Live from the fine arts auditorium at eastern wyoming college. Good evening and welcome back to the beautiful campus for the wyoming 20 general election u. S. House debate. We are at the Fine Arts Center craig from wyoming pbs. I want to know tonights debate is being broadcast by our network by wyoming pbs and our network, on the wyoming Public Media Network and are social media platforms and on cspan. I am bob beck of wyoming public radio. Craig and i will question the candidates this evening in what we hope will be a thoughtful and civil change. A quick note, 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. It should be noted that the questions craig 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. 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. 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 and 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 weight of national trauma, liberties are frequently attacked, repressed, or done away with. We should not be choosing between liberty and safety. Has been franklin famously said, franklin famously said, those who would give up essential liberty to purchase temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security. 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 to wyoming pbs and thank you to eastern wyoming community college. It is an honor to be here, and with miss grey bull and mr. Haggit. Im running so i can continue fighting on behalf of our freedom and on behalf of wyoming values to ensure we do uphold and defend the constitution, 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 of the democrats, particularly in the house, weve seen 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 across the aisle to get things done, to provide the kind of relief we need so we can defeat the pandemic, get our economy growing again. Im tremendously honored to represent all of 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 very much. Thank you. Ms. Grey bull good evening. My name is lynnette grey bull. I want to thank wyoming pbs and the moderators. I want to thank my opponents, mr. Haggit and representative lynn cheney. I am lynnette grey bull, i live in the heart of wyoming on the Wind River Reservation and quite simply, i want represent the want to 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 wyomingites 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 micro seat 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, candidates. We will begin our question portion of the debate. The first question is from bob. Mr. Hagan, 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 in rural areas, and easy access to guns. What plans do you have for communities overrun by despair . 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 do, they run the gamut of different aspects of Mental Health, bringing 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. Guns, that is not a part of this, but other than the fact that you need to keep guns away from people that might have a problem. Representative cheney . Reprresentative cheney these are Critical Issues and they are issues that we have seen take on enhanced importance as we face the threat of this pandemic, and the economic shut down, some of the economic consequences that we face. There are several things that are important. One is to work to empower local organizations, our churches, faith communities, the wonderful Counseling Centers we have locally in 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 to ensure we 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. I think that kind of access is very important. Thank you. Miss grey bull . A. Grey bull in 2016, i gave on the tribal crisis. Native americans have the highest suicide rates in the country. This is not just a wyoming thing. 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, i have talked to 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. Again, this goes back to representation. This goes back to the suicide rates, usually coming from disadvantaged communities, from workingclass communities. We need to provide the Mental Health resources that are needed for every Community Across the state and nation. Mr. Haggit, you have an additional 30 seconds if you would like. Mr. Haggit 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 is the states issue, but i support. One 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. Thank you. Representative cheney, this question is for you. 32 million 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 . Rep. 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. I think that precovid, we absolutely saw an expansion and in job opportunities, expansion and employment levels across the board, for young people, for women, for minority communities. I think what we need to do is make sure we get back to that. We need to make sure we can defeat the pandemic and get our economy growing. We know fundamentally it is Economic Growth and opportunity. We have seen things like opportunity zones this administration has put forward that help encourage investment and expand opportunity across the board. We need our young people to have opportunity so that the economy can grow, but it is going to require defeating the virus and getting the economy going again. Moderator thank you. Miss grey bull . Ms. Grey bull living in wyoming, i am in the nonprofit world and work it community building. During covid19 and the spike of it, i delivered food boxes to those in need in fremont county, so my connection to the community, not only in my community, but also statewide, the thing i hear constantly is the lack of housing. From my community, we have two or three families in one household, 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. And so 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 about 600 to 800 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, even precovid. Moderator thank you. Mr. Haggit . Mr. Haggit can you repeat the question . Moderator id be happy to. 32. 