News source present debate for the state the u. S. Senate candidate perjury or moderators glory fountain and mike ross. Semacodes near point thank you for joining us for debate for the state. Recovering to you live from Alaska Public Media. Im gonsolin. And im Laurie Townsend and we will pose a series of questions to the two major candidates for u. S. Senate. Republican senator dan sullivan and democratic nominee independent doctors al gross who is in the studio and senator sullivan is joining us from away from washington d. C. Welcome to both of r you. As you might have noticed we are having some technical complications with this setup so if you hear a screech every once in a while gross has an earpiece so he can hear what mr. Sullivan has to say. You will notice we are all distanceez in the studio because of the pandemic. We are taking precautions and we feature video questions from rural alaska and one young alaskan. Tune in to Facebook Live immediately after this program for debate analysis. All questions and answers will be timed greatest single bill bill will signal 10 seconds left in the bell will ring twice when the times is up or the candidas will have the opportunity to ask a question of each other during the debate. Candidates will start with a one minute Opening Statement for the starting order would determine was determined earlier by coin toss. Dr. Gross your one minute Opening Statement please. Thank you to Alaska Public Media hand ktuutv noibi for tuning in. I am al gross and im a lifelong alaskan. Im an independent. So doctor ive listened to do and taking care of people all the way up to no attack and is a commercial fisherman ive worked from ketchikan to bristol bay put alaskans deserve to have a senator that they can trust and we cant trust dan sullivan. But just as i will take coverage away from. Existing conditions and hurting alaska from his support to the billiondollar Family Company doing direct business with the communist government of china bridge night youll hear dance a lot about schumer and pelosi but thats absurd. Im an alaskan mmr is going to put alaska first. Unlike damato plan to be covid into Lower Health Care costs and. New jobs. Get ready for a doctor a butcher state over politics. We have apologize for the screeching. Senator sullivan if you can hear us you get one minute. Thank you and good evening alaska britisher senator we will gets things done first and we have. Cleaning up arsons and protecting preexisting conditions and addressing Critical Issues like Public Safety and Domestic Violence. Now we face new challenges with covid19 from the pandemic for healthes care workers and Small Businesses keeping our citizens healthier remains critical and so does building a strong economic cover in more jobs for brighter future. My opponent and i have very different visions for alaska but im focused on building on the support we have made for jobs and opportunity. My opponent is a d. C. Politician with an antialaska position that will shut down our economy just like they have done before peak heat that in mind. Thank thank you. Thank you for those Opening Statements. Youre starting out tonight with a question from the headlines. Senator sullivan he rejected the idea of approving president obamas u. S. Supreme Court Nominee in 2015 because it was an Election Year that you are okay with the supreme Court Nominee advancing now. Why doesnt the same rule apply here quick one minute. And 2016 i mentioned the future direction of the Supreme Court was at stake and it was because we had a white house and the senate that were different parties. The people of alaska and the people spoke in 2016 electing a president in the senate at the same party in the principle and precedent that we have a party at the same white house and senate during an Election Year could typically a nomination for the serum cream court and the president are split. I think judge barrett is an outstanding justice for the u. S. Supreme court. She is somebody who is focused on the 2nd amendment and someone who is focused on limiting the power of federal agencies and i think shes going to be someone who will focus on making sure alaska has the right future. Im proud to be supporting her in the next couple of days. Dr. Gross if youre gross if your elected way supports expanding the u. S. Supreme court as some democrats in congress have called for and you have one minute for your response. Said i would not support packing the court but i understand there are concerns about the balance of the court but we need to work within the system to make the system better. Dan sullivan is showing complete lack of honesty and integrity. Four years ago he talked about the principles not the person. Washingtonut about two confirm r justice and strip away preexisting conditions a womans right to choose and have government tier apart the aca. I dont support that and i do not support packing the courts. C thank you. Turning our attention to the pandemic. Mr. Sullivan the present has been trying to put together covid relief problem but so far as fail to doge so. Why the most most important elements you think should be included in the next round of relief and you have one minute. C you may have seen a week before on the republican side of bill that i talk to many alaskans about and what they thought the top priority was. Our billny has none of these. For businesses that had 100 billion for schools and for childcarel and of course for hospitals. If you think all the revisions of the bill were bipartisan ive spoken to a number of democratic friends in the problem is i am looking for targeted relief. Senators these