Kansas city reflector in topeka. Anchorally, michael, it. Nd factfinder 12 investigator each candidate will have three minutes for an Opening Statement. When questions are asked to the who will answer the question for throughout todays debate. Candidate a comment after the question is asked will have one minute to respond. That will be followed by candidate b who will have one minute to respond, and then candidate a will have 30 seconds for rebuttal. Each candidate will have two minutes 30 seconds for their closing statements. Hours as our timekeeper for todays debate is the broadcaster with the Kansas Agriculture Network and wibw radio in topeka. A blind draw was done to determine the order for opening and closing statements. The Opening Statement will be started by congressman Roger Marshall. You have three minutes for your Opening Statement. I want to offer our prayers to the ginsburg family. We pray for wisdom as a nation moves forward. If there is one thing i hope here this morning is that from the time i wake up to the time i go to bed, every waking moment i am fighting for you and your family. Safe,ighting to keep you healthy and secure. I am fighting to keep your jobs back and to protect the values you and i were raised on. I volunteered to fight for this nation in the military. I fought to keep babies safe and healthy in the delivery room. I now i am fighting for you and the halls of congress. In the senate i am fighting to family and theur kansas values. We have the story that shapes our values. Fifth generation farm kid and became a firstgeneration college student. My American Dream was to go to medical school. My wife and i got married two weeks before School Started 37 years ago. After residency and seven years in the military, we delivered babies, raised four of our own and now we have two grandchildren and one is on the way. I have lived the American Dream. I am running for the senate to protect our values so our children and grandchildren have the same shot at the American Dream that we all have. My opponent and the Democrat Party are threatening our values , dreams and way of life. They want to tell you when you can leave the house. When you can get a haircut. They want to say when kids can go to school and what curriculum should be taught. They want to tell us what medicines we can take. Maybe this works in new york and california but it wont fly in kansas. These are not kansas values. Our opponent and her party are out of touch with kansas values. One value we can agree upon is the importance of agriculture. Endorsed by to be the Kansas Farm Bureau and Livestock Association and i am proud of the great work we have done together. We have written a strong farm bill and improved trade agreements. We specialize in Real Economic Development and we have improved Internet Connectivity and medicine across the country. I am proud to be born and raised in agriculture. And if i could, i would like to add two other great endorsements. Two of my mentors, center bob dole and senator pat roberts. I cannot wait to get started today. I am honored to be here and look forward to your support and your vote. Thank you. Next, senator bollier, you have three minutes. Good afternoon. I would like to acknowledge what a hurting time it is for our nation as we have the loss of a great woman, Supreme Court justice ginsburg. I also want to acknowledge what a big loss it is for kansas that we had to kansas cancel our annual state fair, especially for the hutchison area and our Rural Communities, the kansas state fair has been held every year for over 100 years. It is more than just a fair, it is a great, great opportunity to celebrate kansas. A very important tradition for us. It is also a big part of hutchisons economy and a chance for people of all ages to learn, share, and be together. Im heartbroken that we will ashis event, have we we have missed so many others this year but due to the pandemic. But im confident we can overcome this virus by working together and tear we will be back at the fairgrounds. Year we will be back at the fairgrounds. I will miss having the traditional fare with spectators in the grandstand in reno county but i am really grateful for this opportunity to share about myself and priorities with the people of kansas. Im a mom, a doctor, a state senator. I went into medicine to improve peoples lives, and went into Public Service for the same reasons. I have dedicated my lifes work to my patients, my constituents, my community, our state. In the Kansas Legislature, i was a leading advocate for expanding Affordable Health care. Fully funding our schools. Investing in Rural Communities. Balancing the budget. And keeping taxes low. I have a record of standing up to both parties, if they are doing the wrong thing for kansas. Anyonelso will work with doing. Right by arkansas families and that is exactly what i will do in the u. S. Senate right by and that isamilies, exactly what i will do in the u. S. Senate. We need leaders in washington who will stop the political bickering, stop attacking one another and just get things done. Has beenll ways have my approach, listen, could facts, work with others and solve problems. That is why im endorsed by senator Nancy Kassebaum and nearly 100 other Republican Leaders in the state. They know i will be the independent voice of reason that kansas needs in washington. Thank you very much. We have determined the order of questions that will be asked. The first question will be directed toward congressman marshall. Before ask the question i want to say a special thank you to alpha media, topeka, and dubya i b w radio. This is a tradition we began 35 years ago and it has become not only probably the premier debate in the state, but it has become a major highlight of the kansas state fair. My question, is really two part. One of you is going to fill some massive shoes, when it comes to agriculture. Senator pat roberts has been the working on mag policy for three decades now, i think he began 1985 or earlier. He is resigning and somebody is going to fill his spot. Moranicipate that senator is going to try to take over at roberts spot on the Senate Committee but we cannot be sure of that. What either of you be willing or interested in being on the committee . Marshall you have one minute to respond. At the stateng fair with you and senator roberts in my first choice is going to ask to be on that Senate Ag Committee and i tell folks one reason you should vote for me is i can sort have first and steers. My wife and i still invest in agriculture in many ways. The experience we are bringing working with farm bureau and tla puts us in a sweet spot. Certainly the seniors i have had these conversations with and i look forward to that but i dont know why my opponent would want to be on the act committee. The act committee. Ag committee. When we fought hard for mfp money, the tariff money for farmers, she posted a discouraging remark so i would assume that my opponent is out of touch with kansas ag values. State senator, you have one minute to respond. Sen. Bollier i will be the replacement on that committee. Agriculture are critical part of our identity as a state and our way of life. I have been standing with kansas farmers for 10 years as a kansas legislator. I helped pass to statewide transportation plans, a 50 year water plant, and more funding for Rural Broadband. I have called out the epas regulatory train wreck and urged the use of sound science and agricultural policy. What kansans need to know and understand about the real difference between congressman marshall and myself is not our level of agate expertise, it is our level of ag expertise, it is our level of respect for people of different background and our ability to work across the aisle to find Real Solutions for our ag committee. I look forward to continuing that legacy of the dullroberts production, of what has gone on and