Veteran m. J. Hegar in a debate sponsored by nexstar broadcasting. This is an hour. This is the u. S. Senate debate in texas. Good evening and welcome to the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in houston. Youre watching us on one of 14 next Star Media Group stations. Were broadcasting live from el paso out to texarkana and houston to amarillo and beyond. Youll also be able to follow us along with our discussion on twitter now at tx Senate Debate. Tonights debate is between the democratic nominee m. J. Hegar and the republican incumbent senator john cornyn. Were joined tonight by a virtual audience. On one screen we have supporters of senator cornyn tuning in from home and on the other side, we have supporters of m. J. Hegar. Thanks to aufl you for joining us virtually tonight from across the state. Here we have no live audience. We are following coronavirus social distancing guidelines set up by the c. D. C. To keep us all safe here this evening. Each candidate and their staff have answered Health Screening questions this morning and had a medical professional check their temperatures as they entered the building and they sent us pictures of their negative covid tests before this event within the last 48 hours. Joining us is a writer for the Dallas Morning News and Sally Hernandez is a native of el paso and has been a reporter in austin for the last two decades. Sally will begin by telling us about the rules for tonights debate. Thank you. Here is a quick rundown to have rules so that you and the viewers at home know what to expect tonight. Each candidate will get 60 seconds to answer the main questions and then youll have 30 seconds for a followup or a rebuttal. Well be reminding you of those times. The sound of the bell will remain when your time is up, just like that. Each candidate will get one minute for Opening Statements and 30 seconds for a closing statement. A coin flip earlier determined who goes first and ms. Hearg, you may begin first and you have 60 seconds. Ms. Hegar thank you. Im a working mom and i understand a lot of challenges you are face bug yor not alone. Texas is at the forefront of a lot to have crisis were facing. The healthcare crisis, the economic crisis. Tonight when youre hearing took into account various plans why lutions, if yourself he has not been able to deliver on them in the 18 years he has had in the senate. 1 3 of that time he has had the majority in house and the senate and the white house. We need to start electing servant leaders who can set aside their selfinterests, ask what is best for the country and not their careers and attack the problems we have head on. If you ask me, we have way too much d. C. In government and not nearly enough texas. Thank you, mr. Cornyn, your opening statement. Senator cornyn thank you for having us here tonight. Thank you for everyone listening remotely. I love texas. I love texas. It has been my honor to represent her, all 29 million of us in the United States senate. I dont believe we need to make texas like chum schumers new york or Nancy Pelosis california. We need to make the rest of the country more like texas. Respect is on the ballot. Respect for medicare recipients whose benefits are threatened or the Energy Policies are embraced by my opponent and respect for Law Enforcement. Sam houston said what is good for texas is good for the country and i believe that is still true today. Thank you. Thank you bote. That was both. That was your opening statement. We have lots of questions. All of these questions that were getting through tonight so you both know and you at home know as well have been based on emails we have got frontline viewers over the last several weeks. We have a lot to tackle tonight. Thank you, sally. It is good to see you both. Were going to start with you, ms. Hegar. After covid19 hit, millions of texans lost their jobs. As of thursday, at least 5. 3 million texans have filed for Unemployment Benefits since the start of the pandemic, yet congress cant seem to make a deal on a Coronavirus Relief package. If you are elected, ms. Hegar, will you promise to vote for direct stimulus checks for texans . Why or why not . You know, i used to wait tables. I was a bartender. I have been laid off from a job. I think it is so critical we have people in position the make these decisions who have actually faced these challenges. I believe we cant attack the economic crisis until we get the Public Health crisis under control. The Public Health crisis is leading we can open businesses all we want but there wont be demrers to patronize the businesses. I believe we need more stimulus. Im upset the senate and the government havent acted in over six months. Im upset senator cornyn said it t see you are ent urgent to get it out. We are the backbone of this economy, not the wealthy corporate special interests. If you were elected to the senate today, you would not support direct stimulus checks . I do support direct stimulus checks as a part of a bigger package. Im upset the president decided to take his ball and go home and stop negotiations and Mitch Mcconnell said were not going to negotiate until after the elections. Rent is due on the first. A lot of people in d. C. Dont understand how that feels. We do have a sense of urgency to get stimulus before this election. Texans are struggling now. Thank you. Senator cornyn, would you promise to vote for direct stimulus checks to texans . Senator cornyn i not only would, i have. I was part of the bipartisan coalition, almost an unanimous vote to have senate in the house to pass 3. 