Eastern wyoming college. We are in the Fine Arts Center here on the campus of Eastern Wyoming College and i am from wyoming pbs. Beingts debate is again broadcast by wyoming pbs and our network, on the wyoming Public Media Network and are social media platforms and on cspan. I am bob. Craig and i will question the candidates this evening in what we hope will be a thoughtful and civil change. We are utilizing social distancing practices here, so there is no Live Audience for tonights debates. Three of the four candidates for the house cr with us and with assistance from the wyoming league of women voters, we have predetermined the order that the candidates will appear and take questions this evening. All candidates have been briefed on the ground rules for tonights debate. Libertarian candidate Richard Brubaker was invited to participate but declined our invitation. In addition to questions from us, midway through the debate, we will have a segment where the candidates, unscripted, will discuss issues among themselves. The questions greg and i will ask the candidates this evening have been drawn from questions from wyoming pbs listeners and staff and viewers and developed by craig and i. The candidates have not seen these questions. Craig we want to get right to the debate. Each candidate is allowed an opening statement, questions will follow. We are ready to begin. Mr. Haggitt, you are first. Jeff thanks to wyoming pbs. And Eastern Wyoming College. I am the Constitution Party state chairman and candidate for the u. S. House of representatives. I think we are all in agreement 2020 has not been kind to this country, with the fires in covid19, etc. , but for all the things we can worry about, lets not lose sight of the thing we should hold near and dear, our liberties, which are the safeguard of our freedoms. The liberties i refer to are the principles of natural rights, liberty reflected in the teaching of john roth, who influenced many of our founders. If history has taught us anything is that, in the wake of national trauma, liberties are frequently attacked, repressed, or done away with. We should not be choosing between liberty and safety. As ben said, those who would give up essential liberty to ben franklin famously said, those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security. Finally, i offer a voice for the voter to choose someone who will work to rebalance the power of the three branches of government to their constitutional roles. Especially the executive branch, and start the road to reducing our National Debt, which is 107 of our gdp. This is likely to get worse under either biden or trump. Thank you. Representative cheney. Reprresentative cheney thank you very much and thank you to wyoming pbs and thank you to eastern wyoming community college. It is an honor to be here, and my opponents. Im running so i can continue fighting on behalf of our freedom and on behalf of wyoming values and to be sure we uphold our Constitutional Rights. We have seen this year a set of challenges and threats we have very rarely faced, potentially an unprecedented set of challenges. And it is going to require continued focus every day to ensure we fight back against the very dangerous policies the democrats, particularly in the house, leadership for two years now under Speaker Pelosi that embraces antisemitism and socialism, threatening our Second Amendment rights, First Amendment rights, at all moments looking to impose partisan legislation, not working to get things done, to provide the kind of relief we need so we can defeat the pandemic, get our economy growing again. Im honored to represent all the people of wyoming in the house of representatives and i look forward to the chance this evening to talk about the issues we face and to earning your support for another term. Thank you. Thank you. Lynnette good evening. My name is lynnette greybull. I want to thank wyoming pbs and the moderators. I want to thank my opponents, mr. Haggit and representative lynn cheney. Again, i am let grable i live in the, heart of wyoming on the Wind River Reservation and quite simply, i want represent the people. I come from the working class and i represent the working class, because i know what it is to have lived a life here in wyoming, where most are from the working class, and i know what struggle is. I know what hardship is. I know how hard it is to get that type of representation in washington, d. C. , because most of the representation in d. C. Are millionaires from the 1 . It is important we strengthen our Constitutional Rights, and strengthen democracy in our country, because everybody deserves a voice. I am fighting for my seat at the table, so that i can bring others to have a seat at the table. I think diversity and equality and justice for all, and to promote the general welfare for everyday people, and people like myself from the working class, and people who know what community is. Thank you. Thank you, candidates. We will begin our question portion of the debate. The first question is from bob. Rural Mental Health continues rural Mental Health continues to climb, mr. Haggitt, rural wyoming has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. Much of this is due to lack of access to Mental Health, clinics n rural areas, and easy access to guns. What plans do you have for communities overrun by despair . Jeff the subject of suicide touches me personally. I lost someone near and dear to me from suicide, due to mental illness. I went through that. Wyoming is such a rural state, and it is important to have local, i mean, we have