Transcripts For CSPAN2 Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20141009

These are things that are not kind of accidentally detrimental to the political participation and people of color. We still have the struggles ahead of us. But it also is just simply the reality. Is it then that do we need to change attitudes first and the structural change, or do we have to go directly to changing structures and have attitudes change afterwards . I guess thats a question for all of you. I would go as is structures and change the structure. I mean, i think that the polling these things are always a little hard to read because people do say what they think that you want them to year, particularly when it comes to race the many polling on race matters. But i would say, you know, culturally we are very. The new american majority, you know, the tolerance and the attitudes of the millenniums to miami, we are so far behind. We have a saying in our office. Dont recruit people you will have to lobby later. It is moving, and we need to structure catch up. One of the things that i learned as a human organizer is that in general the loss follows the organizing. It does not work the other way around. So i think it points to the necessity for mobilization as the public demand for change. And, as you said, this is not an accident. The people control the structure will change the structure when they feel that they have no other choice. And what do we learned from examples of cities close where, in fact, the power structure is very different. A town, Country Club Hills right nearby, same demographic of a completely different. Right. And both of these municipalities are kind of right on the council said lewis and so close that you can leave st. Louis and enter one of them without even knowing necessarily the u. S. Left the city of st. Louis. Well i was there i got into conversations with elected leaders from small towns, small municipalities called Country Club Hills which just a few years ago they had a police force that was entirely white and the black population that was about 70 or 80 percent black. And it was you know, the mayor, that turned back the current mayor told me of the record that he had the experience of being swept up by police and that is what led him to want to run for mayor and political office. And so in a concerted way they set out to change the demographics of the police apartment. And so when i talked to the police chief there he said that he went to high school and encouraged gen people to go to the Police Academy. He went to the graduation from the Police Academy and found people who were about to graduate in did not have a Police Department. Well, consider working for us. And then we went to other municipalities and said we would be interested in having you as standout. Have to think about working here. And now the Police Department is about half people of color and have white. And both the mayor and the police chief talked about the way in which this and at least facilitated a better understanding with the community. Now, thats the Positive Side of it. The other side of it is that i am in new yorker and know that there was a black officer involved in the shooting of john bell for in 2006, the africanamerican man who was on the verge of his the night before his wedding and was shot, some 50 something bullets were shot. Killed him, and injured one of his friends greatly. They were unarmed. There was an africanamerican officer present, you know, during this. And there have been other instances, africanamerican officers are officers of color. I dont think its simply a dermal change where everything falls into place. Not recruiting people you have to later lobby. You also have to have structural changes to say that we actually believe that there is a limit on police authority. The police are not the law. There are some distinctions that we dont that we somehow lost track of. The last a. M. Will say is in ferguson i did see when people began teargas income before they began tear gas in the first night protesters, there were a smattering of black officers who were there. And several of them had covered their faces with, you know, bandannas are stars. Some people said they did this because they lived in the communities and are going to have to face, you know, criticism for what they were doing. The other side of it was much more ominous. These are people who would cover their faces because they were about to do something that they knew exceeded the browns of what Proper Police baby should be and these were two black men. Are really striking, striking detail that you were able to be there and see that. I am also struck in listening to you that were talking about structural change but at the same time that happens on a personal level. Happens through people changing institutions from within, sometimes in a very 111 way. You said coming into this that you were willing to tell tale and really get up close and personal in describing some of what you have seen in practice within institutions. Ostensibly well moving people, practices that end up keeping them women and people of color. You know, in order to be perceived as a viable candidate you have to, you know, have your own personal network, you have tac have or be part of or be accepted into a broader political network. You have to have access to donors. Theres all this work the i am a progressive. When an Organization Called progress of minority. We recruit people to run for office. Our biggest fights have been over candid its a color and women and women of color obviously. And we started the Racial Justice campaign to prioritize, not marginalized , the recruitment of people of color and making it a priority within our organization from the beginning. And, you know, progressives are often our first problem. I would say to a candid it, if you are relatively new youre going to have to get through our advisory council, then the, you know, then progressive community, then the Democratic Party commanded we can Start Talking about republicans. But you have to get through these hurdles first. You know, we have often and our Advisory Councils and our states are comprised of some of the most talented and romney political people across the nation. So these are really wellmeaning folks. But the Progressive Movement just like the broader Political Movement is mostly led by white people. And mostly white men. Probably looks a lot like that. And so, you know, we will bring someone in. Never heard of him. Well, thats not surprising. That is why i am introducing him to you. Picking keep going from there. And it is not at all they are not, you know, with in this orbit, we have had to do a lot of convincing, even within our own organization to get people across. And it has gone so far the favre story like to tell because the staff person, we had a fight that escalated very highly in one of our states. One of our staff people called and said, gloria, i cant do this. Of all white guy. And not used to fighting over race. I was like, thats your job. And basically what happened was we recruited and native American Woman to run, very talented woman who had served in her states administration, quite accomplished. Had her own network. Recruited to run for the state senate, and it was immediately no, no, no. It is not going to work. And then the party decided that the profile of this district because that is the other thing that we do you guys dont know about. Before we start finding a candidate we create a profile for what the ideal candidate in this district should look like. In some people like me to decide that. It is sometimes a problem. And then so we recruited this woman. It decided, no, they needed a white man. So they found this white,. Well, we kept going. Our candid it was up performing on every metric. Our job is to try to assert our candid as a more viable candid. This escalated. Folks that cherry pick terror donor list and never going to major donors telling them that gloria is prioritizing race or viability. And i was literally had to fly out. I state director was doing all the work to become the political front. Ahead to meet with other donors on by one and say you have known me for two and a half seconds. I fired my mother and my best friend of a lifetime. I do not prioritized anything over viability. And so at think thats amenable. Thats my story. What kind of changes to we need within our institution check to we have to take some radical steps . A couple of things. And not so radical step, we changed our criteria for who could be on guard advisory council. Making itself more diverse. We have the political director, had to represent some political entity. Some community leaders, clergy leaders, people that open up access to a more diverse pool of influential people who could be on the committee. So there are things that you could do like that that open the. Yes. I think that we need to call it out. I mean, people were shocked that i would fly across the country and in and knock on their door and say come here is what im hearing. You believe in this . And as a donor to our organization and it shows a commitment to our mission camino, dont let them believe this way because that is what it ultimately was. Yet to stand up to it. It cant just be left for people of color or women to stand up to it. Is going to take all of us. With your anecdote. , white guy, i cant do this people have to politicians are already in office, have to get beyond their comfort zone. Wondered if you could say more about that. Make this a topic of conversation for everyone. That level of distancing. Discomfort on the part of white people. Unfortunately i think the circumstances are such that these things do have a way of presenting themselves. We would not have had to grapple with the reality of Sexual Harassment in the workplace and the way that we did. Going back to ferguson, i think that will be a looking at there is reflective of a broader set of trans. I will talk historical for a minute. We saw in 1967 the Carter