Major funding for election 2022 Arkansas PBS debates is provided by AARP Arkansas, with additional funding provided by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.

From the campus of University of Central Arkansas in the studios of Arkansas, PBS is election, 2022 Arkansas PBS, U.S. House of Representatives District 2 debate.

54321 upon Jim and Justin.

And hello again everyone, and welcome again to debate week here on Arkansas PBS at this hour, the candidates for Congress in Arkansas Second District.

And they are, in alphabetical order, the Democratic nominee, Dr Quintessa Hathaway, the Republican candidate, then the incumbent French hill.

And the libertarian candidate Michael White.

The questions for the debate will be coming tonight from ordering the debate from independent journalist Steve Bronner.

From Christina Munoz of Arkansas PBS and Natural State update and I'm Steve Barnes.

The rules for the debate all agreed upon prior to the debate by the candidates.

Each nominee will have one minute to respond to questions.

The candidates will then have 30 seconds for rebuttal if they elect to use them.

At the conclusion of questioning, each candidate will have one minute for a closing statement.

The order of candidate appearance, the order of everything was determined.

Prior to the debate, in a drawing that was overseen by the candidates or their representatives.

Our first question will come from Steve Bronner and it is addressed first to Doctor Hathaway.

Doctor Hathaway.

On October 3rd, the national debt reached $31 trillion.

Since then it's already increased another $100 billion.

And for perspective, $31 trillion is $94,000 for every American man, woman and child.

What should be done?

First, I'd like to thank Arkansas PBS for this opportunity to be able to debate against my colleagues, because I do consider them to be my colleagues for we all working toward the exact same mission to love and live Central Arkansas.

Now when it comes to addressing the national debt.

It is a disaster.

It is something in which ought to be addressed wholeheartedly by the chambers of Congress.

There are some things in which we can do to address the national debt, such as.

One grapple with this issue of inflation.

There are also some things that caused us to be in this situation.

One, it goes back to when we were in a surplus.

We had a surplus under President Bill Clinton.

Then we had two wars, the Iraqi and Afghanistan war.

We've also had unfunded mandates which caused us to have this issue.

As well as other presidents have also contributed to the national debt.

Doctor, I have to call time there.

Mr. Hill you have one minute Sir.

Thank you Steve.

I too want to thank AT and and PBS for hosting the debate.

Great to be with my colleagues on the stage today.

Look this is the fundamental issue that I think challenges the future of our country is our debt and our debt has almost doubled in the time I've been in Congress and the most of that growth was as a result of the pandemic and President Biden spending following the pandemic.

What do we need to do go back to pre pandemic.

Spending levels and debates and prioritize it.

And secondly, get bipartisan support for reforming the 2/3 of the budget that drives that debt, which are our mandatory spending programs, which we can only reform through a bipartisan project.

And we need leadership from the President.

We didn't get that leadership from President Trump, and we've not gotten that leadership from President Biden.

So we need that effort in order to do it.

Finally, we need a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

And I got that on the House floor in 2018 for a vote.

Thank you, Sir.

Mr. White, one minute.

Well, thank you.

That's a great question.

$31 trillion in debt is continually blamed on each party.

We have Republicans and Democrats each blaming the others for it.

The truth is it takes bipartisan support to get $31 trillion in debt.

This is not a new thing.

We've been working on this for a long, long time.

And we continue to get the same talking points from both the right and the left about how to solve it.

Fiscal responsibility, sound money and sound monetary policy.

The diet and exercise of government.

If we want to make anything better in this country we have to get back to those principles.

I'm the only candidate with an actual plan to do so.

I have what's called a track back to prosperity act.

It's a 10 year run rate legislative agenda which brings us to a balanced budget be either Article 5 Convention of the States or some other legislative method.

But at the end of the day this is a moral question.

How much of the lifestyle that we want to live in this country today do we want to borrow on the backs of children not even yet born and I don't believe the two party system is equipped to handle it.

Thank you very much Doctor Hathaway, you have 30 seconds.

I'm going to agree with Mr. White when he talks about this being a moral issue.

Our value systems are wrapped into the national debt.

Our priorities ought to be placed on helping those that are the least of these.

Our priorities should also be placed upon simple Arkansas families, hard working Americans.

And that is where our focus ought to be.

Back to you, Mr. Hill, for 30 seconds.

Well, look, I have voted for a balanced budget in my time in Congress, but it didn't pass the House.

It's hard work.

You can craft a budget to balance neither a 10 year window or a 20 year window.

But as I say, the core effort of that has to be reforming the long-term mandatory spending programs, which the Congress doesn't even vote on on an annual basis.

Think about that.

We don't even vote on 2/3 of the spending that's driving that deficit.

So it takes bipartisan effort.

I agree with Mr.

Right on that.

And I'm not going to quit fighting to get that bipartisan consensus.

Well, Mr. White, 30 seconds.

Well, thank you very much.

Congressman Hill speaks a big game about fiscal responsibility.

He does talk about it.

Representative Jim Jordan even called him out over a balanced budget amendment that occurred after $2.2 trillion and basically printed money for a cares package, a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill.

It would seem to me that Congressman Hill is indicative of what we have going on in Congress, which is, I believe, wisdom on the matter of fiscal responsibility and how to end inflation.

Has always been chasing him.

Somehow.

He's always been faster.

Thank you.

We have another question now from Miss Munoz, and it goes first to Mr. Hill.

Yes, thank you.

You all have very diverse, different backgrounds.

Help our viewers get to know you a little bit better and share what makes you qualified, what you believe makes you qualified for this position.

Congressman Hill, we go to you first.