8 trillion in spending both to fight the pandemic, the Public Health challenge and as well as deal with the economic consequences associated with it. My heart goes out to those people who through no fault of their own find themselves without a paycheck locked down perhaps with somebody who is abusing them, anxious about where their next meal is going to come the. I have actually done something about it by supporting this bipartisan 3. 8 trillion expenditure. We need to do more. I hope the white house and Speaker Pelosi will continue to negotiate. But what i dont understand is m. J. s the chief sponsor for her candidacy Chuck Schumer single handedly blocked 5 billion for spending that would have made sure a vaccine would have been available at the end of the year. Im going to come back on he stimulus checks in a moment michael i need hip i need to address that. He used my name. It is frustrating. It must be so frustrating for ou not to run against schumer. He is running against m. J. Hegar. Hebts run against my vision for this state because the people who are funding my campaign and are supporting my campaign are a Grassroots Army across the states is called a liberal mob and has come together and given an average of 2423 to this campaign. We have raised millions in that way. Texans are done. Let me follow up, the negotiating process in washington and congress can be complicated and tough. You have no legislative experience. How can texan bs sure without legislative experience youd youll be able to keep your ise as ms. Hegar experience is important. When i was a private citizen taking time off my job going to d. C. To fight the bureaucrats and make our military stronger our joint chiefs unanimously stood with me in my fight to open jobs for women in the military. Im surprised john cornyn doesnt know about my bipartisan experience because he was one of the people that would not take a meeting with me when i was there. Senator cornyn, last month you voted on a stimulus package that did not include a direct payment. What do you say to texans who cant make ends meet senator cornyn we actually tried to do everything we can to throw a lifeline to individuals in the first four packages including direct payment to individual who is through no fault of their own found themselves out of work. The most impactful thing we have done for the economy is the p. P. P. Program, the paycheck protection program. But we need to stop this virus. The only way were going to do that is to get a vaccine. Thats why the people bank rolling m. J. s campaign are blocking it. Ms. Hegar it is time for those to step aside make decisions that have led to people getting rescued off the battlefield instead of the life and death decisions he has caved under pressure and allowed thousands of people to die. If the United States has a second covid spike, scientists reck recommend another national shut doup, would you support those findings . You have 60 seconds. Senator cornyn i think we have learned a lot about this virus. When the president ordered a china n of people from youll recall that nancy pelosi and mayor de blasio went to chinatown and in new york and San Francisco and said were open for business. There is no problem. You saw the advice given from dr. Fauci and the others and the c. D. C. On masks. They said masks dont do you any good. Now we all wear masks, wash our hands, socially distance and stay home if were sick. I dont believe we need any lockdowns. It has done tremendous damage individuals and this economy. We need this economy to be there so it can come back once we put the virus in the rear view mirror. That to me is most important, individual responsibility. If we see another spike and they recommend another National Shutdown would you support those shutdowns . That was a no. I was trained this Crisis Management in the military and five years working in healthcare. Im disturbed at a lack of listening to science to Public Health experts and objective met ribblings and data. You set yourself milestones and say wean when were at this number, these actions kick in. It is not up to opinion or what do the polls say or is it good for me reelection . We need to partner with public he will experts just like schools we need to partner with teachers and parents. We need to bring the right people to the table, make decisions and crisis the way that other countries have been more successful at doing. Senator, would you support a National Mandate on masks and you have 30 seconds. Senator cornyn i would not, robert. The United States is a big diverse place. Texas is a big diverse place. Obviously out in west texas, people know how the socially distance. They do it every day because of the lack of population density. We know masks can play an important role. We dont need the government to fill the void that we should fill by acting responsibly at the local level to keep each other safe and get this economy growing again. Would you support a National Mask mandate . Ms. Hegar i agree we need more local control of government which is why im disturbed at the government overreach from Governor Abbott who are trying to shut down local leaders trying do things like keep their constituents and voters and since the safe. Im for a National Strategy. I do agree different parts of texas are different. I would be for a National Strategy that takes science and objective metrics into consideration when deciding if there is this type of a population with this level of infection then we have different decisions based on you know, the different circumstances. Thank you so much. Sally has the next question. Thank you, robert. Schools in texas have some sort of inclassroom learning of course because of the pandemic. I want you to take a look and