Commission report which said that there were kind of largescale urban disturbances to my riots that were a product of the systematic exclusion of africanamericans from opportunity. And out of that we have reforms that people considered liberal reform, people considered them to be superfluous. The Supreme Court effectively said that the Voting Rights act was discriminatory against white southerners. And the decision, and so we have debates around things like affirmative action and whether not people of color actually belong in a position. I didnt see that. So we kind of the question that is implicit with and that is if you remove those circumstances, if you replicate the circumstances that existed, do you not have the same out comes . Do you not produce the same kind of problems that resulted in this kind of cyclical situation . In that think that it is maybe a skeptical or pessimistic point of view, but because we have this historical amnesia we keep doing things that result in negative outcomes and saying, well, if we do this we put our hand on the fire we get burned. Lets move our hand. And then five matt sutter command would be interesting to put a hand on the fire and see what happens. You have talked before about what people are or are not willing to think about or talk about. One thing that people often have trouble with in america is talking about structural change. Your research and get results basically in looking at that, but you have also said that it is sometimes difficult to get people there. You saw it even in the course of doing research. Wonder what you have seen about peoples Comfort Level and will ways of approaching the topic of underrepresentation theyre comfortable with or not comfortable with. He touched on some of this. The conventional wisdom i think is that ordinary americans cannot really grasped structures. Its sort of too complicated you know, kind of arcane and we cant get into that. I think that really shortchanges most people. It is true, most people do want that to our policy briefing on the political system and the United States, but i think that there is actually far more opportunity to move people in their thinking on this than we give them credit for i mean, its sort of stands to reason and await that if you just look at these numbers and you are not somebody familiar with the way that the politics works, which is most people. Why would they be . Its a strange kind of arcane world. If you look at those numbers and you leave it to your imagination, why they are that way, you will come up with sort of easy answers. Well, maybe women just like politics. I dont know. Maybe people of color dont really participate. Of course, you know, we dont need to get into a fight about whether there is centered around the edges, but our experience in our research that we have briefly described here is, people get it. Does not take a twohour briefing to my dissertation. When your name specific structural barriers people say, oh, yeah. That makes sense to me. In the level of understanding. Other some people who get it more than others to back between Party Affiliation or men and women, you know, if you are somebody who has unexperienced structural Barriers Holding back are you less likely to see them . It is true that women and people of color sort of perceive the structural barriers more clearly or more readily, but again, not limited to those groups. So i think this is not as complicated as we like to think that it might be in terms of making people think about this differently. That think that we have all lot of room for changing the way people think about it. Sharing some interesting thoughts in the greenroom beforehand about the parties are or are not doing right now. And to me know, some interesting observations about what the Republican Party is doing at the state level. At the that is worth sharing , what you are observing right now. The Party Apparatus on both sides of the aisle is the primary candidate recruitment operations. And they tend to have a very narrow silent approach to it. So you are the recruiter. You have your database in front of you, and youre looking at when the party, you know, is the next one down to the local party chair, an anc members. And they tend to not go to outside groups. So that is something that we need to change. Our groups need to be more proactive about bringing people into the party for consideration to and the parties need to be more mindful of reaching out beyond that structure. The second thing that i think is important from the partys perspective cisplatin is money. What i shared in the green room was that on the republican side, the republican state committee, the its like the state Level Committee for state legislative seats like the teacher paul v. Is for congress. We have the equivalent on the democratic side, the dlc see, Democratic Campaign committee. And so the rspc rflc, sorry, has spent since 2010. You all know the story leading into 2010, the 40 million spent, the strategy, the massive investment in state legislative races in order to pick up nearly 700 seats and i dont even know, 21 chambers in 2010. That was a big deal. Since then they have spent 3 million just on candidate recruitment of women and people of color in this cycle, 2014 cycle, the aspen 6 million. Some 9 million just since 2010 exclusively on the recruitment of republican women and people of color. Now, we know what every Party Affiliation, that this is not the grand old party of yesteryear. These are going to be very, very conservative folks. And they have recruited as a result of this investment more than 150 people of color and more than 300 women. In they have increased the largest major increase in the number of republican female state legislatures, by 27 percent in just says 2010 or including 2010, im sorry. So, you know, there is a major activity happening. There is nothing equivalent to that of the democratic side. The dlc see does not, you know, read grant money to state parties for the exclusive purpose of canada recruitment. There is no, you know, significant 55 theyre program is called ironically they have a name for the female program and not a name for the people of color program. It is called white women right now. There is also one at the congressional level called project growth. So there is a similar investment happening at the congressional level. And it is just nothing on our side. You know, donna does not get 39 to recruit women or people of color. It just does not happen. So we have got to try to tap figure out that in balance as well. Democrats traditionally i mean, democrats have i think there are 1100, maybe 1200 state legislative seats that are held by women and republicans have 636. Some Democratic Women have always done better. But they will catch up. I know from our business, we record 200 candid its a year and we dont have a 69 budget. It is not hard for them to catch up with the investment theyre making. It is fascinating. Probably we will avalon of questions from the audience. I mean, all of you have brought up new and interesting things today, which is great. I want to in would you. In your writing you, you know, looking at it all together you present, i mean, an interesting vision looking back historically. If you can read a glass halfempty or glass half full. We have all of the signs of progress in terms of lets say having a black president , black mayors in gary, indiana, detroit, newark. The red since 1970 a number of black elected officials in the United States has increased nearly tenfold. We have these programs, and on the other hand, its terrible. It is really, really bad in terms of the numbers and in terms of incidents like shooting a Michael Brown and everything which was not an isolated event necessarily and everything that comes up so how do you balance it in your mind . Where do you land . Recalcitrant optimism. Which i think there is also realistic optimism that a person who looked at our contemporary state of affairs, is skeptical person could say, well, you know, all of this organizing, all these candid its, far more black political officials, the landscape does not look anything like it did in 1965. It culminates in the election of this individual, barack obama, to the presidency. How does that work out for you . And that would be a significant question when we look at things like, you know, the repression Voter Suppression efforts. We look at the staggering incarceration. It just the election of a black president wasnt going to fix everything, but i do think that people probably present the point at which a black person could be elected would signify that these other things had already been resolved. And the fact that those two things are capable of coexisting then makes people go back to the drawing board and say, well, what else is there . Some other additional ingredient that we fail to recognize our in the most cynical and pessimistic view , this is as good as this particular system is capable of getting. Some people who represent political minority or even as a demographic change, possibly in the political majority. We have seen this and other places. So with that said, i simply believe that my perspective as a story is that over the long term people who have been of conscience and a sincere effort have one more often than not, not necessarily been undefeated, but a good enough record to make it to the playoffs. And that is just where i land. I think that is a great note to and on and give it to questions. I did want to ask about Voter Suppression, but maybe someone in the audience can ask a question. [inaudible question] i just wanted to make sure to get on the microphone because i originate from ferguson. It would be likened to if you were in northwest the difference between julie town and heights, but it is the same thing. The process some town residents, there is no difference. I would never a knowledge ferguson excluding the fact that it is now on the map. And i guess the first of all , want to thank you all for bringing this information