Well, thank you, Christina.

I've devoted my life to private enterprise.

I've been a business person for nearly four decades.

I've signed the front of paychecks.

I've hired people, trained people, accomplished a business mission.

I've been involved in helping other people start their business to pursue their dream of happiness.

I've also had the pleasure twice before to try to work for a better country in government.

I was a young staffer on the Senate Banking Committee, where I learned how to make policy, how to get laws written and enacted into law.

And then I had the pleasure of working for President HW Bush when he was in the White House, both at the Treasury and in the White House, fighting for solutions for exactly the kind of problems that we face.

So, Christine, I think it's my view of being a civic leader here in Little Rock.

As a Chamber chairman, as a Rotary president active in my church, my business leadership and entrepreneurship, and my past experience in policy making that make me a good candidate to continue to represent the people of Central Arkansas.

Mr. White, one minute, thank you very much.

I, too am a businessman.

I owned and operated a very successful company for almost a decade, employing hundreds of people, dealing with vendors both both domestic and foreign.

So I know how to balance budgets, I know how to run teams.

I know how to reach across aisles and make compromises.

That's just part of my experience.

I'm also just an everyday Arkansan, and I believe that representative government ultimately requires people that represent you.

I don't necessarily know if many people in Congress today represent the districts that they currently claim to represent.

The average income in the in the Central District, a second Arkansas, is around $50,000.

But we have people in Congress that are making millions and millions.

Do they represent you?

Do the problems that occur in your daily life, do they affect them?

These are questions I think the electorate needs to ask themselves when they go to the poll this November and with that.

Yield my time.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sir.

Doctor Hathaway.

One minute.

I am an educator by love and training.

I have been teaching for 16 years.

Of those 16, eight here in Central Arkansas between Little Rock School district, Pulaski County School District and North Little Rock.

I am also currently a professor at Arkansas Baptist College.

I am also a part of the private sector.

I run an education consulting firm where we go in and teach the best possible research based strategies to educators, administrators and the like to shrink the achievement gap and provide more opportunities to our young people.

I know what it takes to go to Washington, DC and to defend my position, to hold firm one of the things that really matter to Central Arkansans.

I have worked on a number of campaigns in my home state of Tennessee.

I've worked on campaigns here in Central Arkansas, and also I started out working on campaigns when I was in the state of Mississippi.

I've registered people all over the South and I'm fully prepared and ready to take on this position.

We now go back to Mr. Hill for another 30 seconds.

Well, look, I grew up in this great town and went to Forest Park in Henderson Junior High and in Little Rock and went to Catholic High School.

And what I learned from my dad and my grandfather were the value of hard work.

And since I was about 13 years old, I've had a job.

I know that hard work pays off and I know that education pays off and I've thought about that every day that I've been in Congress.

How do we create a society where everybody has the ability to pursue happiness through the opportunity to work and the opportunity to have a high quality education?

And I'm going to continue to fight for those things while I'm in Congress.

You have 30 seconds, Mr. White.

Absolutely.

I think that this entire stage comes down to what we believe our rights are and where they come from.

I personally believe you were born with your rights, that you were born into this universe with them, that governments only job is to secure them.

And that I don't believe a government has to be that large or that complex to do that job.

Therefore, liberty is always my North star.

I believe it's the guiding principle of everything government should be, say and do.

And with that, I'll yield my time.

I have nothing else to add.

Thank you, Doctor Hathaway, you have 30 seconds.

I love Central Arkansas.

It has been home for over 10 years and I believe that we are going to draw a stark contrast between what has already happened of almost over the last eight years to a new direction in which we will be going.

Arkansas central.

Arkansas diverse.

It is rich.

It is the land of opportunity.

And I want us to always remember that.

Thank you.

I yield back my time.

Thank you, ma'am.

Question first for Mr. White, one of the issues that is driving this campaign not only well across the country, but certainly in Central Arkansas and indeed in the capital city is crime.

As we speak.

The Little Rock police are investigating, depending on how it's counted, the 68th or 69th homicide of the year.

We seem a Little Rock seems on target easily to surpass its record number of homicides in addressing the prime.

The crime problem?

Is it primarily a federal responsibility, a local responsibility or what is the mix?

How would you address that?

Ultimately, I believe it's an individual responsibility.

However, obviously the federal government, state governments have a role in this.

Look, our criminal justice system fails really for three primary reasons.

One is a vast number of things we consider to be crumbs are not no crime.

I mean, no victim should be no crime.

We delegate and use a vast number of limited law enforcement resources investigating things that are not, in fact, crimes.

Another reason that our criminal justice system fails is that our penal system fails.

We should focus on reducing recidivism and not just locking people up.

I'm all for profit industry answering public problems, but I believe that these for profit prisons should be licensed on a recidivism reduction measure.

That would mean that they were more in line with what our goals were, which is reduced future crime, not profiting off increased current crime.

And last but not least, our bail system does need to be looked at.

Most of our local city and county jails are filled with poor people for, again, things that are not actually crimes.

Bail reform is getting some bad reputation in certain cities, but those are the three reasons I believe it needs to be what's going on with and how we can fix it so.

Thank you.

We go to you, Doctor Hathaway for one minute.

Our criminal justice system is impacting individuals of all stripes.

It is time for us to create some real solutions and utilize the monies that are being pushed down from the built Safe Communities Act to help States and municipalities to greatly address the disparities that are happening in our penal system.

Mr. Hill to you from 60 seconds.

Well, there's no doubt that crime is a crisis, not only in Little Rock but across the country.

And the American people have spoken loud and clear.