are date and Senate Committee. Production. Ts sen. Marshall i hope folks look at my opponents boating record, voting record, but he against the Health Care Association plan and tariff money. The democrats gave us waters of the u. S. And now they are going to give us the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal will be the end of kansas agriculture and my opponent chose to lead the Republican Party and join democrats to represent her values, she joined them after they came out of the Green New Deal. Chose to leave the Republican Party and join democrats. Next up for question, Jennifer Lasky with a High Plains Journal in dodge city. Good afternoon. Ag and ag National Organization of black Law Enforcement noble related ag related industries support 12 of our state workforce per 25 of the nations meat supply comes to our packing plants. Dairies, farms and ranchers need reliable labor and much of that is from immigrants. If elected to the senate what policy would you propose or support that addresses the immigration challenge that faces our country today, and allowing them a shot at their American Dreams while still keeping in mind role kansasrole in u. S. Food production . , youte senator bollier have one minute. Sen. Bollier there is no clearer example of how broken washington is then on immigration reform. Voters are fed up with inaction. Decades of it. So weort secure borders can keep our communities safe and a legislative solution for dreamers, who are brought to this country through no fault of their own. At a bipartisan reform package that balances national security, with the realities of our present circumstances. One thing is clear. Washington gridlock is the reason that we have a National Crisis at our borders. My opponent has done absolutely nothing to contribute to an atmosphere of working together, to solve these problems. Work is anansans who immigrant. We are dependent on this labor and i will be very supportive of making sure people have that path to citizenship. Thank. Congressman marshall you have one minute to respond. Sen. Marshall you are right how important agriculture is to kansas and this issue is one i have tried to work on since the data got to congress, that i believe in secure borders and fixing a broken immigration system. The first thing i did when i got to congress, i sense and with every democratic member in the ag committee and talked about agriculture and important issues on the broken immigration systems and weep twice got policy on the floor to fix the situation. But my disappointment is that democrats do not want to fix daca, they do, not want secure borders and i have to remind folks my opponent read the left the Republican Party in favor of the democratsvalues. Those are out of touch with kansas. That is why we need to make sure we can maintain our security, any fix for immigration if we do not secure borders is going to lead to a circular firing squad. Youtate senator bollier have 30 seconds for a bottle. Sen. Bollier we need leaders in washington who will put partisan politics aside and do what is right for kansas. Nothing is more important in america than keeping our borders safe. This priority must be reflected by immigration reform, which has not happened yet. And we need this. I agree that our immigration system is broken, but we need people who will Work Together to find solutions. That is going to take a bipartisan solution to fix it and i am known for my bipartisan work, thank you. All right. I have to remind myself, to give time so our timekeeper can keep in front of everything, keeping time for the questions. Our next question which will go to congressman marshall comes from Tim Carpenter, a reporter with the kansas reflector in topeka. Thank you. I want you to both make the case for quickly voting in a senate on replacement for justice following the policy set 2016 set by republicans for waiting until after the president ial election. Congressman marshall you have one minute. Sen. Marshall look, this is why this election is so important that we need senators that are going to confirm conservative constitutional prolife judges. Look, im encouraging the president to bring his domination forward. Im encouraging the senate to act upon it. This is so different than 2016 when we had a democratic president and Republican Senate. Right now we have both of those. This is our time to do what we keep our promises and to move forward with one of the folks that, that President Trump is going to have on his list. This is an important time in history, one we cant get wrong, that is why the stakes for this, for this election are so high. And state senator bollier, you have one minute. Sen. Bollier i take the nominations and confirmations about Supreme Court justice very seriously. It is one of the senates most notable responsibilities, the Supreme Court is one of the most important institutions of america. It should not be politicized. These are lifelong appointments. This election that is underway in kansas now, kansans should make their voices heard. Of kansas that are elected in november are who should be voting and deciding and confirming who should be filling our vacancy on the Supreme Court. I believe the senate has plenty to do in the meantime. They need to pass additional relief and findings for americans struggling with this very, very difficult pandemic. And most importantly, keep in mind, we should not be politicizing our Supreme Court. Congressman marshall, you have 30 seconds for rebuttal. Sen. Marshall look, our senate needs to move forward to confirm, to confirm a conservative, elect, constitutional judge, who will apply the law and not write the sentthis is what americans a republican majority to do, look, 2016 is so different than today. To see a time when a Republican Senate would confirm the democrat senator or vice a versa. This is not 2016. We need to stand up and do our job. Thank you, congressman marshall. The next question first answered by state senator bollier from michael swaggy, the anchor and factfinder from a tv station wichita. And bothou to wibw, candidates and i wish we were at the fair but here we are. I want to talk about the response to coronavirus on a National Level. We hear conflicting messages. Do you have concerns the vaccine is being politicized by either party . As physicians to have concerns about how it will be distributed especially to rural kansas . State senator bollier, one minute. Sen. Bollier you know, the challenges we face because of this virus are historic. And it will take nothing short of historic actions to overcome them. We must continue to do things like support our workers, and have, ones that do not have jobs to return to yet. And we should extend Unemployment Benefits to make sure that they can and if it and have their ability to pay the rent. And, obviously, we need to provide additional assistance for small businesses. As far as the vaccine goes, ive been very disappointed in our federal response to this vaccine by politicizing it. It should not be politicized. But i look forward to an fda approved vaccine. We know that the way we will get through this pandemic is to actually follow science. Wear masks. Do the things that Public Health officials tell us to do, and wait for the vaccine. Once it is here, we will all look forward to being vaccinated, those who choose, and move forward, and keep our economy going. Congressman marshall, one minute. Is good toll it almost see you again today, i want to bring a message of hope to america. I visited with the Vice President three weeks ago and he is optimistic we are going to have a vaccine available for those who are vulnerable by thanksgiving and for the rest of the folks, the rest of the public for those who need a by the new year and i want kansans to know that the end of january, when i was the first congressman, the first member of congress, up on the floor, to say