listen to the data from the texas education agency. It says at least 7620 covid19 cases among students at texas public schools. Ms. Hegar, this question will go to you first. Youll have 60 seconds to answer it. Should it be mandatory for children to get a covid19 vaccine before they can go back to school . Ms. Hegar i dont think we have a vaccine available yet. We need to get our teachers and kids back in the class room as safely as possible. Ive been talking to teachers and im doing virtual kindergarten now with my 6yearold. School is more than a place of education. It is for nutrition and screening for abuse and we need to work with teachers and Public Health experts to get our kids back into school but in july when he had over 1,700 positive cases of kids with covid, john cornyn said were not sure if kids can catch covid. We need leaders who were informed and have right information and when they have that right information dont insist on spreading misinformation and talking points from their party lepp. If scientists said there is covid19 vaccine now. There are multiple vaccinations that are required to keep our children safe. Im not a big fan of the government mandating things on your body but we dont have the right to maaco people sick. And put other people at risk. Yes, i support vaccinations. You have 60 seconds for this question. Should it be mandatory for children to get a covid19 vaccine before going back to school . Senator cornyn well, i dont believe a vaccine is available now and i think it is important for our kids to go back to school, to safely return to school. Ms. Hegar made a false statement about my earlier remarks with regard to children getting it is not clear what the role is if children get the virus, how and if they can spreadette. We have learned a lot as i said, from the beginning of this virus. We know that kids can get it and can spread it to people who are vulnerable. Thats why it is important to protect the most vulnerable people. The missioner of education told me that commissioner of education told me there are 2 million children in texas going to classroom instruction out of 5 million students. I support it when they can do so. Poor children who dont have access to broad band or the internet are falling farther and farther behind. That is a human tragedy. If there were a vaccine available, senator cornyn, and it is approved, would you require a mandate tr children to get it before they can go back to the classroom . Senator cornyn i think the people that should get the vaccine first are the people most likely to die if they get the covid19, people over 80 and people with chronic illnesses. 99 of the people who get the virus are going to recover. Some of them will end up in the hospital but children by and large tolerate the virus well and hospitalization does not result. I think it would be important to start with people who are at the greatest risk first. I cant allow that misinformation to go out. People make decisions based on the things people that they respect say. This absolutely does impact children and they dont tolerate it well. We dont know what the longterm implications are of this disease but in march of this year, march, months before the statements he is accusing me of making false statements. We saw in new york, i think it was 65 kids had inflammatory organ symptoms. I dont remember what the technical term of it was but as a concerned parent i was damn sure paying attention and im concerned about the impact of this disease on our children. Senator cornyn would you like to respond . Senator cornyn of course were all concerned. Look at the priorities. Thats the reason why local control is important when it comes to children going back to school. It has to be done when the parents and teachers are comfortable with them safely reentering school. Mnl mentioned local control. She said when Governor Abbott said the Austin City Council shouldnt cut funding for the police. She said what about local control . She agreed it was ok. Michael did not agree with that. Well get to that topic. Were going to keep on talking about covid19. It is the same subject. Im going to ask this question in a different way. With a show of hands, will you get the covid19 vaccine when it becomes available . Raise your hand if yes. Senator cornyn ill eventually get it but not first in line. Ms. Hegar, tell me why you would take the covid19 vaccine if it becomes available . Ms. Hegar i think there are valid reasons to be concerned but we have a responsibility to keep our fellow americans safe and i have faith in Public Health experts, in the c. D. C. And f. D. A. , even if there are problems at the top, there are true servant leaders putting science first. We have to be safe if were going to recover the economy. Senator cornyn we will never get this virus under control without a vaccine. We need the vaccine. Thats why i was surprised that Chuck Schumer would lead all of the democrats in the United States senate to vote against a 500 billion relief package to fund the operation warp speed which is designed to deliver 300 million doses of vaccine by the end of this year. That is the people who are supporting m. J. The people who recruited her and her donors and the first vote she will cast will be for Chuck Schumer as a leader. Ms. Hegar i think i should get an opportunity to respond. Im a purple heart combat veteran and a working mom of two. Im your opponent. Im the person youre running against. As inconvenient as it is for you, it is my ideas that youre going to have to face in this election. Senator cornyn can i respond . Im worried about the people bank rolling your campaign. Ms. Hegar