Like economic development. I know we are not going to agree on every issue tonight, but i want to go to washington to find common ground. We are facing some tough problems right now with the pandemic, the economy, with health care, and with education. The way to get to the best solution is to do it together. Moderator senator, 60 questions for you seconds for you . Ms. Millermeeks i would like to thank the cedar rapids gazette. , am Mariannette Millermeeks my father was a Master Sergeant in the air force, my mother had gotten a ged. No one in my family had been College Educated though they valued education. Burnt in a16, i was kitchen fire and in that hospitalization, i had an epiphany about my future. I was going to become a doctors i left home at 16, got a job, and rolled in san antonio junior college, enlisted at 18 and worked and went to school until i got a degree in nursing, masters in education, and was able to go to medical school and i came to iowa to do my residency in ophthalmology and now i am an iowa state senator. I served 24 years in the military never having been up on serving my country. That tenacity, that great, resilience is not my story alone. It is the story of countless wans and i had the privilege of serving them and working on things like health drug lowering prescription prices and i got awards at a senate as a senator which i wasnt expecting and we can take that tenacity to washington, d. C. We can take the same spirit, the same tenacity to washington dc to work with you whether on recovering from this pandemic or preparing for the next one, Economic Growth that allows us to fulfill our potential and working on issues like how we defend our country and what to do about programs we need to fund through Economic Growth. Moderator thank you for your opening statement. Lets delve into the spirit both of you had within politics. Rita hart ran as lieutenant governor, mariannette janemillermeeks ran for the Second District numerous times. What have you learned from your respective political stages for campaigning statewide or having gone through the district. We will start with mariannette janemillermeeks. What do you run from the Second District . Millerweeks you learn to be yourself and be synthetic insincere, remain the person that you are. Meeting with people, listening to them, i saw that in the senate. They were from problems people asked me to address like passing legislation, or fighter eligible is to get prenatal care for Prescription Drug prices, a bill that looking at pharmacy benefit managers and oral contraceptives for those over 18 with proper counseling and screening and those bills came from listening to people and bringing their problems to the state senate. We brought bills on broadband and a successful session even in a pandemic. Being authentic and willing to listen but not just listen but listen with your heart and brain and years and act on what you here. Moderator what did you pick up from two years ago when you ran on the democratic ticket for governor as lieutenant governor, much larger than this district going statewide. Hart great experience. I traveled across the state and talked to so many people in various corners of the state. It was a great experience and i agree with Mariannette Millermeeks that the important thing is you are listening. You can learn so much from people. We all come from a different place and have different stories to tell and every time we take time to listen to people we come away a little wiser and able to go after the kinds of solutions that can make a difference. I learned that lesson throughout my senate campaign, serving as a state senator the important things you do, get out there, show up and have important conversations and learn through someone elses story what the important take aways are and bring people together to do something that will make peoples lives better. Coming back to you with a question about covid19 pandemic relief. We are getting conflicting signals on what next, whether there will be another round of covid19 relief before the election. Can iowa ones wait for more covid19 relief and what should be included in the next phase of pandemic relief . Hart the pandemic is still here, we are still fighting to get to a better place and in the process people are suffering and it is disappointing we are at the stage where we are when we know washington can come together and get something done. They did that with the first relief bill that was passed so we know they can do it and the fact it is not getting done in a timely fashion is disappointing. People are suffering, we have Unemployed People through no fault of their own. They cant pay their bills or their rent, landowners have to evict, we have more people in the homeless population, certain sectors of the economy are hurt worse. The retail industry, the hospitality industry, these people need some assistance. We dont want our cities and counties to cut services or layoff Police Officers or firefighters. We need this relief now. It can be done, it is disappointing we dont get it done because it needs to be done now. Moderator same question to Mariannette Millermeeks. Do we need more supplemental Unemployment Compensation . Another round of ppe for businesses, what can you include . Millerweeks it is disappointing there seems to be a hiatus in negotiations. When we went in pause at the beginning of the pandemic as a state senator i did not have the luxury of staying in a household. I was out with my constituents trying to help people navigate through getting the stimulus check they hadnt received especially for people like School Bus Drivers which you wouldnt think about needing additional unemployment and helping companies and businesses and Small Businesses to get ppp, trying to keep businesses alive in your small town when it is so hard to have a good restaurant and navigating through that you