fifth congressional district. they participate in a debate. they touch on a number of topics, including housing costs in the district, and a state llot measure intended to imove on mental health services. lori chavez-deremer and his considered one of the most dangerous in the incumbent cycle, and her race was rated a tossup. >> first, republican incumbent, lori chavez-deremer, elected to oregon smith congressional district in 2022, in 2004, elected to in 2004 she was eleco the happy valley city council and then as mayor of happy valley in 2010 and 2014. the democratic challenger is representative janelle bynum. she was elected to the oregon house of representatives four times. 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022.

she owns four fast food restaurants in the metro area and previously worked as an engineer for general motors. here you see the map of oregon's fifth congressional district. it stretches from the southeast 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. have a good evening everyone. >> to the brave men and women who have served our country, we say thank you. we are grateful for your dedication and commitment to our freedom. and q for protecting our way of life. you for defending our democracy.

you have made us proud. you have made us safe and we will never forget your service. whispering winds for retirement say thank you, veterans for your bravery, sacrifice and service to this country. >> my mom came to this country has an immigrant and worked up through the years until the time when it came for her now have the -- >> with one of the tightest races for control of congress in modern political history, stay ahead with c-span's comprehensive coverage of key state debates. this fall c-span brings you access to the top house, senate and governor debates from across the country. debates from races shaping your state's future and the balance of power in washington. follow our campaign 2024 coverage at c-span.org/campaign

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most, we will be there. >> cox supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers. giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> let not assassinate this land further. have you no sense of decency, sir? at long last have you no sense of decency? >> this week on congress investigates, it's the 1950's and the era of mccarthyism. we will explore the on of senator mccarthy himself over his attacks on the us army, which joining us is jim townsend, the director of the live-in center

for oversight and democracy. what was the mccarthy era? \ the mccarthy era was a period in the early 1950's where the public had become concerned about the possibility of communist infiltration into a major american institutions. government and senator mccarthy, who was a first term senator from wisconsin, took advantage of that public concern. and his position on certain key committees in the senate to start raising allegations, making allegations against various institutions in the government, particularly in the military and in aspects of the state department. and he used his position as a congressional investigator to hold numerous hearings, both in private and in public, to explore these allegations and then to make further accusations