a State Hospital in evanston, and they run the gamut of different aspects of Mental Health, taking the criminal element in there and housing people that need Constant Care to monitor their medications. But you need to have that outside, in the rural areas too. Uns, that is not a part of this, other than the fact that you probably need to keep guns away from people that might have a problem. Representative cheney. Reprresentative cheney these are Critical Issues that we have seen take on enhanced importance s we face the threat of this andemic, and the economic shut down, some of the economic consequences that we face. There are several things, one is to work to empower local organizations, our churches, faith communities, the wonderful Counseling Centers we have locally and communities around the state commit to make sure that they have the resources that they need. We also need to ensure we do more for telehealth, both in terms of the physical exams as well as in terms of Mental Health. I have introduced legislation that will help in sure but can continue some of the medicare payments that have been allowed during covid, for people who want to use telehealth to consult with their therapist as well. That access is very important. Thank you. Miss grey bull. Lynnette native americans have the highest suicide rates in the country. This is a national problem. My history and working with youth, i understand the dire need of having resources there, to get the help they need. I have talked to mothers, grandmothers who have children and grandchildren who are in the process of going through depression and even talking about suicide. And the resources were just not there. This goes back to representation. This goes back to the suicide rates, usually coming from disadvantaged communities, workingclass communities. We need to provide the Mental Health resources needed for every Community Across the state and nation. Mr. Haggit, you have an additional 30 seconds. Jeff telemedicines recent improvements have been great. One is legislation to join the interstate compact that makes it easier for outofstate telehealth providers practice in wyoming. I dont believe there is a parity law passed in wyoming yet. Anyway, this issue is when i support. Wyoming is listed as one of 20 states having limited coverage for telemedicine, and to do to wyoming being such a rural state, this service should be improved. Representative cheney, 6 illion young adult americans are now living at home. In july, that was 52 of young adults who resided with their parents. Even for the pandemic, the number was 47 in february according to pew research. Does that concern you . Reprresentative cheney well, i think it concerns me if we are facing a generation that is facing particular challenges. It depends on how you define young people. But certainly during covid as we have watched people who graduated, people entering the workforce, it is much more difficult to be able to find jobs. Precovid, we absolutely saw an expansion and job opportunities, expansion and employment levels across the board, for young people, for women, for minority communities. What we need to do is make sure we get back to that. We need to make sure we can effete the pandemic and get our economy growing. We know fundamentally it is economic both and opportunity. We have seen things like opportunity zones this administration has put forward that help encourage investment and expand opportunity. We need our young people to have opportunity so that the economy can grow, but it is going to require defeating the virus. Thank you. Miss grey bull. Lynnette living in wyoming, i am in the nonprofit world and work it community building. I deliver food boxes to those in need in fremont county, so my connection to the community, and also statewide, the things i hear constantly is about the lack of housing. We have two or three families in one household in my community. But that is not only true for the reservation, that is also true for Rural Communities across the state. This is a real issue wyoming faces. I know that for a fact, by being connected with my own community and people across the state. In the realm of job opportunity and economic structure, we had 6800 people laid off from the coal industry last year, and most had to go outofstate to find jobs. Our Unemployment Rate is 11 right now and rising nationwide, ven precovid. Thank you. Mr. Haggit . Jeff can you repeat the question . 36 million young adults are now living at home. Before the pandemic in february, that number was 47 , according to pew research numbers. Is that concerning to you . Jeff well, it is just an indication of where we are at with homelessness is rising, it is already a major problem and is going to get worse if things dont change. It is very concerning that they have to live back with their parents. They have to open things back up again. And when is the cure going to come, not the cure, when we get to the point where the virus is worse than the cure . And you are going to have these roblems. That is just a minor symptom of what we got going on. Reprresentative cheney it is very important we recognize, again, weve got to mixer young people have opportunities. We have to make sure young people in wyoming have opportunities and people dont feel like they have got to go up of state. One thing that has been so important about what the Trump Administration has been able to do, for example, is in short we are helping support our fossil fuel energy and industry, our ag industry in ways we didnt see under the last administration. Those other