saw people suffer. One of our good friends father died just recently after contracting covid19. It has been extraordinarily difficult for everyone. I volunteered for my Senate District should they have a surge so it is disappointing we are not having another phase for. I would colony recovery or repair rather than a stimulus and it should include additional ppp, additional unemployment because there are people suffering and we need to look at do we have to do anything to extend snap benefits because of Food Insecurity and lack of food and we know there had been a pause on evictions and moratoriums but that will have to end. Growing the economy so important that we open our economy to solve these problems and getting a vaccine to get through this pandemic and prepare for the next pandemic. It is disappointing but you cant expect the taxpayers of iowa to bail out illinois, new york or california for their poor fiscal practices. We have great conservative fiscal practices and that has allowed our state to whether the pandemic better than most states. Moderator i will have 45 seconds for rita hart to respond, something you want to a newscore for how you think the federal response for stimulus should result . Hart we know this can be done if people put their minds to it and recognize how greatly it is needed. Small businesses would be another example so crucial to rural iowa. I was in fort madison and talked to a gentleman who has a diner, whose family had it for generations that he is struggling to keep it going and struggling to keep workers there and that is a huge problem and he said several of the businesses in the downtown area were not going to open up and the Restaurant Association said so many businesses would close down and never open again. We have to get the package pass now. Moderator the mask mandate came up in the first debate but the storyline has changed, the president tested positive for coronavirus a week ago, we are seeing a narrative over Wearing Masks in public, cities not requiring it. Rita hart said wasnt a scientist in the last he, Mariannette Millermeeks, a federal government mask mandate, either of you have different thoughts since the president s positive test last week, this one will start, Mariannette Millermeeks, has anything changed . Millerweeks covid19 proved to be a very resilient virus that was unexpected and unanticipated, most viruses like influenza or coronavirus is because the common flu are seasonal in nature but covid19 has been very resilient and unpredictable in how it has remained and stayed on. I wear a mask, i socially distance, wash my hands, i use hand sanitizer, also recommend for other people to do. Within our state the attorney general, the democratic attorney general says i mask mandate would not be enforceable, would be difficult to enforce and we wonder are we going to arrest people if they are not wearing a mask . It is all about can we do our part and should do our part. If we cannot socially distance, we should wear a mask, we should avoid being in large groups, wash our hands if youre sick dont go out, dont go in large groups. Those simple things all of us can do to make it better for everyone else. It is unfortunate the president contracted covid19 but when you look at what was happening throughout the world this was going to be a virus that was going to infect a large number of people in shutting down an economy doesnt come without risk. 98,000 people had not covid19 related deaths because of hospitalizations, cardiovascular events, diabetes, death rates from suicide, drug addiction, this is not a simple answer so the virus wont go away. Hopefully the vaccine will be available, safe and effective. Moderator two minutes, trying to keep it to 60 seconds but wont jumping right away. Hart appreciate that. The question was not about closing down the economy but should we be using, doing the things we know we have to do to protect the public and if we do that, will that allow us to keep this economy going . That is the bottom line. Until we get this infection rate down we will struggle and it will be worse if we dont do that. It is disappointing we are not following the science on this. We can talk about how we are following the mask suggestions and washing of the hands but the fact, used it on the senate floor and pulled Senate Colleagues you do not need to wear a mask if you are socially distance. The cdc guidelines specifically save you cannot physically separate then wear a mask. Also it is important that as leaders, we are providing a great example land we know when we are indoors the risks are much higher. The bottom line is weve got to come together and quit making this a political thing and instead take advantage of the opportunity to bring people together on this. We got hit on our farm pretty hard and our families, friends and neighbors came to gather, nobody asked about republican or democrat. It was a common problem. Thats what we have with this covid19 crisis and we want we lost an opportunity to bring people together on this and follow the science and bring down this infection rate so we are doing a better job. We see what has not worked well in the United States compared to other countries and where this state is compared to other states. We can be better but we have to bring people together to do it. Millerweeks no one in this legislative session came down with covid19. Moderator lets talk about an issue about social justice, social inequity. In june with demonstrations in iowa city and elsewhere after George Floyds death. I want to ask what the federal role in resolving this, addressing social justice and equity or is there, left to the states or go first to this will be for rita hart. Hart this should be an issue that has divided the country and it is an important issue weve got to address correctly. As far as looking at what can make a difference weve got to start with