lets talk about that. That actually is important. Senator cornyn royce west. Ms. Hegar the people donating to our campaigns are not the lets move on to the Supreme Court vacancy. I will ask both of you questions on the topic but they will be different questions. The hearings to confirm Amy Coney Barrett begin monday morning. Senator cornyn you voted to approve her nomination before election day but in 2016 when president obama had a nominee you had a different view. You said the only way to empower the American People and ensure they have a voice in the next is for the next president to make the nomination to fill this vacancy. Senator, some texans would say, especially when you pair it with what youre saying today, some texans would call that a flipflop. Is it a flipflop . Senator cornyn absolutely not. If Hillary Clinton had won the election which was expected at the time, you would not hear a peepout people on this topic. What is at take is Amy Coney Barrett being attacked for her religious faith and that she is somehow disqualified because she is a christian. Thats what i think the American People need to see. She is a supremely qualified candidate and im happy to be part of that Judiciary Committee that is going to hear her testimony but frankly america will be able to hear her testimony and judge for themselves. The reason why the left and people like m. J. Are so upset on the Supreme Court appointment is because they view judges as legislatures wearing black robes except they dont run for election. They basically make policy from bench. Thats what the left thats what democrats wants. Lets be clear. If it is about power, it is about power. Ou said one thing in 2016. Ms. Hegar, after the republicans announced their intention to fill the Supreme Court seat, you sent out this statement. It said in part, it should be the president and senate that we elect who select a qualified individual to serve a lifetime appointment. So my question for you ms. Hegar, was it wrong for your rty to try to push garlands nomination before president obamas term ended . Ms. Hegar well, garlands nomination was 8 1 2 months before an election in an election year. Right now we are in the middle of an election where people have already cast ballots. Where is this urgency to push through this nominee which by the way they would not have this kind of urgency if they thought they were going to hang on to the senate and the white house. In where is that urgency getting covid relief . Things like universal background checks, ending corruption, Corporate Tax money, supporting candidates like john cornyn. I believe we should be getting back to a time, remember when judges used to say how nonpart zan and unbiased they were to be able to get con frmed and now were seeing something very different in these nominations that has me concerned as someone who took the oath to support and defend the constitution. I think they have a right to vote on this nominee. There is a difference between that and it bb being the right thing to do. Was it wrong for your party to try to push garlands nomination . Ms. Hegar i would not characterize it as pushing it. I think they were right to put forward that nominee for confirmation because people were not in the middle of casting their ballots. So the only thing different is the timing . Ms. Hegar maybe the military leadership, precedent matters. Now they are setting a new precedent now precedent matters. Integrity matters. Going back on your word and not admitting that and taking responsibility. Saying hey, we have the power and were trying to stack court. Senator cornyn, do you support term limits for Supreme Court justices . You have 30 seconds. Senator cornyn i was a judge for 13 years here in texas where we run for election. Thats one way to do it. Thats what happen at the states. At the ath the federal level it is a different model. A lifetime appointment. I think that is something we should talk about. Because unfortunately too many people now see judges as making policy from the bench. If you cant win the vote at the ballot box or in congress, you go to court and the court will change the outcome. No yes, no no . We should talk about it . Senator cornyn i think it is up for discussion. Ms. Hegar, yesterday you spoke with the Dallas Morning News and said you dont support packing the court at this point. If you were the decide vote on this issue and the deciding vote for your party on whether to pack the court, how would you vote . Ms. Hegar i think it would depend on the way the arguments were presented to me. Right now im only hearing how it would benefit one party over another. We have enough legislatures to make the decision based on how it impacts our party. As a combat vet who shed blood for our constitution, im going to ask. Right now i think we do need term limits for judges and that that would solve a lot of these problems. Robert . We have a couple of questions tailored to each candidate here this evening. You have 60 seconds to answer. Just remember there is no rebuttal here. This is strictly a question and a followup for one candidate. Ms. Hegar, you had a close race in the runoff against royce west of dallas. Of nearly one million votes cast you won by about o 30,000. Im sure you remember that close race. Senator west has built a coalition of minority supporters, ones who certainly could help you in your bid for u. S. Senate. But on wednesday, i talked to royce west and this is what he told me. He said m. J. Hegar has my cell phone number. She has not called me for my support. Have you reached out to senator west since wednesday and why not . Ms. Hegar senator west and i have had so many