in a scientific manner to the forefront, as this is the only way it is legitimized. I have actually since president obama has been in office calling for race conversation because i dont know what to tell my children. Its kind of leaves me i dont want to create a legists, but all i can tell them is that theyre better than white people because i dont have anything better. Im sorry. I believe that, but as far as how to combat the systemic barriers in systemic institutions that keep us at odds, i currently welcome a conversation that is open, on the table, and honest so that i could have some good working tools to create. I just wanted to thank you all basically for having the conversation and i look forward to being any part of it. I think it is an important point. In march portland sponsored what was called governing for racial equity. And as far as i can tell, it was one of the first of its kind, designed for elected officials and government workers. It was all about how to create government that was actually equitable. And more than 500 people attended from all over the country including many mayors and elected officials so we can prompt our local governments and leave our conversations that dont have to be had at the national level. We dont need congress. This is something that can happen were every live. If you have a good mayor or anybody wants to try to sponsor Something Like this, occur is the proliferation of those kinds of gatherings. All the way in the back. Our you doing today . I am tyler bassett, National Public radio, wamu, and local. In 2012 there were 13,635 registered voters and ferguson. The order registration today in ferguson, incidently, st. St. Louis county board of election commissioners says that there were 128 million registered voters in ferguson. The increase of just less than 1 . 11 increase was possible. What do you think is the biggest difference . Why he think it was only 1 . What is making the biggest difference . Well, one thing we should be mindful of, anything that comes out about a number of registered voters. The initial report was that there were 3,000. And then there was revised to 128. And then it would be the office of elections. A clerical mistake. Not prepared to except that number is valid. When we talk about the turnout for the previous election to buy a municipal election about two weeks prior to a very racially contentious municipal election in the election prior to that which was the 2012 president s selection, the black turnout was 71 percent of eligible voters and the white turnout was 72 . As of this has everything to do with offyear elections and whether or not they are publicizing whether or not people know. Their is a primary coming up. The priories election. I think those are things that we should keep in mind about. I certainly was not doing anywhere near giving credibility to that 128 percent no. Until the has been much more thoroughly scrutinized and then can have it. It is not even indicate what party candid its there with. Theyre seems to be a lot of structural elements that does create a great deal of confusion one where the other. Great western. Absolutely as somebody said earlier, women and people of color with at the same rates as white men we have a fair shot as long as we have competitive districts as far is gerrymandering with competitive districts is another thing to address but we also know that where there are more women and people of color the states better generally more progressive i dont mean liberal but more for rethinking and progressive is places where there is a broader conversation with the role of government issue that is addressed as a more positive influence in peoples lives to help people to do better in that environment with the governor or that dialogue so there are absolutely of plethora of issues that are essentials for us to deal with right now that the typical candidate can keep its head down to avoid but the role of women and Family Friendly choices anything to benefit women talk about the duty want women voters. So talk about incarceration they of matter to the community and the older white male candidates will not talk about these issues. I grew up in st. Louis county ferguson to me is not a good example. When i was there there were no blacks in ferguson and it progressed over the last 20 years to be majority black so with those dynamics but it never you talked about the behavior of where i live now the majority of africanamericans is the africanamerican electorate. I dont think there were any non African Americans on the ballot except that the state level so part of this is the generalization of people of color you have to realize the minority that expectation that we can overcome so many barriers when were such a small percentage of the population also this people of color is problematic but when you talk about recruitment one of the things that troubles me is the money issue. And what young people to volunteer but africanamerican kids are not in a position to volunteer to work unpaid internship selenide is the policy of the organizations that dont consider the communities that they work with the spirit those interesting questions the idea at asking people to get involved politically but are you aware of how things are happening . That king castlelike both positive and negative . I am not sure of the latter but with a formal Public Financing of elections arizona has the highest number percentage of women in office boss of the high as conservative and i think that might be another thing to address the issue of money and politics if people have resources from the question from majorities act africanamericans to have a higher a parttime but latinos and asians in america is to not. In treating people as color but there are differences. Quickly on the issue of majority and is counterintuitive to make perfect sense that specifically they tend to fare better in the majority white context so people were shocked when barack obama one i web because it has so few black people it was not mississippi it was not like within the current field. [laughter] cotton field. We forget 1988 jackson won vermont that has an even smaller black populations of people do not believe you are part of the group with the marginal number if you dont feel threatened you could stand a chance on face value. You have something . This is not simply a moral question it is a strategic one to my mind if candidates and parties and political actors want to succeed we will have to reckon with this in a serious way for those who control the political system should change but if you want to engage the electorate when a jew turn out candidates. On the range of topics as a clear past due getting an. Thanks for coming today. [applause] [inaudible conversations] great to see you all tonight on behalf of the league of women voters i will commute to the Candidates Forum for the new jersey third Congressional District i wish to thank the audience and the candidates for participating and the Public Schools for generously donating were using for this event. The member of the league of women voters and very pleased to be here with you. A nonpartisan Political Organization so active for dissipation we do not support forums or candidates to increase understanding of major Public Policy issues through education and advocacy. Elections and voting our core concerns year in and year out we are committed to providing fact based information and the take on those issues to help voters make educated decisions in the process. Forums like this are of that commission. And a service to the voters. The video will be Available Online on princeton tv it will be rebroadcast in its entirety by cspan so check the web site for scheduling details before we proceed i will ask the silence and put away all Electronic Devices that includes a cell phones, tablets and cameras and with the exception of media. The private that prohibits it audience members remember we are broadcast. Any footage from the Debate Campaign material or literature or advertising of any kind cable or television has not been authorized by the league of women voters. We encourage you with Voter Registration in addition to the league of women voters with the membership pressure to learn more about the work we do in addition other candidate events of a blake to remind everybody if you are wearing as a Campaign Button or a hat did needs to be put away at this time i will introduce tonights moderator. Karen . [applause] i n your moderator in the interest of full disclosure i was in the 12th canker shuttle distracted i will not be Congressional District and i will not be voting this session. It is pertinent to the office and to the issues questions were submitted in writing. Please hold applies and with the timing youll have four minutes fielding questions from the league of women voters panel and then remove onto audience questions should there be a specific question if there is a rebuttal each candidate will get one minute for that. At the conclusion they will give you the warning sign. The stop sign means stop. [laughter] now we have barely give women panel you will leave the questions because tony is the president said is the treasurer and secretary. End then we will start. Think he very much. And everyone who cannot do the democratic process ibm ms. Belgard i currently live in an edge water park with my a husband and two young boys. Also known as double trouble. My background forge with Community Service it shifted a little bit after losing both might parents to cancer too early i lost my mother to Breast Cancer and my father as the vietnam veteran he was lost to stomach cancer exposed to agent orange to take your life experiences. And how various roles one that i was proud of as the ambassador with groups of volunteers after years of doing that i decide i was tired of asking other people to make decisions. And i a currently serve in their Progress Service there and now im taking a leave to run for Congress People ask me all the time why are you doing