listening first, bring people to the table who have been most affected by this. I spent time talking to the chief of police in davenport, his approach and my local sheriff rick lincoln, talking about the same things we do everywhere which is bring people to gather, the stakeholders here, the naacp, black lives matter leaders, social agencies, the group of people who can address the situation, think about the steps we can take that will make a difference and thats the approach i would like to see. Moderator the federal role in resolving this, Mariannette Millermeeks, for example, where body cameras, should we get rid of qualified immunity for Police Officers who are bad actors . Millerweeks this is something that has embroiled our country. As we continue to address the challenge of racial inequality we shouldnt rush to racial hatred. All of us working together this is a problem we can solve and back in legislative session, after the tragic horrific death of george floyd we acted quickly as a legislative body in a bipartisan way, to enact police reform. Members of the legislative body that happened to be in law enforcement, we enacted show colds, we allowed the state attorney general to bring charges against the police officer, implicit bias training to expand on it and prevent Police Officers from Police Department so they would avoid prosecution or recriminations for their behavior for their conduct so they are not allowed to go to other places and be bad actors. We did this at the state level. Shifting out of partisanship, we hear about this during election campaigns, people will work across the aisle. I will ask a question of each of you that does not necessarily require a response but specifically 0 candidacy we start with Mariannette Millermeeks. Would you break from donald trump on . Anything people might associate with donald trump that they hope they dont associate with you on election day . Anything specific you differ from the president on . Millerweeks the event at the rose garden recently with the nomination of amy barrett could have been handled differently. I dont know all the things that happens, if they temperature checked people, if they had covid19 testing rescreening but it was a momentous occasion but at the same time given the pandemic there should have been appropriate social distancing and physical separation and mask wearing at that event so that is one place where i would be at odds with donald trump and i wish he would tweet less. Moderator a question for you. Rita hart. Since the district was redrawn and decade ago, people see your name is a vote for you is a vote for his eighth term, anything you would split from his own record or other democrats . Hart i do think he did a great job representing this district but also you will see i am a much different person. My background is different. I come from auroral perspective. I understand the farming aspects. I lived my entire life in rural iowa. It is so important we work on economic developed issues in small towns for rural areas and i can have those conversations and i look forward to that and the particular question youre asking, are there areas of disagreement, absolutely. Thats the thing i like about the democratic party. It is a big umbrella and we dont always agree on issues and for instance i come from an area of agriculture where i think there are specific things we are to be doing to create aid. A Strategic Plan to take us from where we are now on Water Quality and climate change, carbon sequestration, to get to where we need to go. I dont always agree with the attacks on my democratic colleagues. We will touch on those Foreign Agricultural issues later on. Shifting to the racial recovery in the first and only debate, talks about trying to get some of the noncovered costs into a relief package like tree damage causing some people in cedar rapids thousands of dollars out of pocket and the Second District didnt take as much Property Damage but theres crop damage with farmers. Anything else each of you would propose that is Financial Relief for people who suffered financial loss in the duration . We suffered more loss in the Second District then you might think. We lost every building 2story clinton and 3 grain bins and it has weve got a lot of our crops on the ground and it will be a tough harvest and that is something people havent talked much about is how the pain is continuing because there are a lot of farmers like my husband facing a really tough harvest and tough situations where they dont have grain storage etc. I was disappointed it took too long for Clinton County to get the relief they needed. They finally got that. There is a way to look at that, speed up that relief that is so important but to your point about the trees that is a huge loss, thousands of trees we have lost across the state, theres work to do in that area. Moderator your response on this, what might not be covered uncertain costs. Certain cost could be covered, sort of like one of those things, the straw that breaks the camels back after the pandemic, as a modulus year for all of us and iowa especially. There are other things in more urban areas, loss of food, storage of food, getting electricity back up. There were other Natural Disasters in other places, those agreement and trucks had to be brought back to the state so looking at our electric grids and how to handle that in the next Natural Disaster is important but people lost a lot of food that was stored so getting access to food so they could continue thank you. Mariannette millermeeks, Second District residents in scott and johnson counties ignore access to the best Health Practitioners and facilities in the state. What about the folks in the Second District . How do you assure access during a pandemic specifically weve seen greater use of telehealth, telemedicine. Is that the answer . Does the Second District have the