kinds of things, once we are able to defeat the virus, that will divide good paying jobs for young people so they stay in wyoming. Miss grey bull, the federal debt was already unacceptably high and with covid, it skyrocketed further. What is your plan for addressing it without hurt workers, the poor and elderly . Lynnette in 2021, we are going to be in the midst of living through the pandemic or in the wake of working through the repercussions of this virus. It is important that we put Human Welfare first. I understand there is a National Debt. I understand the concerns of that. Everyone in leadership or policy should always have that, especially if you are working in policy, at the back of your mind, how that is going to affect the National Debt. But in 2006, we faced a recession, americans were losing jobs, stock market was crashing, americans were losing homes. I worked on the making homes ffordable act. We helped millions of americans stay in their homes. We have the ability to overcome and achieve, if we put people first. And if we have the right parts and minds in leadership to move forward to fly in the wake of the pandemic. Thank you. Haggit mr. Haggit. Your opportunity to respond. Jeff are we talking about the . The federal debt. Jeff we are talking ankruptcy. We have to turn that around. Weve got to stop it now. That means spending, we have to take care of people, which is great. We have the cares act people we have to mixer people arent going to be thrown out in the street and hopefully that is going to continue, so we can get our economy back. But we have to cut somewhere else. We cant keep increasing our debt. Otherwise, there is just going to be a cliff. We need to stop spending money somewhere, so we can take care of the people. Thank you. Representative cheney . Reprresentative cheney it is an existential threat. It will be 100 in 2021, 107 in 2023, we have to get control of it. There are several things we need to do. First, recognize the threat posed by the fact holds a significant share of our National Debt. That we know now china is responsible for causing this pandemic, the spread around the world. It increases the danger in terms of the size of our federal debt. If you look at how much of the budget the United States Congress Actually gets to have a say on every year, it is under 30 . So you have got a lot of programs, even before you talk about how important it is to save social security, save medicare, they are going to go broke if we dont save them. There are other programs that are also mandatory every year, about 1 trillion worth it i cosponsored legislation to move those programs back onto the discretionary side of the ledger so that we can begin every year to get a hold of it and they dont automatically go over. 30 more seconds. Lynnette National Debt is a concern. Again, i reference looking backwards, because we were able to get over the recession several years ago, we were able to keep americans in their homes. We were able to help American People move forward and still build the economic structure. I dont believe it is a landslide after we get out of the wake of this pandemic. I believe we have the ability to move over it and persevere like we always have in our country. I think we have to put the people first. When we put the people first, we ill build our economic structure moving forward in a bipartisan manner. Thank you. Mr. Haggit, what is the pandemic talk you about the American Health care system . Jeff the Health Care System, i work in the mines in southwest wyoming. And we are blessed there, we have health care, we have insurance, but health care is important, and people have a role in their own health care. I would like to see people be ducated. And right now, the doctors hands are tied, there are regulations they have to follow where they could lose their license. I would like to see natural, homeopathic remedies that are roven unsafe integrated into our Health Care System so that we have the best of both worlds, and we can grow from there and keep people from getting sick in the first place. Representative cheney . Reprresentative cheney so many things. I think first of all of what heroes our First Responders are, what heroes our Health Care Workers are, day in and day out treating patients with covid, putting their lives on the line for all of us. We have made tremendous strides in terms of knowing how to treat covid. We have made tremendous strides through things Like Operation warp speed and making progress toward a vaccine. United states innovation in health care is not massed around the world, so we have to mixer people have access to it. He should be able to get this treatments and have access to those treatments no matter the challenges you are facing from economic consequences, no matter where you live. That is crucially important. The numberone thing is the tremendous debt of gratitude wheel to our health care professionals. Miss grey bull . Lynnette for my community, health care is not equitable. Ealth care is not eat willie easily accessed. During the peak of covid, we had tribal members who went into a nearby town to seek Health Care Help through the local emergency there. And they were turned away. These were people who were facing dire need. And some of them have passed away. Our community has faced a high death rate, 50 compared to the wyoming death rate for covid. Health care is not equitable. Ended this is true for disadvantaged communities across he nation. A few as a leader do not understand that aspect of it, coming from a majority of hardworking, middleclass