out president biden for not doing enough to secure our border. thankfully, he listened. we are seeing the numbers come down in terms of folks crossing the border, but there is more work to do. this is the difference between pointing out a problem and working in good faith in a bipartisan way, which is what i have been doing the last two years, to try to fix the problem. for example, i am a proud cosponsor along with my colleague, republican michael lawler, to the south, of the dignity act, the only it would put more border security agents on the southern border and improve and expand the number of work visas, so folks coming here can provide a better living and life for their families, just like mine, irish ancestors did many generations ago. moderator: let me ask you a follow-up, mr. ryan. you voted against what's called lakens law, which would have allowed local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration and customs

enforcement and also require ice to detain any undocumented migrant who was charged or convicted with burglary, theft, larseny, shoplifting, low-level offenses included. why did you vote that way and what's the answer to those who are concerned about those issues? rep. ryan: the answer on this issue, border security and immigration, just like a lot of issues facing our country right now is we actually have to do the work, to not be partisans, but to actually work as patriots and try to have a lasting, durable bipartisan solution to this. i wasn't able to with the time i had point out, but i think want to make sure i point out my opponent has opposed along with donald trump the only bipartisan senate border security bill that had a real prospect of passing that i supported. that would have actually solved the problem. that would have put more border security agents on the southern border. that would have stopped fentanyl coming into our community. and it was -- it was negotiated by one of the most conservative republican senators in the

senate, and then it was unfortunately for political reasons, and donald trump has said this directly, he ordered everyone not to vote for that, and so he's perpetuated the problem. i'm working to fix a problem, not fight about fixing the problem. moderator: okay, quick response. ms. esposito: so again, this is where actions, his actions and his words, don't mirror. that senate bill was never coming out. that senate bill was dead on arrival, because it codified into law reckless and dangerous biden policies that he put in through the swipe of his pen in an executive order. pat ryan had the opportunity to secure our southern border, and it would have provided funding to border patrol. it would have reinstated remain in mexico. it would have secured or would have continued the border wall, and he voted against it. this is not about -- this is about putting party and politics before people, and that's exactly what he did. moderator: thank you. we're going to move on to race for president. mr. ryan, you are the first democratic member of the

congressional delegation to call for biden to step aside. your opponent has said that you were simply worried about biden's electability. we were hoping that you could explain your decision to ask your party's standard bearer to step aside. rep. ryan: yeah, that's a pretty rare thing and something i certainly didn't arrive at lightly or quickly. i at that time after a really concerning debate at the end of june, i was hearing from constituents across the district that they were concerned about two things. one, the existential threat that donald trump poses to our democracy. and we saw this a few years ago on january 6. and two, the ability for joe biden to prosecute that case fully and forcefully against donald trump. so i felt it was really to your point alison about putting country over party, a patriotic act and really responsibility to say we need someone who can put

forth that best case, and we've seen that from vice president harris. meanwhile, my opponent -- i challenge her or you to ask her one place where she disagrees with donald trump, who she's been lock and step behind a convicted felon who traitorously tried to incite an insurrection on january 6th. moderator: do you want to respond to that? ms. esposito: so again, this is the left rhetoric that actually got donald trump shot and shot at. they call him an existential threat to democracy, yet he usurped 14 million democrat voters that voted for joe biden, not one voted for kamala harris to be the top of the ticket, and the reason that wasn't patriotism, the reason was he saw he was going to lose an election. they saw that donald trump was going to be back in the white house, and they couldn't handle that, so he called for him to step down. we know that biden has been struggling with mental problems and he's not fit to serve today, nonetheless four years from now, but they saw that they were losing an election, and they are

continuing to lie to the american people. moderator: go ahead. rep. ryan: i don't even really know where to begin with that. look, this -- we have reached a point that transcends party and partisanship. i'm telling you, i think about -- i wear this bracelet with the names of the fellow soldiers i lost in combat in iraq. we owe them being honest about the fact that our democracy barely -- thank god held on january 6, and that was a direct result of donald trump. it is important in fact that we do highlight that is an existential threat to our democracy, and that's central to why i'm seeking this office. moderator: i want to ask miss esposito, former president trump at times has struggled to basically not to lose his train of thought. earlier this year, he confused former house speaker nancy pelosi with u.n. ambassador nikki haley, among other misses.

