Gonzaga university in spokane. I will have the candidates come to the stage now. Thank you for watching. Todays debate is sponsored by the northwest passages Community Event series, league of women voters, public television, and gonzaga university. It is affiliated with the Washington State debate coalition. I am pleased to be here today to moderate this debate between senator patty murray and candidate tiffany smiley. It is a q a format, i will pose a question any candidate will have 90 seconds to answer. Each candidate has the opportunity for two rebuttals to the debate. If you use one, feel free to hold up one of the cards you have and i will give you 30 seconds to do that. There will be no counter rebuttals. I also reserve the right to ask followup questions when needed. Ms. Murray won the coin toss and chose to open. The monitor that has the time has been going in and out, but the time is correct and it will come back, so just keep that in mind. So lets get started. There is no formal Opening Statement but i want to start right asking abroad question to focus on your experiences. Ms. Murray, you have a been a washington senator for almost 30 years. Why do you think you are the best candidate for this position . Thank you to the league of women voters for hosting this debate tonight. These have been really challenging times. I grew up in a family with seven kids, my dad was a world war ii veteran and he ran a small store. We had tight budgets. I understand that, so i always fight to make sure we have an economy that works for working families. In the past year and a half, have passed legislation to lower Prescription Drug costs. Ive worked to deliver the largest class tax cut in generations, to lower energy costs, fight Climate Change, and bring manufacturing back here to Washington State. Whether it is getting a v. A. Clinic are making sure spokane has the resources for police and firefighters, i always listen to communities here and fight for our families in washington dc. This is one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime. Womens rights are on the ballot. If you send me back a prochoice in it, i will work to pass my legislation to codify ro into law. Our democracy is on the ballot. I will fight to protect every americans right to vote, and our economy is on the ballot. I will keep fighting to lower costs and make sure your family has a fair shake. Thank you. At 23 years old, i walked into my husbands trauma unit at walter reed medical center. I had student loan debts, i had a car payment. He was in a coma, and that was my First Experience with the bureaucratic government system. My amazing husband is in the audience with us today. Thank god it was a nurse, because i wasnt afraid to take on the government and fight for him. I was going to be there, and unfortunately the suicide car bomber that he was negotiating with in service to our country detonated a car. He will be forever blind. I knew he still had purpose, and a fall for his life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. He came the first become the first blind active duty officer to ever serve our country. I knew i had to go back and make it right for everyone else, so i took on the v. A. I took on the da and we passed meaningful reform for veterans that was so needed. For me, it was truly in that fight that i knew we had so much more to fight for. My opponent works for washington dc, she is the image of big government. Washington state deserves better. Congress has tried and failed to fast comprehensive Immigration Reform for decades. Would you support a bill that increases Border Security as well as provide a legal pathway to citizenship for immigrants . We know that china is pumping the components of fitness lacrosse our southern border. It is in Washington State. It is also in our schools. It is killing our kids. One pill will kill our kids here in Washington State. I went to the southern border to see it for myself. I talked to Law Enforcement officers down there, and they said our number one roadblock to solving these problems is washington dc. I dont know of my opponent has been down to the southern border but i went down because i know how important it is to Washington State. We have got to secure our border and stop the flow of fennel that is coming across and killing our kids. The flow of fentanyl that is coming across and killing our kids. We can make sure that title 42 remains in place, ensure that our Border Patrol agents have every resource they need to secure our border, with technology and resources. Career politicians like to use immigration as a political wedge when it comes to immigration when it comes to election time david i will secure our border and ensure there is a pathway to legal citizenship in our country. Let me say, i have been to the border. I went to the border with the trump administration, and my opponent has said she would like his endorsement. The Trump Presidency was separating children from their mothers at the southern border, and i went not with the photographer, i went with a pediatrician, to go make sure that kids who were separated from their parents had the care they need. Our immigration system today, which is what you asked about, is not working for anyone. It is not working for our service industry, its not working for our hightech companies who are trying to attract new people here, to develop jobs here in the United States. We have to fix our immigration system. I have voted for and work for changing our immigration system to make sure we allowed pat to citizenship, that we find our Border Patrol and customs agents in a good way, and to make sure that we have a system that works for those who are seeking asylum. Why do we have that . Because republican stopped it from happening. They now use immigration