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Televised town hall for the candidate. He captured the attention last fall by giving texas senator ted cruz a run for his money. With the iowa caucus eight months away voters in our audience who plan to participate in the democratic caucuses are ready to ask their questions. Now please welcome congressman beto orourke. [ applause ] how are you . How are you . Nice to see you. Hey, everybody. Is there a dog barking . I think there is. Yeah. Maybe thats the dog at the university. I think so. Yeah. Nice haircut. Thank you. Appreciate that. Yeah. I say that because we all saw the livestream on facebook of you getting your hair cut. Yes. So if you make it to the white house, what else will you be livestreaming . Yes, you know, my intent is to show off my hometown of el paso, texas, and this extraordinary barber who produced this haircut that you are seeing right now, who moved over from juarez nine years ago at the height of some horrific violence there to start a business in my hometown, to create jobs, to contribute to our quality of life, to help tell the american story. This is a country of immigrants and Asylum Seekers and refugees from the world over. Nothing to be afraid of, everything to celebrate. Thats what we were trying to do. Yeah. [cheering and applause]. A lot of people here from iowa. We have a lot of Great Questions and we want to begin with sarah duncan, a Research Associate for vote smart, a Nonpartisan Group that provides information on candidates running for president. Great. Good evening. Hey, sarah. From the undoing of the iran deal, labelling certain countries as violating human rights within our own borders, promoting antimuslim sentiments, the u. S. Has not only weakened its Global Status but demonstrated its own domestic partisanship is an interference to stable foreign relations. How do you plan to restore global trust in American Leadership and American Foreign policy . Sarah, thank you for the question. And giving us the opportunity to take stock of where we are in the world right now. This president , this administration, his policies here at home and abroad have been an absolute disaster. Describing those immigrants who come to this country as rapists and criminals, though they commit crimes at a far lower rate than those who are born in this country, describing Asylum Seekers as animals or an infestation an infestation is how you might describe a termite or a cockroach, something you want to stamp out, something less than human. You dont get kids in cages at the border until you have dehumanized them in the eyes of your fellow americans. To try to ban all muslims, all people of one religion from the shores of a country that is comprised of people from the world over, every tradition of faith, every walk of life. The day that the president signed his executive order attempting to ban muslim travel to the United States is the day that the mosque in victoria, texas, was literally torched to the ground. And then his embrace of strong men and dictators, not just Vladimir Putin who he called after the Mueller Report was released, described it as a hoax to the man who invaded our democracy in 2016, giving him the green light to come in again, but it is duterte in the philippines, elsisi and those who bomb yemen into the last century, and as he does this he turns his back on our allies in the democracies, and the trading partners now closed off under this administration. We need to get back to promoting democracy here at home, making sure every single vote counts and everyone is able to vote. And then abroad making sure that we send a signal that the future of this world is a democratic one, not an autocratic one. And then lets focus more of our attention on our own hemisphere. Those people who whom we are connected by land, by culture, and increasingly by families, if we invest in solutions in guatemala, el salvador and honduras, then fewer people have to flee those countries and come to our border at the United States mexico border where we are proposing to build a 2,000 mile wall right now. We have to do better here at home and do better abroad and under my administration we will. Thank you for asking the question, sarah. Congressman, next question comes from chris an associate professor of education right here at Drake University. Chris. Good evening. Good evening. Two arguments for starting impeachment proceedings against President Trump are, first, that impeachment would bring into the open information withheld by the administration, and, second, that it is the duty of congress to protect the constitution. There seems to be a concern however that the move could backfire politically. What is your stance on starting impeachment proceedings against President Trump and why . Chris, thank you for the question. We should begin impeachment proceedings against donald trump. Not something [ applause ] not something that i take lightly. It is an incredibly serious, sober decision that we should make as a country, really the last resort when every other option has failed us. And at this point where the president has refused to respond to any subpoena, where his attorney general will not testify, where he will not furnish other witnesses so that we can find out what happened to this great democracy in 2016 and how we prevent future attacks in 2020 and beyond, a president who invited the involvement of a foreign power in this democracy in 2016 and that did everything in his power to obstruct the investigation into what has happened. If we do nothing because we are afraid of the polls or the politics or the repercussions in the next election, then we will have set a precedent for this country that, in fact, some people because of the position of power and public trust that they hold are above the law. And if this