conversations talking about why it was so important to replace johnen. A lot of pem express frustration i dont engage in politics as usual. Personal endorsements tend to come with quid pro pro which i believe is a big problem in politics. You can tall multiple people including the people who have personally endorsed me and ask them if i asked for their endorsement. I believe that is a big part of what is broken in politics. Personal endorsements tend to be based on things that are not necessarily valuebased or this is the best person for the job. I believe that senator west is supporting me. I believe were on the same page and share so many of the f the same values. There are black and brown communities across the state who know they are not being served by their leadership. Can you tell me what you are oing to get votes in communities of color, specifically africanamerican communities. Ms. Hegar we have voters who have had broken promise. You cant go into communities and say im assuming youre going to support me and here are some promises. You have to go and talk to people and earn their vote and work with them and not just hear from them. I partnered with these communities on policy driven solutions and the challenges that they are facing and im really excite about the plans that we have. Senator cornyn, youre serving your third team in the u. S. Senate. You have been a Texas Attorney general. And as you mentioned you have been a texas Supreme Court justice. But look, a dallas morning use u. T. Tyler pole shows nearly poll shows nearly a quarter of texans dont know who you are. Why dont texans know who you are . Senator cornyn we have 25 more days to make that case. The truth is you run for office every six years for the senate. A lot happens in interim. Last time i was on the ballot there were 4. 7 million votes for both candidates. Were expecting 11 million votes now. People have been voting with their feet and coming to texas with jobs and opportunities to pursue their dreams. I dont worry about personal popularity. Worry solving problems. People recognize me as being one of the most effective senators in the body at this time because i work across the aisle on things like Police Reform and trying to recognize juneteenth at a national holiday. There is a reason why royce west doesnt calm up mnl hegar because of the way she treated him during the primary. She said the only way he could attain what he did was to be corrupt. 30 seconds to respond to that. Ms. Hegar i disagree. Im not sure what to say. I have to tell you. I am so proud of the fact that we had a Million People vote in a primary runoff which is such a small electorate. I have a lot of respect for senator west. I think it says something that john cornyn for the first time in his nearly four decades as a statewide elected official is meddling in a primary of his opponent. You cant select the person you get to run against. Thank you. Senator cornyn, in 30 seconds, name one thing that you have written, supported or backed that has positively impacted the lives of texans, everyday texans. 0 seconds, please. Senator cornyn after the hooting, i went with the pastor and his wife. The felon was able to pass the background check system because e air force had not upload those names. I announced the bill and it passed. Six million more peoples name are on the background system to keep guns out of the hand of dangerous criminals. Ms. Hegar those those are the only individual questions we have for both of you tonight. Well go back to our next round of questions. The main answer and a 30 second follow up. Earlier this month jonathan price, an unarmed black man was shot and killed by a Police Officer in wolf city. This is an example of what the black lives Matter Movement is trying to bring attention to. Do you agree with their message or do you think this is an unfortunate isolated incident . You have 60 seconds. Senator cornyn i believe all africanamerican lives matter and when a Police Officer steps across the line like in the George Floyd Murder they need to be verdicted and prosecuted to the fullest extovente law, but i support Law Enforcement because they are who keep our communities safe. Unlike my opponent who is actually ens divorced this Campaign Zero, you can check their website. Go on the web. Campaign zero. They only want to defund police, they want to abolish the police and legalize things like prostitution. To me those are not texas values. We need to forour men and women in in blue. They are the thin blue line between us and danger. I think it is really disappointing to hear people like m. J. Say they dont respect the police. They dont want to fund the police. They want to abolish the police. It is mindboggling to me. Do you agree with the black lives matter response into jonathan prices killing or do you believe this is an isolated incident . Ms. Hegar we have a problem of systemic racism in the country. Said lem that john cornyn didnt exist. I agree. Black lives matter and we need policing reform. Now i have been a First Responder and i have had to pull the trigger in the line of duty. I take serious offense to anyone who says i dont support Law Enforcement. I believe we need to support transparency and accountability, reformmind leaders and the Police Unions that are calling for reform as well. Now for Campaign Zero, i have not seen that as part of their platform and maybe their platform has changed but if you go back and look at what i said i support, i said i support things like things set forward in Campaign Zero when when they were talking about Community Policing and body cameras and Police Officers representative of the communities