Transcripts For CSPAN Campaign 20240703

Thank you. Good morning, everybody. Thank you for coming out. I know it has been a busy weekend for you all. This is the kind of thing that we want to be involved in. This is the kind of thing we want to be able to interact with members of congress and see what their positions are. Like a lot of journalists, i am a fan of the wire, the series. There is a great line, one of my favorite characters on the show, Lester Freeman had early on which was all of the pieces matter. That is the case here. All of these forums matter. All of these candidates matter. All of their policy decisions matter. All of their voters matter. The way they interact with people, the way they talk to voters and the way they talk to unions and their way to talk to the press, it all matters. We want to be a part of that. That is why we are so happy to be here and so happy to be a part of this form. I would like to introduce our moderator, Lisa Matthews to the forum. Lisa is a 20 plus Associated Press veteran. She is now the deputy news editor. She is just slightly busy these days. And then one for video in 2010 about the effects of the great recession. She is also a past president. I could not be more thrilled. Thank you so much, jason. Welcome, everyone. To the 2023 and u h w candidate forum. This is brought to my roll call, news outlet that has been covering capitol hill since 1955 and the grass was Advocacy Organization encourage california. I will be moderating this discussion and asking questions on behalf of the Associated Press. Working alongside me for approximately the next 90 minutes will be a panel of esteemed journalists. All three of them experiencing National Issues including health care, california politics, the u. S. Congress as well as labor issues. First, Melanie Mason covers california politics for politico. Next, we have been a restless who has been reporting on the senate race for the los angeles times. And completing the panel, we have Sandy Robbins who covers health care and congressional issues for roll call. I just want to say what a fantastic audience you are. Lets get down to business. As moderator, i will preserve the integrity of this forum. It is my job to ensure that the questions asked of each candidate actually gets heard. This should not be directed at each other. The audience gathered here today in the room and those viewing online want answers. We have limited time. I am going to be a human guardrail to ensure we dont get sidetracked by tangents, personal attacks or long speeches. This is not the house floor. During this forum, we will go through 12 rounds of questions. Our panelists will take turns directing a single question to each candidate and they will be asked to answer. After each of the three questions answered the question, the journalists on the panel are guaranteed one followup question per round. Our timekeeper will make sure no one exceeds the allotted time. A bell that sounds like this will let candidates know they are out of time and must yield the floor. When it is my time to ask questions, usually the moderators prerogative, i may or may not direct the same questions each candidate. Same questions were submitted by and you h w members. Are you ready . All right. In the interest of fairness, we will use alphabetical order to introducelater the order for opening and closing statements and questions have been determined by drawing straws before the program. Welcome to the stage the top announced candidates in the 2024 u. S. Senate race. Barbara lee. [applause] katie porter. [applause] and adam schiff. [applause] all right, we are going to hear Opening Statements from the candidates with each speaking for one minute. We begin with ms. Porter. Rep. Porter good morning nuhw. I am so thrilled to be here to personally thank you for the work you have been doing for our communities and i do not just mean when you are on the clock caring for patients. Im talking about your policy work, political activism, your commitment to saying not good enough. When employers cheat your patients. You deserve a partner at the federal level who just like you is never afraid to take on the corporate bosses and win. My entire career has been about holding big corporations and cheaters accountable. Im a single mom who ran for congress a few years ago to stand up for greedy corporations who are rigging the rules against us and our families. I have never taken corporate pac money and i refuse lobbyist money. That is the kind of senator you will have with me, one who will always fight for you. Lisa thank you, ms. Porter. Next up, adam schiff. Rep. Schiff hello my friends in labor, how are you tonight . It is a pleasure to be with you and im also proud to be joined by my wife eve. Yes we are adam and eve. Im running for the u. S. Senate because we need an effective leader who can get things done and deliver for california. That is what i have done in the house. We need someone who can take on the biggest fights and can succeed. I have taken on corporate president s and u. S. President s. I have taken on special interests and Supreme Court justices. As a young prosecutor, i fought against Big Oil Companies and big contractors and i won. I fought russian spies and drug lords and won. As a state senator i wrote the california patient bill of rights and we got that done. I was proud to be the 21st vote for nursing staff ratios. Now that we have them and we have had them for a long time we need to enforce them. [applause] lisa thank you. Thank you mr. Schiff. Barbara lee. Rep. Lee good morning. Good morning. Rep. Lee it is an honor to represent the 17,000 strong nuhw members in my hometown. You are my hometown union. I am proud to represent you. And i know you know your values are my values. I am not running to represent the rich and powerful but to represent you. The people. To create good paying union jobs. I introduced the first singlepayer bill in the legislature. [applause] medicare for all, to end corporate greed that fuels our Health Care System. Like many californians i know what it is like to live one paycheck to paycheck. I raised two little boys on public assistance and food stamps. In are golden state of 40 million people, 20 million, are one paycheck away from poverty. Lisa thank you. Ok. Off to a wonderful start. We are going to move to the first round of questions for the panel of journalists. Remember, each candidate gets one minute to answer controlled by the clock and the bell. The option for a short followup. Melanie mason of politico. You get first crack. Melanie recent changes in California Law are meant to address one of the most difficult questions when it comes to Mental Health policy. How to provide Behavioral Health care to Vulnerable People who are resistant to seeking treatment. Proponents including Governor Newsom have said these reforms are a humane solution to people who need critical care. Civil bs Civil Liberties groups say they infringe on individual rights. This is a question for all three of you. Do you believe policies, such as the program where family members can petition a judge for a treatment plan, individuals with untreated schizophrenia, or related illnesses, or are the right approaches . Should they be replicated on the federal level . Rep. Porter we all know we are facing a Mental Health crisis in this country. You see it in patients and our workforce and our families and schools. The first and most important solution we can deliver is holding Big Insurance Companies and Health Care Companies accountable to actually let you do the work of healing people before they get to the point where they need that kind of care. I believe it is appropriate for families and loved ones and Mental Health Health Care Workers to have the ability to go to a court. I want to see the strongest civil rights protections possible. We cannot forget the legacy of oppression and civil Rights Violations that caused us to end this approach of force treatment in the first place. It is important that we have options for people who are watching a loved one struggle for healthcare workers who are unable to heal because of a patient who is too sick to get themselves care. But this cannot cross the line ever into