great democracy, 243 years into this idea and this experiment is to survive for another 243 or even another year or two, we cannot allow that precedent to stand. There must be consequences, accountability and justice. The only way to ensure that is to begin impeachment proceedings. Chris, thank you for asking the question. Yes. To follow up on that, you said that impeachment proceedings should start now. Nancy pelosi, the house speaker, says that the president impeaching the president would be very divisive in the country and would only help the president solidify his base. Do you think theres something to that . I do. You know, i understand the political implications of this, but i think this moment calls for us to look beyond the politics and the polling, and even the next election. It is the very sanctity of the ballot box and of the worlds greatest democracy. If it is important to us, and i think it is, we need to look past the shortterm consequences, the consequences of the future of this country. The only way we will get the documents and the facts and the truth to be able to pursue them as far as they go, as high up as they reach, is to compel the testimony, the furnishing of those documents through impeachment proceedings. It is the only way that were going to get to the facts necessary to have that accountability and justice. Shortterm pain could be for you if you were the democratic nominee. Thats okay . Thats possible. But, listen, the consequence of the alternative is to turn a blind eye to this. Okay. And in doing so, turn our back on the future of this country. I cannot be part of that. Were going to have to make the tough decisions now. Okay. Lets get to the audience again. Doug thompson is a corn and soybean farmer who previously worked at the department of agriculture during the clinton administration. Doug. Congressman, welcome to iowa. Thank you. China and the Trump Administration are in the midst of a protracted trade war. Theft of intellectual property and forced transfer of technology are at the core. I am a farmer. I have been asked to be a patriot and cheer for the home team, all while 40 years of Market Development in china is destroyed. The trade war has handed my soybean market to brazil and to argentina. My question, where are our allies, the eu, japan, australia, canada, mexico . Do we need to do this unilaterally . Thank you, doug. May i ask you a question . Sure. How long have you been farming . Since 1976. And are there children to whom you would want to pass this farm on to, a next generation . My son, adam, is sitting right over there. Adam, good to see you. Yeah. He knew that he didnt want me to ad lib tonight. Im glad yeah, im glad that you are both here and im grateful for the question. You said it better than i could. You are bearing the brunt of this president s disastrous trade war and the tariffs that he has imposed that are destroying the markets that you have worked a lifetime to establi establish, you and other farmers and growers here and in my home state of texas and frankly across this country. I was talking to your former governor and the former secretary of agriculture, tom vilsak. I was asking him, what do we do in this situation . He responded with a rhetorical question. He said, when in the history of this country have we ever gone to war, a military fight or a trade war without allies . Thats exactly what we are doing now with china. Yes, they have manipulated their currency. Yes, they have dumped on to this market at below cost. And, yes, there should be a consequence and accountability for that. But going this alone unilaterally has obviously not produced that. Your ability to pass that farm on to the next generation when what you are growing cannot find markets around the world, when some of these fields, especially on the western part of the state up against the missouri are literally lakes right now, we have seen the bins that have blown open from the soybeans stored because they could not find a market, that soaked up all of that water and now spoiled and not covered by insurance. We need to have a response to this. We need to insure that you can pass this farm on to the next generation. A couple of ideas. Lets bring our allies with us to the table, our traditional trading partners like mexico, canada, the european union, into this fight to make sure we get the results that were looking for. Lets help farmers out today. Lets make sure that Crop Insurance covers stored grain, and lets put you in the drivers seat for policy Going Forward. What are the best practices to grow corn and soybeans here . How can we keep more land under conservation . How do we pay farmers . I have heard this expressed aspen as pennies for meal by doing Environmental Services, by leaving land in conservation or planting cover crops to pull carbon out of the air, inject more in the soil, disturb while it is there. I want you to take the lead in our administration on Agricultural Policy and i want to win the fight with china, but with allies and not eye lone. Thank you for asking the question. Appreciate it, doug. On that note, do you support the president s usmca agreement to replace nafta . He might be headed in the right direction on this, but theres a lot more that we need to do. We need to make sure that the u. S. Worker is on a level Playing Field with everyone else against whom we compete. Let me give you an example. Many of the jobs that used to call my hometown of el paso home crossed the river when the north American Free trade agreement was signed. Theyre now in juarez where people are making 40 or 50 a week doing what American Workers had done before. Part of the reason is there are no real labor unions or ability to organize or use the leverage of the value that they provide there to demand better wages and working conditions and