during every election to score political points and have refused to come back to the table. We cant let this be a political fight anymore. We need to work to find solutions. It is important for our economy, it is important for humanitarian reasons, and it is important because we are country of immigrants, and we can do better than this. Nations around the world are experiencing high inflation in the wake of the covid 19 pandemic, as well as rising gas prices worsened by the worn ukraine. It is no different than what is happening in the United States right now. What should congress do to address rising costs . In every community i know, families are struggling. I know what that feels like. I have been very focused on lowering costs for families, as we get through this Global Challenge that we are facing. I have worked to lower Prescription Drug costs. In the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest reduction and Prescription Drugs we have ever seen, allowing medicare to negotiate for lower prices, capping 35 for insulin, making sure that families have extension of the aca so they can get lower costs for insurance. We passed a bill to make sure that we are lowering energy costs. If we move to a Clean New Energy program and we lower our costs, that will help every families pocketbook. I am looking at every step we can take to lower costs, including my plan to pass childcare, and we will get that done so families can lower the cost of their childcare, get back to work and help our economy be productive again. That sounds like a washington dc answer to me. I took on washington dc and i won. You have never taken on washington dc, you are washington dc. Senator murray stood with joe biden with the Inflation Reduction Act and said this is going to help us. Dont be deceived by the name, because this isnt coming for me , it is coming from the cbo. It does nothing to combat inflation. In fact it raises taxes on all of us. 87,000 irs agents coming after us. Those making 25,000 or less are five times more likely to be audited by the irs. That is who i am standing up and fighting for. I think it is important that washington families know that senator murray was the deciding vote on the excise tax on natural gas. You will see your energy costs go up. In every room ive been in washington, in all 39 counties, ive listened tooth outer thousands of voters and ask are you in a better place. They say no, we are worse. It is not good use of taxpayers money. I will ensure that we reduce the spending, rain in the outofcontrol spending. I will make sure that 87 thousand irs agents do not come after you and i will permanently extend the 2017 tax cuts of the middle class and get our economy on track. After the Supreme Court overturned roe v. Wade, both parties have talked about crafting a new immigration law. What would you want or not want to see a new abortion law. I think there are good people on both sides of the issue and we need to be able to come into the center of this and acknowledge it. I been clear from the beginning, i oppose the federal abortion been. The Supreme Courts decision gave the power to the people, and that is where i believe it belongs. I respect the will of the voters here in Washington State. What i will do is ensure that women have access to health care, that they have access, and Affordable Access to contraception and childcare. Unlike senator murray, i will get that done for women. When women are in a time of crisis, i want to ensure that they have every resource they need, should they choose to keep their child, that it is not a lack of education. If you had in her way, she would change the will of the voters in Washington State. It would be taxpayerfunded abortion on demand all the way up until birth. Do you believe in any legal limitations to abortion . Dont take it from me, the most recent newsweek article that was out yesterday, senator murray has no right to lecture me are any women in this room or state or country for that matter on how we should be treated, or any of us. She told her National Security advisor that her luck had run out for having two children within two years, and she fired her. Theres a huge difference between me and my opponent on this issue. I believe that every woman should be able to make her own Health Care Choices about her own family, working with her doctor, her faith, and her own needs. This should not be decided by politicians. You just heard my opponent say politicians should decide. I do not agree with that at all. We should not be in a room with people when they are making medical decisions. I hear my opponent over there saying im 100 prolife, dont worry. I got to tell you, i was in the senate, i saw Supreme Court nominees come in front of us and say to us, im prolife, dont worry, and look what happened. They overturned 50 years of precedent and put this country and womens lives in chaos. We have women coming here to Washington State because they cant get reproductive care where they live. We have providers right here in spokane who live in idaho and are worried about the work that they do every day to save lives and help women. They will be arrested when they go home. We have trackers who are following women in this country coming using their phone apps to make sure that they know where they went and when they come home. This cannot be. If you elect me, i will pass my legislation to codify ro into law and put precedent back in place in this country and protect womens right to choose. I set i believe the people should, and i respect the will of the voters here in Washington State. Lets make it very clear, it was a constitutional right that we have under 50 years of precedent. What she said puts politicians in state legislatures could now decide. Politicians in a room with a woman