bandwidth to make it available to everyone . Millerweeks the night we met to go into the pause, something i brought up to my caucus was we needed better access for telehealth for Insurance Companies that did not cover telehealth. They should cover telehealth and that increased reimbursement for telehealth knowing it was an issue going forward. In rural areas it is difficult with critical access hospitals with providers with the level of providers and things we are working on in the state legislature with the loan repayment programs. We need to continue to do that but also recognize the importance of telehealth and digital electronic cameras we have access to Telehealth Services much better than we used to in the past. I happen to passable in broadband, i think the pandemic underscores the we need better access to broadband. I am in a role area and dont have good access to broadband, we have to pass the bill and the covid19 money as i understand will be going to broadband so faster broadband for telework, tele learning and telehealth will be important. Moderator same question to rita hart. You are not very far, do you have the Broadband Connectivity to talk to the doctor or feel confident your doctor has seen you or you are seeing him or her, 30 seconds. Hart it is important to us in rural iowa. We need access to rural hospitals and telehealth is a great advantage. Weve been able to utilize that. We are lucky we have good broadband because we make the investment. We need to make sure everyone has that kind of highspeed internet and recognize healthcare is crucial to keeping people in rural iowa. We have an Elderly Population that wants to stay in their home, they need that access for healthcare and it is so important we have Mental Health care and thats a huge problem across iowa. Looking at the attacks weve seen we start with rita hart, criticism of backing one republican bill in the legislature, which lacked protections for preexisting conditions. You talked about this in the first debate but in campaigns where that could be a First Impression. How do you respond to that when you see criticisms about you . Lets talk about the facts. Not one person lost their healthcare because of this bill and the reason i voted for that bill is it was the only option on the table to help my constituents who needed that bill to be passed because we have selfemployed people, farmers, who did not qualify for the subsidy or could afford the high cost of the premium so this bill allowed the farm bureau to create a program that applied to just that niche of people. When faced with no other alternative that is a vote that i took on behalf of my constituents and i will never regret a vote that helped my constituents. That program exists today. We have people on that program and my question, what my opponent take that program away . Moderator 30 seconds to respond. Millerweeks i have a long history of coverage for preexisting conditions. My mother had a congenital heart disease. Wilder brother had an open heart surgery at 2 years of age. I wrote an article in 2009 about affordability which you brought up in one of your attack ads, so there has to be coverage for preexisting conditions. The fact is the reality, you dont have to believe me, believe your running mate who said that would deny coverage for preexisting conditions and only one present on the stage today voted to deny coverage for preexisting conditions and that is rita hart. Moderator respond to that. Hart i did not vote to deny anybody any kind of healthcare, not one person was denied healthcare because of that plan. What it did do was give people in my district an opportunity to get insurance who would not otherwise have it and i will never be sorry that i did something in favor of my constituents. Moderator next question for Mariannette Millermeeks. When people see the attack ads against you saying theres 300, 000 in donations, if that is the First Impression people might get a view looking at this campaign how do you want to respond if people might see that. You have to look at my ftc report. There is no contributions for humana or United Healthcare or aetna or any of the other large medical Insurance Companies but i also have a Senate Record. My Senate Record shows that i passed legislation asking for waiver of the 5year eligibility to get prenatal care. I tested a lameduck lower Prescription Drug prices. I passed a bill saving insurance is from nonmedical switching of initiation from your doctor. I also was given the 2019 champion of the year by the primary care association, legislature of the year by the reduction coalition, specifically because i was doing things to reduce costs, get access to care and give people needed services they desire and need. Moderator if you would like to respond to that you can. Hart heres the reality. My opponent has consistently been in favor of repealing the aca which would take millions of people off their Health Insurance and not hold Insurance Companies accountable for preexisting conditions. That is where we differ. I think we should take the Healthcare Program we have today and improve it, not go backward. That is what i will continue to work on. Millerweeks i have never been in favor of repeal. I always said reform. Moderator lets talk about broadband again as part of a larger infrastructure package, a lot of talk about doing something with infrastructure, roads, bridges and forms of transportation. What are the Top Priorities for the Second District in terms of infrastructure . What do we need most and how do we get it . Millerweeks we need these locks and dams to be there so we can get our product to market, that is crucial. Weve been working on highway 34 a long time. We need improvements on two lane roads. Small schools provide them, i am so thrilled when people see the beauty of rural iowa and want to live in rural iowa but they need resources and that