incarceration. [applause] congressman schiff, same question. Rep. Schiff legislation in Congress Called the path act would provide federal resources to help those with mental illness, help those with substance abuse. We need to surge resources to try to address this problem. There is a balance. People have a right to be safe in their homes and parks, safe in their neighborhoods. At the same time people have a right to shelter. People have a right to live in a safe environment. We ought to allow the experiment to play out before we agree at a National Level to replicate it. We have to strike the right balance between making sure we can get people treatment that may be a danger to themselves or others but also protect Civil Liberties. I think the governor was right to start this experiment. We have to see what works. One thing the federal government can do is develop metrics and evaluate, this is working and this is not working. People are generous. They want to help those who are homeless. At the same time they want to make sure tax dollars are being used appropriately and effectively. Lisa now congresswoman lee. Rep. Lee my background is psychology and Mental Health. I started at a community Mental Health center. [applause] rep. Lee i understand what it means to be first of all a danger to oneself and to others. It used to be 5150. However it is extremely important, again, as a Mental Health professional, that families be engaged early on in helping to identify what has taken place with an individual. It is important with care to not move too quickly because people with Mental Health crises need crisis intervention for the most part. They may not need longterm care. The families and neighborhoods and the community is critical in supporting people who are going through the emergency crises. It is so important that we rule out incarceration but be there for the families and those individuals. Lisa melanie, would you like to follow up . Melanie i would like a yes or no answer from all three of you. This march you will appear on the ballot alongside a 6. 3 million bond to build up to 10,000 treatment beds or Supportive Housing units for people struggling with Mental Health or addiction. Should california voters approved this bond . Yes or no . Yes. Yes. Yes. Lisa alrighty then. Moving on. Next we have been from the Los Angeles Ben from the los angeles times. Ben californias minimum wage is at 15. 50. All three of you have cosponsored legislation by bobby scott that would raise the federal minimum wage which is set at 7. 25 to 17 by 2028. Given the high cost of living, is that sufficient . Give me a specific number for what you would like to see the federal minimum wage at and then what the state minimum wage should be. We are going to start with 3 of shift. Representative shift. Rep. Schiff i would like to see it higher. In california i was on the picket line with seiu 99. These were nurses and bus drivers and cafeteria workers being paid 25,000 a year. We wonder why people are homeless. You pay them 25,000 a year and they are going to be homeless. We have to provide a livable wage. Not just a minimum wage but a livable wage so they can provide for themselves and have a roof over their heads. When i was a kid, my father was a traveling salesman, he was in the clothing business and made 18,000 a year. On the strength of that income my parents bought our first home. For 18,000. I want people to be able to afford good safe housing and we are not going to get it at a minimum wage. What we need is a livable wage that will vary from place to place arion states should have flexibility. But there ought to be him and him him but there ought to be a minimum. Ben representative lee . Rep. Lee 17 should be the floor. That is unacceptable anywhere in the United States, especially california. Not just raising the minimum, we have to get to a living wage. Here, even 25 an hour is bare minimum. If we are going to only stop at 25, 30 per hour, we have to have the federal government make sure the resources for Affordable Housing, making sure we expand the section eight program, make sure we have deposited systems for those who cannot afford the 12,000 of deposits for rents. The federal government has a responsibility to enhance the quality of life for people who can barely make it working two and three jobs, commuting two and three hours a day. Not enough money for child care. The federal government i believe is a government that has to provide for people who cannot make it in this country and the state. Ben represent a reporter. Representative porter. Rep. Porter corporate profits are the highest they have been in 70 years. Why . Because we have a washington that is consistently putting the interests of big corporations ahead of the interests of workers and families. That is why we have not passed the minimum wage bill despite democrats and republicans having their turn at being in charge in washington. We need to make sure we are resetting the will rules resetting the rules in washington. We cannot keep trying to backfill . 50, one dollar, two dollars at a time on the picket line for your families, what washington has failed to do, which is reset our economy and make sure the workers who create value are getting paid what they deserved. Deserve. Lisa followup . Ben i left melanies yes or no question. Just a number, federal and among wage. What would you put it at . Rep. Lee 50 an hour. [applause] rep. Schiff i would like to see 25 minimal wage. Rep. Porter we should have 20 at the federal level and 25 in california indexed to inflation automatically increasing. Lisa sunday a ramen of roll call, the floor is yours. We are in the midst of a growing Mental Health and addiction crisis. What would be your First Priority as a senator to broaden the pipeline of Mental Health and Substance Use care workers and lets start with congresswoman porter. Lisa congresswoman porter . Rep. Porter im sorry. I was listening for barbara. This is an easy one. Pay them more. That is the fundamental problem. We need to pay them and empower them to heal. Not to treat them like they are dealing with corporations but to treat their patients like human beings to allow them to heal and help people recover. We do not have a lack of interest in Metal Health Care Mental Health care jobs among young people. They understand the crisis. We have a lack of people wanting to do these jobs because they do not want to work for corporate bosses who are going to abuse them, take advantage of them, skirt the law, and find their own Mental Health at risk while they are trying to provide Mental Health care to others. The short story is we will have the Mental Health Care Workforce that we need when we start treating Mental Health care workers with the respect and pay they deserve. [applause] lisa congressman shchi congressman schiff . Rep. Schiff we need to forgive student debt and make sure other students do not become indebted. We need the workforce to train people to provide Mental Health care services. I have introduced legislation to raise salaries for healthcare educators to increase the pipeline so we can bring more people into the profession. And we have to pay people well enough to do this important work. We have all had personal experiences with our founding members being in hospitals, in rehabs. My father is 95. We are in and out of the hospital and rehab. I see the work you do. He is a difficult patient, i have to tell you. You need to be paid and we need to have the staff, that means we need the money and the training and the system to make that possible. Lisa congresswoman lee. Rep. Lee i chair the social work caucus in the house and part of what we have been working on through legislation to increase the number of Mental Health workers is to allow for medicare and medicaid to reimburse Mental Health workers. Secondly we have to understand that you do not have to be a psychiatrist or psychologist to be a competent Mental Health worker. We can have Mental Health workers who are trained, again having the resources to train people who want to go into Mental Health, we need to have certified programs and we need to be able to make sure we pay people what they deserve. That is not just a minimum wage but a living