They want safe communities.

And that's why I reject the National Democratic Party's mantra of defunding the police.

We should be funding the police and supporting our police and helping them recruit.

New generations of leadership in police and it's primarily, Steve, a local issue that if you want a good Police Department, you want to motivate it.

And well trained that's a responsible principally for our cities and our counties and our states.

There's no doubt there.

But there's a role to play at the federal level, which is keeping our country safe by having a secure border and not letting drugs pour across that border.

And that's why I support the effort to secure the border and make sure that we have the resources.

Here, finally, as it relates to shifting back to society, I've devoted a lot of my years in Congress to improving efforts to reduce recidivism and give people a chance for a second chance at life when they get out of incarceration.

Mr. White, you have another 30 seconds.

Absolutely.

I think that if you look at it, statistically speaking, a vast majority of our crime occurs in two places in this country.

It's the inner city and it's at our southern border.

Both of those have something in common, and that is drug profits from the black market, drug trade.

I personally believe that if we were to have legal, regulated drug markets, we would solve a lot of these issues.

A simple thought experiment.

If tomorrow we had a debate on the House floor regarding legal, regulated drug markets, do you believe the narco terrorists at our southern border or inner city gangs would vote for or against such a measure?

They would clearly vote against it because it would put them out of business.

And isn't that what we want?

Thank you, Doctor Hathaway, another 30 seconds.

I have taken my students into prisons very early in my career.

We have two of the prisons and they have also sat down and spoken with inmates to give them some hope and inform them that is not the direction in which they are to go.

I want you all to know that crime is an ever going issue.

The root cause is poverty.

People simply need food on their tables.

They need a roof over their head, and when we begin to address the root causes of crime, we will begin to see a better Central Arkansas.

Mr. Hill, another 30 seconds.

I agree with Mr. White that education and personal responsibility is key.

Workforce is key.

Work opportunities are key for our young people particularly.

But this issue that I think the most about is how do we get people who are coming back out of prison, 10,000 a year in this state, give them opportunities to be drug and alcohol free and have skills to get back in the workforce as the drug legalization?

I don't, I don't support drug legalization because I I think we've seen.

From the experiment in some states that illegal drugs grow when you have legal drugs.

And in a state like Colorado, Mr. Hill takes the next question 1st, and it comes from Steve Bronner, Representative Hill.

What are the primary causes of the current inflationary environment and what should federal policy, federal policymakers do about it?

Well, thanks, Steve.

I think the principal drivers of inflation, and this is the largest, most, the highest inflation we've had in 40 years.

And it's a thief.

Inflation is a thief.

It takes from those on fixed income.

It takes from our hardest working families.

And at the source of it, it is a federal responsibility for two principal reasons.

First, the Federal Reserve during the pandemic dropped interest rates to zero and began buying printing money, if you will, $120 billion a month.

We had a very accommodative.

Monetary policy.

And then we spent extensive amounts of money to fight the pandemic when President Biden came into office, he was told by Democratic economic advisers.

Like Steve Rattner or Larry Summers, don't double down and keep spending money at this rate or you're going to unleash inflation.

So a loose monetary policy of the Federal Reserve, too much spending by the federal government and the fiscal side, in my view, are the principal drivers of inflation.

1/3 issue is the supply chain impact from the pandemic.

Mr. White, thank you so much.

Yes, the number one cause of inflation and the only cause of inflation is deficit spending by Congress.

It essentially works like this.

Congress spends beyond its means.

That creates a deficit.

the US Treasury borrows that deficit from a private bank known as the Federal Reserve and at the behest of Congress, that excess currency is in is input into the economy and thus you have more dollars chasing fewer goods and thus inflation.

I do, though, reject the fact that this is somehow a Biden issue or this is someone else's issue.

I'll remind everyone at home watching that inflation is not new, it's just now noticeable.

We have had deficit spending in this country at least since the turn of the century, and in fact in the past 21 years in Congress.

Republicans.

Had an unopposed government.

Nine of those 21 years where they controlled the House, the Senate and the Presidency all simultaneously with no Democrat opposition, and they still manage the deficit and every single one of those financial years.

The answer to this problem is quite simply getting spending under control, balancing the budget and actually passing a budget.

For once in our history, at least recent history and without I yield my time, thank you.

60 seconds now for Doctor Hathaway conglomerations know that there is limited competition in the market.

With that being said, there is also an issue with.

Privatization and deregulation, deregulation that has also occurred that caused us to be in this situation.

We need to increase opportunity and competition for all people so that the market becomes more diversified.

Because consumers are the ones that these issues are being passed upon.

Price gouging also needs to be addressed by the federal government through legislation.

It is.

The book is being passed down to average Arkansans.

And if we continue to go down this track of not addressing this issue is going to continue to hurt our families, our yield back.

Mr. Hill, 30 seconds.

Well, spending is a key issue, but the Federal Reserve policy of buying that debt and keeping interest rates too low for too long has contributed this environment.

We've not had inflation this bad at 8% plus in 40 years and the way to correct it is to go back to pre banned pandemic spending levels, move towards a smaller deficit, not have an open buying of bonds by the Federal Reserve, deregulate the economy, don't raise taxes on the productive sector and unleash American energy.

So that we can get back to the production that we had before the pandemic, back to Mr. White for 30 seconds.

Yes.

The only thing that I'll add regarding this is the Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman once compared monetary printing to alcoholism.

He said that the good effects would come first and then you would have the hangover.

And we certainly are seeing that Hangover Town.

So fiscal responsibility, again, monetary accommodative policy that's been too excessive by the Federal Reserve is of course part of the problem.