they are politician. You cant win against my actual positions. He has to misattribute them to me. A follow up to that, what have you done . Have you met with any leaders of the black lives Matter Movement . Senator cornyn i met with the mayor turner in houston and johnson in dallas who had meetings of Community Leaders including communities of color to try to figure out what is to be done. Thats what i introduced with y colleague tim scot encouraging diversity. Im not in the same camp as ms. Hegar who believes we should tie the polices hands behind their backs. You have 15 seconds to answer. If you have met with leaders of the black lives Matter Movement. Senator cornyn i have met with black leaders but not per se that i know of. Frankly i dont know who is and who is not a member but i remember an africanamerican pastor in houston who told me senator i respect the police but my son doesnt trust the police. That is the problem we need to address. Have you met with any leaders to have black lives Matter Movement . Ms. Hegar again, so i have to show some empathy here and say people dont think introduce themselves as im a leader in the black lives movement. I think we need to look at black communitiers, black activists in the community. Ive had multiple town halls ond racial justice. I need to back up a step because he keeps lying about me. Im used to you not hearing me because when i came to d. C. Seeking your help, you would not take a meeting with me. Let me be very clear. There is always going to be someone on the other end of the stress. N were facing i do not support defunding the police. Senator cornyn it is not just the police. The Border Patrol. M. J. Said they are the moral equivalent of the communist chinese who are oppressing the weegar minority. She doesnt respect our police. That is wrong. Ms. Hegar misinformation is why our country is so divide. We have to move on to the next question. You both agreed to the rules of this debate. Thanks, sally. Ms. Hegar, in the state of texas, some Government Employees including plist Police Officers are being protected pr from being sued turned qualified immunity law. Do you support this law or should it be changed . You have 60 seconds. Ms. Hegar i think that anyone who flarses themselves with this law and doesnt just listen to misinformation and propaganda would support reforming it. Basically it says there is a press if there is not a precedent for the exact crime then police cant be charged with it. With an example of a Police Officer on executing a warrant skoal 214,000 worth of property and because there wasnt an exact example of that, he could not be held accountable. We have to stop the jargon and the loopholes and the smoke and mirrors and the double talk and get to the root cause of problems. We need to work with leaders in the black community and Police Leaders who want reform and accountability and transparency and reforming qualified immunity which was absent from his act is a critical piece of this if were going to hold bad actors accountable. Senator cornyn, do you support the qualified immunity law or should it be changed . Senator cornyn we tried to have a discussion but it was blocked by our colleagues across the aisle, the democrats who didnt want this to get on the bill to begin that process. Kamala harris introduced a bill that made lynching a crime a federal crime. She voted against proceeding to the bill. Our democratic colleagues, sometimes i fear they dont want to solve the problem. They just want the issue for the next election. I think that is a shame. It is a cynical way to approach these very serious issues. We asked Law Enforcement to do a lot like we ask teachers to do a lot, more than just teach our kids. I think they need to be held accountable when they cross the line but some measure of qualified immunity where you think youre doing right thing in good faith is appropriate. Thank you. Ms. Hegar, 2020 has been highlighted by people coming together and calling for equality. These messages include ending what they call systemic racism. What does systemic racism mean to you . You have 30 seconds. Ms. Hegar so there are there are examples of systemic racism throughout healthcare despair tiss and the p. P. P. Loans, 95 of minorityowned businesses didnt receive the help they needed. It is not because this is one racist person twisting their mustache. Hey dont have the system. It is a complex issue. There is systemic racism in the country. The policing reform we need are a symptom of a problem we need to look at. Can you take 15 seconds can you look inward and have you maybe about your own biases . Ms. Hegar absolutely. Everyone has implicit bias. When john cornyn said does every cop have to be a racist . I dont know that he has been through that type of eye opening training. Senator cornyn, what does systemic racism mean to you . You have 30 seconds. Senator cornyn i have been trying to ask the same question. People have different definitions. They say it is structural. I believe in personal responsibility. I believe i try to treat every human being with the dignity and respect that they deserve. But slavery was u one of this countrys original sins. We paid a terrible price over many years. The war, Civil Rights Movement and people like george floyd losing their life unjustifybly. We have work to do. I asked ms. Hegar this question. Ill ask you. Have you looked inward and identified maybe some biases that you have . Have you thought about that . Senator cornyn i try to do that all the time. I dont plan to be perfect but i dont believe im a racist. I dont believe ms. Hegar is a racist and to me when they suggest this is not a