benefits that are good for the mexican workers and also make the worker here in the United States be able to compete on a more level Playing Field. So i want to make sure that in a revised mca, that i would love to be able to negotiate, that we ensure that u. S. Worker is on a more level Playing Field with any country with whom we have a trade agreement. I would also add stronger environmental protections and stronger human rights protections. If we do that, we will have fair trade for the United States. Thank you. Lets get back to the audience. Owe live jaw welcher is a pharmacy student here at Drake University and a supporter of elizabeth warren. Olivia. Good evening. Welcome to drake. Thank you for having me. My question for you is that recently several states introduced and passed bills that legally prohibit those with yutyu uteruses from exercising their own reproductive rights. What actions will you take to allow us to gain back rights to our own bodies . Thank you. [cheering and applause] for so long women have been leading this fight, shouldering the burden of making sure that their reproductive rights are protected. It is time all of us join them in this fight. As president i will make sure that every nominee [ applause ] to every federal bench including the Supreme Court understands and believes that the 1973 decision, roe v. Wade, is the settled law of the land. As president , ill make sure that we do away with the gag rule which prevents providers from referring women to get the best Reproductive Health care that they can. Well do away with the hite amendment, so that ensures regardless of your income or your zip code you are able to access a safe, legal abortion, and also the other Services Provided in Family Planning clinics, a Cervical Cancer screening, Family Planning help. In a state like mine in texas where we have not expanded medicaid or one like yours where you privatized medicaid to disastrous results, being able to get the health care that will keep women alive in the midst of a Maternal Mortality crisis that is three times as deadly for women of color. And then i will work with our partners in congress to make sure that by statute we prevent states from taking away the right that every woman should enjoy, making her own decisions about her own body and having access to the health care that makes that possible. Thank you for asking. You probably know there are efforts underway right now to boycott these states, to try to stop people from spending any money in states like alabama that have passed restrictive measures on abortion. Do you support those boycotts and how far should they go . Here is an alternative solution i would like to pursue. Theres an extraordinary organization in texas called annies list, and it helps women run for political office, city council, state rep, state senator, u. S. Congress, senator and president. More women in positions of power and public trust means better results, not just on these policies but just about any other policy that i can think of right now. So lets change the composition of these state legislatures so we have people who better reflect the genius of those states and of this country and of our great democracy. Thats the path that i want to take. Okay. Our next question comes from lidia hall, a doctor and a supporter of yours. Wonderful. Thank you. Hi. Hi. Thanks for taking my question, congressman. As a pediatric er doctor and a mom, one of my greatest fears is a mass shooting happening in my community. My kids have never known a time without mass shooter drills in the schools. This year my four boys are in fourth different schools and my first thought was that if a shooting happens they wont all be in the same place. And every time i go to work at the er i wonder if that will be the day. What will you do to help stop this . Thank you for asking this and then asking it in such personal terms. Sometimes when we talk about the fact that we lose more than 30,000 of our fellow americans to gun violence, that can seem an abstraction or a number. When we think about our kids and others kids who have been lost when gunmen enter a school and begin firing on those students and teachers and Public School educators, it brings it home to us what is happening in our country right now. This is the last week of school for my kids in el paso, and i had a chance to talk to my 8yearold henry, who just ran the relay at maceda elementary today. They came in first. I said if he keeps it up he can come to the drake relays down the road here. But not too long ago, perhaps like your children, he came home from first grade and when amy and i asked him what he had done at school that day he talked about his teacher huddling henry and his classmates into a closet and resisting the temptation to open the door when someone impersonating an active shooter to get them ready begins to knock on it. I met an extraordinary middle School Student who may be here. She goes to Berg Middle School in newton. Her name is milan. When i had a chance to talk to her class, her one question is, i dont want to come to school and wonder whether im going to come home at the end of the day. Whats the answer to that . We know that in this country those states that have adopted universal background checks and close every loophole the charleston loophole, the boyfriend loophole, the gun show loophole and make sure everyone purchases a firearm goes through a background check, those states have seen a reduction in gun violence up to 50 . When we complement it by ensuring that weapons of war designed for use on the battlefield are no longer sold into our communities so they dont end up in our schools or our synagogues or churches, we can save even more lives. [ applause ] two more steps i want to take. Red flag laws, and not just do it town by town or state by state, but