look, we have a problem here. Since that day ive been working to solve this problem. In early february i was sitting down with cdc, the fda and the private sector saying we need to get work, get to work on vaccines, on therapeutics, and im so proud of the doctors and nurses across the country and what we have done. We have got the greatest doctors and nurses in the world. We have cut this mortality rate from 4 down thanks to American Ingenuity. So, listen, i am so optimistic that i can see the light at the end of the tunnel that we are winning the war against this invisible enemy. , 30tate senator bollier seconds. Sen. Bollier you know, it has been so disappointing to see a doctor more concerned of his Political Health than the Actual Health of the people of kansas. He has been going around the state, holding events, not wearing masks, inc. Inside in large groups, not following science. It is incredibly disappointing. It has put people at risk. We need to elect a doctor who actually follows science, follows Public Health guidelines, and will do her best to make this country safe. Congressman marshall, 30 seconds. Oh, thats right. I couldshall i wish get another 30 seconds, i would love to respond. Sen. Bollier what we all. Wouldnt we all. My mistake. Lets go to the next question. That will be for congressman marshall to answer first and that will come from the radio and Kansas Ag Network. Good news yesterday, senator bollier and congressman marshall , from the usda, net farm income is projected to be over 102 billion dollars in the United States this year. That is the good news. Heres the bad news. 37 of that money came from government payments. The rest of it, of course, came from export sales, sales of livestock and such. But plant operators have been struggling over the past several years over the past year. What specific policy proposals to you support to improve the Financial Outlook for farms and ranches . Sen. Marshall look, kelly, we have been working on this together and we have done lots of interviews on this. Number one is trade. I am so proud of the trade agreements we have already gotten done for agriculture. Canada,with mexico and and as we are seeing those come online, our exports are increasing. 14 increased exports to china right now. Now we have to pick up those other countries we missed so far. Great britain, the european union, india, and african nations as well. We think there great opportunities for their, great opportunities for biofuel, we just got you 15 going to our pumps now and i want to talk about pet food. Kansas makes 60 of the pet food for the country and theres great opportunities for that and i want to tell you what we cannot do. We cannot let democrats control the majority, their Green New Deal will kill kansas agriculture, they would triple our taxes, it would increase the price of gasoline at the palm, the price of electricity in your house as well, thank you so much. State senator bollier, one minute. Sen. Bollier to be clear, i do not support the Green New Deal. And we know it is government overreach. And it is not a realistic path forward. As far as trade goes, kansas is an export state. We support fuel, food, airplanes. And we are the best in the world at what we do. That is why it is so critical for kansas to have access to International Markets around the globe. And that is why deals like that usmca are so important, and why i will make sure that i fight for kansas farmers and ranchers, who never again i do not want them pushed to the front lines of a trade war. Unfortunately, it has been sad to see that they have had to unfairly shoulder the burdens during this time. Sadly, whenpponent given the opportunity to stand up for kansas farmers and go against these trade deals, he instead chose to be a yesman, for the present and for these harmful policies. And congressman marshall you have 30 seconds. Sen. Marshall im so proud of the trade agreements we have gotten accomplished and so proud and thankful of the support of kansas farmers. These kansas values of accountability. And the other kansas value standing up to a bully. Im grateful kansas farmers to beside us and helped us get through these trade wars and now we are starting to see the benefits from it, you cannot find a kansas farmer out there that does not communicate with me they have had tough times dealing with china in the past. They knew we had to stand up to this bully. I want to caution everybody from the over regulations that the democrats promised to bring. All right. We want to thank everyone joining us on our livestream, news, facebook or youtube pages, we appreciate you being along with us as well as ande on the radio, on580 fm news and the Kansas Agriculture Network and Kansas Information Network stations. Our next question, first willred by dr. Bollier come from Jennifer Askey with highpoint journal High Plains Journal. To continue along these thoughts, kansas has seen a rise in wind energy and renewable fuel like ethanol and biodiesel which are import to arkansas corn and sorghum and soybean farmers. These are examples of a few Green Industries in the state supplementing our existing interests Trees Industries and infrastructure. Is there a place for Rural Congress to participate in a Green Economy of the future . And what programs or initiatives would you propose as the u. S. Senator from kansas to ensure kansans are not left behind and yet our Traditional Industries are also at the table . State senator bollier, one minute. Sen. Bollier the science tells us Climate Change israel. And it must Climate Change is real. And it must be addressed in a bipartisan matter. I support us rejoining the paris agreement. Training workers for green jobs and expanding incentives that will bell up Renewable Energy sources like wind and solar. I do not support the green new , it is an example of government over rate and as i said before it is not a realistic path forward. However i do think we need elected leaders who will be more for thinking, and stop governing from crisis to crisis. We need to Work Together to address this issue. Farmers and ranchers know that, they deal with it every day. It is going to require leadership. No, i will listen and Work Together to address this critical issue to make sure we can move forward with kansas leading in wind, being one of the best places for a green, green environment. Congressman marshall, one minute. Sen. Marshall this is something i am so excited to talk about. I just spoke with accompanied this week that is going to make a 7 billion investment in wind energy and kansas and Rural America is going to benefit from them. Few days go by i do not talk to some but about biofuels and work on new opportunities for that, whether of sorghum oil pathway or a 15 yearround or winding back small refinery exemptions or apa renewable fuel standards. Oil and gas very important to agriculture in the Green New Deal will be the end of that as well. My opponent says she is not in favor of the Green New Deal but her party is. Partyft the republican in favor of the democratic values. Invested in you they going to come back for her vote. And she is going to give it. State senator bullying bollier . Sen. Bollier there you go again, roger, running over the truth. As i said many times, i do not support the Green New Deal. And i will not when im in the u. S. Senate. I am known for my independent voice. Stop deceiving voters. Up, to be first answered by congressman marshall. Tim carpenter, the kansas reflector in topeka. To what extent should wealthy white people such as yourselves strive to understand the motivations of black lives matter activists, and represent those constituents views in washington . Congressman marshall you have one minute. Sen. Marshall i am one of the luckiest most privilege people in the world. I am privileged because my parents worked their tails off. My dad worked 80 hours a week as