people, you are doing a disservice. Because leadership should represent every person that eeds help. Thank you. Mr. Haggit, additional time . Jeff im good. Moderator representative cheney, i was watching a documentary on 1968 1968 and some issues facing the country at that time, and i feel we are reliving that and enjoying a pandemic and several other things along with that. The issues seem to be as bad as they are in some time. How seriously are you taking all this . And what do we need to do as a country . Reprresentative cheney the riots we have seen across the country, and the violence we have seen, into many instances overtook peaceful protest in too many instances overtook eaceful protests. We need to protect the right to peaceful protest violent rioting is not peaceful protest. When you look at challenges we face as a nation, issues around race have been challenges for some time. One of the most important things we can do is get back to the values in our founding documents. When you look at what our Founding Fathers laid out in the constitution and the coloration of independence, we have not attained those goals. We are not perfect. We have work to do. But the best way to get to the point where we can guarantee freedom and equality and justice for everyone is to go back to those values on which this country was founded. We need to teach our kids those values. Too often, our kids are not learning those values in school these days. Miss grey bull . Lynnette i worked in social justice for several years and i believe every person in this country should be treated fairly, as equal, not dependent on race or gender or title or status. Unfortunately, we are living in this social divide because we have leaders who are feeding not only the political divide, but also the social divide, we versus them, us against them. My past history and experience is trying to bring people together. Because i like to be known as a peacemaker, a bridge maker, this is what i do. Believe in bipartisan efforts because that is when you put people first, policy should always lead back to people. On the topic of equality, so much work needs to be done. We should be more concerned why there are peaceful protests, why they are rioting, why, so we can understand and leaders can begin to offer solutions to their heartaches. Thank you. R. Haggit . Jeff there is pretty much equal representation as far as government goes. If you look at the percentage of the population of minorities. And the government, they are pretty much represented that that same percentage at that same percentage in government. Elsewhere, there is pockets of that, but it starts at the home, teaching everyone is equal, and that if you tear eat if you treat each other how you want to be treated, that is the golden rule. 30 more seconds for representative cheney. Reprresentative cheney we have seen a Huge Movement on the left to defund the police in the wake of the riots we have seen around the country. That is absolutely irresponsible. Think it is indefensible. We have seen businesses destroyed, livelihoods destroyed by rioting. We need to make sure we are supporting law enforcement, we are helping Police Departments, supporting good cops. Nobody wants to get rid of bad cops more than good cops do, and the notion you Defund Police in response is flat wrong. Thank you. Miss grey bull, do you believe some Tech Companies have to much influence in the marketplace. If so, what should the Government Role be in addressing that . Lynnette corporations in regards to tech, there should be limitations pensive structure there to structure in a fair manner. And that goes with anything. With regards to multinational corporations versus Small Businesses, i am a big advocate for mom and pop Small Businesses, because this is what makes up wyoming. F we go to every town across the state, you will see Small Businesses that have been passed down from generation to generation. In the midst of covid, i dont think a lot has been said for them. I dont think a lot has been done for them. And that impacts wyoming, because we are made up of Small Businesses that set up the economic structure. I think fairness, structure, equitable Small Businesses on multinational corporations is the way to go when we are facing issues where someone has a leg up for us is someone who doesnt. Mr. Haggit . Jeff big tech in the realm of ocial media, google, facebook, instagram and all those, they are owned by a lot of the same people. Not too long ago, one of the tech guys out of google went out and left the company. He was disgusted with what he was seeing back in the 2016 election that, due to algorithms in social media and different things, they swung almost 2. 5 million votes to hillary clinton. And in this election, you could probably factor it times three hat. We need to be aware of it and atchful, and they are really out to stifle free speech and reedom, as you can tell by the statement, that it is very important to the Constitution Party and myself, and we need to guard against them being able to sway things. Representative cheney . Reprresentative cheney i do think it is a concern. When you look at Companies Like twitter and facebook, you see a significant increase in their power, their ability to control information, and it is not being exercised in a nonpartisan way. Too often, conservative you are targeted. The other challenge is data, our personal data those companies control. It is important for us to come up with a legislative structure where individuals are allowed to own their own data and if you dont want your data on some