do it nationally so that anyone who exhibits a tendency to harm themselves or to harm somebody else can be stopped before they do that. And then the last part, lets make sure that we invest in the counseling and the Mental Health and the therapy necessary for people to get the care that they need. So i want to make sure we are up to this challenge. Thank you. One other question. Do you support mandatory federal licensing for guns . Gun owners rather, in the United States similar to what you hear from cory booker. I think thats something that we need to look at, and im grateful to senator booker for taking a bold approach to a very urgent problem that we have right now. But i would start with those four steps that i just outlined. Theres consensus there. Theres agreement. Were going to be able to make progress. But, yes, i think it is something that should be debated. We should have a full hearing on that, and if it makes sense to the American Public then lets move forward. I want to start with this area of agreement that we have right now. Okay. Lets get back to the audience. Beverly davis is a communications consultant. She has the next question. Thank you for being in iowa, congressman. My mother is an immigrant from Central America and a naturalized citizen, and she, like so many americans, is horrified and angry at the Trump Administrations treatment of legitimate immigrants on our southern border. What is your concrete plan to fix our broken immigration system and stop the Inhumane Treatment of immigrants . Thank you. Thanks for the question. If you dont mind me asking you, what country did your mother come from . Panama. She is right there. Thank you for being here. We saw 400,000 apprehensions at our southern border last year. To put that in perspective, in the second year of the george w. Bush administration there were 1. 6 million apprehensions. And those we were apprehending last year very often came from the northern triangle countries of Central America, and they were fleeing the deadliest places on the planet and making a 2,000mile journey, much of that by foot, some of it atop a train known as the beast, to come here in an attempt to follow our asylum laws. Perhaps as the orourkes did in the 19th century, fleeing famine that claimed the lives of more than a million irish on that island, coming to the one place that would take them in so they could do better for themselves and do better for all of us. We met those Asylum Seekers under this administration with cages for their kids and weve deported those mothers who risked their very lives to bring their children here back to the very countries from which they fled. You ask what i would do differently. I would never again separate another family when they come here at their most vulnerable and desperate moment. [cheering and applause] and i will make every effort and we will spare no expense to reunite those families who have already been separated, and lets do this together and not do it as democrats or independents or republicans. But lets do this as americans. Lets rewrite our immigration laws in our own image. Lets reflect our values, our reality, the best interests and traditions of this country that is comprised of immigrants and Asylum Seekers and refugees. Free every one of the more than one million dreamers from fear of deportation by making them u. S. Citizens here in their own country. [ applause ] and then give others who are laboring in the shadows right now, working some of the toughest jobs that we can imagine, lets bring them out of the shadows, allow them to contribute to their full potential, put them on a path to citizenship, and then ensure that our visa quotas match the labor demand that we have here, our desire to have families be able to reunite and have everyone contribute to the shared greatness and success of this country. I know that we can do it. We just have to set our minds to it and have a president who reflects that desire and that demand. I tell you, coming from a city of immigrants that also happens to be one of the safest cities in the United States of america, ive lived this experience. I have a powerful story to tell about the positive impact of immigrants, and that will be reflected in the white house under our administration. Thank you for asking the question. Appreciate it. Lets do a followup question about that. So far this year, just this year, customs and Border Protection has apprehended nearly 50,000 unaccompanied children along the southwest border. So would a president orourke grant those children asylum . If they meet the test for credible fear. They cannot return to their home country for fear of being attacked, being raped, being killed, the answer is yes. Now, thats thats who we are as a country. And the beneficiary of that ultimately is not just the child, it is all of us. Everything that that kid is going to do over the course of their life, the genius that will be revealed, will be revealed for all of us. It will benefit the United States of america as it always has. But, dana, that cant be the solution in and of itself. We need to invest in solutions in the northern triangle. This president wants to cut 500 million thats all that we give to those three countries and if you put it into perspective, he wants to spend 30 billion on a 2,000mile wall. He want to cut that. I would double it and i would focus it on violence prevention so that no mother has to make the god awful decision of sending her child on that 2,000 mile trek because it is the only choice she has now. Lets invest in those solutions there so that families can stay there, they can be prosperous there, they can help those countries come together and make sure that we have partners in the western hemisphere Going Forward. Thats the wisest, best use of our diplomacy and our resources in this hemisphere. Thank you for that. Thank you. We have to take a quick break. Dont go anywhere. We will be back with more from cnns democratic president ial town hall with beto orourke. Stay right there. Thank you. This cnn town hall is brought to you by adp. Transforming the way great work gets done. To give every idea the perfect soundtrack. To fill your world with fun. To share my culture with my community. To make each journey more elegant. Im working for all the adventure two wheels can bring. 