6 million young adult americans are living at home in july. That was 52 of young adults who resided with one or both parents. Before the pandemic in february, that number was 47 , according to pew research numbers. Is that concerning to you . Mr. Haggit well, it is just an indication of where we are at with homelessness is rising, and 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 problems. That is just a minor symptom of what we got going on. Moderator representative cheney, 30 more seconds if you would like. Rep. Cheney it is very important we recognize, again, weve got to mixer young people make sure 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 out 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 ensure wee we ar 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. Moderator thank you, minute question is for miss greybull. Moderator miss grey bull, the federal debt was already unacceptably high and with covid, it skyrocketed further. What is your plan for addressing it without hurting workers, the working poor, and the elderly . Ms. Grey bull 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. Everybody in leadership or policy should always have that, if youctor, especially were working on legislation, because that should always be at the back of your mind, how that is going to affect the National Debt. I understand that portion of it, but i want to reflect a little bit backward. But in 2006, we faced a recession, americans were losing jobs, stock market was crashing, millions of americans were losing their homes. I worked on the making Homes Affordable act where we helped over millions of americans stay in their homes. What im saying to this is we have the ability to overcome and achieve, if we put people first. And i believe we have the right hearts and minds of leadership to move forward in a way that we fly high in the wake of the pandemic. Moderator thank you. Mr. Haggit. Your opportunity to respond. Mr. Haggit the economy are we talking about the moderator the federal debt was high. Mr. Haggit the federal debt is 100 of what we bring in. We are talking bankruptcy. 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 a cares act, we need to make sure people are not thrown out in the street and hopefully, that is going to continue until we can get our economy back but we have to cut somewhere else. We cant keep increasing our debt and otherwise, it is just and we are a cliff not coming back from it. We need to stop spending money somewhere, so we can take care of the people. Moderator thank you. Representative cheney . Rep. Cheney it is an existential threat. When we look to the extent 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. We also have a problem that 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. Moderator miss greybull, 30 more seconds if you would like. Ms. Grey bull National Debt is a concern. Again, i referenced looking backwards, because we were able to get over the recession of 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 do believe we have the ability to move over it and persevere move forward 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 will build our economic structure moving forward in a bipartisan manner. Moderator thank you very much. Mr. Haggit, what has the pandemic tots you about taug ht you about the American Health care system . Mr. Haggit 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 educated. And right now, the doctors hands are tied with whatever regulations they have to follow or they could lose their license. I would like to see natural, homeopathic remedies that are proven and safe integrated into our Health Care System so that we have the best of both worlds, and we can go from there and keep people from getting sick in the first place. Moderator representative cheney . Rep. 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 are treating patients with covid, putting themselves at risk, 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 beginning to make progress toward a vaccine, toward therapeutics. United states innovation in health care is not massed around matched anywhere around the world, but he have to make sure 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. But i think the number one thing is the tremendous debt of gratitude we owe to our tremendous health care professionals. Moderator miss grey bull . Ms. Grey bull for my community, health care is not equitable. Health care is not 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. And this is true for disadvantaged communities across the nation. If you 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 needs help. Moderator thank you. Mr. Haggit, additional time . Mr. Haggit im good. Moderator representative cheney, i was watching a documentary on 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 race 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 to resolve some of these things . Rep. Cheney i think the riots we have seen across the country, and the violence we have seen, in too many instances overtook peaceful protests. Protests. We need to protect the right to peacefully protest certainly, but it is important to recognize violent rioting is not peaceful protest. When you look at challenges we are facing as a nation, issues around race are issues that have been challenges for us for some time. I think one of the most important things we can do is get back to the values in our founding documents. I think when you look at what our Founding Fathers laid out in the constitution and the declaration of independence, we have not attained those goals. We are certainly not perfect under any circumstances. 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 that in school today and that is one of the Biggest Challenges we face. Moderator miss grey bull . Ms. Grey bull i believe and 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, i feel like we are living in this social divide can because we have leaders who are feeding not only the political divide, but also the social divide, we versus them, us against them. And quite frankly, my past history and experience is trying to bring people together. Because i like to be known as a peacemaker, i like to be known as a bridge maker, this is what i do. I 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. Moderator thank you. Mr. Haggit . Mr. Haggit 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 same percentage in government, but elsewhere, there are pockets of that, but it starts at the home, teaching everyone is equal, and that if you treat each other how you want to be treated, that is the golden rule. Moderator