But at the end of the day, we have a Congress that can't.

Agree on how to balance a budget and hasn't in quite some time.

And until we do, we're not going to fix this issue.

Thank you.

Another half minute for Doctor Hathaway.

I don't know why there has not been a conversation about corporations price gouging.

It actually happens and for until we begin to address that issue, we're going to continue to see this quandary.

Miss Munoz has the next question that goes first to Mr. White.

Yes.

So before these debates happened, we allowed our viewers to submit some questions via social media.

So this next one comes from one of our viewers.

What are the current main obstacles to installing or expanding on cleaner renewable energy sources in Arkansas?

And do you support creating renewable energy sources within this state?

And we first go to Mr. White.

Absolutely so I think.

Of the listeners at home, I want to remind you of a simple fact.

The same people who can't stop robo calls are telling you that if you just give them more money, they're going to make the weather better.

And if that sounds like a scam, or it sounds like it doesn't make sense, that's because it doesn't.

Now, regardless of whether you fall on the climate change belief spectrum, whether you believe that it is man made and we must do something now, or whether you believe that it is complete hoax, surely we all can get behind efficiency and modernization.

And to the question you ask, modernizing the power grid.

Should be an utmost important priority that we have.

We have failing power grids in Texas, failing power grids in California, and they're going to keep failing across this country.

Over the past 14 years, we have had no new increase in power production in this country.

Don't take my word for it.

Go to energyinformationagency.gov I personally believe the answer is a nuclear safe nuclear, such as liquid fluoride thorium reactors, molten salt reactors, much like we built in 1950s at Oakridge National Laboratories.

And I know I'm running out of time, but I would invite the audience to research those technologies.

I'd love to see more of them.

Right here in Arkansas, we go to Doctor Hathaway now with 60 seconds.

If you all go to my website, quintessahathaway.com, my name is spelled just the way it sounds.

It sounds just the way it's spelled.

I promise you all will see a layout of my energy plan.

Also that for rural Arkansas, Rural America, as well as that of urban urban America and Urban Arkansas.

We need to transform drastically the direction in which we're going when it comes to bringing about clean energy in this country.

I also believe that we need to address the power grid.

One point on my plan is that all power lines ought to be grounded within a three to five year span.

We also need broadband infrastructure beginning in the most rural areas of the Central Arkansas and bring it inward to the urban areas.

These are just two ways in which we begin to develop cleaner renewable energy as well as advanced.

Energy policy, Mr. Hill.

Well, this is a key issue and I appreciate Mr. Wright White's perspective.

We need an all of the above energy strategy.

This is an evolutionary process to a carbon free less dependent world, not a revolutionary process.

It's going to take years to do that and that's why I'm moving from coal to natural gas and adding in renewables both here in Arkansas and we have a deep bench of renewable developers here in Arkansas is important.

But nuclear is key.

It's carbon free.

I just took a tour up at the nuclear one in Russellville last couple of months ago.

They're going to extend the life of that plant, but we need new plants with modern technology that have less waste that can be more easily permitted and growed so that we can have nuclear not only in the US as say 25% or overall power, but that we can export that technology.

I was in Eastern Europe in April.

They're begging Westinghouse General Electric to export nuclear technology.

So they can add nuclear power in Europe, America can lead the way on carbon free nuclear, Mr. White absolutely.

Transitions to new paradigms should ideally be pain free and consequence free.

They should not be chaotic, abrupt or forced.

So part of this entire discussion that we're having about renewable energy, cleaner energy, let's not forget American oil production, we need to unleash it, we need to increase it back to pre pandemic levels.

We were producing roughly $13 million of I mean 13 million.

Because of oil a day in November of 2019, we have not retaken that trend since then.

I think that's a failure of the current administration and a failure of Congress and a failure upon the American people, and they're the ones suffering the consequences of it.

With that all my time.

Thank you, Doctor Hathaway.

At one time, America was the number one petroleum producer, and that has occurred on more than one occasion.

We can do that again.

It's going to take corporations.

Using their full power in order to pump every single day to maximum capacity so that we can become a more energy independent country once again.

And Mr. Hill?

Well, we were energy independent.

We were producing 13 million barrels a day.

We were exporting liquefied natural gas all around the world.

Europe desperately needs it today.

And then Joe Biden was sworn into office, and on his first day, he cancelled the Keystone Pipeline.

He canceled leasing on federal lands.

He counseled leasing offshore.

He's put up regulatory barriers against fossil fuel.

He campaigned against fossil fuels, and he's done everything he can regulatorily to block that.

And now we have his efforts to make sure they don't get.

Financed either by Wall Street or the commercial banks, he's made a big mistake and the lack of production is at his feet.

The next question goes first to Doctor Hathaway.

America is making significant cut in the in the billions of dollars contribution to the defense of Ukraine, and the administration wants to keep that.

The State Department and the administration wants to keep that aid flowing to Ukraine says it is absolutely essential.

There is apparently a significant movement in the Congress, in the Republican Conference, at least the Minority Leader says that it's going to be more and more difficult to muster support for that if you were in Congress.

Would you vote for continued support, aid, financial aid to Ukraine?

I hope that we can begin to come back to Central Arkansas issues and not just discuss what is fighting the infighting that has happened between the Republican and the Democratic administrations in Washington, DC, and putting us in a position where we have to continue to defend Joe Biden and his record.

Point 1.2 I do not want to see our brothers and sisters from the 489th Camp Robinson Camp Pike, the Jacksonville Air Force Base, to have their blood spilled in the streets of Ukraine.

At all.

We are up against as a country against a tyrant, a dictator who is dangerous.