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Welcome back to Drake University in iowa. Were live for a democratic president ial town hall with beto orourke. We want to get back to the audience in a minute, but before we do i just want to ask something personal, and that is about your dad. He was a politician in el paso and you didnt always see eye to eye. He wanted you to be in the Family Business of politics. You were not that interested. It is probably an understatement back then. In 2001 he was hit by a car, he was killed, and i just wonder what you think he would say watching you now. Yeah. Running for president of the United States. Well, since were on live tv and there may be kids watching im going to im going to keep this clean. I think he would you know, i would like to think that he would be proud the way that were doing this. Being with people, having fun, all about connecting with folks where they are and where they live. My dad, pat orourke, never met a stranger, loved every second of being alive, found total joy in serving others. And to whatever degree i can emulate that and find that joy and it has been that way as weve travelled iowa and the other states and in my time of service on city council and in congress. I hope that im living up to the expectation that he set for me. I miss him terribly every day, but i know if he were with us he would be having the time of his life. So i keep him in my thoughts and i know that he is somewhere looking on us with a big smile on his face. Is he surprised saying, wow, you really did it . Yeah, because this this was absolutely not my path in life. I remember, i was fortunate enough to be able to go to columbia. Took out Student Loans every year i was there, a workstudy job every year i was there. My dad took out loans to be able to send me there. I came home my sophomore junior year and said, dad, im an english major, and i remember the disappointed look on his face. Were taking these loans out and struggling for you and youre going to read books all day . I dont think he knew what course or path i was going to take, but im grateful i get to do this. He did know, and this is a little known fact about you, after you graduated you were a livein nanny for a family briefly, right . Does anyone else have any questions out there . In new york city. A lot of questions. Yeah. So i after college i was trying to live in the city, trying to live in new york, and i was working full time but i still didnt have enough money to pay the rent. And so this incredibly kind family said that if you will make our kids breakfast in the morning, walk them to school, take care of them at the end of the day and then watch them on the weekends, you can have the little apartment above ours in our apartment building. Great deal. And so i took them up on that, and a great experience early on. Yeah. Okay. Done. Were going to make a turn to other important topics. Yeah. To our audience, i want to get straight to joey lyons who is a registered nurse. Joey. Hey, congressman beto. Hi, joey. I work at a hospital on a floor that specializes in helping people detox from drugs and alcohol. First, as a society how do we stop viewing drug users as criminals and start viewing them as people struggling with Mental Health problems . Second, would you support decriminalization of drug use beyond just marijuana . Third, would you commute sentences for people serving time for simple drug possession . Thank you. Thank you. And thank you for the work that you are doing. So incredibly important. We look at the fact that we lost 70,000 of our fellow Americans Last year to Drug Overdose deaths, most to opioids and most of those who were addicted to opioids began that addiction with a legally prescribed opioid. The vast majority. And so often we treat them as a criminal justice problem instead of, as youve just suggested, a Public Health opportunity. So, yes, lets not criminalize them. Lets get them the longterm recovery help, the treatment that they need, the care that will get them back on their feet some that theyre as productive as they should be over the course of their lives, and lets also acknowledge this, that without consequences or justice for how this happened, for corporations like Purdue Pharma that marketed these opioids and not [ applause ] though we have 2. 3 million of our fellow americans behind bars tonight, we are the most incarcerated country on the face of the planet. Disproportionately compromised of people of color. I was talking to somebody in iowa, tavis hall, who is an expert on this. He said africanamericans comprise 3 of iowas population, 40 of the incarcerated population in this state. We are busting people for possession of marijuana, putting them in jail, forcing them to check a box on every Employment Application form after theyre released, making it less likely they get the job, making it almost impossible they attend drake because they no longer qualify for federallybacked Student Loans, and yet no one from Purdue Pharma has done a night in jail or paid any significant consequence. We have to do better. So lets end a war on drugs. It has become a war on people, a war on some people more than others. Yes, lets end the prohibition on marijuana and expunge the arrest records for everyone arrested for possession of a substance that is legal in most of