this . Congress is such of mess. We need to step up and fix it that is why i intend to do. To washington to put our priorities back in order here in the Third District it is clear the middleclass is struggling i have seen on the campaign trail. To make things better for the middleclass whether making sure or shipping jobs overseas to make education more affordable to invest in infrastructure the Third District also talk about raising the minimum wage for the district that the winner paid equally for equal work right here in south jersey we have a great economic engine the second largest employer in this state we need an advocate to go to congress to speak up and having grown up there i know how important that base is ill absolutely fight for a the base also for veterans having seen my father went through i know the struggle we have seen the systemic problems not only in their care but in education also the seniors that will say i am not a k2 take away their hardearned benefits our seniors have worked for like medicare and Social Security with democrats or republicans people who are willing to work as the whole with our community that is i have done as of volunteer to unravel due to serve the Third District. [applause] please hold your applause to the end. Thanks to the league of women voters for hosting this id for joining me to be here we will talk about a lot of things over the next 90 minutes, a lot of issues. Introducing myself as a person first u. S. Not to send a Political Party but a real live person and the conditions in the opinion said shapes how they act. One of five kids from a middleclass family in a mother and father raised very different mom was a liberal democrat and a catholic dad was a conservative republican protestant. We spend our nights talking about the two things youre not supposed to talk about. And i learned to show respect of other peoples views but have the courage of your own convictions. My first job i was an insurance adjuster making 13,000 per year with my new bride and i stayed there nearly three decades i had an opportunity to the day company was 100 people in one location and we grew across the United States by the thousands. My greatest joy to show a Better Future for them and their families i could not have done any of that without my bride of 32 years we had our challenges along the way first child born the 85 severely handicapped and it shaped us a lot through her life and her death in 11 years of age she showed me the value and potential of every person we also had the privilege to adopt to children reason is 24 and my youngest daughter is right here and is 17. My children have inspired me to make a difference in this world they will inherit youll carry different story about my life youll hear my opponent parroting talking points for national handle a washington d. C. Because she has and i believe she will continue to attack but does not change that i created thousands of jobs but aimee was a tax jobs you will hear that she attacked me for fair pay on women but that does not change there is only one of us on this stage that has lived that out to give free pate their pay to women over decades and i will make sure we achieve the quality. Aimee has and will continue to attack me and Womens Health care which is very personal and offensive because i lost my birth mother and another that raised me from cancer. And there is a woman i would give anything for sitting in the front row so juicy adult care is offensive and aimee will continue to attack me to not care about you pricing she would like to forget for a decade my wife and iran a Family Foundation we have done anythings might give away thousands of wheelchairs in memory of my daughter. And we are afraid to inherit ameritech going in the wrong direction because investing your pointing it is time to go to washington to solve problems. Thankyou. [applause] and no more applause. Now we begin with that panel. But discuss the Campaign Finance regulation and to what is the profit of the corporations . Thank you very much i truly appreciate this question because i think we need to work to overturn Citizens United with what has happened with campaign financing. To be working for the people not those large corporations that are finding them. Just to see how extensive campaigns have become of it is about representing the people and we need to return elections to that. I will be very vocal and outspoken my opponent has said after spending millions of dollars against me that aimee will never outspend him he has plenty of resources that is now with the election is about but serving the people that is what we need to return our election to. It is a good question. I like there are concerns about unlimited funding. And yet against that is the balance of free speech with the Supreme Court struggles with. I do think some reform is necessary, and i call again tonight from my opponent to disavowal ads that are based on lies. There is no place for that in the campaign. Moderator a one minute rebuttal. Belgard if i may, i wanted to insure a quick story that i am proud of. In order to run and raise money we have quarters. We have situations where a woman send me any melt and said to me, you know, i believe the new. You have worked so hard in edge water park and you work so hard as a free holder and that you would represent our interests and congress. I have 9 to give me to the end of this year, and it was december 301st of all but i am giving you all 9 for your campaign because that is how important this is to meet. It brought tears to my eyes. That, to me, is to we need to represent. That is free speech, that is a power of the dollar. Moderator thank you. Macarthur i will take that as the answer. Does not wish to disavow the allies that coming out of washington d. C. We will take that as a no. Moderator we will move on to our question. What should the federal governments perris be in setting the sound Energy Policy . Please include a discussion of your position with regard to fossil fuels, Renewable Energy sources, and protection of the environment. Macarthur all important things to balance. We are today dependent on countries that are sometimes adversarial to us and sometimes on and dependable. We need to make sure that exploit every source at our disposal which includes an all of the above approach, nuclear, the renewals to of fossil fuels. I believe that we should be looking to build naturalgas facilities. We should do things like the xl pipeline. Right here in new jersey we have opportunities. In ocean county we ever nuclear power. We should be looking for an opportunity to put another tap the Power Generation facility there. It is critical of america stand on its own, and we had tremendous resources, natural gas, oil. We should be looking in all of that. Gramm excited because it is clean. I think with Proper Research and investment it can become more efficient. And i would want to explore offshore wind is a possibility. Thank you. Thank you. So this is an important topic right here in the Third District, especially when we have seen some of the impact of climate change, especially along our coastline. And i think that the first goal would be to remove ourselves from our reliance on foreign oil. You know, we have an amazingly innovative kutcher year. And if we could instead of investing in companies and giving tax breaks to companies that are big Oil Companies, lets invest that money in Innovative Solutions right here in the United States like solar, like wind, geothermal, other ideas that made have not even be fully developed yet. We are an amazing and innovative country command we can do it. Think there is a large distinction between myself and mr. Tom macarthur in this regard. We have talked about that he is investing in foreign Oil Companies, stateowned while companies by russia and china. The Russian Company that has been sanctioned recently by the United States and by the European Union for their involvement in removing the gas from the ukraine. It think that is a conflict here. I also think that you know, i hear things like we need to exploit every resource at our disposal. That gives me reason for great concern. Oil exploration off the coast of the beautiful jersey shoreline. That is something that this this district certainly does not want. Again, looking to alternatives, investing in alternatives which not only makes for a cleaner environment, but also use our economy right here at home in the Third District. Thank you. Macarthur i would like to respond to one piece of that. Have heard the suggestion about Oil Subsidies a number of times from this Aimee Belgard. I am not sure this is more than a political talking point for this reason. The bolt of these subsidies, the largest of them is for the strategic or reserved. Are we not going to find that . Of course we have to fund it. A second goes to farmers, the secondlargest subsidy does not go to our companys spirited goes to farmers. And much of the Petroleum Taxes go to transportation. So they get a subsidy. Are we going to cancel that . The Third Largest subsidy is for people that cannot afford heating oil and the middle of winter. It is easy to say, and those three alone are about 4 billion of subsidies. It is easy to say, lets just cut this and that, but there are real consequences to this. I dont think you have thought that through very well. Moderator thank you. Belgard it seems to me that it is easy to be for Oil Subsidies when you have invested in Oil Companies and when your profit comes when oil companys profit. Moderator thank you. The next question is for candid Aimee Belgard. Your evening. Should the federal government ensure that americans have Health Insurance and all women have access to Reproductive Health service . Please discuss your position with regard to Health Care Access in general and the inclusion of Reproductive Service and all benefits packages. Belgard thank you. I am a longtime advocate with the American Cancer Society and have been working for affordable, Accessible Health