a Police Officer and my mom worked 40 or 50 hours as a clerk and came home and took care of her family as well. I do not know what is going on in the coast. I know what is going on a kansas. I was taught to value a person by their heart and by their actions. I think i have taught my kids that same purpose. If you look at my record that i just do not see stain color. Skin color. I think there are things we can do to improve everybodys relationships and it starts with good education and a good economy and that is what republican stand for, raising people out of poverty and giving them a job. That brings meaning and fulfillment to lives, not keeping them buried in the ghetto. I am all for lifting other people up. , oneate senator bollier minute. Sen. Bollier thank you for this important question. This country has been in a crisis for many years. We know that we need to listen to all. We need to keep our communities safe in that time. We need to look to things that actually make a difference for people. One of those is Public Education. Champion forme Public Education in kansas. I stood up to sam ran back when he tried to dismantle our Early Childhood education system, which is so needed for all people to be successful. And i voted for some of the largest funding increases to the classroom in kansas history. I worked across the aisle to do these things, and and that sam round back tactics permit so everyone had the tax experiment so everyone had the opportunity for worldclass opportunity to matter what their zip code. It has been disappointing to see my opponents lack of support for Public Education in our schools. During this pandemic he has not helped fund them and im disappointed with that and look forward to helping all people stand up. Congressman marshall, 30 seconds for rebuttal. Sen. Marshall words and actions are different. My opponent voted against her own governors covered really fun which would have helped schools. I would ask you now how would you have voted last week on the senate bill that wouldve helped would have helped covid funding as well . There was not one democrat that voted in favor of. The senate bill in coronavirus. State senator bollier. And you also have the next question. It will come from michael shakey with tv in wichita. Before this pandemic, many rural hospitals struggled and we have seen some close. How would you and short row sans continue to have rural kansans continue to have access to health care in their communities . , oneate senator bollier minute. Sen. Bollier im a doctor and an independent thinker, and i will work with anyone to solve problems. In the Kansas Legislature i championed Medicaid Expansion to provide health care for thousands of kansans especially including rural kansans. Work to and surprise billing. Kansans ability to deduct medical expenses from income taxes. When i go to washington i will keep fighting to make sure that health care is more affordable. People inprotect kansas with preexisting conditions. And lower Prescription Drug costs. Weakennent voted to protections for people with preexisting conditions, opposed Medicaid Expansion, the number one thing our Rural Communities it would really help our neighbors. I will put families first, not politics, like him. Congressman marshall, one minute. Sen. Marshall Rural America is really a reflection of the local economy and it is and as agriculture goes so goes Rural America. So if you want strong hospitals and Rural America, you need a strong ag economy and some of the policies ive already talked about. But ive already fought hard for success for rural hospitals. We fought for telemedicine. I think you will be hardpressed to find a hospital in kansas that does not have an opportunity for telemedicine. We have increased the medicare reimbursement for rural hospitals. Rural Economic Development, we have used those dollars from the far belt to build new hospitals like in osborne, kansas. I have been fighting for Rural America hospitals, i have lived in one for 30 years. , 30nd state senator bollier seconds. Sen. Bollier again, words and actions are different things. It matters immensely the number one issue for kansans during this election is Affordable Health care. 80 of kansans support expanding medicaid in this state. This congressman has stood firmly opposed to that very lifesaving line that we need for the people of kansas. I stand by my record of support. You are listening to the u. S. Senate debate for the kansas United States senate seat that is being vacated by senator pat roberts. You are listening to that here bw. 580 wi i want to let arkansas agriculture affiliates across the state and we welcome all of you on the livestream watching livestream, facebook and youtube. From theuestion kansas egg network. Has broughtollier up the grain new deal and im glad to hear she is not supportive of it, but we have had a lot of hurricanes in the u. S. This year. Just last week a hurricane slammed into louisiana, my wifes home state, and the state of alabama. At another one is getting ready to hit the texas coast. This summer, we had something called ar heard of into indianat cut and the ohio river valley, damaged or destroyed millions of acres of crops. Winds were as high as 140 miles per hour. You look at the massive forest fires we have in the western states now, the smoke of which i saw this morning here in topeka. My question is this. There is likely going to be a lot of political pressure, mostly from the left, to mandate some changes to alleviate Climate Change. One of the proposals is a tax on beef, which they say is responsible for significant levels of methane. Do either of you support this . Marshall, one minute. Sen. Marshall kelly, that is another example of both liberal left and their concepts, look, in the boy scouts we are taught to leave it better than we found it. That is my philosophy. My family night planted 20,000 trees and worked on wetland restoration. In congress i worked to encourage innovation conservation and thanks to American Ingenuity our Carbon Footprint is at 825 year low in this country eight 25 year low in this country. Because of american intervention. I cannot help but stop here and all of the Democratic Party has Climate Change phobia. Green newwant this deal which would be the end of the kansas agriculture and beef in the economy and that is the party my opponent chose to leave the Republican Party over. So she can stand here and say she is not going support it. That she isd not going to support it. One minute to respond. Sen. Bollier unlike you i think for myself and have a reputation as someone who will actually bring farmers and ranchers to the table, to find solutions that work for them. That is what washington desperately needs right now. To be clear, it is so important that the stakeholders who are impacted by things like regulations, especially when it comes to agriculture and our climate, that they are included in the decisionmaking process for new federal policies. This is how we will avoid over regulations that are unnecessary or burdensome, or even harmful to our economy. Common sense regulatory reforms cant reduce barriers to competition, lower the cost of doing business can reduce barriers to competition, lower the cost of doing business and foster opportunity and growth. Im an independent thinker, and i stand up for honesty and truth. That is what matters to the people of kansas, their values been represented truthfully. Congressman marshall, 30 seconds. Sen. Marshall my old track coach had a saying, dont tell me, show me. My opponent says she is in independent voice but she has voted with democrats 90 of the time. She says she has a history of reaching out and talking to kansas Livestock Association has endorsed Roger Marshall. She says she wants to help kansans. Four many in agriculture the biggest price that they have. I want to remind folks of one more thing. When they