this country. And then a few other quick steps, lets end forprofit prisons in the United States of america. No one should get rich locking other people up. Lets end the cash bail system so that you are not too poor to be able to have your freedom in this country. Lastly, lets make sure that we really look at the consequence of slavery and segregation and suppression and jim crow in this country that has produced a criminal justice system, that has produced the results that we just described before. If we do that, we begin the process of repair and we stop visiting this injustice on future generations Going Forward. So thank you for the question. Appreciate it. To follow up on something you just said. You want to put the drug manufacturers in jail . It is pretty clear that Purdue Pharma was marketing opioids to prescribers and to doctors as a miracle cure without side effects and playing down any consequences of addiction, though they knew something to the contrary. And you see the rates of addiction that you have across this country. If there is not justice served in this case, then it will continue to happen. So i back those attorneys general and i think of josh shapiro in pennsylvania, for example, but there are others across the country, who are going to make sure that justice is served. It is the only way to ensure that Going Forward you do not have that same problem marketed to future generations of americans. So, yes, there has to be legal consequences, including jail time if thats what the judge finds at the end of the day. Yes. Okay. Lets get back to the audience. I want to bring in diane comber, a retired telecommunications person. Thank you. Welcome to drake. I have multiple sclerosis and this disease is treated with very expensive pharmaceutical drugs. In addition to the generic drugs, the drug i take retails for one dose at 28,100. I get this every six weeks. 21,800 for a little bag of clear liquid that is infused in my chest. It has depleted our savings and i worry about what we can afford, the everincreasing costs of these drugs that reduce the progression of my ms. Diane, thank you for being here. [ applause ] again, for having the courage of sharing your story so we all understand the consequences of the policies that we have adopted in this country. You should be able to get the care that you need to live your life to the fullest and cost should not be an object or a concern or an anxiety of yours. I want you to focus on being well and doing well for others. To add insult to injury, you and i as taxpayers have funded so much of the research and development for the cures and the medications and the pharmaceuticals that are sold back to us at the highest prices on the planet. We prevent you from buying from canada or from europe or somewhere elsewhere you can purchase it cheaper, and we refuse to use the purchasing power of medicare, the leverage in all of the Prescription Medications we buy for those beneficiaries to drive the price down. We have a plan to address this. Were going to make sure that every single american has access to highquality universal Health Care Without exception. Theres a plan called medicare for america. It will ensure that everyone that does not have care today is enrolled in medicare. Those who have insufficient care, they cant make the copay after insurance kicks in or afford the premium or bridge the deductible, they can choose medicare as well. But those who have employersponsored insurance and like it because it works for them and their families are able to keep it, and we use the leverage of this government not just for medicare but medicaid beneficiaries, va beneficiaries, tricare beneficiaries, to bring the prices of these medications down so that you and other americans can afford them. Thats what we should be able to do. Thank you, diane, for asking the question. Appreciate it. So you mentioned your plan or the plan that you signed on to, medicare for america. Why not medicare for all . I think about diane. I think about joey, a young man, 27 years old, that i met in laredo, texas. He has been to a doctor once in his life because he does not have insurance, and that doctor told him that he had diabetes, that he had grlaucoma and he would be dead before the age of 40 because hes not getting any care right now in this country. Joey, diane, others, they dont have time for us to get to the perfect solution. If we were to start from scratch, maybe we would start with a single payer, but we have to work with the system that we have here today. The surest, quickest way to get there is medicare for america. It guarantees every Single Person in this country gets the care that they need to live to their full potential and do those things that they were placed on this planet to perform in the first place. So thats why i support that plan. Thank you for that, congressman. Dont go anywhere. You got it. We will be right back with a lot more from cnns democratic president ial town hall with beto orourke. Thank you. Onmillionth order. R. There goes our first big order. 