thank you. 30 more seconds for representative cheney. Rep. Cheney i would also like to add how important it is, 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. I think that is absolutely irresponsible. I think it is indefensible. I think when you see businesses destroyed, livelihoods destroyed by rioting. We need to make sure we are supporting law enforcement, we are helping Police Departments, we are supporting good cops. Nobody wants to get rid of bad cops more than good cops do, and i think the notion that somehow you Defund Police in response is flat wrong. Moderator thank you. Miss grable, this question grey bull, this question is for you. Do you believe some Tech Companies have to much influence in the marketplace. If so, what should the Government Role be in addressing that . Ms. Grey bull corporations in regards to tech, there should be limitations and structure there to structure in a fair manner. I think that goes for anything. With regards to multinational corporations versus Small Businesses, i am a big advocate ms. Grey bull i am a big advocate for mom and pop Small Businesses, because this is what makes up wyoming. If 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 and multinational corporations is the way to go when we are facing issues where someone has a leg up for us is someone who doesnt. Moderator mr. Haggit . Mr. Haggit big tech, especially in the realm of social 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. We need to be and he says in this election, you could probably factor it times three that. We need to be aware of it and watchful, and they are really out to stifle free speech and freedom, as you can tell by the wyoming statement, that it is very important to the Constitution Party and myself, and we need to watch out for that and guard against them being able to sway things. Moderator thank you. Representative cheney . Rep. 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 viewpoints are targeted. The other challenge is data, our personal data those companies control. I think it is important for us to come up with a legislative structure where individuals are allowed to own your 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 ose companies are doing with our data. I go back to china and the extent to which we have watched the Chinese Communist party infiltrate our system, steal our data, and look to have an even broader Surveillance System across the world, frankly, that resembles what they have today in china. Moderator thank you. Ms. Grey bull . Ms. Grey bull in regards to social media and data, that has always been a concern to me. I worked in the protection of children, as an advocate in crimes against children, and social media has always played a role in that, unfortunately, especially when we talk about child sex trafficking. A lot of families i have worked with in regards to that issue, it has always stemmed from social media. There are a lot more ethical efforts can do to make social media platforms and Tech Companies a little bit more protection of our children and more ethical and have values that are shared with mothers and families. I think that is important. Moderator thank you. The final question in this part of the debate, for mr. Haggit. Mr. Had it, as miss greybull touched on, the Wind River Reservation has been hit largely by the pandemic 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. How would you plan to ensure the u. S. Upholds its treaty and trust responsibilities to the eastern shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes . Mr. Haggit 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 fort bridger. Where i live, and it was real interesting to be part of that. But they have been treated unfairly since the getgo. Whatever i dont know what could be done specifically. 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. Moderator thank you. Representative cheney. Rep. Cheney i think it is crucially important for the United States uphold our treaty obligations. We have worked, particularly with respect to covid, in providing relief to the leadership of both tribes and have been able to provide several Million Dollars in relief to the reservation, to each of the tribes 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 certainly been exacerbated. I think we need to make sure we opportunityg more and making sure we do more for the Indian Health service, do more to help with education. I think there has been tremendous work done at laramie at the university, to encourage kids from the reservation to come to the university, to feel welcome there, feel part of that community, and i think all of those things are important and we need to continue to do all of those. Moderator thank you. Miss grey bull . Ms. Grey bull 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, it is on the back burner. Our issues get pushed aside more often than anything else with folks in washington, d. C. And you know what . I share this every time i speak, because i think it is important. But i am also trying to compel compassion for tribes. I stand before you as a fullblooded native american woman, and statistics that hang over my head, i am the most ed, raped, 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 least amount of resources when it comes to Police Departments and Health Services and housing. These are issues all leaders should be concerned of. Moderator thank you very much. Mr. Haggit . 30 seconds additional if you would like. Mr. Haggit 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 in it because it started the whole thing, all the way from the east coast to the west coast. And i think there is some work that can be done, they could get together and figure out something that would be beneficial. Moderator thank you very much, candidates. Take a breakto from the discussion and respond to part of the debate and allow 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. Uninterrupted. 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 even question them if you like. The only thing i am going to do is draw randomly from my hat to see who speaks first. 