care for all americans for very long time. And i know that there has been recent talk obviously wish of the Affordable Care act. And i will just touch on that briefly before we get to the rest of the question. You know, i can tell you that i have seen firsthand the problems with the Affordable Care act, even a mild life. And i talked to Small Business owners are worried that the Affordable Care act will be too much of a burden on them. But i think there are ways to fix it and make it better for all americans rather than forcing the purpose, lets actually make it better so that we have more access. I think we do that by containing costs, making sure that when we do things fallout, making sure that there is transparency in the process. I think that if patients were the ultimate consumers and actually understood what the money was going toward rather than paying 3 for a bandaid at one facility or 30 for bandit at another facility to this would help the prices come down. It think those are issues we need to work on, but right now congress is not even discussing in. That is where were at a standstill. We need to come together to fix it, and i think i have seen firsthand people who have actually benefited from the Affordable Care act. And a volunteer with the American Cancer Society for the first time in ten years has coverage she did not before because of a preexisting condition. When we turn back the clock on things Like Health Care and turn back the clock on things like Womens Health care, these are absolute issues. We need a voice for women in congress. We need a voice for people who have Health Care Issues in congress to man that is exactly what i will be. Thank you. It. Macarthur i do not believe that fixing obamacare is about discovering the cost of bandaids. And i think that much of that is just platitudes. Obamacare is and was a bad idea. It is a government takeover of one of the Largest Industries in the United States, and it will result it is already resulting in higher costs to reductions in care, massive reductions in choice, and it was a mistake. And you dont fix a mistake with a bandaid approach, which is what i just heard. What we need is freemarket reforms, things like allowing insurance to be sold across state lines to allow real competition in bringing costs down. Many small employers to be able to pull so that they get the benefit of larger discounts. We need tort reform car real, significant tort reform so that medicine can be practiced differently in the United States. Those of the things that will result in more choice, better quality of care, lowercost. And lastly, i think that we need a safety net. We have to have a safety net for people at the state level, i believe. I mentioned my daughter briefly you died at age 11. In her lifetime we had over a Million Dollars or the medical bills. That was two decades ago. I would have been bankrupt. I dont believe anybody should face health care crises like that alone. I just dont believe that those sorts of safety nets should be at the federal level because it is too big. The scale is too big, the lack of accountability to lack of competition, and i believe those sorts of safety nets can be done at the state level. And that is what i would advocate. Moderator rebel. Belgard thank you. I have seen firsthand the people who have had to make the decisions of putting food on the table are going for their next chemotherapy treatment. I have seen these people now have the covers that they need so that they have the security for themselves and for their families. I have seen and talked to College Parents who now feel that they have the security of knowing that their collegeage student as coverage while away in school. And i think that we cannot turn our clock back on that. And what i am hearing is exactly what is wrong in congress right now where it is black or white. It is keeping or repeal it, but to work to fix it, and i think that is exactly what is wrong. There is another solution. We need to Work Together to fix this to Work Together to make sure that women continue to get the contraceptive care that they need despite what washington is doing. These are not decisions that are to be made by employers or by bureaucrats down washington. Moderator thank you. Response. Macarthur of want to mention two other things. With regard to Womens Health and contraceptive care, these are important. As a ceo i make sure that we provide both. And often in my tenure i want to say i am pleased to have gotten the endorsement of multiple unions, many here tonight. And unions have been terribly discriminated against in obamacare. The government has picked winners and losers. Obamacare includes 900 billion worth of subsidies over ten years for the major commercial health insurers. The union health plans are not eligible and are being frozen out of that market by government picking winners and losers. It is a mistake. Thank you. Our next question is from tonys zimmer. Candid it Tom Macarthur first. What policy should the federal government pursue to and brevard nations economy please discuss the federal governments responsibility for addressing growing economic disparity across economic income groups and also include an increase. Macarthur thank you. I believe this touches on the most important element of this campaign, the economy. The economy is the bedrock, the foundation of so much else that we will talk about and have talked about tonight. In the basic Building Block of the economy is jobs. This government is pursuing policies right now that are killing job creation. We have 8 Million People as of a few weeks ago that have dropped out of the search for a job and despair. 7 Million People are stuck in parttime jobs command we have millions still unemployed complete. And there are things there is no silver bullet, but there are concrete to make immediate things that this government can do to improve and foster job creation. A few weeks ago i issued a jobs report. Pretty comprehensive. It is on my website. And a call for action across various Industries Like Infrastructure Investment as an example or things that can be done in health care or important things to pinscher venture continued and growing employment. There are things the government can do in every industry that would help with job creation. One quick example in infrastructure, dedicated, stable source of funding is essential if were going to have the Highway Trust Fund that can create Infrastructure Projects and put people to work like the Union Members have endorsed me. We must pursue those policies. And i believe that is what will lift up and create opportunity for people that are really struggling to then. Thank you. Belgard there are many ways we should bolster our economy. First, i think that Small Businesses are the backbone to the economy. We should look to increase the access that Small Businesses have to capital so that we can encourage Small Businesses not only to start out but to move forward and to grow. I think that we need to reduce the tax burden on Small Businesses, give them a double tax credit for their star of cost. Also, make sure that Small Business loans are accessible and available to them. I would agree that i think that we need to make sure that we are investing in infrastructure, which is so critical. With regard to the joint space, this is an absolute economic engine here in south jersey with 40,000 jobs right on the base and an additional 60,000 indirect jobs related to the base. I am very familiar with this having grown up in south jersey and served as an honorary commander. We absolutely need an advocate for the basin washington. It is something and have advocated for and we will continue to advocate for in washington d. C. As far as the minimum wage, there is no doubt that we need to increase the minimum wage. With regard to women alone twothirds of people on minimum wage a woman. These are people who are trying to make ends meet and put meals on the table for their families. So by increasing the minimum wage we can bolster the economy for women and for their families. With regard to women we need to make sure that women are being paid fairly, that theyre being paid equally to their male counterparts. To you want to respond . I do want to respond. On the help smallbusiness, it is essential. Small business is a mainstay of employment in this country, and as somebody who has had the privilege of creating thousands of jobs, i have some understanding of the decisions i made as a ceo based upon tax policy and regulatory policy. My opponents was a local elected official in as will our park. She voted for a resolution to put a jobs tax and speaks tonight about wanting to help Small Businesses grow but voted for a tax on Small Business. I have never heard of anything like that the local level. On top of on hundred shes a middleclass she voted to tax certain businesses every time they hired a new employee. I dont understand how that helps Small Business. Moderator would you like to respond . Belgard i will just mention, i have seen how Small Businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Again, i think we need to make sure that we are working for Small Businesses so that they can continue grow and so that we can encourage the startup of Small Businesses. And as i outlined some of the ideas with regard to access to capital, reduction of fees on Small Businesses, these are always that we can help Small Businesses right here in the Third District. As small housekeeping know. And someone left a handbag and outside the building. If that is yours it is there. All right. The next question, and the order will be candid it Aimee Belgard first. Please discuss your ideas for overhauling u. S. Immigration policy. In your response, please address the issue of seeking access to Higher Education and the current influx of miners. Belgard so, i think that we have seen an obviously recently especially in the news the problems of we are having with immigration in this country come immigration issues, especially with minors. But