gimmick democrats control congress, they gave us i want to remind folks of one more thing, when the democrats controlled congress, they gave us the waters of the u. S. Makes question for senator , from High Plains Journal. Keeping in mind we will likely be negotiating the next farm bill and farmer bankruptcies have slowed but are still higher than 2090 levels, what would you bring to the table in negotiations for farmer safety net . And what in your opinion what decouple agriculture from dashwood decoupling agriculture from nutrition be a viable option for the future . Sen. Bollier that is important to know about voting records. I voted 86 of the time with the Senate Majority leader. As he a democrat . I dont know. There are really surprising, wonderful, Inspiring Stories from kansas businesses around the state, of all sizes, all sectors, that have stepped up in so many ways during this pandemic, including auroral agricultural including our rural ag. They have been essential for the kansas recovery effort and theyre rallying to help the u. S. Solve this problem. The private sector is best suited to create jobs and grow the economy, but the government can be a partner in that, by supporting stronger infrastructure, schools and skills training of modern, sensible Regulatory Framework and access to loans and capital. I have always maintained a productive and positive relationship with groups around the state and will continue to do so to help our economy grow. Congressman marshall, one minute . Sen. Marshall jennifer, you are asking me about one of my favorite subjects, the farm bill and it is important and you ask what we bring to the table and i bring a wealth of personal experience. Senator bob for dole and pat roberts teaching me and im grateful for that relationship with farm bill and kele and we worked together to do what farm bureau asked for full funding for crop insurance. On the title i funding they asked for tweaks, rma data that you have to be able to switch yearbyyear. We made improvements in conservation projects as well. We did improvements in rural Economic Development and appropriated 680 million more for rural telemedicine and internet conductivity. Our bring personal experience still invested in agriculture and understand what it looks like. Im going to go out and meet the farmer and talk to them on the tongue of the wagon. 30state senator bollier seconds. Sen. Bollier as i stated before, after 11 years in the state legislature i have a strong and long record of standing up for rural agriculture and those people to make sure their life is growing sustainable, to get the health care they need. Sadly, my opponent has voted and works against keeping protections for people with preexisting conditions. And he is actually written letters to us to oppose expanding medicaid again. It matters that we work with all people. Doleroberts the legacy in the state and will continue to stand up for ag and that u. S. Senate. Questiont, the next will be first addressed by congressman marshall from the kansas reflector. Washington politicians have spent decades art thing about the annual federal deficits and extending federal debt. Today there is a bipartisan agreement not to worry about it anymore. What are your priorities in altering the federal budget . Congressman marshall, one minute. Sen. Marshall this is probably the issue that keeps me awake at night. When i want to congress i thought i had pretty good solutions. Im a business person and people ask why should vote for Roger Marshall . I signed a paycheck every other week force few s3 people up to 300, when you have a business that is upside down you try to decrease expenditures. We lower taxes and have the greatest economy and record income but unfortunately we had record expenditures. This country needs to be welling to be able to cut back on their expenditures. Budget is federal being spent on health care and ive worked hard with legislation that would protect preexisting conditions as well as drive down the cost. Opponenther hand my and her party have promised to raise taxes and spending. , oneate senator bollier minute. Sen. Bollier im the only candidate in this race with a proven record of fiscal responsibility. Taxthe brownback expenditure rick tabet on the havoc state wreaked i railedstate budget, against a state that reach historic levels. I also rolled up my sleeves with people across the aisle to end that experiment and get our fiscal house back in order. It was not easy and required compromise. That is what leadership looks like. Congressman marshalls record of fiscal response ability is as reckless as his driving is. Long before covid19, congressman marshall failed fiscal policy, put our federal deficit on track to reach a trillion dollars. And he voted to balloon our federal debt with brownback style tax breaks for the wealthy. Tocan and must do better elect a u. S. Senator. Congressman marshall, 30 seconds. Sen. Marshall i cannot help thinking again to my track coach saying dont tell me, show me. The kansasonent left Republican Party to join the democratic Republican Party and except there values. Administration have promised to increase taxes. Medicare for all will quadruple your taxes. And her my opponent party represent increasing our taxes. Next up, i question for senator bollier will answer first. Michael from td in wichita. In the future it could have an impact on ag, one in three access tocould have Recreational Marijuana if voters approve state ballots. To support legalizing or decriminalize in marijuana on a National Level . As physicians, where you stand on medical marijuana . State senator bollier. Sen. Bollier what an excellent question. And isnt it disappointing we have not had a lead from washington on this very important issue. Instead, every state has a different law and it is very confusing to most of us. We need a federal response. What i will support, we need to remove marijuana from the schedule one list, and go ahead and study the substance. If it is appropriate, we will learn by using examples, by studying it, and we need our fda to sign in and support whether or not this drug is safe, and when it is safe. Absolutely, we must decriminalize this. We are finding that so many people, unfortunately, and up in our criminal justice system, because of Substance Use disorder issues, etc. , when we could have stood up and built more places for them to be treated, Substance Abuse disorder clinics, medical health. Facilities through Medicaid Expansion. My opponent has been against that. Congressman marshall, one minute. Sen. Marshall im not sure but i think my opponent said she is in favor of Recreational Marijuana. That is not a kansas value, not to the kansans i talked to, that i perceive Recreational Marijuana as a gateway drug to other drugs. We have had large problems with opioid addictions and method actions in the state and i do not want to have one more drug letting people in that way. I do think there may be medical opportunities and im open for research of that and i want to follow the values what kansans think though and make sure this does not become a recreational drug. State senator bollier, 30 seconds. Sen. Bollier i came here today to talk about important issues to kansans. Congressman marshall apparently came here to mislead people about what i have to say. , but it disappointing clearly demonstrates the difference in our approach to issues. All right, next up as we move around the horn again, and this one will be addressed to congressman marshall first, and it will come from kelly lends with wibw radio and the Kansas Ag Network in topeka. Thank you, greg, im not going to ask and ag question right now. Im going to ask an education question. Senatorsenator bollier brought up the importance of funding for Public Education earlier. She did not address and ive not heard senator marshall either that you would support School Choice