are different times. Schumer and pelosi are sitting with all or nothing with the heroes bill that gives billions of dollars. My opponent supports the heroes bill. It will be really problematic for the state of alaska. On the same topic dr. Gross you criticize cares act spending saying most bills are up for compromise. Would youf upload against the package because they are lemons you didnt like and what would he have done different . One minute for your response. I would have read the bill and i would have seen that alaskasr history that twice as much is at washington d. C. Valley. If you fail to bring the money back to the state your oversight on the ambiguous language in the bill , the Alaska Native Corporation is 160 million. Our fishermen produce 60 of the nation seafood. Weio only got 15 of the cares t money destined for the country but thats only twice as much as the washington scene d. C. Ballet. The covid youve been dishonest with the American People from the start. You knew was such an dangerous disease and you fail to deliver to alaska. What i did for the senate was i read thee, bill a lot more carefully than he did not fight a lot harder for alaskans to make sure we get we what we deserve. We want to give our candidates a chance for rebuttal. Mr. Sullivan would he like to respond to that . Sure id like to respond toe, that. This bill has. 114,000 jobs in alaska and Small Businesses. Thats an insult to the families who knew their relief. I got in there and its interesting when you talk about the Alaska Native Corporation the heroes act which you support has a complete discrimination provision and would clawback any money hundreds of millions of dollars. There are special considerations regarding cares act relief for rural alaska may be questioned from henry hunter senior. I [laughing] tribes have received care act funding but there are so many restrictions and deadlines. How will youdi work with congres to ensure that our tribes receive extension to ensure thesee funds are given to the people in need . Sullivan one minute for your response please. I really appreciate the question for the cares act had an aide to lionel or tribal relief fund. The senator and i worked hard to make that happen. We made sure on the language that all of alaska natives recovered again my opponent said only certain should be covered in hundreds of millions to go to the lower 48 or thats a ridiculous position that i dont think any alaskans support. The question is a very valid one. And i the bill that we put flora on the senate floor there are flexibilities to extend the deadline in which the cares act money has to be into september of next year. Was something i heard from alaskans and something in the current bill. I certainly hope we can get that on the bill as we continue to negotiate a compromise on this. To focus on rural alaska i would give ann additional 100 million for ihs are native hospitals who can play such a Critical Role during this pandemic. Dr. Gross if your response. We have too many restrictions associated with the original cares act with respect to how could be used and how it had to be tied to covid. You are 100 right when i get to the senate bill make sure thats not the problem when i signed the next build of my opponent of course, not a good advocate for people in rural alaska like yourself. When he first came to alaska he fought against the katie john case breehey in his office were disrespectful to when he was arrested outside of his office. Hes been enabling the pebble mine which threatens the rural subsistencesu program he has failed to address the high rate of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault thatss gone up during his term and not down in a. To strip away the medicaid bill which was chronically underfunded. Senator sullivan republicans have repeatedly said they want to do away with the Affordable Care act yet havent yet presented a plan to replace it. Do you have a viable replacement plan and if so what does it do . Do you have one minute. First of all my own it has no good ability. You may have seen he charged 2. 5 million working through his week is a doctor and hes admitted fleecing alaskans and i want everybody to take a look at gross pay. Com talking about how he did that and its really incredible to see as unethical behavior is a doctor. Hes also for from medicare for all which i completely oppose. What we are focused on is keeping the best parts of the Affordable Care act like her existing conditions which we still have covered john and i voted to protect numerous numerous times and getting rid of the other elements of the Affordable Care act the individual mandate the cadillac tax which would have really hurt aspects. We are at a crossroads. We are either going to have more government control for socialized medicine which i or the patient is going to have the power. I want to followup. Your campaign ads say you will always protect preexisting conditions. How wed be able to do that if the Supreme Court or appeals the Affordable Care act and you have one minute. Its as question for me . Yes. Your campaign ad said you always protect preexisting conditions but how wed be able to do that if the Supreme Court or appeals the Affordable Care act . Do you have one minute. Some of the Supreme Court is looking at the issue of severability. Thats the issue of under the individual mandate that is unconstitutional but the whole aca. Its quite unlikely. Its unlikely to be a separate provision in the Affordable Cares act and therefore the rest ofof the aca would stay intact including coverage for preexisting conditions. The Supreme Court has said Justice