infrastructure includes protecting rural hospitals, having Grocery Stores and childcare. Child care should be considered part of infrastructure because when families are struggling to get the coverage they need and particularly in this time of a pandemic so we need of acceptable childcare and thats an important part of our economy. Moderator Mariannette Millermeeks in terms of infrastructure package, what do you see as how do we pay for that . Locks and dams on the Mississippi River are important for our manufacturer and or agriculture economy, highways and bridges, not just highway 30, longtime struggling but highway 2 in southeast iowa. Also broadband in the electric grid. All of that is part of infrastructure and needs to be addressed and broadband as we discussed, we pass a bill in order to get higher connectivity in rural areas. I live in a rural area and during the pandemic i have never been so happy to live in a rural area less populated than during the pandemic so all those things need to be addressed and we need a Bipartisan Coalition for how we Fund Infrastructure going forward. The revenue is coming from the gas tax, not just on the pandemic and people not driving as much but also electric vehicles, we need to pass increased registration fee, to have road use money come and from that. I want to ask how we pay for these Infrastructure Projects . There is a declining source of revenue. Weve got to recognize things are changing, people are driving more electric cars, weve got a different way weve got to look at things. We have to put several things on the table, we have to know what our priorities are, look at the possibility of finding the waste that exists already and finding ways to pay for other things by identifying that waste and weve got to look at the tax code we have and how we can improve it and make it fairer and make sure middleclass working families are shouldering less of the burdens so we can get this economy going in a way that gives us the revenue that can pay for these Infrastructure Projects. Any specifics on that . If you have a bipartisan consensus so that both parties arent affecting the other party when you discuss what you do with fuel tax on the federal level do you have added costs for electric vehicles, a better permitting process and more local control so they are being addressed in a manner like that . There are things you can do in that regard this will take a bipartisan consensus and needs to be a multiyear project, our roads cant plan ahead when you only have one or 2 year funding, needs to be multiyear funding infrastructure bill. Looking to Social Security this came up again in the first debate like so many in iowa, people rely on Social Security. Raising the age limit is not the way to go. The question for senator Mariannette Millermeeks, the level of taxation on an unfairly penalized selfemployed but also the workers who work for a company in their level of taxation. How would you put out a plan to keep Social Security solvent for decades . Bipartisan groups have come together before to address issues like Social Security. It happened under Ronald Reagan and it will take that again for anybody running for office but we need to look at the ways to make sure Social Security, young people are concerned there will be no Social Security for them. This is a program we pay into, not an entitlement, people getting a return for what they paid into so looking at bipartisan consensus if you raise taxes on Small BusinessesSmall Businesses grow and become Large Businesses and employ people and if you are a Small Business owner you are paying 50. 4 so the rest of your overhead because you pay the employer and employee so Small Businesses are unfairly penalized under that system. We have an automatic increase so the income level increases each year of the amount that is taxed so we have additional taxes on higher income earners to Fund Medicare and i know that is not Social Security but there have been additional taxes levied in order to fund these programs. Moderator rita hart raising the age limit is not the way to go, what would you do to keep Social Security critical . Teachings weve got to make sure this program exists for the seniors depending upon it. It is crucial to our economy that people have a secure retirement and these are early benefits that need, that promise needs to be kept and we wanted for our children and grandchildren so have a mutual desire to do things in a bipartisan way but we cant do that when certain things just dont make sense. Raising the retirement age or privatization schemes i dont think are appropriate. People on both sides of the aisle would consider raising the to make sure we fix this system so it is solvent going into the future. Moderator talking about Water Quality, talking about a variety of federal programs with market volatility. Should they be linked to water and Soil Conservation practices, good driver discount for farmers who plant cover crops and take care of waterways . That is an important issue that so many of us hope to get to work on, what youve been working on for generations. I grew up on a dairy farm, my dad was a conservationist who talked about the ingenuity of the american farmer. Engineer and all hard work. If we can unleash the american ingenuity, how can we solve these problems. The farm a link to these conservation efforts. We make sure farmers are the ones at the center of making these decisions so they make sense for farmers. Not every farmer is the same, geography is different. They need to unleash the ingenuity to get the job done. Moderator should farm programs be tied to good practices on the farm to care for water and Soil Conservation . That way to move the behavior to other things. Going to the horace farm, you just covered practices and the feasibility of doing that and being a sustained program that can pay for itself. There is a cost