which many people do but unions and others would like to see that stopped. What do you think . Congressman marshall, one minute. Sen. Marshall kelly, if i want to share how important education is to me as a First Generation College student. All four of my children had the same first grade teacher and i had the privilege of my life to write a letter of recommendation for her to the teacher hall of fame. What i would tell you about School Choice is that what may work in rural kansas may not be what works in urban orders suburban america. Im open to exploring all of those options and i do not think we are doing a great job with education right now in urban america. I think that school twice and there is a better opportunities out there, i think this is just another great example that we do not want washington dictating policy, and that is what my opponent and her party, that is what they typically lean on, is national policy, look what california is doing . Look what new york is doing. Kansans do not want to do the same thing. Americations in rural may be different than the solutions in urban and suburban america. State senator bollier, one minute. Sen. Bollier it is nice to hear when we kind of agree on something. It is nice to hear that congressman marshall is a First Generation College student. Im so proud of my husband, he is the same, First Generation College student and he went on to medical school. And im so proud of that as is his whole family. Yes, we all need access to education an excellent education. I have stood firmly as a kansas legislator standing with Public Education. Circumstances,in and we allow this in our system, to have charter schools, that help people have choice. But ultimately, i have not been supportive of betsy devos, and this need to push vouchers into our system. We know that kansas is one of the top school stop top states in the country, one of the top 10 in excellent education. What we want to see as an and two people having their opportunities taken away from them, for things like going to college. And having opportunities when we make bad tax decisions. So i stand with the people of kansas and support our excellent Public Education system. Congressman marshall, 30 seconds. Sen. Marshall i dont want to rebut, i just want to talk about how important education is and know a great job kansas does. My wife and i are Community College graduates and we have some of the greatest Community Colleges and technical colleges in the country and that is why i worked so hard on the perkins grant, the federal scholarship, federal dollars fund those gene dish and seniors get to go to Community Colleges and technical were juniors and seniors get to go to committee colleges and technical colleges, another solution to keeping the cost of health care down. Keep it up everybody, we are doing a great job out there. I think i have visited 45 of the institutions of Higher Learning in the state of kansas. Before we go further we need to for the folks in radio, pause for 10 seconds for station identification. You are listening to the kansas u. S. Senate debate. Welcome back to the 2020 kansas u. S. Senate debate between republican candidate congressman Roger Marshall and democratic candidate kansas state barbara bollier. Possible byde Kansas Electric cooperatives and that kansas soybean commission, among others. The next question, state senator from High Plains Journal. The u. S. Postal service is critical to our rural citizens and also our communities and newspapers, like High Plains Journal, that bring the news to the citizens. Funding of the u. S. Postal service has been in the news lately. How will you as a u. S. Senator, representing kansas, ensure that our u. S. Postal service is fully funded and works for all americans, as our founders intended . Bollier state senator bollier ,. One minute sen. Bollier thank you for that critical question. Not only for the things the u. S. Postal service has done in the past but we will be dependent upon it during this election to make sure about is counted. I have heard from many, many people around the state, one in particular comes to mind. A veteran of war who contacted me because the Postal Service normally, that always delivers his medicine, it took over five days for his medications to be there. Why . They have not been funded fully. And i know, my opponent voted against, right now, 25 million aid to our u. S. Postal service during this pandemic, what it is so critical for all of us. This man, his life and health were put at risk. We need to be sure and stand up for our Postal Service. Not put undue burdens on them that are different than others. And make sure that the people of kansas have this lifegiving, place, sog service in they get their medicine and their vote can count. Congressman marshall, you have one minute. Sen. Marshall look, no one fought harder for the Postal Service on that republican side than the democratic side then we have. Right now our Postal Service is fully funded for a year. They have another 10 billion in the bank as well. The senate put forward another covid relief built with millions of dollars more. I remember growing up and visiting my grandparents on the farm, and at the end of lunch around 1 00 every day, we would be anxiously waiting for the postman to get there. Aunts delivering mail as well. It is an important piece of the puzzle. At the same time we have to understand we have a very broken Postal Service and need them to come into the 20th century and do a better job so we are looking forward to working with them. Im a big proponent and will keep fighting to help the Postal Service. State senator bollier , 30 seconds sen. Bollier they need help right now during this pandemic. They need help right now. I want to be clear to people that i will be an independent voice of reason for kansas. We need leaders that will put aside this partisanship, this fighting. And focus on what is right for kansas. That is what matters. Yes, we need our u. S. Postal service to. And we need someone that will go up and get make sure they get funding and time as well as at all times. The next question, first addressed to congressman marshall from Tim Carpenter with a kansas reflector in topeka. Do you believe russia meddled in the u. S. Elections . How aggressive so the u. S. Government be at rooting out and responding to election interference by Foreign Countries . Sen. Marshall certainly they have tried to metal. They have been to meddle. They have been doing this since the 1920s and 1930s, trying to feed us with propaganda. Did they change any vote counts . No. Weve had the trifecta. We passed significant legislation and increased funding to out to all the elections across the country to make sure they were more safe and sound. I think that true issue is who is hard on china and who is soft on china. Harris have been soft on china and russia and all those folks. Leave thet chose to Republican Party because democrats braced all those values. Russia,s are soft on soft on china. We need to protect those values. State senator bollier, one minute. Sen. Bollier brush is not our friend. We have sent russia is not our friend. We have seen that an election interference. We have seen that in bounties on our u. S. Military. We need to work closely with our inies, and sadly, leaders washington are not building coalitions to solve these problems. In fact, we have walked away from many coalitions. Working with other nations is how we hold bad actors like russia accountable. We need elected leaders who will stand strong for american values, and kansansvalues, and more important than ever before, our country needs a strong, smart, Strategic National security plan, focused on protecting the United States. The american people, the people of kansas, and our interests abroad. We do not need leaders who cave in to dictators, and insult our allies. Congressman marshall, 30 