wage. When i started my community Mental Health center we had a category of workers called parent professionals who were trusted amuck on the community, trained on how to address emergencies and crises in Mental Health trusted in the community, trained on how to address emergencies and crises in Mental Health. Lisa would you like a followup . For congressman schiff. Public Health Experts are very worried right now about the excuse of an animal drug called tranq in driving Overdose Deaths especially in connection with fentanyl. As senator would you support efforts to schedule it as a controlled substance . Rep. Schiff i would. We are doing so on a temporary basis so we can evaluate the impacts of adding that to the schedule. This is a crisis of the highest magnitude. Young people are dying every day. Like so many parents, my wife and i reached out to our children, one of whom is in college, one of which is in college, to urge them not to take anything that could possibly be laced with one of these substances. I do not want to be one of those thousands of parents getting that call that their child has died. We have to do everything humanly possible to end this scourge. We have to get federal state and local authorities working together to combat this. Im a former federal prosecutor. I know how effective we can be when federal, state, and local authorities get together to interdict these drugs that are killing people and Work Together to protect our communities. That is my commitment. Lisa thank you. Fantastic round. I will note though that we did go out of order. So because this is the Peoples Forum and i am the moderator and i have the prerogative to do what i want to do, im going to begin with a few questions from the people. Im going to give priority to congresswoman lee to answer first. The first question comes from nuhw member christina rodriguez. Christina has a question about Student Loan Debt. This is a threepart question. Hang with me. Are we still trying to reduce Student Loan Debt . There were a lot of loans that were forgiven due to the servicer. But it only applied to east coast loans from what she understands. Loans were forgiven for Public Service. My hospital is not a nonprofit, but i serve the public. Also i am considered low income according to recent data. I claimed bankruptcy twice and my loan was not forgiven. It continued to accrue interest and at the current amount i will never be able to pay off this loan and i will not be able to retire. What can be done for me and others in my situation . Congresswoman leap. Congresswoman lee. Rep. Lee the Student Loan Debt should be allowed under Bankruptcy Law. That is essential. [applause] rep. Lee in the past it was. Secondly if you are a Public Servant you are a Public Servant. If youre providing Public Service to the public you should be able to be eligible to cancel, not forgive or reduce but cancel, Student Loan Debt. Third, the bidenharris administration, they are trying every which way to make sure the largest amount of Student Loan Debt can be forgiven. There are some categories we are still trying to figure out. You have seen the recent decisions by the biden administration. Where there is a will there is a way and i for one believe first of all tuition should be free. Especially in california. Certainly for Community College and certainly all student debt should be forgiven. Lisa thank you so much. Congressman schiff. Rep. Schiff this question is personal to me. I had to borrow at 9 , 12 , and 14 interest to pay for my education. For 10 years after i graduated from law school my loan payments were higher than my rent. I went into the law and i could afford to pay it back but so many people doing the work you all are doing cannot afford to pay it back. I do not want your career choices or my kids career choices to be dictated by student debt. I strongly support president bidens effort to forgive student debt. More importantly i do not want students becoming indebted to begin with. You should not have to mortgage your future to go to college. As barbara said, we need to make sure Community Colleges free. We also need to make sure we crackdown on scam for Profit Companies that are ripping people off. Even the large reputable private universities are using their endowments to pay down tuition costs instead of building new buildings. Lisa thank you. Congresswoman porter. Rep. Porter i do not believe in tolls to cross public roads and bridges. And i dont believe in tuition for public colleges and universities. Education is an investment. It is an investment we all make in each other, that we make in our workforce, that we make in the ability of the economy to compete globally. We have to start treating it that way. When we treat it as an individual persons burden we disproportionately harm brown, black, and low income communities and we fail to address systemic racism that has plagued our country for too long. Nobody, nobody, should have to go through bankruptcy because they tried to get an education, because they tried to become a successful worker for our future. I have been writing about Bankruptcy Law for decades but that cannot be the answer we give workers and young people, to go to bankruptcy because they made the mistake of trying to get an education. [applause] lisa i get the feeling christina heard all three of you loud and clear. The next question comes from nuhw member stephanie coleman. She has a question about Government Shutdowns. Imagine that. The recent threat of Government Shutdown has been upsetting. Even more upsetting is the knowledge that congress would continue to receive a paycheck. Would you support or be willing to put forth a change in rules that congress pay is connected to them passing government funding . I will begin again with congresswoman lee. Rep. Lee first, thank goodness democrats prevented the government from shutting down. Remember that. [applause] rep. Lee secondly, congress should be required to, as everyone else should be in government, to make sure we follow the rules and that those rules are the same for government workers who are on furloughs. We should follow the same rules as government workers. If there is a need to change the rules i would certainly support changing the rules. Lisa congressman schiff. Rep. Schiff i wrote to the house of representatives to ask them to withhold my pay until everyone else got paid. I dont think members of congress should be paid while federal employees and others are going without a paycheck. [applause] rep. Schiff i stayed at my post to vote to keep the government open. The only reason we came so close to shutting down as we had an incompetent speaker of the house of representatives and a rightwing faction that wanted to bring us over the cliff. Lets face it. Now that the speaker chair is vacant, it was pretty vacant even when Kevin Mccarthy was sitting in it. But we cannot let a rebel faction in the house cripple the government. We cannot default on our debt. I voted to maintain the deal the president struck to prevent going over the cliff. We need a functional congress which means democrats and republicans need to be able to bring bills to the floor that have brought bipartisan support that have broad bipartisan support like keeping the government open. I am determined to fix what is broken. Lisa congresswoman porter. Rep. Porter we need a better structure for how we pay federal workers, period. So this dysfunction with the government shut down again and again does not put federal workers at food banks. Sure, add Congress Members to the list. Does one more kid going hungry, my kid going to bed with an empty stomach ease the pain of everybody elses . We have a congress made up of rich people. Of privileged people. That is why they are so quick to ask for their paycheck to be withheld. Im like each of you. I buy groceries on that paycheck. I pay my mortgage on that paycheck. And i am proud to be a member of congress who lives on my paycheck. Paychecktopaycheck, like most americans. Look. We need to stop the nonsense and not have any federal workers, not tsa workers, not military, not v. A. Workers, nobody should go without pay. Thats the rule we should be changing. Lisa thank you. Since you have mentioned, at