and her family and her face and her doctor making that decision. You both abused rebuttal and you have one more to use throughout the debate. I do want to ask a followup on abortion. You will each have 30 seconds to answer this. Would you favor creating an exception to the filibuster rule to approve improve abortion rights nationwide . I believe that the rules of the senate should allow us when we are making a sit a decision about constitutional rights, whether its a womans right to choose our voters right to make sure their boat is heard at the polls, that is the Voting Rights while. These are rights that americans hold near and dear, and i do not think the rules of the senate should preclude us from codifying them into law. Again, senator murray made it clear that she wants politicians to the side decide this. I believe in respect the will of the voters here in Washington State and if anyone should change it it should be Washington State voters. I just met with the young mother, single mom from the university of washington. She said childcare is so hard to come by. I know what that is like. The filibuster is a longheld rule in the senate that balances the power and is good for our country. I want to move on because we have a lot of other topics to discuss. It has been long running controversy over the snake river dam here in washington. As a senator, how would you balance these competing interests and conversations about the dams and are there any circumstances in which you would support . Reaching them . Growing up on a farm, i understand what farmers do for our economy here in Washington State, for the thirdlargest bag producers in the country, reaching our dams would be detrimental, it would mean more trucks on the road, as well as turning the lights out on every washingtonian. Our dams provide clean hydro energy. Senator murrays typical bureaucrat who went along and flipflopped on the issue. We have technology that protects us. Us to protects our salmon. We need to protect our dams. Senator murray wanted to breach them with no plan to replace that energy at a time when were heading into recession with energy costs going up. Our dams are essential to our economy, to our farmers into our families all over Washington State. Its important to know that salmon is part of our economy, its part of our culture, and part of our tribal obligations. We have a responsibility to solve the declining salmon population. Ive worked hard at the federal level for us here in the Pacific Northwest to make sure we have the resources to do it. Every year i fight for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund that allows us to restore our echo system. He to make sure we have the funds to fix the culvert that often occlude salmon from going back upstream and spawning. We now are starting to rebuild those and thats a critical part of this. Were working make sure we do everything we can to save our salmon. There was a question about whether we should remove some dams. I talked to stakeholders from every part of our state, from utilities to tribes to users of the river, including transportation, and we do not have in place today the resources we need for both resiliency, for energy, or infrastructure, to be able to take them down now. But we do have an obligation to make a plan to do everything we can to replace our energy, to replace or infrastructure, so that if in the future that decision is the one thing that will save our salmon, we are ready to do that. We are not today, but im working hard to make sure that we save our salmon in the Pacific Northwest. In recent months, the january 6 committee made its case for testimony with dozens of republicans, trump aides and officials that former President Trump was personally responsible for the january 6 right. How do you feel about the findings of the committee and how much responsibility to you tribute to trump . I was in the capitol on january 6. I was stuck in my office, i was locked in a room with insurrectionists pounding on my door. I heard what they said. I heard what their goal was. It was to take over a peaceful transfer of power using brute force. I will not ever forget that day. I walked away from a terrifically horrible situation and realized for the first time in my life that our democracy doesnt happen just because you think it is there. Democracy is something we have to fight for. We can never allow brute force to take over our boats or our bar our voices. I will fight everyday to make sure we never allow those people who continued the big lie, including my opponent on her website, the thats where she changed it in july, to question that election, because that sows mistrust and are country for our democracy. It is critical that we hold everyone accountable and never allow our democracy to be taken away. We have to fight for it. Im going to fight for it, and i want our country to know that this is a critical issue in this election. I dont know who gave you that talking point but i have my agenda for political recovery and a form and reform and address this issue which is important to everyone across her country. I think this is on both sides of the aisle. To be clear, we watched january 6 and i had to describe to my husband what was unfolding. It was heartbreaking for us. And those who broke the law should be held to the full extent of our judicial system and our law. But i want to be clear on this, i husband lost his eyesight fighting for our country. He is here at this debate listening to us. He lost his eyesight fighting for democracy, and our family lives that sacrifice every single day. It is certainly why im in this fight as well. So i want to ask, do you believe that me and my family are a threat to democracy . Tell everyone here today, either that or disavow your campaigns dang