And I would rather see us put our treasure into defending and protecting and walking alongside our allies and our partners in the region, as opposed to going over to Ukraine where we may have a loss of life.

Mr. Hill.

Well, I have supported American aid, along with the other 50 countries that are supporting Ukraine to defend itself and its sovereign territory against the brutal illegal invasion by Putin.

Nobody's checked Putin for 20 years, starting with President Obama, who let him take over Crimea.

He paid no real economic, diplomatic or financial cost from that.

That is what has led to the condition that we have on the ground.

So if we had done our job on the front end, we might have had a different outcome here.

But he invaded, and we should back that.

Because if you let Putin take Ukraine, he's not going to stop in Europe.

And you're also sending a message to other authoritarian dictators like the Chinese Communist Party, that America's not on the watch with our partners.

This is an important issue.

It's important to the American people that they recognize the risk of Putin's invasion, Mr. White.

Thank you Arkansas.

Please listen to me very carefully.

The same people who lied to you about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the same people who took 20 years, went through 4 presidents, trillions of dollars, billions worth of military equipment on American side, thousands of American lives to accomplish the insane task of turning Afghanistan over from the Taliban back to the Taliban are now telling you that you must support a war with Russia.

It's the same people, they just have different puppets.

One of those puppets in my opinion.

Is Congressman hill?

I find it morally repugnant.

And disgusting that any Congress in this country would be willing to run the nation's credit card for a cash advance.

Guaranteed by future generations, not even yet born.

Sent hundreds of billions of our money, borrowed money across the ocean.

While we have veterans right here in this country coming back from two previous unjust wars, we are not taken care of with Michael Wiser.

Congressman, I will take care of Americans and our veterans first.

That is not selfishness.

That is not, that is not being an isolationist.

That is being a servant, which is exactly what this position is supposed to be.

Thank you.

Another 30 seconds for Doctor Hathaway.

Geopolitical policy and national security is paramount.

We have to do more when it comes to not being the world's police force.

Militarism is.

Militarism is something that.

America has continued to be involved in power for 70 years now.

The historian in me really wants to teach them more about this.

I yield back my time, Mr. Hill, you have another 30 seconds.

Well, it's precisely that we don't want to send American troops into Europe that we stand up to a thug like Putin and support Europe in backing Ukraine to get him out of that country.

December 7th, 1940, one 9/11.

These are things we can't ignore when the thugs are at work in the world.

America's a leader in the world.

We're backing Europe and their effort to make sure that Putin does not take over the sovereign country of Ukraine.

Another question now from Steve Bronner goes first to Mr. White.

Oh, I'm sorry.

You have a rebuttal.

I apologize.

Thank you very much, congressman.

From where I sit, I don't necessarily know if you stand with Arkansas or if you stand.

America or even if you stand with Ukraine, it seems to me that you stand with Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and any other large defense contractors who were lucky enough to cozy up with you financially.

With that, I'll yield my time.

Thank you.

Well now, Mr Bronner.

Mr. White, why do so many people not trust the results of the 2020 elections and what should be done to restore that trust for this election and then for the the following presidential election?

Thank you so much.

I think a better question is why don't people trust the government to begin with?

What we're seeing with the with the election of 2020 is a symptom of a long occurring problem.

We have a two party system more focused on power and control than they are on actually solving problems.

And so.

Every two to four years we fight this miniature civil war where one side says, if you vote for me, I promise you Utopia, and if you vote for the other person I promise you Armageddon.

We will make a better system when we start to remove the unjust powers from government, as opposed to fighting about which side gets to wield them.

That will increase trust in in the the government and the process of the American people.

I personally believe the only way that will ever happen is if there's a viable third party in Congress where no one holds control.

The founding fathers understood the power of three.

That's why they gave us a try in government, legislative, judicial, executive.

And I believe that same sort of balance should be mirrored in Congress and if people and start voting differently will eventually get there.

Thank you very much.

And now to Doctor Hathaway for 60 seconds.

The issue is that Arkansas is at the bottom tier when it comes to voter registration, voter participation and voter turnouts.

I suggest that here in this state we have same day voter registration, that we have opportunities for people to get the absentee ballot without having to explain themselves.

Automatic voter registration for 18 year olds, actually expanding the tent of the electorate so that we have greater integrity and confidence in the electoral process is going to take widespread civic engagement for people to really learn about what the process.

Is about what it means to be a voter and how we can stay tapped into the political process.

Now, when it comes to people not believing the certification of the vote where Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were elected president and vice President of the United States, that election was accurate, it was true, and we all ought to get in line with that to Mr. Hill.

Well, I think it's unfortunate that people don't think that the 2020 election was fair.

We have that question from time to time and elections, and that's why we have, I think, the brilliance of the Constitution, which allowed the time, place and manner of elections to be determined in the States and that power not concentrated in Washington DC.

And so you've seen our state legislature come along in the last session and try to find ways to make sure that the voting here in Arkansas is accurate, fair.

We have 13 days of early voting.

It's a transparent process.

And in fact, the Heritage Foundation named Arkansas the sixth most effective for election integrity in the country.

So I think people should have confidence in their elections, but This is why I reject efforts by the Democratic Party to nationalize elections.

They want to preempt state law.

They want to make it a federal prerogative to determine how senators and congressmen and the president are elected, including federal financing.

And I think that's a mistake.

We go back to Mr. White.

I have nothing to add.

Thank you, Doctor Hathaway.

Another 30 seconds.

Alright, electoral process is broken in this country.

There are no national standards.