least mr. Schiff mentioned the House Speaker vacancy, we know republicans will be meeting next week on tuesday to select a potential new House Speaker. So far we have heard from jim jordan and mr. Scullys. Im wondering if each of you has a particular republican in mind who you would prefer to replace Kevin Mccarthy. [laughter] lisa and if you would share the name of that individual with us. Since mr. Schiff, you opened the door to that, could you please share with us who you might prefer to be in that position . Rep. Schiff it certainly would not be donald trump. Or jim jordan or any of these crazy people who are leading the Republican Party right now. There are people who i think, though very conservative and whose ideology is different than mine, would actually keep their word if you made a deal with them. Or people of conviction. Sadly two of the best examples were liz cheney and adam kinzinger. Neither of whom serve any longer in the house. You dont have to serve in the house to be speaker. If there were a serving member there are some i think would be appropriate. My endorsement would probably not help them. Here is the thing. Hakeem jeffries has offered to Work Together in a bipartisan fashion to make sure we have leadership that can govern. That can do the business of the people. I got into this work to solve problems. Thats what ive committed to. Delivering results. Congress needs to be able to do that. Lisa congresswoman porter . Rep. Porter i do not have a favorite. But i do want to respond to the question. When we say there are republicans of principal on the others, we have to be clear about what those principles are. There is no republican who will support the right of every american to make their own choice about whether to have an abortion. No republican. For me that makes all of these candidates patently unacceptable. Lisa thank you. Congresswoman lee . Do you have a favorite . Rep. Lee absolutely no. I do not. First of all this is a civil war between the republicans. Secondly i have not found any right now who can govern. They are following the direction of donald trump. And thirdly the only person who i think could bring civility back and move the country forward, at least the house, would be hakim jeffries. I would ask republicans, five or six of them, do they really believe in a functioning house of representatives . If they do and they want to work in a bipartisan fashion to put people before politics, they should support Hakeem Jeffries for speaker. Lisa thank you. We have one more question from nuhw member julie walters. As workers in this country fight for the right to unionize, do you have any plans to introduce legislation that will support these workers rights and enforce legal consequences on the illegal actions by employers to interfere and unduly intimidate their workers during this process . I will give that question to mr. Schiff. Schiff im proud to be an original cosponsor of the proactive. This to me is the most important prolabor legislation in generations. A big part of the problem we have in our country today is not that people are working that people are not working. The problem is that people are working and not making enough to get by. It is the product of decades of special interests and corporations marginalizing labor , making it harder to organize, to get a contract, and when you have a contract, making it enforceable. The nlrb is broken because they have been stripping resources away from it. Here is something even more foundational. We need to abolish the filibuster. Im going to go to the senate and fight to end the filibuster and the first thing we ought to do is pass the Voting Rights because that is foundational but we can also pass the proactive the pro act and put people back to work in good high paying union jobs. Lisa ms. Porter . Rep. Porter all of us are original sponsors of the pro act because democrats in the house are united on this point. The problem has been in the senate. It is time to shake up the senate. To elect people who have never taken corporate pac money, who have never cashed checks by those who will be on the others against the pro act. That is me. My whole career has been about standing up to wall street banks, to big pharma, whether i have a whiteboard or not, you know im going to stand with workers. And i am not just a prolabor vote. I am there, day in and day out. I am there between the unionization effort and the picket line. I am there to see the snubs, the hardships, the way they make your life more difficult. We have seen the staffing ratios , the Mental Health patient appointments. We need oversight and it needs to come from the federal congress and from the senate most powerfully. Thank you, congresswoman lee . Rep. Lee like my colleagues i was an original sponsor of the pro act. We must make it very difficult for any more states to pass the right to work laws. That is the first thing we must do. Second i would take on the filibuster in a big way. A policy established to discriminate against black people. Any policy that was founded for that reason needs to go, period. Thirdly it is the Union Movement that built the middleclass in this country and it is the Union Movement that is going to rebuild the middle class in america. Im on the appropriations committee. You know how donald trump tried to decimate the nlrb. We now have two fully fund the nlrb to hold corporations accountable. That is important right now and i intend to do that in the senate. Finally let me see let me say im working with senator sanders on the excessive ceo pay act. We will talk about that later. Lisa thank you. We have heard from everyone on the panel. Melanie, you are up again. Melanie to stick with the labor theme, hot labor summer has extended into the fall but some legislative priorities for labor in sacramento have come up short. I want to ask the following question. Do you agree with governors decision to veto a bill that would let striking workers access Unemployment Insurance . Why or why not . Rep. Lee well, i believe the Union Movement this summer has shown california is leading the way to unionize not only california, but the country. I want to salute our labor Union Movement for months for what has taken place and continues to take place. All of us have been on picket lines in solidarity. Secondly, well, Union Members people who work day and night to keep the state going pay into the Unemployment Compensation fund. They deserve Unemployment Compensation when they are not working and when they are striking. I disagreed with that decision. I think striking workers should be paid what they paid in just like social security. You paid into a fund, you deserve the fund regardless of what you are doing. Striking workers of all people deserve to apply for Unemployment Compensation. I disagree with the decision to veto the bill. Lisa congressman schiff . Rep. Schiff i have been working with the afl cio to introduce federal legislation to provide employment insurance to striking workers. Corporate executives on the others of the strike are getting paid. Striking workers need to get paid. They are trying to provide for their families. The only way we can counter decades of concentration of Corporate Power and wealth is by making it easier to collectively bargain. Making it easier to get a contract and to enforce it. That means families that are living hand to mouth, that are struggling to pay their bills, provide health care for their kids, when they strike for better work and better wages for themselves and others, they need to have Unemployment Insurance. As the workplace continues to change we need to make sure working people are protected. Lisa congresswoman porter . Rep. Porter striking workers are exercising their legal rights. Nobody should go hungry for simply trying to use their legal rights to better themselves and better our entire countrys economy. Governor newsom was wrong here. He did not stand with those who are creating californias strong economy. We need to make sure that workers are able to go on strike and that we have protection and assistance for workers who voted to unionize but do not yet have a contract. That is the new specialinterest corporate playbook which is never