platform, if you decide to change platforms, you take your data with you. We dont have a situation today where you know exactly what this companies are doing with our ata. I go back to china and the extent we have let the Chinese Communist party infiltrate our system, steal our data, and look to have an even broader Surveillance System across the world that resembles what they have today in china. Thank you. Ms. Grey bull . Lynnette the rise of social media and data has been a concern to me. Worked in the protection of children, as an advocate in crimes against children, and social media has we split a oll. Especially when we talk about child sex trafficking. A lot of families i have worked with in regards to that issue, it has always been from social media. There are a lot more ethical efforts can do to make social media platforms and Tech Companies more ethical and have values that are shared with mothers and families. That is important. The final question in this part of the debate, for mr. Haggit. Bob the Wind River Reservation has been hit largely by the pen and make because of more than a century of Poor Health Care access, massive housing shortage that forces families to share crowded homes. Quality health care and housing are among services promised to tribes in exchange for the land that now makes up the state of wyoming. So how would you ensure the u. S. Upholds its treaty and trust responsibilities to the eastern shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes . Jeff it has been a long, long history. Wyoming has a lot of history with the tribes and stuff, and there was a recent resigning of the treaty a few years ago in ort bridger. And it was real interesting to be part of that. But they have been treated unfairly since the get go. I dont know what could be done pecifically. Im not nearly as involved in it as i could be, i guess. But it has not been a focus of mine. But i think it needs to be addressed, but i dont know. I dont know what the answer would be. Thank you. Representative cheney. Reprresentative cheney it is crucially important the United States uphold our treaty obligations. We have worked, with respect to covid, in providing relief to the leadership of both tribes and have provided several Million Dollars in relief to the reservation, to each tribe, as they are dealing with the challenge in terms of multigenerations living in the same home, the challenge people are facing with trying to quarantine, trying to address the issue, all the economic challenges we are seeing on the reservation have been asked have been exacerbated. We need to do more to provide opportunity and make sure we do more for the Indian Health service, do more to help with education. There has been tremendous work done at laramie at the niversity, to encourage kids from the reservation to come to the university, to feel welcome there, feel part of that community, and we need to do all of those. Thank you. Miss grey bull . Lynnette from the beginning of time when us Indigenous People had to face colonization and being merged with the european culture, we have always had to fight to get our voices heard. And here in 2020, as an indigenous person, i can stay it is i can say it is still true today. A lot of our issues when it comes to policy are on the back urner. Our issues get pushed aside more often than anything else with folks in washington dc. I share this every time i speak, because i think it is important. But i am also trying to compel compassion for tribes. Stand before you as a fullblooded native american woman, and statistics that hang over my head, i am the most raped, stocked, sexually assaulted than any other race in this country. There are a lot of things that can support us. We have lower Life Expectancy due to health disparities, the lowest amount of resources when it comes to Police Departments and Health Services and housing. These are issues all leaders should be concerned of. Thank you. Haggit mr. Haggit . Eff she is right. There is a lot that can be done. Im the big states rights guy, but in this case, the federal government has a play, because it started the whole thing, all the way from the east coast to the west coast. There is some work that can be done, they could get together and figure out something that would be beneficial. Thank you, candidates. We are going to take a break and delight you to visit among yourselves for the next few minutes. Our timer has been instructed to give you 45 seconds once you start to speak on interrupted. You can talk about anything you like, perhaps something covered earlier, other topics you want to make sure you have a chance to visit with opponents about, or questioned them if you like. The only thing i am going to do is draw randomly from my hat exposed. Bob and i will sit back and you will be on your own. I chose ms. Grey bull. You have 45 seconds uninterrupted. And candidates, we will only play traffic cop, other than that, the time is yours. Lynnette last year, i did congressional testimony on protection of the tribal heritage and grizzly bear act. My opponent liz cheney was on the opposite side. It is very important for Indigenous People. It is the longest act we have in washington dc that represents policy for Indigenous People. My question is for my opponent, representative cheney. You made a statement after the the tribes won that case, and your statement was that tribes were ruining your western way of life. My question is, are natives included in the western way of ife . Reprresentative cheney thank you. My comment was the extent that it was not the tribes