seconds. Sen. Marshall im so proud of the national security, the foreign policy, that is led by mike pompeo. My complete trust in him and i believe with him he is doing a great job, that he is able to help hold other countries accountable. Military, welt our have Energy Independence as well. So im so proud to have the administration willing to stand up and has a record of showing up to these people. But i do live in great fear of the next question, which will be first answered by senator will come fromer michael. Recent campaign as that focused on abortion, can you help listeners understand where you stand on abortion . My lifes work has been devoted to the health and wellbeing of all people. Every woman knows that this is a very difficult decision as a position decision. As a physician, i have been an advocate for strong Reproductive Health care and i will protect a womans right to make her own private Health Care Decision in consultation with her health care provider, and know that after 10 years in the Kansas Legislature, my position as never once interfered with my ability to work with other legislators. That is why i am endorsed by dozens of prolife current and former republicans who are currently or formally elected and they stand with me as does senator kassebaum to do what is right for kansas. Marshall, one minute to respond. Rep. Marshall this is not just an issue. This is personal to me. Deliver 5000 babies without understanding the sanctity of life. I am 100 prolife. I will be against abortions every time and will do everything to protect that life born and unborn. That sounded like nancy pelosi speak to me. Are you in favor of lateterm abortions, dismemberment abortions . Ld you vote for acer verse abortion survival built to protect the baby that survived abortion . Maybe this is why the biggest abortion lobbying in america and spent 2. 5 million attacking us because they know i will stand up for life and protect life. I can tell story after story. I can tell a story of a young girl going to planned parenthood and they schedule that abortion without asking her about it then they would come to my office and reach out and help them, provide the social support they would need from catholic social services. I will always stand up to the sanctity of life. I hope my opponent will answer those questions for kansans. , 30 seconds for a rebuttal. Sen. Bollier congressman marshall should know how painful, heartbreaking, and incredibly personal these situations are for women. It is disturbing that he wants intoject more government these private Health Care Decisions between a woman and her doctor. I am so proud of the campaign we are running and want to know that i stand up for truth. We are focusing on truth and honesty. My opponent is not. He is pushing conspiracy theories, deceiving kansans. Rep. Marshall you have the chance to set the record straight. Are you in favor of lateterm abortions . Sen. Bollier excuse me. Excuse me. The next question. Kelly with wi wb radio. This will be addressed to congressman marshall. Sen. Bollier rep. Marshall there is an old saying that you cannot drive the car if you do not have the gas. Extremely is important to agriculture it not only in this but around the country. Let me give you an example of what Rural Broadband why it is important. I have a good former friend of mine who may be listening to this program today who uses a computer and a Computer Program to tellspeed internet exactly how much rain fell on every field in his farm. Imagine youre in Cherokee County with no broadband and you are trying to use a drone to track down cattle that are lost in a rough country. Rural broadband as to be expanded. It is slowly improving. What can be done to improve that . Congressman marshall, one minute to respond. Rep. Marshall we are working on this very hard and i am so proud of the improvements that we have made. I can tell you how precision agriculture has impacted kansans and white kansas has more kids in grade school then in high school because of a young man starting a precision ag company as well. The first thing that happened when i got to congress was i realized we did not have a good met. Working with the Kansas Farm Bureau, we were able to improve that map. Once we got the mapping done, we are going back and correcting the problem. We were successful in getting a grant to improve world broadband edit we are working with three other groups as well. I am tired of praying about this. I am ready to fix the problem. We have secured funding for this as well and appropriations funding from the usda as well. We are working on the problem. We are going to get there. Bollier, onetor minute to respond. Sen. Bollier agriculture and our rural way of life are critical to us in our economy in kansas and our identity as kansans. I have voted in the past to have more funding for Rural Broadband. What we know from the stateside is that we need federal help. Enough has not come. Aretch people when they being good. I am proud to say and glad to know that our President Donald Trump within the last six weeks approved more money to expand Rural Broadband in the state. We need more. What i am hearing from farmers and ranchers as well as rural hospitals is they need access to broadband that works for them and gives them the ability to do the jobs that they need to do. Senate need in our u. S. Are people willing to work andther, solve problems, actually get results and that is what i will do. Congressman marshall, 30 seconds for a rebuttal. Rep. Marshall i am proud the bipartisan oppressor efforts we have done on this issue. I am sure my folks out and twitter rolled out some of the new bills we are working on for Rural Broadband. Bill. Illion in the farm the challenge is really implementing it. The money has been there but we were not doing a good job writing the grants. We are interviewing intervening. Ruralo proud of the broadband people supporting their communities in so many ways. We will solve this problem together. We are solving it today. The next question addressed bollier. R jennifer. It is been said that farmers want trade, not aid. According to the Kansas Department of agriculture, our te farmers export nearly billion dollars in soybean, wheat, and sorghum. The Farm Bureau Federation said we sought to . 95 billion negative balance between egg imports ag imports and exports. We have seen tariffs that have and with covid19 during many world economies into a lurch, those same economies that would be our customers, kansas may have fewer opportunities for quality ag products. We just saw funding released, another 14 billion in payments. In your opinion, are payments a Sustainable Way to keep former or do youes at bay another solution. Senator, one minute to respond. Sen. Bollier i am glad you brought up trade. It is the backbone of our state. Exportid before, we things, food, fuel, and airplanes. We do a great job of doing that and we have to have a senate and a general government federal government that will stand up for good relations with our allies so we can make those trade agreements. I know. I am committed to defending our farmers and manufacturers from damaging trade policies. They have hurt. We need to do something different. It has been an undue burden on them to earn a living. It is not sustainable to always receive payments from the government. Again, our congressman did not stand up against these unfair trade policies and it needs to do better. Thank you. Congressman marshall, one minute to respond. Rep. Marshall i am so proud of the work we have done on our trade agreements. Kevin brady waved at me, asked me to go to mexico and asked me to represent agriculture. I am so honored that the president and ustr would asked me to go to the United Nations for the signing of the japanese trade agreement. If these Companies Get healthy, it will be great exports opportunities for kansas. Japan