if elected, trump would be even older than joe biden should he serve a full term. are you worried about his mental fitness for the job? ms. esposito: i am not, but i was worried about joe biden's. joe biden had more than missteps. joe biden had more than senior moments. joe biden had more -- he was confused 90% of the time. he does not have the mental acuity to serve as the president of the united states. you know, it's difficult to be up on a debate stage. it's difficult to answer questions to the media sometimes. you do misstep and you misspeak, and that happens, but president trump hasn't given any reason for us to doubt his mental acuity. now i look at president trump and his policies, and you have to ask the question, are we better off now than we were four years ago? and the answer is no, so i don't have any doubt of president trump's ability to serve, and i don't have any doubt about president trump's loyalty to his country or his patriotism. moderator: i just have a quick followup. vice presidential candidate jd vance today stated that he does not believe that former

president trump lost the election in 2020. do you think trump lost the election in 2020? ms. esposito: so i believe that president trump lost the election in 2020, and i believe that the american people lost the election in 2020, because by electing joe biden we are less prosperous, we are less secure. we have a porous southern border, inflation is -- was at a 40-year high. the fed rate is is over six, and the fbi numbers came out today, and everyone has been lying to us. crime is actually up by a six-point swing from what the biden-harris administration has said to us, so yeah, trump lost the election, and so did the american people. moderator: thank you. we're going to move on. moderator: okay, our next area is going to be the economy. the economic recovery since the pandemic has been a blessing and a curse for many families. the price of many basic goods has gone up, including the price of housing. on the other hand, higher home sales prices also means higher property values, meaning that some residents of the district have actually seen their wealth

increase. i wanted to ask what are the economic policies that you think would most benefit the 18th district, and how would you advance those policies as a member of congress, and we'll start with you, miss esposito. ms. esposito: so it's in new york on average -- it's $12,000 more a year just for the same quality of living that we had just four years ago. traveling the district and even prior to this in the statewide, i heard throughout the counties that, help us, please, we can't afford to live here. we're over taxed, we're over-regulated. our small businesses are under attack. help us, please, our children can't afford to live here. so we're not going to get to see our grandbabies live here. and this is the american dream, when it comes to housing and economy. what we have to do is roll back regulation. we have to have less taxes on our american people and get government's hands out of their pockets. you know we can actually be energy independent. in new york state alone, let alone the country, and be bringing prosperous jobs back here. in addition, the taxes like the salt cap have to be removed. now president trump has voiced

that he will be removing it, and i'm very proud of my republican colleagues, because they keep putting forth fights to remove the salt cap. in fact, congressman lawler and molinaro put forth a raise on the salt -- raise on the cap, and my opponent voted against it, because they didn't want to give republicans a win in an election year. it's unacceptable. moderator: mr. ryan? rep. ryan: i'll answer the original question, but i would like to respond to that with some additional time, but more important than the back and forth between us is the fact that folks watching tonight, the cost of living as i'm hearing from everybody across the district, our household included, is untenable. we've seen some progress to bring that down. we have a lot more work to do, so specific policies and things that we're working on to bring down costs, housing, number one driver of costs in our community. i proposed legislation to bring down interest rates and mortgage rates, also called on the

federal reserve, which thankfully they heeded our call to bring down those rates, which will relieve some of that pressure. i introduced legislation to crack down on wall street speculators coming into the hudson valley, jacking up housing costs for all of us. on healthcare, i introduced important legislation again the objections of the big pharma lobby called the stopping pharma ripoffs act to bring down prescription drug prices. i worked with my republican colleague mike -- excuse me, marc molinaro on the lowering grocery prices act to bring down food costs. moderator: thank you. rep. ryan: and -- can i respond? moderator: yes. rep. ryan: this is deeply concerning to hear one of -- i think what you'll probably hear a few mistruths from my opponent tonight. i am a proud member of the bipartisan salt caucus, which is focused on raising and i -- and i would argue eliminating the salt tax. this is double taxation for new yorkers and as a reminder, it's president trump that actually put this in place.

when the democrats were in charge of the house we passed lifting this with the republicans in the house the last two years. they have not been able to pass it so with a house democratic majority, i will proudly vote to lift this cap and relieve many of my constituents. moderator: let me ask you, actually, mr ryan. i know you and 44 other members co-sponsored a bipartisan bill to repeal the salt cap, but the measure never reached the floor. i believe it's -- it's still tied up in ways and means. what assurances can you give constituents that the cap will be lifted if you're reelected? rep. ryan: unfortunately, we have seen the least productive congress in my lifetime by all quantitative measures. unfortunately with republican house leadership that are very extreme and speaker mike johnson, who by the way, was in the district campaigning. unfortunately for my opponent, we've been able to do very little, but thankfully avert shutdowns, mostly with democratic votes to hold us from