that were ruining our way of life. What we see from washington dc is too often involved in a massive expansion of the federal Government Role and responsibility, including moving allocations of land out of multiple use, create and wilderness areas, creating monuments without talking to the people that live there, without talking to people who graze on hose lands, for example. And one thing i thought very hard for the time i have been in congress has been to restore and return local control and local decisionmaking. One of the Biggest Challenges during the obama administration, for example, was an effort to have International Ngos have a say in how our land and Mineral Resources are allocated. Too often, decisions from washington do not understand and recognize the needs of the people who live and require and work on the resources and the land. Ynnette in regards to the grizzly bear protection act, both republicans and democrats in wyoming value not only the protection of the grizzly bears, of course and surrounding states, montana and the dakotas, but also in regards to public lands. Public lands are very important to me. Im an advocate for the red desert in wyoming. I dont want to see 150 leases coming across our public lands, and take away the hiking and biking in the great outdoors, because this is an asset here in wyoming. We value that. Even in the winter, we go out and ice fish, and we do a good job of bringing the outdoors and enjoying it and bringing our families. It is what we do. So in regards to the grizzly bear protection act and keeping public lands in public hands, how do you feel about having those industries impede on what we value so much in wyoming . Reprresentative cheney it is very important to make sure we have lands available for recreation. It is important we follow the law. Congress has passed legislation that requires the blm and the Forest Service that lands be managed for multiple use. Some lands are set aside as wilderness, others as recreation areas. I dont think we ought to ever be in a position where federal agencies step in and interpret what congress has done in a way to counter what congress has one. In addition to unbelievable recreation opportunities in wyoming, we have people who make their living, who depend upon being able to graze on federal land. And to often, we see situations like our grasslands, where bureaucrats in washington make decisions that make it impossible for our ranchers to ranch, where grasslands are devastated. We are seeing forest fires, absolute mismanagement from washington. My responsibility as a representative of the people of wyoming is to make sure that kind of mismanagement doesnt go on, that the people who depend upon the land have the right to have a say about it. Mr. Haggit, would you like to chime in . Jeff you mentioned you wanted to create a Public Transportation system in wyoming. What would that look like and how would it be funded . Lynnette my committee has a disadvantage because we dont have Public Transportation. I know that is not the same in other communities, jackson or other places, but i have talked to a lot of people and have friends in other communities that are just as a role, just as small, and transportation is a huge issue, especially when we talk about people who dont have cars, blue have to share cars because there is more than one family and one house. So my idea of a Transportation System would not only create obs, it would also come into our economics in the state of wyoming and take care of those who are in need, and those are people without rensburg atian. Jeff you are talking about buses . Lynnette shuttle buses. We have one shuttlebus in the winter on the reservation, but due to funding, they are only able to do one morning and one afternoon shift to get rides to nearby towns. And most of those who benefit are not natives, it is the teachers, those who work in our tribal offices, they ride the shuttle, go to work, go home. So it is not just a benefit for native americans or disadvantaged people, it is a benefit for everybody. Not only that, it would go to the economic structure. I will make is quick, i want to say in regards to animals we treasure in the state of wyoming, we love our elk, moose, deer, antelope, even grizzly bears, and if we protect our animals, it is part of our tourism. Wyoming has a 1. 9 billion tourism revenue, it is important to continue to protect our animals and public lands, because that is what we are known for. Candidates, a few more minutes of this if you would like to continue. Reprresentative cheney i would like to ask mr. Haggit to talk about the constitution and things you mentioned in your opening statement. It is important we do everything to make sure we are abiding by the constitution, to make sure the separation of powers is respected. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on some things we could do to help do a better job at that. Jeff sure, thank you. Article two of the constitution provides for the powers of the executive branch. It is very clear in the constitution, the executive branch is welldefined and Everything Else is referred to the states and the people. But each successive president has built upon the others overreach due to executive actions. And each one builds on it, there is a tool i can put in my toolbelt, and pretty soon it is like there is no stop to it. It is misused and overused, and we need to put a clamp on hat. Lynnette in 2017, i testified in cheyenne and lobbied against Critical Infrastructure act. We are talking about the constitution here, i believe we should protect our Constitutional Rights to freedom of speech. I dont believe that anyone, whether government or state level, should have a right to take away the speech of citizens. This is how we are able to voice opinions, the way we stand up for what we believe in, and i dont support bills on a state or National Level that silence the voice of the American People. Thank you very much, candidates. Hat was a thoughtful and enjoyable discussion. We are going to resume questions now. Representative cheney, fellow wyoming night understand wyomingites know we face extraordinary challenges. What sacrifices are you calling on your fellow wyomingites to make for the coming good for the common good . Reprresentative cheney people across the state have sacrificed because of covid, you cant ask that question without dealing with the pandemic. Whether we are talking about mall businesses, whether were talking about people who have become sick, people who have died because of covid, we have asked a tremendous amount of the people of this state. And they have delivered and they have produced. We are facing challenging times. Yesterday, the governor had a press conference and talked about the spike in cases of covid we are seeing, and how important it is for us to be responsible and do everything we can to defeat that. But this year, 2020, has been one that is certainly characterized by challenges and threats, in particular the pandemic and the economic consequences of that, and people of wyoming have sacrificed and they are standing up. And i know we are going to get through it and come out with a stronger economy and certainly a stronger sense of community because we are facing a challenge together. Thank you. Miss grey bull . Lynnette when covid hit us here hard in the state of wyoming, i organized, this was not a one man band show, i organized with Community Advocates from across the state, from jackson to cheyenne, to get food boxes, toilet paper was a big one, cleaning supplies, lysol spray. It takes a community and takes people to work towards community wellbeing. That is something i have dedicated my life to. I just try to fill in the gaps where there is a need. If i am able to build capacity to help people in need, or just elevate the voices of people whose voices are not heard, this is what i do. But i also believe in coming together. I am also a bridge maker. And i also have experience working in bipartisanship the other side. I do not condone the we versus them, you guys are wrong and we are right, that doesnt help anybody. And i dont want my kids to grow up in this political environment where we are at each others throats. That is not conducive to peace. Thank you very much. Mr. Haggit. Jeff im a volunteer at the united way and sit on the southwest wyoming advisory board. And part of our job, these organizations are asking for grant money to help their cause, and a lot of of it is either disadvantaged children, women fleeing abusive husbands to a safe house, and you see and hear your that you see and hear their story, and people have suffered so much. And this was before covid. And now, it is off the charts. Look at the food banks. There is lines around the block. My time is up, but there is no more room for suffering at the local level. We need to do something to help hese people. Representative cheney, 30 seconds if you would like. Reprresentative cheney i am proud that through the cares act legislation we have been able to provide 2. 8 billion dollars to wyoming, to both state and local governments, Small Businesses, hospitals, to mixer we provide all resources possible to get through this pandemic. But ultimately, we have got to get the economy growing, and that will help us make sure we are able to take care of communities at risk and takes her we Work Together as communities across party lines to solve these challenges. Bob miss grey bull, i mentioned in the first bait i may come with a bit of a cough, because i am in a forest fires on these days in their army in laramie. One thing we have heard is the forest fire crews are finding it difficult to get resources. The mollen fire grew tremendously, and firefighters trickled in, and they say they only had enough resources to play defense for a couple of weeks. And the problem of strained resources is probably going to e an annual problem. Would you support some kind of a federal, new dealish work program to give people jobs in firefighting . Lynnette absolutely. I do believe our firefighters are our First Responders and we should do all we can on all levels to ensure they are supported, that they have the salaries and resources they need. I understand what it is to have a lack of resources. I lived in a Disadvantaged Community all of my life, where we see a lack of resources. Here on the western side of our country, we have to get the supplies and resources needed to our First Responders, fire departments, our national Forest Service. Those things are important to ensure the safety of the state and also the country. We dont ever want to be in a situation where we have to battle the smoke and the things we are facing. My asthma has really been hit hard these days. But yes, a federal policy could do a better job in making sure First Responders are supplied with what they need. Thank you. Mr. Haggit. Jeff i hear new deal and i think way back during the depression, they were putting people to work building bridges. I assume that is what you ean. The worst place with the fires right now is california. In the prison system there has a firefighting crew. Could you imagine being in