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, if you want to speak together, but other than that, the time is yours. Ms. Grey bull last year, i did a congressional testimony on the protection of the tribal heritage and grizzly bear act. Opponent liz cheney were on opposite side of that, but it is very important for Indigenous People. It is the longest act we have in washington, d. C. 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 that statement was that we were ruining your western way of life. My question is, are natives included in the western way of life . Rep. Cheney well, thank you for the question. My comment about that was the extent to which it was not that the tribes that were ruining our way of life. It was what we see from washington, d. C. Too often involves the massive expansion of the federal Government Role and responsibility, including moving allocations of land out of multiple use, creating wilderness areas, creating monuments without talking to the people that live there, without talking to people who graze on those lands, for example. And one of the things i fought very hard for the entire time ive been in congress is to help restore and return local control and local decisionmaking. And local input. One of the Biggest Challenges we faced during the obama administration, for example, was an effort to have International Ngos have a say in how our land resources, our 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. Ms. Grey bull yeah, i think 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. It is something i advocate. Im an advocate for the red desert in wyoming. Quite honestly, i dont want to see 150 leases coming across our public lands, and take away the hiking and the biking and the great outdoors, because this is an asset here in wyoming. We value that. Even in the winter, we go out and fish and ice fish in the winter, and lots of wyomingites, 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 . Rep. Cheney well, listen. I think it is very important to make sure we have lands available for recreation. I think that it is important we follow the law. Congress has passed legislation that requires, for example, that 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 done. In addition to unbelievable and unparalleled recreation opportunities in wyoming, we have people who make their living, who depend upon being able to graze on federal land. And too often, we see situations like our grasslands, where bureaucrats in washington make decisions that make it impossible for our ranchers to be able to ranch, where grasslands are devastated. What we are seeing right now with the forest fires, absolute mismanagement from washington. I think my responsibility as a representative of the people of wyoming is to make sure that the kind of mismanagement doesnt go on, that the people who depend upon the land have the right to have a say about it. Moderator mr. Haggit, would you like to chime in . Mr. Haggit i have a question you mentioned it, but you mentioned you wanted to create a Public Transportation system in wyoming. Correct . What would that look like and how would it be funded . My community has a disadvantage because we dont have Public Transportation. I know that is not the same in other communities in regards to jackson or other places, but i have talked to a lot of people and have friends in other communities and they are just as rural, they are just as small, and transportation is a huge issue, there. Especially when we talk about people who dont have transportation, 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 jobs, 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 transportation. Mr. Haggit you are talking about buses . Ms. Grey bull 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, and so i think it is important to continue to protect our animals and public lands, because that is what we are known for. Moderator candidates, we have a few more minutes of this if you would like to continue. Or we can resume question and answers. Rep. Cheney i would like to ask mr. Haggit to talk about the constitution and things you mentioned in your opening statement. I think it is very 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 more about your thoughts on some things we could do to help do a better job at that. Mr. Haggit 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 has few and 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 that. Moderator 40 seconds, if someone would like to take advantage of it. Ms. Grey bull in 2017, i testified in cheyenne and lobbied against a 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 our opinions. This is the way we stand up for what we believe in, and i dont support bills on a state or national or federal level that silence the voice of the American People. Moderator thank you very much, candidates. I thought that was a thoughtful and enjoyable discussion. We are going to resume questions now. Representative cheney, this question is for you. Your fellow wyomingites know we face extraordinary challenges. We know there is no painless, magic bullet that makes everything all right, so what sacrifices are you calling on your fellow wyomingites to make for the common good . Rep. Cheney well, look. People across the state have sacrificed because of covid, you andt talk about that issue that question without dealing with the pandemic. Whether we are talking about Small Businesses that have not been able to stay open, 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. You saw 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 as we go about our business and do everything we can to defeat that. But i think 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. Moderator thank you. Miss grey bull . Ms. Grey bull yeah, you know, i had mentioned before 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 the needs of food boxes and other supplies, toilet paper was a big one, cleaning supplies, and lysol spray. You know what, 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 ensure and 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 with 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. I dont think that is conducive to promoting peace. Moderator thank you very much. Mr. Haggit. Mr. Haggit thank you. Im a volunteer at the united way and sit on the southwest wyoming advisory board. And part of our job is, for these organizations are asking for grant money to help their cause, and a lot of of it is either