matter of individualal responsibility but it is somehow systemic, that doesnt ring true to me. Robert has the next question. Senator, that huge base just north of us here in austin here in Central Texas is named for this man. He is a confederate general, John Bell Hood and they have called on a name change to fort hood. Do you support changing name . You have 60 seconds. Senator cornyn as you probably know, this is a subject of the Defense Authorization bill that is currently in the United States senate. I believe it was senator warren who suggested a commission, study the matter and make recommendations to congress. I support that process. Strangely enough that is one of the few things i agree with Elizabeth Warren on even though she has endorsed my opponents ms. Hegar, Elizabeth Warren is sort to have poster person for the green new deal, medicare for all, the wish list on the left and she sees in m. J. Hegar a loyal ally in coming to the senate. I sfor commission process but i disagree with Elizabeth Warren and m. J. Hegar and the direction they want to take the country. We will not recognize our country if they were to prevail. Would you change the name of fort hood . I would. I think we cant deny our history but we can choose who we select to celebrate it and we cannot talk about fort hood without talking about the military justice improvement act and the soldiers that have been victimized at fort hood recently. Stand with kirsten jill brand before i was considering running for office. Im a military Sexual Assault survivor. Im familiar with the culture. Lets acknowledge. 99 of the men and women in uniform are patriots who do not contribute to this culture. We have to do something for the people like myself who have been survivors of this type of thing. John cornyn wont vote for the military justice improvement act. If he would have listened to me and my story and how my chain of command let me down when the perpetrator in my case confessed he maybe would have done different but he doesnt listen to people who disagree with him. According to j. M. C. Analytics and polling, there have been more than 73 million mailin ballot requests across the country. The president himself has raised the issue that security of those ballots may be this question. Ms. Hegar, you have 60 seconds for this first question. Do you believe the results on Election Night could be compromised . Ms. Hegar i have every faith in our democracy and in our electoral process and i also think that being one of only six states that has not relaxed restrictions on vote by mail is Voter Suppression clear as day. I was raised to believe . Any state could do something, texas could doit better. 44 states covid, can vote by mail. If they can, why cant we . Were so concerned about Election Security. Maybe the Election Security bill put forward by a republican senator wouldnt be lost in Mitch Mcconnells legislative graveyard now. Would you accept the Election Results . Absolutely. Yes. I will accept the Election Results. And i fear the impact to have rhetoric of any leader who doesnt state that clearly. I have been in countries and served in country where is they have not had Election Results you can trust. I have medevaced people who were missing thumbs because their blue thumb showed they had voted. We cant take this thing for granted. Senator cornyn, again, do you believe the results on Election Night could be compromised . Ill give you 60 seconds to answer. Senator cornyn im not as worried that it could be compromised, as we wont know who the winner is. I remember bush v. Gore. I support every qualified voter being able to vote in texas. Texas as one of the most generous early voting systems. By mail over 65 or in person. Just like going to the Grocery Store basically or on election day. If m. J. Is really worried about Voter Suppression and choices, why did she sue to remove the green party from the ballot . To me that runs continueser so every argument she wants to make about the choices of individual voters. I cant want to know why she voted to take the green party off the rules. Ms. Hegar i believe in following rules. You have shown the rules dont apply to you. Youre the only candidate refusing to allow a video tape of your answer. Youre afraid of your record in answers and i would be too if i had voted the way you had. I believe in following rules. We are a nation of rules. I think the rules apply to me. I apply them to members of my own party and members in the green party for action on Climate Change and i apply them universally. Lets talk about an issue happening along our southern border. Nexstars website has been reporting on the approximately 700 asylum see,. Their asylum claims are stalled because of what is called the remain in mexico policy implemented under the trump administration. Senator cornyn, do you support the policy to remain in mexico until asylum cases are heard . You have 60 seconds. Senator cornyn covid19 has thrown everything on its ear. I know that mexico is struggling as we are struggling but perhaps it is even worse there dealing with covid19. I believe that keeping people out of the country during this crisis is a Public Health murtha we should support. But it is important to know that you know, other things come across the border other than asylum seeks. Drugs, Human Trafficking and chinese feint noll. M. J. Has demonstrated her lack of regard for the job we have asked the Border Patrol to do there. It is a tough, tough job. When you basically call them the equivalent of a human rights abusor, to me that is just a sign of disrespect for the job for people for whom we should offer respected because they are doing