prison, and you would think, any chance to get out of prison and go do something, and these are people who really care about doing their job. They wouldnt let them out, because they are afraid they would bring covid back to prison. So there was a resource they couldnt use. When i heard that, i was like, really . I think there is room for creating Something Like what you mentioned, a new deal, putting people to work to go and clear some of this underbrush and opened the logging back up and manage our forests better. Thank you. Representative cheney. Reprresentative cheney the real cause of the fires we are saying, the mollen fire and fires across the west, is the failed federal arrest management olicy. When you look at things like the roadless rule put in place in the clinton administration, when you look at the extent we cant get in and clear out the beetle kills, bills of gone out of business because timber sales havent in there, those are things we have to do to get forests healthy again. We signed a stewardship agreement, the first of its kind in wyoming about a month ago with secretary perdue. We have to do Everything Possible to increase timber sales and secretary perdue put in place additional amounts of timber that we can clear out of the federal forests. It is a huge job, but at the end of the day, it goes back to a federal government imposing decisions about management that are killing the forest send devastating people, devastating likelihoods, we have lost proper, people are losing homes. It doesnt have to happen and it shouldnt be happening. Ms. Grey bull . Lynnette it goes down to science. We mentioned the beetle kill. I have relatives who work in conservation and they clear the roads and trails in the amount is, also the teton mountains, but they are only able to work a few months a year because the unding is not there. The funding needs to be there to make sure we manage our forests so they are not in danger of catching fire, not only in wyoming, but across america. That concludes the question then dance or portion of the debate. We will now go to closing tatements. Well go in reverse order how we conducted opening statements. Ms. Grey bull . Lynnette i want to take this opportunity to thank the citizens of wyoming. Ever since i chose to run in this campaign, i have been contacted by people from around the state. I have read every email, every message sent to our social Media Campaign accounts, i have read every message and letter that has come my way. I am very humbled. I have a huge sense of gratitude to even have the opportunity, a person like me, to even stand on this stage and have an opportunity to speak on issues that i know not only my community is facing, but also people across the state. I have a history in leadership. I hope you have seen this as we went through this debate. I am not new to federal and state legislation, and the tribal level, and i have a bipartisanship background as well. I like to be a peacemaker. I believe leadership should promote peace and togetherness, because this is what our children deserve. Thank you. Representative cheney. Representative cheney i want to thank my opponents for their willingness to put their names on the ballot and be here to participate in this process. E live in the greatest fate in state and the greatest country in the world, and we face huge challenges. They are challenges we can overcome together by defending our constitution, freedom, values, and by always remembering, in wyoming, we stand for the flag and we never forget that it is the men and women who have it on the uniform of this nation, who have defended our freedoms, who continue to do so, and we have an obligation to live lives worthy of that sacrifice to make sure we are doing everything us about for continued success, continued freedom. I am am honored to represent wyoming in the u. S. House of representatives. I ask for your vote for another term. God bless wyoming, and god bless the United States. Thank you. Mr. Haggit, you have the last word. Jeff thank you. I have lived in wyoming since 1976. I, united way fundraiser and sit on the advisory board. I love our wideopen spaces and our respect for individual freedoms. One of those freedoms is the freedom of speech. The first test of that freedom was in 1798, and on it goes to this day. Property rights are so essential to our freedom, and our Founding Fathers made that clear. Unconstitutional laws have brought us to the edge. If elected, i promised to be a tireless defender and motor for wyoming, america, its people and future. The Government Role is to secure our godgiven right to life and liberty and it is the individuals duty to protect those rights by electing those who observe and are guided by the constitution. It would be an honor to serve as wyomings delegate to the house of representatives in washington and i would appreciate your vote in november. Thank you, mr. Haggit. Candidates, thank you for participating in this ebate. This afternoon candidates to be missouris next governor, mike parson, nicole galloway, jerome bauer take part in a televised debate. Komu 8 tv is sponsoring the event 3789 wln the free cspan radio app. Good evening, colorado incumbent republican senator rey gardner and his opponent participate in a debate. Watch live coverage beginning at 7 00 eastern on cspan. Online at cspan. Org or listen on the free cspan radio app. Next a hearing on cybersecurity concerns during the coronavirus pandemic including weaknesses in the network due to nasas reliance on outside inst
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