shutting down, and this is a perfect example. well if we had a functional house, we could pass this legislation that i'm a proud co-sponsor of, but instead they're bickering among themselves. so as i said, with a democratic house majority, just like we did last congress, we'll pass this again, and then we need to get it through the senate, but i'm very confident with a democratic house majority and as speaker hakeem jeffries, we can absolutely lift of the salt cap. moderator: so yeah. similar question, miss esposito. if as you hope you're a member of a republican majority in that house, what will have changed that would enable this cap to get lifted? ms. esposito: well, like i said, donald trump has already said publicly that he is going to remove the salt cap. my republican counterparts have been fighting for it, but again, the actions speak louder than words. the congressman had the ability to vote to raise the salt cap, and he did not do it at the behest of hakeem jeffries, who he has obviously paid homage to as the speaker of the house and talk about mike johnson. yes, he was in the district, and so was aoc, the most progressive

member of the squad. now my far-left opponent believes that will sell in the hudson valley, but i don't, so like i said, actions speak louder than words. he had the ability to vote on the salt -- raising the salt cap, just like he had the ability to vote for border protection that's sitting on chuck schumer's desk. he also says he called on the fed to drop the interest rates. first of all, when we got -- when biden took over, the biden-harris administration, interest rates were like 2.4 or something just over two. now, they've dropped to six point something. he called on the fed -- the fed doesn't even know who congressman ryan is, okay. they dropped it because it was an election year, and that is what's going on with this party. anything to win an election. it's unacceptable. moderator: okay, briefly, mr. ryan. rep. ryan: i hope we can not have personal attacks here and debate the policy. to the important point, on the salt tax i want to be very clear. this is a huge issue for 70% of my constituents. there has not been a single bill on the house floor this congress, and you must be mistaken in your homework, alison. to eliminate this cap, if it came to the floor, i absolutely would have voted for it.

that's why i'm part of this bipartisan salt caucus with my republican colleagues and neighbors, and you you can give them a call and ask them, as well. so i do think it's important that folks know that. moderator: thank you. we're going to do now is do a cross-examination moment, where you each ask each other a question, and we're going to start with allison esposito asking pat ryan a question. go ahead. ms. esposito: congressman, do you think it's acceptable for boys and men to compete against women in women's sports? rep. ryan: this is something i've thought a lot about as both a representative, but also as a dad. my two and five-year-old are not quite -- actually theo is about to -- he's doing swimming and about to start soccer. we think -- but look, i've centered my campaign on freedom, reproductive freedom, which i hope we'll talk about tonight. in terms of how extreme my opponent is, in pushing for

a ban on abortion in new york and the freedom for a family and a local school district and a community to make a decision about sports for our young people. i do not think the federal government from washington dc should be deciding those kinds of matters. we've got, as we've discussed. a lot of other issues to be working on. moderator: thank you. pat ryan, go ahead. ask a question about esposito. rep. ryan: so one of the -- probably the single biggest constituent issue we've been dealing with in the district is this battle we've had with central hudson, our utility company that had a huge billing debacle, and in the midst of it has been trying to jack up utility costs. i'm really proud that my team and i have been helping thousands of people get their bills fixed, and we just had a landmark settlement where central hudson now has to pay $62 million to make right by our community, and by bill payers.

while we've been battling to lower utility rates -- ms. esposito: is there a question here? rep. ryan: yeah, allison's taken thousands of dollars from central hudson's lobbyists, who are literally advocating to raise utility rates. i think you need to explain that to the voters of the district. ms. esposito: pat ryan is the lack of integrity in almost all of his statements is absolutely ridiculous. first of all, the green new deal and the attack on energy is what's hiking up our energy bills, and it's absolutely ludicrous. we could be diversifying and energy independent, not only in the country, but in new york state, driving down the cost of electricity, driving down the cost of gasoline, natural resource extraction that's responsible and clean, instead of paying billions of dollars overseas to our adversaries who are calling for death to america and death to israel. this is absolutely ludicrous. while i was running with congressman lee elden in 2022, there was a deal cut in albany to allow for them to raise their prices on our consumers in exchange for no new gas hookups

and applications for pipelines. this is absolutely ludicrous. and he's going to continue to try to sell you this, but if we diversify our energy and put our people first, we will drive down prices in this country, and our people will be prosperous. moderator: 30 seconds to pat ryan. rep. ryan: i didn't hear -- i directly answered your question, alison, and i would ask for you to answer my question. to remind you, and i hope you track who supports your campaign financially, a lobbyist who works directly for central hudson has been ripping off our constituents -- can i -- can i finish mine? ms. esposito: new york state electric and gas, wasn't that your question? rep. ryan: central hudson -- ms. esposito: central hudson? rep. ryan: and, alison, if you had lived in the district, you might know who central hudson is. ms. esposito: what is your question? rep. ryan: the direct question is can you please explain why you took thousands of dollars of lobbyist money from the same