and south korea are number one in beef export markets. We are selling a significant amount of beef to china. Absolutely, this trait is real important. I have spent more time on trade than any other issue since we got the farm bill done. I mentioned other opportunities as well. Biofuel, pet food, but what im concerned about are the democrat policies of increased regulations. Those regulations will kill all opportunities trade will bring us. Republican left the party to join that Democrat Party that wants to bring all of those rules and regulations and the green jewel back on that will kill kansas agriculture. Senator, 30 seconds to respond. Forwardlier i so look to being an active participant in the ag committee in the u. S. Thate following the path senator roberts and senator dole have paid for us. I will stay on that committee. I will not leave. I will not be looking for other committees to go to that have better funding from various people. Opposedear, i have overregulation as a state legislator and will continue to do so as a u. S. Senator. I spoke out against the obama waterways issue and i will continue to work to cut red tape and make sure we have good policies in place. Be able toke we will get one more question in. Hopefully we can get it done quickly before closing statements. Lets go to Tim Carpenter in topeka. You are both doctors. There has been a high drama at the fda, cdc and elsewhere regarding best practices of covid19. Are you concerned too many illinformed or politically motivated individuals have the ear of americans during this lifeanddeath struggle. As science luster rhetoric . Problem with the viruses as that data is all over the place and National Media is cherry picking and sharing what they want to share. I want to bring the message of hope to americans. They will see a graph that shows a slight increase infections, the number of people being admitted to hospitals is not coming up. We are doing a great job. I want to remind people of the consequences of shedding the economy down again. Harrisnents party, the Biden Administration have promised to shut down our economy again if this virus rears its head. More people will die from shutting down this economy. We have record numbers of suicide. People with cancer that should not have happened. More child abuse going on. So many unintended but very predictable consequences. That is what why we cannot afford to have a democrat Senate Majority. They want rules and regulations not consistent with our values. You have onellier minute to respond. Sen. Bollier there is nothing more important to me that we beat this virus. , wetop the spread of covid must follow science and followed the data. That is how we will rebuild our virusy, and to combat a like this, we need to follow science and facts like we did when we had polio, smallpox. Important to be a scientist in this. My opponent has chosen to politicize the pandemic instead of following science and modeling good behavior. He refuses to consistently wear a mask and has circulated conspiracy theories and misinformation and it was so bad it got thrown off social media. Recklessnessishing from a physician and we are here doing values and truth. He is pushing conspiracy theories, deceiving kansans, and manipulating video on these issues. It is so shameful. Congressman, i hate to do this because of where we are at timewise. We do not have time for a rebuttal on that. We need to get closing statements and from the blood draw we held yesterday, congressman marshall, 2. 5 minutes for your closing statement. Rep. Marshall growing up, i shared a bedroom with my brother and on our bedroom wall or two plaques our mother placed, the 10 commandments and the declaration of independence. And committed to guarding fighting for these kansas values. I am committed to keeping your family healthy, safe and secure. I went to keep you healthy by updating safe and reliable vaccines and therapeutics at warp speed. Im committed to your safety and security, border security, fully funding the military and police as well as protecting the sanctity of life. My out of touch opponent and her open have promised you borders, sanctuary cities, defining the police, defining the military and no regard for the sanctity of life. If there is one word that can describe kansas values, it is liberty, the right to make our own decisions. Every day it seems our opponent and her party threaten our freedoms. They censor our speech and remove flechette phrases from our pledge of allegiance that our own eisenhower gave us. This is not going to fly in kansas. To pursue believe happiness, we need a good job to provide for our family. Who would you trust to reveal a post covid economy . The republicans who built the strongest republican economy of our lifetime or our opponent and her party who have promised higher taxes and more regulations . My opponent has said she is a moderate but a record begs to differ. She voted with democrats 90 of the time. You never saw a tax increase she did not like. She has 100 voting record supporting a potions and attacking abortions and attacking second amendment. She has voted against her own governors covid relief package and against a bipartisan landmark funding bill. Thats sounds more like a liberal obstructionist or a member of the squad, not a future kansas senator. Something every kansan should know, our opponent was the lone senting vote against a law failure to report child abuse. This is completely out of touch with kansas values. Im committing committed to fighting for kansas values. May god bless kansas and our great nation. , 2. 5ate senator bollier minutes for your closing statement. Sen. Bollier thank you for joining us today. And to be clear, my name is barbara. This is a challenging and historic time for our country. Even a hurting time. Many of you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders right now. So many questions, so much uncertainty. But one thing is certain. We need a leader who will put politics aside, stand up and look at the facts and look together to solve problems, Work Together to do what kansas families need. That is what i have been doing my entire career. , i workedislature with leaders of both parties to and surprise billing, fund our , andls, expand medicaid keep taxes low. I will take that approach in washington. My opponents record opponents record is quite different. He is more interested in keeping the leaders of his Political Party happy. He votes the way he is told rather than what is best for kansans. That includes voting against measures that would have made health care more affordable right now during a pandemic. It is just unacceptable. Families need this now. Risk astting people at he campaigns around the state not necessarily wearing a mask, not following science. We can do better. I have a very different approach, and that is why i have been endorsed by senator nancy republicansarly 100 from around the state. I will listen to you. Look at the facts. Find common ground. I will be an independent voice of integrity and honesty. Focused on bringing people together to solve these problems. That is something washington, d. C. Desperately needs right now. Thank you for listening today. I ask for your vote and i look forward to getting to work for you. Be well and god bless. Thank you very much state senator. This concludes our debate. If you would like to watch the debates back, go to our wiwb facebook or youtube pages. Please exercise your right to vote on november 3. East med washington journal, every day we are taking your calls live. Other and columnist daniel pallet on his new book on the road and trumps america, a journey into the heart of a divided nation and latest developments in campaign 2020 with Michael Scribner cottage smercokich. Be sure to join the discussion with your phone calls, messages, and tweets. Trump held a Campaign Rally in fayetteville, north