we have also see it here in the Third District. As i mentioned a moment ago, my husband is a smallbusiness owner. Asine in my own life for he has lost jobs because of companies and were able to outbid him because there were using illegal workers. So you know, as i talk to people throughout the district hear similar stories. It is something that is to be addressed by making sure that we have secure borders. Now, i am not for amnesty. I am for a tough but fair tattoos up at the citizenship which would include making sure that those who are in line are at the front of the line, making sure that folks who are criminals are sent home, making sure that folks who want a path to citizenship are paying their back taxes. I also think the important thing to look at is here in the Third District where we have a large veteran population, where we have veteran immigrants who want a path to citizenship, put them to the front of the line as well which is a unique position here for the Third District. These are all different elements that can be weve been to this problem, but the problem right now is that we have got legislators were not even willing to talk about it, are not even going to come to the table and negotiate. And that is what is broken. We need to get our legislators talking about these problems so that we can work to resolve the immigration problem. Thank you. We have a major immigration problem. The sixth highest population of undocumented illegal emigrants in the country. It is hard to believe we are not a border state, but we do. I have laid out my position for many months now on immigration. We will sound familiar to you. Tough but fair, returning criminals to their country of origin, payment of back taxes. If you go to my website you will find that. If you go to ms. Aimee belgard website you will find the word immigration. It is not even on our website. She just gave you my position from my website which i think is kind of interesting. [laughter] i also believe this president when he chased policies issued or homing signal to Central America that has brought on the crisis we are experiencing right now. And we must address Border Security first and foremost. That has to be the starting point for anything, any policy. Our also like to ask ms. Ms. Aimee belgard how she feels about in state tuition. I did not hear her mention that. I would be interested if she is willing to answer how she feels by granting institution to children that are here illegally. Moderator would you like or about zero . And there is no necessity to answer a question. booktv im fine. Moderator we will now proceed. Gun Safety Measures the you would support, discuss in general your thoughts on the need for greater gun safety in the u. S. Macarthur my starting point is i believe americans have a Second Amendment right to defend themselves, their family, their property without relying upon the state. And that is the starting point for me. I do believe that we need to work with Law Enforcement and with Mental Health advocates to make sure that guns to not end up in the hands of criminals and those that are mentally unstable. New jersey has among the most stringent gun control laws in the country today. I believe enforcing existing laws and not adding new ones is a better approach. Thank you. Belgard so i fully understand and appreciate the Second Amendment. My husband actually owns guns. But as a mother i feel that it is about gun safety. So while i and a stand that there are sports menu use guns and want to protect their homes with guns, i think we all would agree that we need to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and out of the hands of folks with Mental Health issues. And i think that there are ways that we can look to further address this. Making sure that we are keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, we are also keeping them out of the hands of the seven convicted of dusting violence issues. We need to make sure that we are closing loopholes at gun shows and we need to make sure that we are that we have background checks. Again, this is an issue that needs further addressing, as we have seen some of the tragedies that have happened recently across our nation, even most recently the incident in arizona with the young are from new jersey, nine years old who killed her gun instructor with the newsy. This 9yearold girl is never going to be able to return to the life that she once had. So again, it is about gun safety and making sure that we have measures in place to keep gun safe. Thank you. Okay. All other questions, dont have to give the names. This first question will begin with candid it Aimee Belgard on Social Security. Do you believe changes need to be made to Social Security to make it more secure . I think of Social Security as a promise that we have made to our senior generation. These are benefits. And i am not in favor of changing or privatizing Social Security. In that think that there are ways that we can work to foster Social Security going forward. Again, coming back to bolstering the economy, when he looked at minimum wage, just raising the minimum wage can add over 4 billion to Social Security by 2016. Equal pay for women could decrease the shortfalls of Social Security by onethird. So there are a multitude of different options and ways that we can increase Social Security going for a rather than changing it. I am not in favor of pushing the goalposts down the field and changing the age or reneging on our promises. Again, we are smart nation. We need to talk about ways of keeping our promises to our older generation. Thank you. Social security is a promise that must be kept. Particularly for those that are nearing or in retirement , people have bet their whole lives around this. And it must be preserved for them. First and foremost the fix for this is to improve the economy, create jobs. Social security was set up as a system where todays generation of workers supports todays generation of retirees. In the problem is because we have a baby boomer generation moving into retirement and so many people out of work were stuck in parttime jobs, Social Security is under tremendous stress. First and foremost, we have got to get the economy working again with jobs. If that is not enough, then we can look at people my daughters age that are just entering the workforce and see if there are amendments and changes that might make sense. But my hope would be most of the stress would be removed by getting america working in. Thank you. The next question will begin with their candid. The question is fracking, where you stand on fracking, particularly the transport of waste through your jersey . Macarthur we dont do fracking in new jersey because we dont have a shell the pauses here to do it. In general, i think it is something that should be explored. It is a way to extract more natural gas, and we should be doing that safely. With regard to the transport of chemicals from one state to another, i believe that is an issue for those states new jersey does permit waste coming from pennsylvania into new jersey today, and those are decisions that people closest to the voter are making. Not localbus state elected officials, and that is where it should be made. Thank you. Belgard i am concerned given that we dont even know the processes that are used in the chemicals that are used in the process. I think it is something that needs to be more transparent i also think that there are other alternatives that are safer and cleaner that can be explored. Mentioned a couple of earlier. Solar, wind, geothermal options. And i would agree, we dont have shale here in new jersey. I believe our legislature has even banned fracking in new jersey. But our neighbors to the west, its obviously an issue and one of concern for people who are worried about their health and welfare. As i mentioned to my thing more transparency is needed in the process. That think we need to look at different alternatives. This question begins with candidate Aimee Belgard. Do you feel their is a need for the federal government to further stabilize the financial position . Belgard i think that the conservatism is like a bad rock, an American Institution. It is not like one. It is an American Institution command we need to make sure our Postal Service remains solvent moving forward, especially here in the Third District where we have such a Large Population of seniors that are relying on getting their mail six days a week whether further medication or even to make sure that they are seeing a postal person on a daily basis. A kind of end up checking in on the. So again, it is an american bedrock here in the United States, and we need to continue to maintain it, the delivery of some one star home. Moderator can visit Tom Macarthur. Macarthur i am happy to report that candid its Aimee Belgard and i agree on an issue this evening care for the next question will begin with candid its Tom Macarthur. Do you believe the law should represent Marriage Equality . Belgard i believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. In it that challenges to reconcile those two, to make sure that people are treated equally under law. I did not believe the definition of marriage should be changed. Moderator thank you. Candidates Aimee Belgard . Belgard i believe in Marriage Equality. I think this is a civil rights issue and have spoken about it. When my colleague and i put forth the revolution to the governor manage equality legislation. You know what kind of think that it is for legislators to decide who can love each other and you can be buying each others hospital bedsides. True civil rights issues, and i believe people should be able to love each other and be married. I do want to be clear when i speak about equal under law, some of that you just alluded to, for example visitation rights in hospitals and certain legal rights, things were rented in new jersey under other institutions. And those elements to my take on more importance. The next question begins with candid Aimee