It is also not written in the United States Constitution anywhere that we have an affirmative, explicit, fundamental right to vote in this country.

Go Fact Check it.

There ought to be national standards in which we can all coalesce behind that end racial gerrymandering in congressional districts, which is happening right now.

It's being heard in the United States Supreme Court as well as in other places across this country.

It is time for us to really be about the fundamental process and being a beacon of light, of advancing democracy for all people despite their racial background, color, creed, and the like.

Thank you.

Back to Mr. Hill for 30 seconds.

Well, we do have a fundamental right to vote in this country, and we have laws that enforce that right to vote for all of our citizens over 18 years old.

It's something this country has fought for, developed and pursued in for decades to ensure that's the case.

And one of the things that should bring hope and strength to our local people is that the time, place and manner of our federal elections are governed by the local people in our local.

States.

And so if you want to improve the electoral process, you can do that right in your own state and not be dependent on the Congress.

We are going to pause our questioning for just a moment.

That will allow me to remind you that the candidates can participate in a press conference directly following this debate.

And you may participate as well, if only by watching.

You can scan the QR code on your screen, scan it with your mobile device, and we will repeat that QR code.

Periodically, through the balance of our debate, the next question comes from Miss Munoz, and it goes first to Doctor Hathaway.

Yes, thank you.

Let's talk about higher education.

I think most would agree that the rising cost of higher education is making college unattainable for some Arkansans.

Should the federal government get involved?

And if so, how?

Or is it supply and demand, and the federal government doesn't need to be involved in the cost of college?

Dr Hathaway, to you first.

My students were extremely happy the day that they found out.

Legislation had been signed through executive order that their student loans will be forgiven.

The.

Fact that this money is going to be applied to our students accounts directly, especially those that have come from low socioeconomic backgrounds.

That's going to give them a leg up once they come out of college, whether it's by graduation or by separation from the institution.

That's going to give them an opportunity to be able to go out and start their own businesses, to purchase a home, a vehicle to be able to invest in themselves and in their families as well as their communities.

That part of the conversation ought to be.

Bad made real and understandable to all people when it comes to the passage of the most recent legislation.

Mr. Hill.

Well, unfortunately there wasn't any legislation regarding student loan forgiveness by President Biden.

He unconstitutionally initiated this forgiveness by executive order.

And while I have complete empathy to the families burdened by that $1.3 trillion in student loan debt, the origins of it are a very cynical attempt by President Obama to pay for the Affordable Care Act by preempting all private sector lending and making the federal government earn that.

Interest and earn those fees, so they're in fact a predatory lender.

President Biden proposed this forgiveness.

That is a detriment to the 87,087% of people that don't have a student loan, or worked hard to pay off their own student loans, or put themselves through college without a loan.

He didn't make a single idea to reform.

The program, he just said we're going to forgive it.

So we're still digging this hole deeper because of the failed student loan program at the federal government.

It deserves major reforms.

Mr. White has 60 seconds, thank you so much.

This is one of those issues that highlights why government sometimes is the problem and not the solution.

There are two areas in our economy where government is more involved than anywhere else.

That is education and healthcare.

And it is not without coincidence that those two areas consistently have prices rising higher than inflation.

For instance, in 19 since 1963 the average cost of college tuition has increased 37 times.

To give you an idea of what $1000 was in 1963 compared to today, it's $9500, which means college tuition has out beat inflation 4 to one.

This is because of government interference, not because of a lack of government interference.

When we talk about this issue with student loans, my only question is make it make sense.

The American people are being told simultaneously.

Student loans are bad.

We must forgive them.

But then the next day, we're gonna go right back to writing new ones.

I say get the government out of student loans out of the universities.

Have them find price points that are affordable for their students, and we will see college tuition begin to come down.

Thank you very much.

We go to Doctor Hathaway for 30 seconds.

Couple things.

One, there is no explicit right in the Constitution for individuals to have the right to vote.

That's 1 #2.

Student loans are a crisis.

The the president did have a record this as an executive order, meaning that once he leaves office, this could easily be waxed away.

Also, the Republicans are fighting day after day to keep student loans from being removed.

To cancel those student loan debts, you all, you know, over a trillion dollars that's dedicated to student loan debt in this country.

We have to do something, something better to address this matter.

We go to Mr. Hill again for 30.

Well, we should do something about it.

And Republicans are for reforming the system.

We don't think the federal government should be in that business, number one.

But if they're in that business, it ought to be limited to books, tuition, room and board.

Right now it's an open-ended checkbook.

There's no underwriting.

There's no coaching.

Our higher Ed institutions are pushing this debt on families that have no recourse about it.

How would I reform it?

Number one, they ought to have a financial literacy training before they take out a student loan.

And #2, the university should be on the hook for part of it.

And finally, we should let employers pay it off for good employees that they hire.

Question.

Now four, we go first.

You are a Mr Mr. White rebuttal.

I apologize, not a problem.

I will echo some of the things that Congressman Hill said.

Again, I do not believe the federal government should be involved in this whatsoever.

And if we are involved in a very limited capacity at the end of the day, free markets determine their prices by very efficient price discovery.

If people are not guaranteed to be able to borrow for a product, you will see prices come down.

Competition is what drives prices down.

In free markets do so.

It's the same reason that a flat screen TV.

20 years ago was $10,000 and now you can get one for 100 bucks and a corn dog at a Black Friday sale at Walmart.

The same thing can happen in education.

We just need to let it occur.

Thank you very much.

And now to Mr. Hill, my my apologies again, Sir.

The entitlement programs many have said are as acknowledged or an enormous part of the federal budget.

You have a debt ceiling vote coming up in Congress.