disadvantaged children, or women fleeing abusive husbands to a safe house, and you see and you hear their story, they come in there and people have suffered so much. And this was before covid. And now, it is off the charts. And it is going to get look at the food banks. There is lines around the block. Theres a common my time there is a, my time is up, but there is no more room for suffering at the local level. We need to do something to help these people. Moderator thank you. Representative cheney, 30 additional seconds if you would like. Rep. Cheney well, i am proud that through the cares act legislation we have been able to to wyoming, billion to both state and local governments, Small Businesses, hospitals, to make sure we provide all resources possible to get through this pandemic. But ultimately, we have got to get the economy growing again and i think that will help us make sure we are able to take care of communities at risk and make sure we Work Together as communities across party lines in order to solve these challenges. Thank you. Bob, for miss grey bull. Bob miss grey bull, i mentioned in the first debate i may come with a bit of a cough, because i am in a forest fires on these days 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 only trickled in, and they say they only had enough resources to really play defense for a couple of weeks and the problem of strained resources is probably going to be an annual problem. Would you support some kind of a federal, new dealish work program to give people jobs in firefighting . Ms. Grey bull yeah, absolutely. I know i mentioned earlier, but i do believe our firefighters are part of our First Responders and we should do all we can on all levels to ensure they are supported, that they have the salary they need and the 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 have seen lack of resources. Living 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 Services. Those things are important to ensure the safety of the community and 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. I have asthma, so 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. Moderator thank you. Mr. Haggit. Mr. Haggit 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 mean. One of the worst states with the fire right now is california. 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 . So, but theres 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 the logging back up and manage our forests better. Moderator thank you. Representative cheney. Rep. Cheney the real cause of the fires that we are seeing, the mollen fire and fires across the west, is the failed federal Forest Management policy. 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 kill, the extent weve had mills that have 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 also got to make sure we are doing 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 policies and decisions about management that are killing the forests and devastating people, devastating likelihoods, we have lost property, people are losing homes. And it doesnt have to happen and it shouldnt be happening. Moderator ms. Grey bull . Ms. Grey bull it goes down to science. We mentioned the beetle kill. I have family who work in conservation in the state of wyoming. They clear out the trails and the roads in the mountains, also in the teton mountains, but they are only able to work a few months of the year because the funding isnt there. The funding definitely has to be increased, especially in terms of how we manage our forests so they are not in danger of starting fires. That is not only in wyoming, but the western side of america. Moderator thank you, candidates. That concludes the question then dance or portion of the debate. We will now progressed to closing statements. These are a minute long. Ms. Grey bull . Ms. Grey bull i just 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 across my way. Quite frankly, 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 other people across the state. You know, 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, both on the federal, state, 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. Moderator thank you very much. Representative cheney. Rep. Cheney thank you very much. I want to thank my opponents for their willingness to put their names on the ballot and be here to participate in this process. We live in the greatest state in the greatest country in the world, and we face huge challenges. They are challenges we will overcome, we can overcome together by defending our constitution, freedom, values, and by always remembering, in wyoming, we stand for the flag and in wyoming, we never forget that it is the men and women who have put on the uniform of this nation, who have defended our us, who for all of continue to do so today, and we have an obligation to live lives worthy of that sacrifice to make sure we are doing everything us possible to fight 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. I would just like to say god bless wyoming, and god bless the United States of america. Moderator thank you very much. Mr. Haggit, you have the last word. Mr. Haggit thank you. I have lived in wyoming since 1976. I am involved in united way as a 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 cliffs edge. If elected, i promise to be a tireless defender and motor for wyoming, america, its people and future. The governments 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 will observe and be guided by the constitution of this state and this nation. 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. Moderator thank you, mr. Haggit. Candidates, thank you for participating in this debate. Incumbent republican senator Lindsey Graham and democratic challenger Jamie Harrison meet for their third and final scheduled debate in South Carolina on wednesday, october 21. South carolina atv is partnering with the post and courier to host the event with our live coverage starting at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Democrats need to take four Republican Senate seats to take control of congress. President trump won montana by 20 points four years ago. Governor boll ocks entry into the race puts the senate seat in play for the democrats
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