getting to a contract in the first place. We are seeing that play out across the country with starbucks and others. We need labor law that gets ahead of these problems, that is modernized, that knows what corporations are trying to do and cuts them off before they get there. [applause] lisa would you like a followup, melanie . Melanie i will hand it back. Lisa ben, it is your turn. Ben it is estimated one third of the nations unsheltered Homeless Population lives in california. Governor newsom in fact many other elected officials have criticized recently federal judges for rulings that have overturned a set of local ordinances that barred Homeless People from sleeping in public areas when there was no shelter available. These Officials Say the rulings make it harder for cities to clear encampments and public spaces. New cement others say they want the Supreme Court to pick up this case. He has blasted judges newsom has blasted judges. Do you agree that federal judges have unfairly tied the hands of local officials . Represented of porter . Representative porter . Rep. Porter we do not have a homelessness problem alone, we have a Housing Affordability crisis. Have the most people who are unsheltered because california decade after decade has not gotten its fair share of resources for housing and we need a senator whos going to elevate our biggest challenge, which is Housing Affordability, to the top of washington, d. C. s priority list. I got my start in housing. With regard to the homelessness issue we saw this in Orange County and we saw the right playbook from judge carver. You cannot simply say people must people can remain on the street and remain at risk of sickness, of crime, of hardship, but the solution is not to tie the cities hands. It is to force the city to take action. To build shelters, to invest in permanent Supportive Housing. That is the solution. Judges cannot just make a ruling and walk away from the problem. If they want to get involved they need to deliver the solutions, too. Lisa representative lee. Rep. Lee housing should be a basic human right in this country and the state first of all. We start from there. Secondly we have to look at cities and how we have addressed the Affordable Housing and the unsheltered population. I have to just say we are right in los angeles. Mayor bass has shown us a pathway to helping those who are living on the streets. We have to have first of all supportive services. Housing, shelter. And make sure people do not have to stay on the street more than a week or two, if that long. We have to prevent evictions. We have to provide i mentioned the act i am working on right now. In california to rent an apartment or a house it is 12,000, deposit. Why cant the federal government provide a fund to make sure people are able to move into a safe place to live . Much of this has to do with the affordability and the costofliving crisis here. Ben representative schiff . Rep. Schiff we have a supply problem. There is not enough Affordable Housing. In many cities it takes four years to build housing. We are never going to solve the problem if it takes four years to build Affordable Housing. I have legislation that would create tax incentives to create Affordable Housing and cities need to take action to end the bureaucratic red tape so we can not take so long to get people housed. I think mayors and Council Members others are trying to make sure people can conduct their businesses safely. That parks can be open for people to use. They should pursue those efforts but only when they have made adequate provision for shelter for people. We should never be criminalizing people who are homeless. But it is fair to say if there is shelter available, you cannot sleep somewhere else when the mayor is offering you shelter. It is a reasonable compromise. There is a balance to be struck. We have to make sure we increase the supply of housing. Lisa would you like a followup . Ben the city of l. A. And San Francisco vast the Supreme Court to take up this have asked the Supreme Court to take up this case. Can you each give me one federal policy you would like to see changed to address the crisis . Represented of lee . Representative lee . Rep. Lee we need to develop more Housing Trust funds such as i have developed with senator sanders over the years to create more Affordable Housing through trust funds which reduce the cost of rentals and provide for additional rentals as well as those who decide they one day have dream of homeownership, they can afford to buy a house. Rep. Schiff im supporting Maxine Waters legislation that would make hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in creating Affordable Housing. Im proud we passed the partisan infrastructure bill bipartisan infrastructure bill but the most important infrastructure is human infrastructure area we need to make sure people who can access Affordable Housing which means we need to provide the resources, the number of section eight vouchers physics of vouchers is extremely small. I would have legislation create access to Public Housing or a nonprofit rather than a private developer. We need to incentivize the creation of Affordable Housing. At the end of the day if we do not increase the supply theres never going to be enough money to address homelessness. We need to raise incomes and we need to raise the supply of Affordable Housing. Rep. Porter the last time the federal government made a big investment in private market housing and expanding opportunities for new families to be able to become homeowners was the g. I. Bill. Decade after decade in the 1980s, 1990s, the 2010s, washington failed to invest in housing. I would make a big investment in terms of dollars and imagination. I would fully fund section eight vouchers. We dont say to people who need medicaid or to medicare, all of you need it but only one of you gets it. That is what we do with section eight. I would build the kind of housing it is not enough to say we need to increase supply. For too long that has been code for lining wall streets pockets for building unaffordable coastal condominiums. We need to stop running our housing policy to benefit wall street. I will give you one example. Lisa you are going to have to wait. Ben thank you for respecting the rules. I would like to talk about universal coverage. Just yesterday Governor Newsom signed sb770. [applause] which would kickstart the process for securing a singlepayer Health System for california. All three of you have articulated your support for medicare for all and the way to get us to federal universal health care coverage. Is a statebased approach the right move over a federal one . Would you support a federal path to universal health care that supersedes californias efforts . Lets start with congressman schiff. Rep. Schiff i am a proud original cosponsor of medicare for all. I would not supersede californias efforts. It will likely take the federal government longer than the states. It is valuable to have the states be forward laboratories with singlepayer which i strongly support. I also think we need to make progress on medicare for all. We should bring down the age so that more people can participate in medicare. I want everyone to be able to participate in medicare. It is enormously efficient. We need to make sure it is well resourced. This goes back a long time for me. During the debate on the Affordable Care act which i fought for, i fought for a public option. We did not get that but if we had we would have had a federal singlepayer model for years and years. We need to pass medicare for all and as we fight to make that happen we need to support efforts like in california to advance singlepayer. Lisa congresswoman porter . Rep. Porter we need medicare for all for two reasons. It is the best Quality Health care and the lowest price to deliver it. That is how iran, chronic competitive republican held district on medicare for all that is how iran in a competitive republican held district on medicare for all. It is the case that nuhw makes. Medicare for all, a system that puts patients ahead of profits is the only kind of Health Care System this country should never have. I do not support a public option. Or incremental approach. I