Belgard. Social security. Would you or would you not recognize making some changes . Thank you. So i dont recommend making any sensitive changes to our medicare system. Again, this is another promise that has been made to folks. We have seen through this current budget that was passed by the house this year dramatic changes to medicare. You know, i think there are to reach that can be made to make sure that medicare remains solvent. For example, some of the Prescription Drug negotiation that happened with medicaid, lets look at using knows for medicare to make give more solvent and affordable. I am certainly not in favor of reducing or in any way changing medicare benefits to our seniors. Again, and a promise that has been made and that must be kept. Macarthur i am concerned about changes that have been made, the 700 million of obamacare took out of medicare to support obamacare concerns me and will affect the quality of care to seniors overtime. I also have been, as i have tried to as i prepare a jobs plan, which i mentioned earlier, when industry by industry. When it came to health care i visited six hospitals, one for the Health Institutes of the jersey, the Burlington County medical society, host of others. And i was asking, what is the of four will care act in the medicare changes doing to you . And that is covered our hospitals in particular are being hammered by medicare changes. Will just mention to. One is there readmission role. If you go to the hospital and are released, if you go back for any reason within a certain amount of time you dont get paid as a hospital somebody can be in for an illness and a week later they break their leg. When they are readmitted the hospital does not get paid. There is also what is called fraud, on the companys that are allowed to era reclaim moneys that hospitals have been paid under medicare. They did not have to prove their case. They simply say, you have been overpaid by ex. They get to take it as an offset. An anonymous glass to fight to get it back. The hospitals wind nearly 80 percent of the time, but it takes them years to get that money dividend am greatly concerned about the stress that is placing on hospitals. Under obamacare as well the deductibles are so i and hospitals are being saddled from bad debt by people who cant afford to pay their bills with in those deductibles. These things do need attention. Hospital systems are under stress. Thank you can get it. Belgard i would agree. These are issues that do need to be addressed. Unfortunately we have a congress right now that refuses to do that. We need to bring folks together so that we can continue. Then dollar received as. Not just the legislators, but as you mentioned the folks from the Hospital System and the medical profession so that we can fix these issues such as the we are making sure our seniors in getting the utmost care and the most efficient and effective voice. A couple of manse. A question, since you mentioned it, segue into would. Why do you think this is so and what can we do to changes . Macarthur the president s Approval Rating is terrible. Congress is even worse. One of the prairies is i am running for this office is that congress is at a total impasse. People stuck in their camps and willing to Work Together , and i believe the answer is for people who can Work Together to be in congress. That is the bedrock of building a business. That is how we grow. We have to Work Together. We have to work sometimes of companies that we might want to acquire, competition in the marketplace. It is one of the things i am most proud of in this campaign, getting endorsements from business groups like the u. S. Chamber of commerce, the National Federation of independent business in at the same time getting endorsements from labor unions like the carpenters, the laborers, the operating engineers and others because they often dont get along. And yet they agree that i am somebody that can help them create jobs and do the things that are important to them. We absolutely have to have congressmen and women that have a demonstrated ability to work with other people. Moderator thank you. Kendis Aimee Belgard. Belgard thank you. Congress is an absolute mess, and that is exactly why am running, to use the skills i have learned, whether as a volunteer with the American Cancer Society to my skills in negotiating as an attorney, even the skills that i have gained as a Burlington County freeholder where i worked across the aisle with our republican colleagues. I am not there to argue for the sake of arguing. I am perfectly willing to agree with my republican colleagues and they ever get idea. I used to say when i was running for free all there, one of my favorite quotes is that the benjamin franklin. If everyone is thinking alike nobody is thinking. Its really believe that sometimes you can bring divergent views together and come up with something even better. That is a great thing. Right now congress has lost sight of that. Theres so set in their ways, digging their heels in the ground, not willing to listen to folks on the other side of the aisle or even think about the fact that they might have a good idea. And i am willing to do that. I have done it as a Burlington County freeholder and will in congress and do it in representing the struggling middle class. Our veterans, are seniors, you know, the hardworking people of the Third District. Macarthur i would like to respond. Think the proof is in the pudding, and in order to work with other people in congress you have to be willing sometimes to stand a threeroom party. You cant be bought storebought peabody have to be willing to stand for what you believe in. I have to go back i have to go back ted eck, two of which have come off the air because there were so defamatory and dishonest. And as said this before, campaigns are interesting. It put candid its under pressure and then they put you under a microscope. And under that pressure and that microscope Aimee Belgard could not disavow the ads that her handlers in washington and put up on the air, even after they had to take them down to still would not say dishonesty has no place in the campaign. I dont know how you work in congress if he cant even do it in a campaign. Moderator one minute response. Belgard thankyou. I like the you have brought up that disavow your party because i think that is. And as a have said throughout this campaign in continue to maintain, i am not about the label. It is not about being a democrat or republican. It is about working for the people, and that is what have exhibited, whether it was in at a water park where i voted against my party because i thought it was the right thing to do or as a Burlington County freeholder when i worked with the opposite party because i think it was the right thing to do. That is what we need more of. It is about collaboration, and that is what i absolutely pride myself on. Moderator thank you. Next question. We will begin with candidate Aimee Belgard. It is about taxes. A lot of news about american corporations adjusting themselves in a legal position, overseas are something so that they can avoid paying taxes in america. At the stand . Belgard we have seen it most recently with the potential losing burger king in another the president has spoken now with regard to taxing in version. And i think it is unfortunate that burger king has a right to this but something that absolutely must be addressed. You know, again, i have talked about that i dont like to see yes Incentivizing Companies that a shipping jobs overseas, but i also dont want to see us losing Companies Like burger king and others and losing the benefits of having those companies year. While it is unfortunate that it has been brought to light to my am glad it has been brought to the table so that we can work to Keep Companies right here and incentivize them to stay right here in the United States. Moderator thank you. Candid its Tom Macarthur. Macarthur in verses are a problem. Companies that want to be overseas. The problem is our tax code. Our tax cut does incentivizes or incentivizes sometimes the wrong behavior. That is so we have to look at. Our tax cut is to be simple, flat, and lowered. I also want to talk for a moment about foreign earnings. Mentioned how important Infrastructure Investment was earlier for job creation. In the question as to how we pay for that . U. S. Companies with foreign operations as we sit here tonight have trillions of dollars sitting overseas. They do not bring it back because it will be taxed a second time if they do. And so it sits over there and i know from my business experience it frequently gets invested in foreign infrastructure. That money could do a world of good. It could create tens of thousands, hundreds of thousand jobs if it was brought back,. If the estimate is maybe 4 trillion overseas. What if a train of it came back . Seventeen and a half trillion dollar economy, what if another trillion dollars goes back in the United States . In my a experience capital is what creates jobs. Investment is what creates jobs. And we need to make our tax code sensible. It is common sense to me that we have to adjust the tax code that is driving u. S. Companies to do the kinds of things that theyre doing today. Moderator okay. Our next question will begin with candidate Tom Macarthur. A very simple question. Detailed questions. Could not have been born here. Raise your from my very young age. Macarthur i do believe that there should be a path to citizenship. Were not going to deport 11 Million People that are here illegally. Were not going to break up families. There has to be a path. Similar to what we talked about earlier. Immigration policy has to start with strong borders, and then people that have not committed crimes, if they pay back taxes, if they learn english then, i think, you create a path for them. Meanwhile, you created ability for them to work. I hear that all over this district. They want people that are here to have an ability to work because they need that. With regard to children