columnist and senior editor thank you for you three for being here tonight. we did a coin toss and we mr. logan will give opening statement. congresswoman hays will answer first question and she will make the first closing statement whif these campaigns have agreed upon

each candidate has a 90 seconds to make an opening statement. after that they will be asked a question and have two minutes to respond to. the opposing candidate will have one minute for a rebuttal. as the moderator, i have the ability to grant another 30 seconds to the original person question. if it is determined that a response is warranted. but after that, we will move on to the next question. each candidate will be given two minutes at the end of the debate to make a closing statement. now that we have gone over the rules, let's get started. mr. logan, we begin tonight with your opening statement and we have 90 seconds. >> thank you. want to thank everyone for being here today. my goal here today is to make the fifth congressional district the best place to live, work, raise a family and retire. you take a look at where we are

now, 32 years ago, everything is worse off. you look at affordability, the cost of everything from groceries, milk, bread, seasoning like adobo, gasoline prices have all gone. you take a look at the border. we have folks coming across the border illegally. folks bringing in illegal drugs, human trafficking, it is a problem and it is a main issue. my opponent has done little to help that situation. as a matter of fact their claim she has actually made it worse. my parents came from america to guatemala. in terms of an education for me and my siblings. give us the opportunity for better job. i do not want that dream to end with me. right now there are so many people struggling to make ends meet. i want to go to washington to work on a bipartisan basis to reduce reckless wasteful spending. i want to lower