Roberts said the justices look for ways to protect the constitutionality of statutes. I think its unlikely the whole Affordable Care act will fall. If it did im a cosponsor of whats called the protect act. We moved to vote on the protect act over the last three weeks. Chuck schumer my opponent has pledged allegiance to have filibustered that in the last three weeks so in the unlikely event that is not severable we would pass the out the with preexisting coverage and thats how we would do it. Was talk about your provision. You said in the Anchorage Daily News into the 2016ou advocated r singlepayer Health Care System and now you are proposing a less comprehensive approach ofu the public option where people can buy into medicare and some their forms. Why did you change your plan from beers ago . First of all actors fund to my point. Ive never once supported medicare for all but the elimination of the private Health Care System. Ive studied and written about the high Health Care Costs want to get to the senate i will be the doctor against the public of option across the finish line and dan its not that they make three to five times more than my peers raise charge less than my peers. Health care costs are three to five times higherlt in alaska tn they are in the lower 48 so i dont support medicare for all that you on the other hand have posted this many times to repeal the ap and get rid of coverage for preexisting conditions. You dont understand health care. You understand how it relates to the alaskan economy and you are just in washington d. C. Right now and youre about to add a Supreme Court justice is going to add more problems for america. My question was about your position just three years ago we dedicated publicly in the newspaper and anchorage for a government run singlepayer Health Care System. Not only did you change that to a buyin for medicare. Why the change in position on this click. As i said ive written about medicare for all that ive written about singlepayers and ive written and spoken about dueling programs with the public system in the private system and when i get the United States senate as a policy for alaska and our country is to have a public option where individuals and Small Businesses can buy into medicare at no one elses expense and thats what would work best for alaska and their country. Simina to followup on my original question where does private insurance fit into those . One of the criticisms of the aca is people want the ability to keep their private policies and pick and choose what coverage they wanted. We have a Health Care Exchange with private insuranceo am option in the public option on the exchanges will to compete with the o private system. Many people dont want to switch but there a lot of angelos olsons malt this is his in the state and their country have been pressed by the high cost of health care. Buying into medicare will cost a fraction of what it cost to buy into the private system and medicare covers preexisting conditions by the way. I think it will be a way to. Competition in the marketplace and keep down the cost of the private system. I thank you for that but lets turn to the topic of Resource Development. Senator sullivan you said you intendndyo to make sure allie for remains dead and what specifically do you plan to do to make sure that happens and what can you do to make good on that definitive statement . You have one minute. Glory i want to quickly my opponent can look alaskans in the eye and said he isnt from medicare for all products absolutely false. Look at the public option and look at his oped. You are from medicare for all. Back to Resource Development what ive said with regard to pebble is pebble did not meet the high standards that we have with regard to Resource Development projects. They didnt need it in the Trump Administration and so i am again to me the issue that is an important one there a lot of Resource Development projects and no alaska and if my opponent empowers the hard left i will give you another 30 seconds but im looking for specifics about what you would do to make sure that when you say i promise s to make sure what you can do to make good on that commitment. You have 30 seconds. The entire process was based on science and data not politics and alaskans have access to decisionmaking at the highest level of the federal government and when the decision came out [inaudible] i fully agree with that and i will continue to monitor the corps of engineers process right now and as a mousavi epa where they have people looking for a veto i would encourage that. I made sure the process worked and my opponent criticized it in a campaign as inaccurate. Lets give him one minute to respond. Thank you. No one believes dan for one second that hes been enabling thee pebble mine. Hes accepted 35,000 worth of campaign0 contributions from te pebble mine executives and their subsidiaries. The pebble mines lead lobbyist dans billionaire family board of directors and hes in the back pocket of pebble mine. If you want to stop the pebble mine there are two ways to do a third one is to defund the army corps of engineers and the other is to activate section 404 or c to the clean water act of epa. When it gets of the senate im going to take action to stop the pebble mine instead of dan trying to ride out the election. I propose the pebble mine and i will work hard to stop up when i get to washington d. C. We are going to give senator sullivan another 30 seconds to respond. You have 30 seconds to respond. This is part of my opponents view that in many ways is dangerous. He is now saying hes going to defund the corps of e