support medicare for all period. Im disappointed that when i got to congress and we had the gavel as democrats and we had the ability to pass medicare for all and put it on the floor for about we did not do it. That is what i mean when i say washington is rigged to work for special interests and not for us. Rep. Lee the United States is the only country, the only industrialized country without universal health care. As i mentioned earlier, when i was in the legislature, i introduced the first singlepayer bill in california. That started the debate and organizing around singlepayer. I want to thank you all for helping us to get to this point. I supported a public option when i was one of the negotiators around the Affordable Care act. But in the Affordable Care act we had a provision that would allow states to ask for a waiver to enact a singlepayer. I am pleased the governor has signed this into law. California once again is leading. Finally let me say medicare for all is important. We have to move forward in terms of the fight for medicare for all. Im a member of the medicare for all caucus in the house and i want the senate to set up a medicare for all caucus as a sister caucus. Lisa thank you. Would you like to follow up . My followup is for congresswoman porter. The republican tax cuts from 2017 expire next year. Would you support a tax increase on californians to help pay for a singlepayer plan . Rep. Porter we do not need a tax increase to afford a singlepayer plan because you save money with singlepayer. Let me check the profits of kaiser. Enough money. Let me check the profits of st. Josephs and these organizations where they are working. There is enough money because singlepayer, make no mistake, dont believe the bs, singlepayer saves health care dollars. If folks in sacramento or washington are telling you we cannot afford it without a tax increase, they are blowing smoke. Lisa thank you all. So wow. Ok. So it is my turn again. Californians average gas price nearing six dollars earlier this week. You know that as well above the national average, below about four dollars per gallon. State housing prices have soared and inflation is hitting peoples pocketbooks. What is your pitch for californians struggling to afford everyday expenses . I will begin with congresswoman lee. Rep. Lee my pitch is icu, i hear you, and yes, we have a crisis of affordability and a crisis as it relates to men and women being able to take care of their families. Secondly we have to make as elected officials we have to make sure we let you know that we know the pain that is taking place here. The federal government has a duty and responsibility when states and the country and the economic stress we are in and we are doing much better, creating more good paying union jobs through all of the initiatives and laws that we pass, the Inflation Reduction Act, the infrastructure bill, the chips act, you name it. Those take time. It is up to the federal government to provide what some of us call a safety net. We have to make sure no one is living on the street during this crisis. We have to make sure Public Transportation is available if we need to provide vouchers. We need to make sure childcare is available. Lisa thank you. Another question for all of you this time. You have all called for term limits for Supreme Court justices. [applause] lisa as you know there has been a National Discussion around the age of elected leaders. Do you want to see term limits imposed on congress . I will begin with congresswoman porter. Rep. Porter this is a conversation we need to not be afraid to have. The American People have told us again and again that they want diverse leadership. They want an america that looks like them. Who have the experiences americans have. Folks who were able to go to college for zero tuition when california schools were free and those of us who had six figures of that to do it of debt to do it. Diverse leadership includes multigenerational leadership. That means voices of experience but also voices of people who are experiencing things in the present. I joke sometimes but it is not funny. If congress had a slogan it would be solving yesterdays problems tomorrow maybe. We are not going to get the forward leadership we need without having a real debate about multigenerational leadership. I have not made up my mind about that but you can count on me to be willing to have the discussion. Lisa congressman schiff . Rep. Schiff i do not support term limits for members of congress. What i do support which i think would be far more effective is i support doing away with the gerrymander. Creating more competitive districts so when people get elected they are not elected for life. The Supreme Court is different because we cannot hold them accountable with an election. Im one of the main authors along with hank johnson of legislation to expand the Supreme Court and put term limits on the court. The life tenure of Supreme Court justices has led to arrogance, their attitude with which they tell the public when they self deal, when they take lavish trips, have donors pay for their kids education or their nephews, is it is none of your business. That is the arrogant attitude that comes when there is no accountability. We need to end the gerrymander. We need to end dark money. I am carrying the amendment that would overturn citizens united. This is the way to fix what is broken in congress. Rep. Lee i believe the fundamental to our democracy is the right for people to vote for who they want to vote. When that person is not doing his or her job, you dont vote for them anymore. Term limits for elected officials, no. That takes away your right to vote regardless i mean, you have Marjorie Taylor greene. We dont agree with Marjorie Taylor greene. If her constituents want her voted in that is the way democracy works. But for appointed officials who have lifetime appointments, there should be term limits. Supreme court judges, term limits. We should expand the Supreme Court. The country has changed. The constitution does not require a limited amount of justices. Why not expand it . I support legislation to do that. We absolutely must have term limits or appointed officials such as Supreme Court justices. And i have called for Clarence Thomas to resign. Corruption is rampant. Lisa thank you. We are going to keep this train moving. Melanie . Melanie all three of you have condemned hamass attack on israel but i would like to get your stances on the conflict between israel and the palestinians. Three of you on stage identify as progressives. Congressman schiff, you are aligned with groups like aipac which have clashed with the left wing of the democratic party. When it comes to israelpalestine policy are you out of step with other progressives . Rep. Schiff i am proud to have the support of members of aipac as well as members of j street. It is because i have a record of working together to get things done and in this case to make sure we speak out when we disagree with policies whether it is a move away from democracy or settlements but also that we recognize the relationship between the u. S. And israel is a relationship based on our own National Security and shared values and interests. Right now israel is being brutally attacked. It is the victim of terrorist attacks and the only sentiment i want to express right now when israel is going through its own 9 11 is unequivocal support for the security and the right of israel to defend itself. There may be americans whose lives have also been lost. I talked to a friend of mine whose niece was killed, her nieces husband was killed. This is the tragedy they are dealing with right now. The only message i have for israel right now is i stand shoulder to shoulder with the israeli people. Lisa congresswoman porter . Rep. Lee i stand with israel in this time and i condemned the loss of lives of palestinians and israelis who are being victims of this terror. [applause] rep. Porter there are lost lives in gaza and israel and it is because the United States has allowed terrorism to flourish and has refused to take a Strong Enough stance against iran who is backing hamas and hezbollah. I believe in a two state solution. There needs to be the ability for every