One of your colleagues from Arkansas says that default ought to be an option something on the table in case there cannot be a fiscal agreement in terms of capping entitlement spending.

Do you agree with that and and and if I may answer should the entitlement budget be restored to return to the discretionary budget?

Good questions.

Well first I don't think anyone in Congress and I don't think any citizen wants to see.

The United States default on its debt, so I don't, I'm not sure who said that or under what circumstances, but I don't believe anyone in Congress has an operative thought process that they would allow the federal government to default on its on its debt.

So that's #1 #2.

I think the entitlement programs as you referred to them, the mandatory spending programs which are Social Security, Social Security, Disability, Medicare, Medicaid, VA benefits should be debated in Congress and appropriated.

On an annual basis or on some regular basis, we have a lot of programs that we reauthorize every five years.

And that way it might be an effective way for these mandatory spending programs.

It's wrong that they're on autopilot without the regular reform opportunity by Congress.

And this is a real challenge.

In the 60s, it was only 30% of the budget was mandatory spending.

Now it's 70% of budget.

It's flipped and it's driving our deficits and our debt.

We go to Mr. White.

Well, First off, let's just go ahead and predict how this is gonna go.

We're going to have Republicans and Democrats Hemming and hawing on Twitter, social media, any news station they can about fiscal responsibility, ending social programs, the back and forth, the theater of opposition we're going to get every time.

And guess what's going to happen?

The debt ceiling is going to get raised, and it will keep getting raised, and it will keep getting raised and raised and raised until we have real solutions to this problem.

I agree with Congressman Hill that mandatory spending programs should be.

Move to discretionary spending so that we can talk about them.

Unfortunately, with the current paradigm we have in Congress, that's just going to mean more argument.

That's all it's gonna be, is more things from the argue about less solutions.

Because I hope the American people are waking up to the fact that the two party system is more concerned with optics and division than they are actually concerned with real solutions.

And with that I'll yield my time.

Thank you, doctor.

Hathaway, I want to go back for just a moment when we came to the topic of higher education.

I know why it's healing.

D Jackson State University in Jackson, Ms.

There was a financial literacy course seminar that we took before we received our student loans, whether that be a staff or student loan subsidized or staff or student loan unsubsidized.

Those things are already happening at many of our colleges and universities throughout the nation.

One secondly, the students up at PTC, UAPB, shorter college, Philander Smith, Arkansas Baptist.

Those students.

All throughout the second Congressional District.

Free College ought to be an opportunity for you.

Period.

We can do this hard thing to address student loan debt as well as free higher education.

Go check out my platform.

It speaks directly to how to transform pre-K through higher education.

Because it's time.

Mr. Hill, 30 seconds.

Well, just I would reiterate that I think it should be on, on budget and that we should have long term reforms.

And I would just say that Congress has come together before.

In fact it was a very similar economy than we have right now, high inflation, high debt, concern over the budget deficit.

And I was in 1983, the last time that we had significant reforms to the Social Security program put in place on a bipartisan basis led by Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan.

And I think we can do that again.

But the key point is it has to be.

On a bipartisan basis, Mr. Hill.

Excuse me, Mr. White.

No problem.

He brings up the performance of Social Security by Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan in 1983.

It wasn't, but just a breath later that Congress began robbing those funds to pay for other things.

So it seems to me again that this was only further evidence of the fact that this two party system does not know how to fix problems and it can't fix problems.

And until we have a third party in Congress, we're not going to fix these very difficult situations.

Thank you very much, Doctor Hathaway.

The word entitlement is being used as if.

People did not work to receive Social Security benefits.

It's the nation's social safety net.

It was built on the promise that we would not be in bread lines, that we would have roofs over our heads, that we would have food on our tables.

And something has to be done because at one time Social Security was being paid into a point of.

For 30 people to one, if we do not begin to address this, the Social Security Trust is going to run out by 2033, between 2033 and 2035.

If we do not begin to address this issue for every dollar that we end up putting into the system, it's only going to pay for that year or potentially the next year.

Families are hurting behind this pandemic, hurting steel.

People have lost.

Loved ones.

Gotta close, gotta close document.

Simply out of time.

Mr Bronner has another question, and it goes first to Doctor Hathaway.

Doctor Hathaway?

What lessons can be learned from COVID that could be applied to the current healthcare system and also to a future pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic and.

20 and 21 and 22.

Let's add that all together.

Has been one in which we have never seen before, at least over the last 100 years.

People literally lost families, lost family members.

It touched upon every fabric of this country.

It created a public health crisis.

It created an educational crisis.

It created a global economic crisis.

And if we do nothing more than just study and research what the social and political ramifications of this thing is and how we can best move forward to create a team of individuals to really?

Analyze the COVID-19 pandemic and to have the best healthcare professionals to be able to analyze.

The global pandemic, I think that's one step in the right direction, Mr. Hill.

Well, the pandemic taught us a lot and we're much better prepared if we do confront another pandemic.

And some things that I think are good takeaways are one, the concept of telemedicine and telehealth and the use of high speed broadband for distributed learning and distributed healthcare.

It it this was a real catalyst there and you see that with the federal government's partnership with the states to expand broadband.

Next I think workforce management.

How do we plan as a workforce for a public health crisis?

And I think you have a lot of independent thought there from a workplace point of view, how to do that going forward.

And finally, as supply chain resiliency, we found we were too dependent on China and foreign people for pharmaceutical inputs for our PPE, our materials around healthcare.

It was frightening.

And I had a bill in Congress that's passed the House three times, still in the Senate to restore and refine.