a tough job that we have asked them to do. Just to be clear. Do you support the remain in mexico policy . Yes. Ms. Hearg, do you support it . Ms. Hegar let me help you. It is racest to keep referring to the chinese over and over again and stoke antichinese sentiment among many chinese that are living here facing that antiimmigrant sentiment. He said he supported it as a Public Health measure. He supported it before covid19. There is a reason why when itch mcconnell asked he said no to allowing john cornyn to be a part of it. He has consistently voted against broad bipartisan immigration reform. I do not support remain in mexico. We need to treat them the same way we treat them from every other place around the world. Our immigration system is a threat to our National Security because it is not embracing the values of our country that make us the leaders of the free world. I worked for three years on the Counterdrug Task force. I know how drugs are coming into our country. A wall is not going to stop it. It is coming through ports of entry, over air, over water. It is offensive that he would think i would disrespect the people ied with. Do you believer that humans are the primary driver behind Climate Change . You have 30 seconds. Ms. Hegar i do. I believe Climate Change is the greatest threat to our species and my children and grandchildren. It is so much more than that. Stand with the pentagon that it is a grave National Security threat. I believe it is a huge economic threat, especially to texas. We lead in the Energy Industry and i would like to see us continue leading in the Energy Industry. For me right now this is about jobs. We have to protect Energy Industry jobs. We are bleeding Energy Industry jobs now. Do you believe humans are the primary driver behind Climate Change . Senator cornyn i cant quantity fight but i believe that humans do affect the climates. If smg worried about jobs she would not be advocating a carbon tax that would destroy the jobs of thousands of work oirts in north texas around around the nation. It would rise the places for people with fixed informations. It would destroy one of our crown jewels near texas which is our energy ability to export Energy Around the world. Ms. Hegar i have nod advocated for a carbon tax. We have to get to another question. Do you support fracture a pan on fracturing . Ms. Hegar i do not. I spoor bill getting us to a place where we dont need fracturing. George mitchell said he thought we would we could do it cleaner and better than the way it is happening now. We need to stop the way it is happening now and make sure it is happening in line with the father of fractures vision for doing it in way that doesnt hurt water and land. Senator what about a ban on fracturing . 30 seconds. Senator cornyn everybody who is supporting m. J. Believes in a ban on fracturing. I dont believe in a ban on fracturing because it would destroy energy jobs. I think it would make us dependent on import energy the east, something we have been able to avoid. Everybody that m. J. Is receiving money from, whether it is celebrities out in hollywood or the elite on the east coast, they believe in eliminating fossil fuels. Including joe biden is on tape and Kamala Harris the same. You have 30 seconds to answer this next question. Do you support decriminalizing marijuana . Senator cornyn before we answer that question, we need to have some very comprehensive Research Done on the effect of marin. C the active ingredient on the developing brains of children. We know that vaping among kids and using things like t. H. C. Concentrates can have a dramatic impact on their Mental Health and physical health as well. I think before we make those decisions, we need to know what the facts are. If you were the deciding vote, would you decriminalize marijuana . Senator cornyn i would not do it without the research i just described. Would you support decriminalizing marijuana . Michael yes, for multiple reasons. I have a lot of experience with te effects. A lot of military veterans can ease symptoms through that. I dont support giving it to children. We should regulate it like tobacco and we should benefit from the taxes on it as well. We should decriminal lies it. It has led to the incarceration especially temperature nick this country. The private prisons and Detention Centers donating to his Campaign Want it to stay that thank you very much and thank you to everyone listening. I appreciate you being a part of this process. I think this election presents a clear choice. People want to make texas more like california and new york. I want to make the rest of the country more like taxes. I have respect for medicare our energy workers, and our Law Enforcement officials. I appreciate the time to be here tonight to represent those differences. We are facing serious challenges tonight. We need to elect someone with the right experience. Not experience of 18 years of selling us out and not being able to come up with solutions. People with experience facing the challenges of regular americans and making life and death decisions under pressure in a way that had a good outcome. Stand with me and together we will go to washington and show the soft politicians how we do things in texas. Thank you all for watching. This has been the Senate Debate for taxes. Texas. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2019] who will control congress in january . Stay informed on all competitive congressional races leading up to election day with our campaign 2020 coverage. Watch the candidates debate and Election Results. Watch online or listen on the free radio app. Cspan, your unfiltered view of politics