person who calls israel home to live there with rights and the ability to flourish. When israel is taking action, if israel takes actions that violate human rights laws, that violate our laws, there is no exception for human rights. It is important to remember as we stand with israel, as we stand against terror, as we mourn, that we learn the lessons of our own 9 11 which gave rise to hateful muslim phobia and civil Rights Violations. Congresswoman lee, your position is slightly distinct, you have supported legislation that would place restrictions on u. S. Aid to israel. Even the scope of the attack over the weekend, do you still believe american support for israel should have limitations placed on it . Rep. Lee let me say a couple of things. I have always stood for israel not having to deal with terrorist attacks and have condemned over and over again terrorist attacks against israel , just as i have called for a ceasefire and also, prayers for those killed, israelis and palestinians at this point. I am a woman of faith and i believe in praying during times like these. Secondly, i think its important also to understand that right now, in this current crisis, our country has a responsibility i believe to call for a ceasefire and to call for the whole world to come together to try to stop the escalation of what is taking place in the middle east. Peace if possible if we can bring the parties together. I have a followup question for congresswoman porter. This has been part of your pitch coming to the senate, but given the complexity of a crisis like this, you yourself have said you are relatively inexperienced in these fields be it with that be a detraction for your candidacy in the senate that you are not as experienced . Rep. Porter absolutely not, i have done the work. I am a professor and i take the homework seriously. Ive traveled to israel and i make sure to look at some of the most contested and difficult parts of the west bank, as well as to visit jerusalem, visit tel aviv, to understand the multireligious democracy that is israel. Im dedicated to continuing to learn. I dont think we should want a senator who thinks they know it all. I think we should want a senator that wants to learn from what is going on around the world in california and i am that person. Thank you. You might have heard california has a new senator. She was appointed last week. With that in mind, Governor Newsom has had an opportunity to appoint a state attorney general, secretary of state and u. S. Senator to fulfill expired portions of other persons terms. In all of these, the person was a democrat who cleared the field who won against nominal opposition. Do you believe butler running for a full term would undermine the democratic will of the california electorate and do you believe she should run for a full term given that history . Rep. Porter that is senator butlers decision to make. I think competitive elections are good for democracy. I will go further, they are the heart of democracy. I am glad to be running with my wonderful colleagues in this race and i think this race has galvanized and energized california to have important conversations about whether we are getting what we need from washington, about whether our senators know what our Biggest Challenges are here. Housing, childcare, Mental Health, homelessness. Are those on washington, d. C. s plate . I think we embrace competitive elections. I know what it is like to persuade voters, including those that dont always believe in our democracy and dont always turn out. Im committed to staying in this election and to drive a victory up and down the ballot in every part and pocket of california. Rep. Lee first, i will say i congratulated senator butler and i wished her well and i will continue with my campaign with the endorsement of many of our state officials, many state simile members and state senators. Im proud to have the endorsement of working family parties, we are raising money. This is a multigenerational, multiracial, Progressive Coalition we have put together to win this race. Democracy allows for whomever decides to run to run. This has been a great campaign. It is a Good Campaign and a fun and challenging campaign. We have a chance to meet with all of you to get your ideas, for you to ask us what we believe in and what we intend to do in the United States senate and i intend to represent those who have not been seen, the 20 million living on the edge in california. Rep. Schiff i met senator butler many years ago and my experiences with her have all been positive. I congratulated her, was proud to go to her swearing in an offer to work with her. She will be the senator for at least a year. We need to Work Together to get things done. The problems of california are too urgent not to. Im committed to working with her and also committed to running and winning this seat. Voters should have a choice. And you will have a choice could we are building the largest cash Grassroots Campaign for sin and i believe in california history. We are not taping taking corporate pack contributions for. People can find out more at my website, there is the plug. But we are all progressives. Who can make progress . Who has a track record of getting things done . Its my track record that has earned me the endorsement of six statewide labor organizations and speaker pelosi. I want to do a quick followup about butlers history. She was a consultant machine worked for uber, she worked to prevent their drivers from being classified as employees. Do believe that Prior Experience is disqualifying in a state like california . Rep. Lee i think its important all of our records be laid out before the voters if in fact we dont know whether senator butler has made a decision to run or not, but i think all of us are up for scrutiny. Thats what democracy is about. I believe my agenda and what i am putting forth again, i dont take corporate pac money either, ive been fighting to reduce the Defense Budget so we have more investments in health care and Mental Health and housing. I think my agenda as a progressive who has been able to get the job done as an appropriate or, legislator, negotiator over the years will speak for itself. If it doesnt, i intend to tell the voters of california who i am and why i want to be in the senate to represent all of the issues as it relates to climate, Affordable Housing, public safety. The senate needs a progressive voice to represent the state of california. I think all of us will bring forth who we are and what we intend to do and i will let the voters decide. Rep. Schiff if she decides to run, i think all of her record as all of our records should be considered. I gave a speech a couple years ago to a group of College Students and got into an uber on the way to the airport and the driver was so excited i was in her car. It was clear very soon she didnt know who i was. She said i live near the airport and i can make extra money, i got off work and i can make extra money. I said its interesting you should say it that way because you got off one work and now you are starting another work. Although i was too polite to ask, i wondered about her day job. I said if your day job is like your night job, it probably doesnt provide health care, no retirement and eventually you will be screwed. This is the changing nature of work that policymakers have not addressed. With ai it will be more severe. Im going to the senate to fight for working people and make sure they all earn a good income and have a secure retirement and good health care. Rep. Porter senator butler is now serving and will have the opportunity to show californians where she stands on this issue and so many others. I also look forward partnering with her. She has a history as a labor champion and i think it is important we expect her to listen to all of her better angels on labor. That is up to californians and organizations like nuhw, the goal of having forums like this. I am excited to see how senator butler leads on creating good, highpaying, union jobs for california. That should be the price of admission for representing us in the senate, whether you are doing it temporarily or on a permanent basis. Thank you. Something on everyones minds is the