lobbyists that are raising rates on my constituents and our community? ms. esposito: the lobbyists aren't raising rates. his attack on energy is raising rates. in new york state and in the country, it's unacceptable. he's a progressive green new deal guy, and he doesn't have our best interest. moderator: we're going to move on to abortion. alison esposito, you have said that we should leave abortion questions to the states. now according to research from the commonwealth fund in states that have banned or planning to ban or have otherwise restricted abortion have fewer maternity care providers, more maternity care deserts, higher rates of maternal mortality, and infant death, deaths especially among women of color and greater racial inequities among their health care systems. if elected what would you do to correct that imbalance? ms. esposito: so we have the maternity healthcare deserts and the healthcare deserts as a whole are a problem in this country. but my opponent and the democrats want to make this entire election about abortion. it's not on the ballot in new york state.

as a federal candidate, i cannot and will not change new york state laws, and i do not advocate for a federal abortion ban. what i do advocate for is greater access to adoption, better access to ivf, and what i want is to empower women all across the country by giving child tax credits and empower women and babies on every stage of pregnancy and beyond to be able to make this very difficult choice. no one should ever have to say i have to have an abortion, because it's my only option. i want to empower women and the babies throughout stages and make it easier to make this choice. moderator: all right, this is tough but do you -- you've said empower the states to make their own decisions. okay, that means that, you know, i guess the question is what would you say to a young woman in alabama who becomes pregnant after she's raped and wants an abortion? there are some states where abortion isn't legal, so it's -- legal? ms. esposito: so it's working

through the states right now. and i don't believe that at least that i know of that there's any state that would that would force an 11-year-old who was raped to have an abortion, and i disagree with that. i absolutely disagree with that , rape-incest-life of the mother. there are obviously times that abortion is necessary, and i will fight to protect the life of the mother at any point, but again, this has been returned to the states. even ruth bader ginsburg said it was a flawed decision, and it wouldn't last. it was returned to the states. now the states can vote on it. i am somebody who believes in less government, not more. local control, you vote for your elected officials in the states, and that's how the laws happen. moderator: thank you. to pat ryan. new york's reproductive health act allows abortion up to 24 weeks, and after that point only if a woman's life or health is in danger. would you ever support expanding the act to simply leave the decision up to a patient and her doctor in every instance? in other words, trust women? rep. ryan: i agree with you susan that we -- we've gotten,

heard a lot of words there from my opponent, but the core question here is about one of freedom. is it the decision of a woman and their doctor, not any politician? certainly no one in washington dc. that is what is at stake. two years ago, the supreme court thanks to donald trump, who's literally bragged about this, ripped away a fundamental freedom from half this country. the candidate that you so proudly support, allison, and then when you ran for statewide office, you supported legislation called the life at conception act, which in new york would have explicitly banned abortion even in the case of rape or incest or threats to the life of a mother. so you can talk about state's rights. we're seeing women die in georgia, in alabama, and in 20 states, and you have been on the record wanting to hurt our community and women in our community whose lives may be at

risk. moderator: 30 seconds. ms. esposito: there's no legislation that i have passed or voted for. i have never had any issue with rape, incest, life of the mother. i believe that it life starts a conception but that doesn't mean that you cannot have an abortion in rape, incest, life of the mother or for any reason. these are the lies that my opponent is putting forth because he wants to make it about abortion because his policies have been a failure. key will continue to put party in before people. she does not have the people's best interests. moderator: thank you. pat ryan, you can respond to alison esposito. i also want to know if you would support the senate vote to end the filibuster to codify roe v. wade. rep. ryan: the reason that we

are talking about this is not anything that i want or do not want. the reason we are talking about this issue because my constituents and women in this community and across the country are rightly pissed because their freedoms were literally ripped out from under them to the point that the generations being born now have less rights and freedoms than the one that came before. that is not the reason i risk my life to protect the country i love and defend. freedom is something that transcends partisanship or party, and so with all due respect, allison, i am not trying to make this about anything. i'm advocating for the freedom of my constituents and unfortunately you're on the wrong side of that. in terms of the filibuster, susan, look we're seeing the senate on a bunch of issues including protecting reproductive freedom fail to to -- 70% of the american people support this policy so i think that has to be on the table and that's not not something i say moderator: lightly. moderator:candidates, we will