to these programs. To navigate, farmers are in genius, they have a work ethic and the most hopeful people i have ever met and if you bring farmers to the table they will help us navigate through these issues and Water Quality as we see them come together to do. Moderator with farming talking about trade especially trade with china there is a consensus china has been a bad actor when it comes to trade and respecting intellectual property and one of biggest markets for iowa and manufacturers, how should the United States expand trade with china as it disrespects human rights, engaging in medicare expansion in the South Pacific you they have been of tremendous concern. Administration after administration, and they have not acted in good faith, one submitted to the world trade organization, they are trading partner with us, negotiating trade agreements. In that standpoint because of the agricultural markets. They work with other natural International Organizations, accountable for their behavior, intellectual property, Holding Companies hostage to solar marketplace to turn their technology over to the Chinese Communist party to be addressed in collaboration with other countries and or International Organizations like the wto, International Monetary fund. Moderator what is your policy toward china be given how they are going to treat their minority expansion . Hart i agree with much of what i have heard, weve got to align ourselves with other countries so we come from a position of strength. It is frustrating we went into this trade war from a singular factor creating an alliance with other countries so weve gone for four years, suffered as a result. To engage with diplomatic relations. Aligning with other countries, similar concerns and again so many farmers that are engaged in this trade situation, understand how to do with, they need to be a crucial part of that conversation. We got to come from a position of strength. Millerweeks when we are dealing with issues of trade, such a tremendous trading partner, the United States took action, others were willing to come along. Dumping products on the market and unfair trade practices, the United States being a leader has helped other countries, long. Not doing this very well, to go a little differently. For decades they told this. Moderator how have you seen this . Many other debates from the highest levels to congressional debates, it is very civil or kept to a lot of topics. How do each of you take this to washington, 400 members of the house, you start with that. People are unhappy with the division in the country, hired of the namecalling, tired of not getting along with friends and families because of the political divide. We all have to do our part. As leaders, people in elected position weve got to be the example, show people we can disagree with people and do it from a position of respect. Every one of us has to do that. I talked before about how i came from a divided household, republican mother and democratic father. You have big disagreements in a conversation but in the end you got to get up from the table and work with everybody, lead by example, encourage others to do the same. We can get there if we all do our part. Moderator what would your approach be to keep the facility, keeping it to the issues . Weve seen these debates for the past 3 weeks, present company excluded. Millerweeks thank you for that. I follow the golden rule, treat people how you would like to be treated. When i went into the senate, i treated my colleagues with respect, for the leadership and human services, good Health Policy sense, didnt matter watered it, that i should go ahead and pass that. In a bipartisan way, if you treat people with respect and policy, and in response to how you are treated, that will set the tone for that. I follow the golden rule. Moderator Green New Deal or no green deal what should congress do to protect the environment, limit harmful emissions, without crippling farming or diets as we know them, where to begin . Hart a great question, truly the question is how do we keep an economy growing which we know we need an economy to grow so we have the tax revenue we need to help people in the ways we need to help them for which they are asking. We have 40 of our energy forces for renewable, wind, and even ethanol has gotten better marks, or continue to do that. As we look for cleaner sources of energy as we change our vehicles, had a honda civic hybrid in 2003 with great gas mileage, also hybrid electric engine. We have great farm agriculture here, with carbon sequestration, as we look for this, a great opportunity moderator you are into time. Green new deal, members of your Party Champion that idea. Is that something you can support . I come from a practical aspect on this. I recognize so many things we can do as farmers. We are lucky to live in iowa, the university of iowa, we know the practices that are effective here and many of us have been doing these things on their own. We need foreignpolicy that went itself to this research and allows an opportunity to get things done. One year when i didnt get things done on a Water Quality bill, i hosted Water Quality locally, bring the experts to the table, bring urban people in rural people together to talk about what would make a difference and what came out of that is rural people said i could do more than i am doing. It is not as easy as i thought it was going to be. Weve got to when these together to get it done. Moderator a quick followup. Should the federal government follow californias lead and set a goal for doing away with fossil fuel vehicles . Millerweeks now. We need a Strategic Plan. We know where we need to get and need a Strategic Plan to get there. If the positions, if that is where it leads us so we can do something about the carbon in the air, it has to be done correctly. Moderator let me assume each of you get selected go