They're planning for our medical supply chain.

I think that's essential.

Mr. White, thank you so much.

The entire COVID pandemic somewhat hits at the heart of libertarian philosophy, which I can basically sum up for the viewers as we don't hurt people, we don't take their stuff.

We should stand on principle when we believe that personality and predictions are going to fail us, which they often do.

And I feel, unfortunately in this matter, most of DC and Congress failed to stand on principle.

We ran into fear and many people were saying.

Our response to COVID was going to be worse than the virus itself, and I think now we are being proven correct.

However, I don't believe we should cry over spilled milk.

This is about what we can do moving forward.

So #1 stand on principle.

We don't shut down 500,000 small businesses.

We don't ruin the economy behind it.

But yes, true telehealth, stress test of our supply chains and a dynamic workforce management are things we learned well from the pandemic.

But we are seeing now a healthcare worker shortage and we need to be addressing that very shortly because we will not be prepared for another one should it come.

Thank you very much.

Doctor Hathaway, 30 seconds.

I had a conversation with one of the vice presidents at UAMS back in January of this year, and she talked about there being shortfalls when it came to individuals being able to enter into the healthcare industry, as well as there's a reduction or a limited number of minorities entering into the healthcare field.

And she talked about the lack of recruitment.

Or the inefficiency of recruitment for minority health care workers.

That's one.

Secondly, we need to take a deeper dive and look at the root causes of the pandemic.

There's about to be a more extreme version of the coronavirus that is being kicked around in the news right now.

I have to call time, Doctor Hathaway.

I'm sorry, Mr. Hill, 30 seconds.

I think the point about healthcare workers is an important one made by both of my colleagues and it's a key issue across the country and we need to recruit.

And retrain and retain and and train new healthcare workers.

Period.

Not just pandemic related.

And I also agree with Mr White's point.

If we knew in February of 2020 what we know today, we would have not shut down the entire economy.

We would not have shut down every faith community, every school, every small business.

We would be able to learn to live with these kind of viruses and put more responsibility on individuals.

Mr. White, you have 30 seconds.

Again, Congressman hill.

Unfortunately, we don't get to drive in the rearview mirror.

That's why principal matters.

If you want a job where you only need to make decisions during easy times, Congressman, you might want to get a new job.

So we're going to have challenges constantly.

And standing on principles is important.

Again, don't hurt people, don't take their stuff.

Don't devalue their currency with excessive monetary printing, don't shut down their businesses, don't mask their children, don't close, close down their face centers in their schools.

And with that, I'll yield my time.

Thank you very much.

We have.

Reached that point in the broadcast where it's time for closing statements again they were deciding the order of closing statements determined earlier, Mr. Hill.

Well, first let me thank AT again ATN and PBS again for our debate forum today and each of you for your participation and thank my colleagues for joining me on the stage.

Look, I have worked hard for the last eight years representing the people of Central Arkansas.

I've helped economic development efforts.

I've gotten $40 million back for our veterans in Central Arkansas.

I've tried to do legislation.

I've had bills signed into law by all three presidents that have served under in the House.

I've worked bipartisan to do a good job, to put forward the best interest not only of Arkansas and the 2nd district, but the common welfare of our whole country.

I'm running for reelection because I think the American people.

Want us to make that commitment to America of an economy that's secure, our communities that are safe, a border that is secure, that our individual liberties are in fact protected, that is the top objective of the federal government.

And finally, that we hold this government accountable and that we do that in the right way.

And I appreciate the vote and I hope people will support me for another term in the House.

Thank you, Sir.

Doctor Hathaway, one minute to close.

Central Arkansas I am a fighter.

I've been one all of my life.

I know what it takes to pull yourself up from your bootstraps.

I come from some very humble beginnings.

The housing projects of Nashville, TN.

And I know the power of education.

If giving this blessing an opportunity to represent you on Capitol Hill, we are going to speak truth to power.

We are going to do everything possible to restore democracy and bring sanity and humanity to the political process.

This is not just a conversation that we are having today, but I truly want to be a part of the process to bring positive legislation down to families in Central Arkansas.

I need you to the youth.

To the youth professionals, to all those that love freedom and democracy in this country, it's time for us to chart a new course.

It is time for us to March forward together and do a new thing in Central Arkansas.

It's time for us to see the daylight in Central Arkansas.

Thank you.

And Mr. White woman, thank you Arkansas and the Declaration of Independence, you will find these words that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Therein lies the problem.

The powers that govern us are no longer just, and they should no longer have your consent.

That means this November you must be willing to go to the polls and vote not in line with this two party narrative, but rather in line with your beliefs and common sense, grabbing the reins of liberty and steering this country in direction that will benefit your children and your grandchildren and those not even yet born.

Arkansas, I love you.

Arkansas, I believe in you.

Arkansas, I know you can do this.

My name is Michael White, and I'll be the best congressman you've ever had.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving me your vote in November.

God Bless America and God bless Arkansas.

Thank you so much.

Our thanks go to our three candidates for Congress and Arkansas Congressional District.

You can watch or rewatch this and all the PBS debates on demand at the Arkansas PBS YouTube channel.

On the PBS video app and on the PBS, Arkansas website, now the candidates again have the option to participate in a press conference directly following this broadcast, which will air on YouTube as part of our live stream.

So you can scan the QR code on your screen right now and start watching on YouTube.

Again, our thanks to the candidates, our thanks to our panel, and of course, to the audience.

Tuesday, November 8th.

Election Day.

Thanks again.

Major funding for election 2022 Arkansas PBS debates is provided by AARP Arkansas, with additional funding provided by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce.