The Republican and Democratic candidates for 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 2nd Congressional District met in Willimantic Tuesday night for a debate centering on inflation and rising health care costs, immigration and reproductive rights.
Democrat Joe Courtney, who鈥檚 represented the 2nd District for more than a decade, said the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has raised privacy issues for mothers while also raising concerns from members of the medical industry.
鈥淭he real solution is to restore Roe,鈥� Courtney said. 鈥淧eople want their privacy in terms of how their medical decisions are made between them and their doctor.鈥�
Republican candidate Mike France said he believes abortion access should be a state issue, not a federal one. He said he does not support a total ban on abortion.
鈥淥nce the child is viable, that is a time when we should be not looking to terminate the pregnancy,鈥� he said. 鈥淸But] looking at other alternatives to support the mom as they鈥檙e dealing with these issues.鈥�
Tuesday night鈥檚 debate was hosted by 黑料吃瓜网 in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of 黑料吃瓜网.
Here are some debate highlights:
Inflation: A stubborn issue for Democrats
Wall Street remains focused . Consumer Some are concerned about a recession.
Underlying price increases are the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, volatile energy prices and Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine. Some economists believe the American Rescue Plan Act, , also plays a role.
Courtney voted for the measure, which included funding for COVID-19 vaccines, money for schools to reopen and distribution of direct payment relief to Americans alongside extended unemployment benefits.
It was a line of attack for France, who said the infusion of 鈥渢rillions鈥� of dollars into the economy is driving inflation. He also called attention to the high cost of diesel fuel, which he said is driving up shipping costs that are passed along to consumers.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that the people understand every day when they鈥檙e filling up their cars or when they go to the grocery store to buy food,鈥� France said.
Courtney said he鈥檚 鈥渘ot under any illusion鈥� that the inflation problem is solved, but he said recent measures signed into law by the Biden administration to lower prescription drug costs and open up more areas to oil and gas drilling will help to eventually rein in some cost increases.
Healthcare: Government involvement vs. letting the markets decide
Courtney said the question of health care costs has been 鈥渁 persistent issue鈥� since he was elected to Congress. He called attention to and said that will save taxpayers and help control insurance costs.
France said 鈥渢he more that government has gotten involved in health care, the more expensive it has become.鈥� He said the government has increased oversight on doctors, and that is driving up costs for individuals seeking care.
鈥淭he more that we are able to have a free market solution to this and the better that the individual patient can negotiate directly with their doctor for their care, the better,鈥� he said.
Energy costs: Wind and solar vs. oil and gas
France said the key to lowering energy costs is not a 鈥渙ne-size mandate鈥� from the government to back solar and wind power. And he praised the E.U. to keep investments in natural gas and nuclear power plants labeled as climate-friendly.
He also criticized tax subsidies for wind and solar power generation.
鈥淭hat is not a robust way 鈥� a longstanding way 鈥� to have a sustainable energy source,鈥� he said.
Courtney said 鈥渢ax subsidies have been the mother鈥檚 milk of the oil and gas industry鈥� for decades.
Immigration: Differing approaches to addressing migrant families
Republican governors have been sending more migrants released at the U.S. border with Mexico to Democratic strongholds, raising questions about their legal status, how they are lured on board buses and planes and the cost to taxpayers.
New England became the latest focus point for the immigration issue in September when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis flew about 50 Venezuelans to the small, upscale island of Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e fleeing a dictatorship 鈥� a left-wing dictatorship,鈥� Courtney said, adding he thought that would elicit 鈥渕ore sympathy on the Republican side.鈥�
Courtney said that the government was facing a massive backlog of requests from asylum seekers and that the federal government needs to expedite adjudication of asylum applications.
France said that he grew up near the Mexican border in California and that he was 鈥渧ery familiar with this issue鈥� of asylum seekers who were 鈥渦sing the asylum process as their mechanism to get inside this country.鈥�
He claimed that the federal government was not doing enough to enforce immigration law and that asylum seekers were failing to appear for their asylum hearings.
鈥淚f they don鈥檛 show up, we don鈥檛 have any way of knowing where they are in the country,鈥� he said.
Courtney said 鈥渞oughly about 90% show up for their hearings鈥� and said the rejection rate for asylum applications is high 鈥� during both the Trump and Biden administrations. Courtney said 鈥渨alls are very appropriate in certain parts of the border鈥� near densely populated areas.
Education: More needs to be done to educate high schoolers about college costs
Courtney said the government needs to stop collecting interest on certain federal loans. And he said lawmakers also need to look at the quality of education underwritten by these loans to ensure that borrowers are receiving an education that will allow them to repay the debt.
鈥淭here are too many institutions that I think really saddle people with high levels of debt 鈥� particularly in the for-profit community,鈥� Courtney said. 鈥淲e should not be using public dollars to really put people on a pathway that is highly questionable.鈥�
France said 鈥渢he more federal money that has come into the program, the higher the costs.鈥� He said the country also needs to look at how students are prepared in high school for college and how they make the decision for what to study.
But France said 鈥渇rankly, I don鈥檛 believe there is a role鈥� for the federal government to help borrowers who are saddled with student loan bills.
鈥淲hen you take out debt of any kind, it鈥檚 an investment,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd you have to pay on that investment.鈥�
Courtney said that he agreed with France that young people need to treat higher education choices as important 鈥渓ife decisions鈥� and that these decisions need more support and focus from high school counselors.
About the candidates
Democrat Joe Courtney has represented the 2nd District for more than a decade after narrowly defeating Republican Rob Simmons in 2006 . Since then, Courtney has enjoyed much more comfortable margins of victory, including winning by nearly 80,000 votes in 2020. In Congress, Courtney sits on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Education and Labor Committee. He is also chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces.
Republican challenger Mike France, a Navy veteran, is serving his fourth term as a state representative for the 42nd District in 黑料吃瓜网. France is the ranking member of the General Assembly鈥檚 Appropriations Committee and as 鈥渄edicated to the principles of limited government, economic freedom, and individual liberty.鈥�
Why certain third-party candidates were not invited to attend the debate
Some 2nd District candidates on the ballot were not invited to Tuesday鈥檚 event. They include Kevin Blacker of the Green Party and William Hall of the Libertarian Party.
Candidates had to meet a number of thresholds to participate, said Laura Smits, president of the League of Women Voters of 黑料吃瓜网, which determined eligibility for the debate.
One of those thresholds is evidence of a formal campaign. She said that includes a campaign manager, staffers, a policy platform and literature, and a website.
Evidence of financial support is also a requirement, she said.
鈥淭his is what usually trips up third-party candidates,鈥� Smits said, noting that for U.S. congressional candidates, 鈥渃ontributions of at least $15,000, of which one-third is raised in [the] District鈥� are required.
鈥淭he onus is on the candidates to provide us with this information to prove that they have these things,鈥� Smits said. 鈥淚n the case of Kevin Blacker 鈥� he reached out to us a while ago, we sent him that criteria, and he tried to convince us that even though he didn鈥檛 meet it, he should be allowed onto the stage.鈥�
鈥淚 mean, forget about the financial requirements. He doesn鈥檛 even have his own website,鈥� Smits said.
Smits said her organization never heard from William Hall to participate.
鈥淚鈥檝e not heard from that candidate, directly, to ask for our information,鈥� she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Video: Watch the 2nd District debate