in institutions, i will answer my own question. I dont believe that children that are here illegally should get in state tuition. In that do not believe we should do it because for every child here illegally that goes to a state school with in state tuition, there is another child who is here illegally you cant. Colleges have limits of how many students there will take at the lower instate tuition. So every time we favor the child of someone here illegally were punishing the child of somebody that is here illegally, and i dont think its right. I have compassion to my genuinely have compassion for the socalled dreamers, but there are consequences. Their parents have them here illegally, and one of the consequences is, i dont think they should get the same institution has the citizens of the state. Moderator thank you. Belgard thank you. Children are really the victim of circumstances here. As a mother is heartbreaking to me to see this situation of some of these children. And, you know, i cannot imagine tearing families apart. Some of these children dont know any other country because they came here from such a young age. And to send them back to a country where they might not even know the language of the culture. So it is about keeping families together. And that think that we do that through a pass to citizenship like was discussed before, but making sure that we are protecting these children who really are the innocent victims of circumstance next question will begin with candidate bill guard. We talked about an education question. All citizens have the ability im sorry, wrong question. Please discuss with you believe should be the role of the federal government in providing quality Public Education . Specific committed to some specifics on that. I am the product of Public Education. And both of my children are publicly educated. They are in fourth and seventh grade now. And i have seen first hand in my own School District some of the difficulties the schools are facing elementary and middle schools in the past year lost their libraries. So schools are facing a very difficult position right now. As we all know, schools are really more local in nature, but i think that we need to make sure that we dont have cuts to things like head start programs and things like that that we have seen in the budget that Congress Passed this year. Make sure that schools are continuing to get federal resources that they need to be successful. I think when you talk about education we also need to look at Higher Education. We have seen the budget that was passed by congress, huge cuts to programs which were absolutely stifling our students looking to go into college and Higher Education. I talked about how i think that we need to make sure that we are investing in education here in this country. Again, looking to reallocate funds, whether it is from money that is being given to big oil are money that is being shipped overseas. Again, and education is the foundation here in the United States to be able to stay a part of the Global Market and a global economy. I had the opportunity to hear a story recently, young man who got his medical degree, did everything he was supposed to do, got a great job in new york city but could not actually get a lease on an apartment because he was so encumbered by loans. That is terrible. I also the product of Public Education, as are my children. My youngest is a senior haskell. And i see education primarily as a local and state function. I believe that is where it needs to be shipped the most i am concerned to the most of failing School Districts. I think in those districts parents and students have to have other options. No child should be trapped in a failing School District teacher tenure reform, very, very critical. I think that the federal government can play a supportive role, but i do not think it should take over education. With regard to Higher Education there are things could and should take place. Student loan rates are too high and cannot be refinanced. Students are graduating with debt that is choking out their ability to make a living. There could be tax credits, should be tax credits for Higher Education costs, the federal government should invest more indication of schools so that students can graduate with less debt, with the skills for the jobs that are available to them instead of graduating from college is sometimes with greater debt into a job market that cannot higher than. And so i think vacation schools are a key area where the federal and state governments should be investing. This is the foundation for our future economy, having a welleducated work force. Part of the education in the secondary education overview. The importance of county colleges here in burlington and the ocean county, we have some gems. Having been a Burlington County freeholder reckon speak to this. Not only as sometimes a jumpstart to other college or university institutions, for example in Burlington County where we parted with Drexel University carters, and stockton as well. But also, they are a resource for folks who are having difficult times, whether folks who have been laid off are looking for a new career, they can come and learn new skills. So i think that we need to look at the federal government investing in these sorts of institutions like county colleges. The next question will begin with candidate macarthur. More specifically on veterans, what kind of programs you would like to enact or have Congress Enact . Well, what has happened to our veterans is a tragedy the way they have been treated under the Veterans Administration is a national scandal. It is beginning to get this fixed, but there is a good deal more attention and work that needs to be done. One of the areas in my jobs plan dealt specifically with veterans, and there are a number of things that we can do. Congress shamefully allowed the returning veterans tax credit to expire. The Wounded Warrior tax credit expired. These give incentives to employers to hire veterans and make use of the skill set that they have learned. I think that is essential still in office just over in pennsylvania. Would reach out to him because i know he has been instrumental in working with the Veterans Affairs department to try to rectify some of the problems. I think we also need to make sure that we are filling our promises to our veterans and making sure that they have access to education after they have served in to good jobs. A lot of our veterans have partnered with the u. S. Postal service and others to mumbo we need to make sure that our veterans who, again , have put everything on the line for us are able to not only get the care that they need but also good jobs that can help them continue to put food on their tables after they have done everything for us. I just want to expand on one thing, something that i firmly support. And that was a recent action that allows veterans if they have to travel more than 40 miles away more than 30 days for care at a veterans facility that there would be able to go to a physician of their choice. Think that is important. I also dont understand why we dont have the veterans boss the of veterans hospital. We knew it when near the joint base. We have the largest veterans population in the state. We have one of the largest in the country. One of the Largest Military communities in the country right here in the middle of the joint base. We should have a facility here in this district that will create jobs building it, running it, and most importantly serve our veterans. I would agree that the recent passage by washington of legislation allowing more veterans to seek medical attention if they are 40 miles or more away from facility is a step in the right direction, but i do have concerns that veterans might not get some of the specialized care in facilities that are not. Because despite the claims problems, and they do have the ability to make sure that there are special treatments, for example, ptsd victims and others. It is a step in the right direction but a problem we need to continue to work on and expand on going forward. Moderator thank you peter very specific question from the audience, and we begin with candidate belgard do you support legislation to raise the federal minimum wage or howdy stand . Belgard i do support legislation, and i think pam mentioned it earlier. I think that this is an issue that is long overdue in this country. As i mentioned earlier, there are about twothirds of the people on minimum wage right now are women. Folks who are trying to put food on the table for their families, get their kids to school in the morning, trying to make a fair wage for their family. In a there are other benefits to it. Like an mentioned earlier. Raising the minimum wage alone could reduce the shortfall in Social Security by onethird. Right now we have a congress that is not even willing to address this issue of. So absolutely can i think that raising the minimum wage has to be part of the discussion and part of the economic package moving forward in this country. Thank you. Macarthur yes. I have a bit of a different view on the minimum wage. I believe it is best done at the state level. Have never understood how federal minimumwage can cover rural alabama in suburban new jersey at the same time. In that thing state minimum wages are much more responsive to local constituencies. New jersey, for example, has ironman always in the federal and it is being raised again soon by constitutional amendment. I also want to see people move off of minimum wage. We dont have time to cover a whole another session, so we would move toward closing remark. We did a coin toss. Well, thank you again for everyone who came out and joined us taking her time in to be here and be a part of the process tonight. It has been a really big pleasure to be here this evening and as i mentioned earlier this evening, i am from south jersey and my interest in going to congress is to serve the people that i grew up with, whether it is the hardworking middle class