move on to public safety. congress does not handle local law enforcement directly, but what can you say you have done in the last two years that directly impacts on the crime rate in the 18th district and if reelected what else would you plan to do? rep. ryan: this is incredibly important issue that i hear from constituents and important to me especially as a dad. i was literally this morning proudly standing with a sheriff in dutchess county, talking about the fact that i have delivered consistently funding and support for local law enforcement. this morning we announced over $3 million in direct funding to make sure that we help those victims of rape and domestic violence and focus on katie grimes. that's in addition to $2 million just a few months ago that we delivered to bring a real-time crime center here to duchess county. over the last two years i've delivered tens of millions of

dollars to our local law enforcement. it is the reason i believe were part of the reason i am the only one on this stage that has the endorsement of any of the three county sheriff's ear, and i am very proud to have the endorsement of the olster county sheriff. moderator: same question. ms. esposito: pat has the endorsement of one county sheriff. i have the endorsement of 1000, i was a cop for 25 years, and i saw firsthand soft on crime pro-criminal policies like my opponent advocates for. while i was in the riots of 2020 while the cities were burning all across the country my opponent was marching with defund the police, with practices that were yelling at the police. he has devoted, key stop cooperated with ice and law enforcement. while he was county executive he defunded his own swat team while

he was ster county executive he -- team, while he was olster county executive he went to destroy protections of police, weapons in hands of police that he calls weapons of war, any military style equipment. armored cars things that police need to do an incredibly difficult job with the tact and the professionalism and the empathy that we as a society request. he is a not serious, pro-soft on crime, pro-criminal advocate and it is unacceptable in congress. we need somebody to stand up. moderator: what particular they would you do if you are elected or sworn in in january? ms. esposito: we do not defund our police. we need to give them the training, resources, and equipment that they need to do an incredibly difficult job. i believe in a law enforcement bill of rights. i believe in qualified immunity. i believe if wilke and protectorate -- progressive

district attorneys like new york city's own alvin bragg that's refusing to cooperate crime if you have a cop killer or an assault on a cop that's not being prosecuted then i want to make it a federal offense. we need to make sure that we are respecting a law enforcement, assaults on cops are going up every single year, and it is unsustainable. moderator: did you want to respond? rep. ryan: we agree on that, and that is why i have been proud to deliver 10 -- tens of millions of dollars of that resource, and funding. rhetoric matters, of course, and i proudly support incident with law enforcement across our community. i spent a lot of time with our service, with local law enforcement leaders, police chiefs, and i think you too, allison. thank you for putting your life on the line as a police officer.

i hope it was unintentional, but in a recent interview my opponent actually claim to have the endorsement of local law enforcement. i know you have a lot of support from new york city, and i appreciate that, but in the hudson valley folks need to know results matter, relationships matter, and working with local #the only one that is actually in that support here in our community. ms. esposito: the state fob has endorsement one of many law enforcement officers. it does not take away from the fact that he has defunded. he will concentrate on things like me saying i had the support of her that the endorsement her rather than support. i have the full support of the orange county sheriff, who was actually done fundraisers for us. he is going to concentrate on small things like that, it is smoky to bear so that you are distracted from what he is actually doing, which is nothing to back law enforcement we were taking away necessary resources for them to be able to do the

job that is so dangerous, without taking shields, vests, and holding weapons in their hands. moderator: real quick? rep. ryan: i have to respond to that. as the olster county executive i think is what you were referring to i increased every single year the funding for our sheriff's department and local law enforcement and our sheriff has validated that and and i'm i'm -- and i sure we'll be happy to am do so again i think that's important again it's about materially delivering not heated rhetoric. moderator: we're going to move on to the lightning round and we're going to ask each of you a question and come up with a short yes or no answer. ms. esposito: -- moderator: we are going to start with allison esposito. have you ever voted for a member of the opposite political party? ms. esposito: nothing is coming to mind. rep. ryan: how about you. -- moderator: how about you?

rep. ryan: yes, i grew up at a republican household. the first time i voted for president i voted for republican . moderator: if there is a subway series who we were before, the yankees were the mets? rep. ryan: we have had a fierce debate about a potential subway series. my yankees are up 2-0. ms. esposito: i am a mets fan, and it is difficult at times, but yes. moderator: what is your favorite restaurant in the district? ms. esposito: lemon cello. rep. ryan: i remember this question from two years ago. gardens, i was just there last night. moderator: should new york city