high cost of health care. Last year democrats banded together and passed the Inflation Reduction Act which allows medicare to negotiate the price of some but not all drugs. Now we have a split congress. Did the lago far enough on drug pricing and since we have a split congress, what realistically bipartisan action would you prioritize as a senator to reduce the high cost of drugs . Rep. Lee we have made significant progress, especially through the Inflation Reduction Act, and making sure medicare recipients do not pay more than 35 per month for their prescription drugs. Insulin. Many people, especially people of color, have diabetes. Having a 35 minimum or ceiling makes a difference. Thats only for medicare recipients. We need to expand that so everyone is covered with that 35 ceiling. No one should have to pay any more than 35 for insulin to not only medicare. What i would do is try to make sure we increase the numbers of people who are eligible for that. Secondly, we didnt go far enough in terms of how many drugs we need to cover. We need to expand the number of medications that would be eligible for the government to negotiate price reductions. Rep. Schiff im very proud of what we did with the Inflation Reduction Act but it did not go far enough. We need medicare for all. Thats what we should be doing. Within what we did, we need to make sure the government can negotiate overall drug prices to bring costs down and i think theres room for bipartisan work today as in the past to allow for the reimportation of prescription medications. Theres no reason why the United States should be subsidizing the rest of the world. We should be able to reimport medicine, people shouldnt have to go to canada to get prescription for the prescriptions filled. We also need to cut out waste in the system. So Many Health Care dollars are not going for services in hospitals and clinics for the betterment of patients, they are going to large pharmaceutical companies, large pharmacies and intermediaries that are sucking so many resources out of the system that could be used to improve patient care. Rep. Porter we have a Health Care System that is run to line the pockets of big corporations and washington, d. C. And elected leaders in both parties have made that possible. I dont think we can afford with lives on the line to mince words about that reality. Did we go far enough . Absolutely not. I was the number two in the congress when we were negotiating that, negotiating five drugs, 10 drugs. How many drugs should we be negotiating the price of . All. But we are not going to get there if we are electing people who have cashed checks from big pharma. This is about corporate special interest controlling policy. Yes we brought down the price of insulin and i salute that but we have Health Care Policies that make people sick so they need insulin instead of making them well so they dont. Already. Alrighty. We are running a little over so we are going to move to your one minute opportunity for a closing statement. Our candidates will have an opportunity to ask for your vote and each will get two minutes for closing remark, thats right. First will be barbara lee. Rep. Lee thank you so much for all of you and all of your questions. Its been really exciting and inspirational. I have to take a moment to think many of you who helped oppose the iraq war. That is something a lot of our Union Members need to be recognized for in the early days of that war. Yes, weve had limited time for questions this morning, these questions have been very important. I think some of the questions that still need answered are a couple one of it is why it is acceptable that why some of the wealthiest americans live in california, over 200,000 people are living on our streets. Is it acceptable for you that even people with insurance, Health Care Costs are so high that medical bills are the number one reason for bankruptcies . It is not acceptable to me also that we havent had Mental Health parity in our Health Care System. Mental Health Workers are not treated with parity and thats not acceptable to me. This has to do with greed. Ive had enough of greed in america. I know you have also. Ive been in this fight a long time and i have had to choose between feeding my family or paying the rent. Ive been told im not qualified because of the color of my skin. I know for sure that when we stand up and fight back we do win. As your next senator on health care especially, let me tell you, i will fight to get the profit motive out of this insurance industry. Health care should not be an industry, it should be a basic human right. Rep. Schiff first of all, i want to thank you for inviting us today, but thank you for what you do every day. My wife and i had the experience of bringing our daughter to the hospital when she was five years old and bleeding profusely. You took care of her. You were overstaffed and under worked and you took care of her. Youve taken care of my 95yearold father. You have taken care of millions of people all over california and all over the country. I just want to say thank you. Im running for senate because we need a leader in the senate that can work with people to get things done, to accomplish things. Im proud of what ive been able to do to build mass transit, to build a warning system, to bring millions and millions of dollars back to california, to find shelter for people who were homeless. Im proud of legislation that established the california patient bill of rights. I am proud to have passed legislation to protect press freedom and one of my colleagues said adam, you are the worst kind of democrat. Because you are just as progressive as the rest but you sound so reasonable. But the reality is we have to bring people together to solve problems. We have a housing crisis and we will not starve it solve it as long as we have a huge disparity between what people earn and what it costs to be housed. Im so proud to have the support of six statewide labor organizations who know my long record of fighting for working families. To have the support of leaders like nancy pelosi and more than half of the california House Democrats who know my record of delivering for california but also know that during these tough times, when we were each called upon to defend our democracy against the most corrupt president in u. S. History, i stepped into the middle of the ring and impeached donald trump and i will take on anyone who gets in the way of working families. Rep. Porter before coming to congress, i spent nearly two decades as a Consumer Protection advocate. I took on wall street banks, predatory lenders and governor government officials asleep at the wheel. Im proud of the work i did but it wasnt enough. For every family i was able to help, thousands more were being cheated. Why . Because of rules being written in washington, d. C. That were rigged. Rigged in favor of ultrawealthy donors, in favor of greedy corporations, in favor of political insiders. I knew i had to do more and thats why six years ago iran for office for the first time. It wasnt an easy decision, i am a single mom of three school age children. You know what was easy . Deciding not to take corporate pac money. Not one dime, and im the only candidate on this stage who has never cashed those checks. I am one of 11 members of congress who does not take lobbyist money. This wasnt a decision i made because im running for the senate, this is who i am this is why you can trust me to fight for us. What happens when politicians get too cozy with corporations . Corruption. Policies that cater to washington, big pharma, insurance, and leave families and workers behind. I went to washington to on rig the system, to rewrite the rules, not be complacent to them. Thats my promise to you, to challenge the conventional wisdom, to go against the grain, to speak truth to power, the call out corporations, to fight like an nuhw member. California has a once in a Generation Opportunity to choose their next senator. I hope you will pick the right woman for the job. All righty. Thank you so much to the candidates, to the journalist, to those who submitted questions from the nuhw, and everyone who took part in this civic exercise. We would also like to thank