from this point of view. Often times people in the first term say theres not much you can do right away but lets start with senator hart. Would you focus on the first 6 months in office for the Second District, what would you advocate or push for . Hart i hope the first bill i vote on is an anticorruption bill something people talk to me about and i feel strongly about. Weve got to create a System People have faith in and right now people dont believe people in Public Office are there for the right reasons but feel like they are there for their own gain rather than doing things for everyone else. I would like to see us pass an anticorruption bill that stops gerrymandering so people feel their vote counts again, that bans Congress People from ever serving as lobbyists, bands Congress People from buying individual stock, attacks campaignfinance reform. Weve got to do a better job having faith. Moderator as you focus on washington dc, what would you advocate for, what would you put your time and efforts toward . Hart the covid19 pandemic, how we get through this and prepare for the next pandemic, i predicted we would have another one and we need to address our strategic spots, need to address manufacturing from china, not had a single course for ppe and pharmaceuticals so bringing that back to this country. Addressing the covid19 pandemic, the next is an infrastructure build. To grow our economy and grow our state, so many jobs been lost and businesses that may never come back from this pandemic that were involuntarily shut down by the government that may be an avenue for job creation. We have roads, bridges, broadband, infrastructures it needs to be repaired so we know this something we can work on in a bipartisan fashion, and accountability. It is important to have more transparency in all our agencies, more accessibility for citizens for elected leaders and heads of agencies, with trusting government agencies. Mariannette millermeeks moderator we will give you 30 seconds for the question to get out of here on time. Please go forward. Senator Mariannette Millermeeks, there will be tens of millions of doses of vaccine by the end of the year. Will you use the vaccine . Millerweeks i will get the vaccine, it shouldnt be mandatory. Hart if included by the Health Experts absolutely, we will be front and center and there should be a mandate, to keep people safe we have to make it happen. Moderator a couple more questions. Do you have any thoughts on term limits in congress or Supreme Court, are you good with Lifetime Appointments . I would like us to fix the system so people feel they can keep them accountable so if we do something about the gerrymandering and campaignfinance reporting, we can hold our elected officials accountable. Moderator any thoughts on term limits for congress or appointments on the high court . Millerweeks it decide to run against an incumbent. I know that very well. Having said that, limits start at the ballot box. What happens when you limit your congressional representatives, the power within the bureaucracy, my favorite senator, tom coburn, term limited himself, could serve no more than eight years as a representative and he did that back in oklahoma and was asked to run four years later for the senate seat, he ran for the senate seat, in his second term stepped down, and i would continue to agree with Lifetime Appointments but also moderator we need to wrap this up so you can get your last word in, 60 seconds to make a final pitch for those who joined us. Mariannette millermeeks, you have before. Millerweeks being a military veteran and a doctor and former director of Public Health isnt what makes me the best candidate. What makes me the best candidate is i am a person who listens, with their heart and brain here. I never quit fighting and never give up and never quit fighting for the people of iowa or their future and the future of our great state. I will continue to be your voice and make sure all of us. Moderator rita hart. Hart thank you for the opportunity to be here, we talk a lot about healthcare tonight, to everyone i talk to who has a personal story. My personal story has to do with my mother who had a heart condition that caused her to lose her voice. He raise 9 children, i raised my 5 children and i think back on that, and i know the answer, we needed to listen. We needed to listen to know if she was happy or sad and the other lesson i learned, loud voices are not always what you want to listen to but the less powerful voice leaning in here, the most important things they say to you that make the biggest difference. Washington has forgotten that lesson. I will never forget it. I would be honored to have your vote. Moderator thanks to both of you. The second congressional district, much of southeast iowa from ottumwa to iowa city to Clinton County, and k w qc, one week from tonight in conjunction with this one and we will handle this for that. We want to thank rita hart and Mariannette Millermeeks and james lynch, thank you as well, thank you for watching this presentation. Thank you, each of these candidates making a great night and appreciate your time. Today the bait between the candidates for west virginia, jim justice and democratic candidate, a televised debate, live coverage begins at 7 00 pm eastern on cspan2. The Supreme Court confirmation hearing for amy barrett will resume at 9 am eastern. The nominee will take questions from Committee Members who will have 30 minutes. You can watch live coverage every day of amy barretts Supreme Court confirmation hearing online, cspan. Org or listen live on the free radio apps. Democrats need to pick up four seats at the november election to win a majority in the u. S. Senate and according to a Cook Political Report 15 of the 35 senate races considered competitive including arizona. Former astronaut mark kelly challenging republican incumbent martha mc sally