44, 45, 46. How many of these did they order . Ooh, thats hot. You know, we could sell these. Nah. We dont bake. Opportunity. What we deliver by delivering. Wouldnt it be great to get a phone too . Et a wireless plan, switch to sprint and get an unlimited plan with the Samsung Galaxy s10 included. For just 35 a month. Its a big deal. For people with hearing loss, visit sprintrelay. Com shaving has been difficult for me. I have very sensitive skin, and i get ingrowing hairs. So its a daunting task. Oh i love it. Its a great razor. It has that fence in the middle. It gives a nice smooth shave. Just stopping that irritation. That burn that i get is really life changing. Applebees new loaded fajitas. Now thats eatin good in the neighborhood. Welcome back. Were live in iowa for a democratic president ial town hall with beto orourke. I want to get straight to the audience. We have a lot more questions starting with terence pendleton, a math professor here at drake. Great. Good evening. So this past january at drake uni taught a course entitled mathematical modelling of weather and Climate Change. It was there that we studied the familiaring killing curve and i was quite alarmed to read this year carbon ear missions have reached record levels. At this pivotal time for our species and planet, what steps would you take to curb the potentially devastating consequences of Climate Change . Great question. Terence, thank you for the question and for directing our focus on the most urgent priority facing all of us. Yesterday i spent part of the day in downtown davenport. That community saw a record level of flooding, broke the record set in 1993 from the mississippi river. Across the state, up against the missouri, we saw towns that were under water that had never flooded in any meaningful way before. The greatest runoff into the Missouri River basin for as long as weve been keeping records of the Missouri River basin. In my home state of texas, houston had 58 inches of rain. The landfall record for as long as weve been keeping them, and it was the third 500year flood in just five years in that one community. These floods, the fires that we see in california, the droughts in west texas, in the panhandle, are happening at record levels of intensity and devastation. They are claiming lives and property and in some cases entire communities, and it is not happening through an act of god or because of mother nature. It is us. Our emissions, our excesses, our own inaction in the face of the facts and the science and the truth has produced these results, and the trajectory we are on right now will make the devastation that we just described pale in comparison unless we take action at this moment. Scientists, those who are studying the same things that you are studying, tell us that we have ten years within which to act, to free this country from a dependence on fossil fuels and fully embrace renewable energy, to make sure [ applause ] to make sure that this planet is habitable for the generations that follow us. We were able to release a plan, it is the most ambitious plan to confront Climate Change that this country has ever seen. It gets us to net zero green house grass emissions by 2050, halfway there by 2030. It mobilizes 5 trillion over the next ten years, not just to make sure we adopt and innovate the next technologies for us and for the world, but to help those in davenport and pacific junk and on the front lines of Climate Change weather these storms and floods as they come with greater frequency and greater devastation. And then we elevate those communities, very often lower income communities and communities of color, that have borne the brunt of pollution and Climate Change over the decades that has been happening here in this country. If we do all of that, all of us do inoing our part including fas when we pretechnologies like precision till and no till technology, pay them for the Environmental Service of capturing carbon, when everyone in the country does its part this country can take its rightful role as indispensable and convene other countries together to make sure we solve this otherwise intractable problem and that the United States leads the way. Thats what we will do in an Orourke Administration with your help. Thank you, appreciate it. Thanks. Our next International Admissions here at Drake University and currently supports bernie sanders. Good eve. Ing. Good evening. Recently you signed the no fossil fuel money pledge and have returned donations that do not conform to this pledge. Considering youve received more fossil fuel money than any politician except ted cruz, many might consider that to be too little, too late. In light of your voting record, sometimes sympathetic to the fossil fuel industry, huh do you as a democrat defend your history of accepting fossil fuel money at such a high rate and why do we believe you wont continue voting their interests . Thank you for the question. Appreciate it. Look, weve just talk said about some of the historic challenges that we face in this country. Health care, an economy thats not working for everyone. Climate change thats effecting us right now at this moment and oncountry thats never been more divided with a president that seeks to make us more divided than we eare in a democracy thats badly damage would a president that will stop at nothing to further undermine our democracy. Our entire life has been about having town Hall Meetings like these. I had them every week on city counsel and every month. Five years ago i swore off all Political Action committee money. All grass roots campaigns for congress and last year in texas we led the largest grass roots effort in that States History without a dime of pack money. We were able to take a state 50th in voter turnout to one that is a contender in National Politics and we did by writing nobody off, taking nobody for granted. Democrats, republicans, independents alike. Its that kind of ability to fix our democracy that we need. The contributions we received from the workers in the oil and gas industry in texas. Im proud of those donations and grateful for the tough work they do day in and day out but it turns out we raised more money in the grass roots fashion i just described than any Senate Candidate in the history of the United States of america and we received from those and every single industry but not from corporations, only from human beings who helped transform our politics in the state of texas. So thanks for asking me the question. And i want to ask you about one in particular when you were in congress. You voted to lift a ban on crude oil exports. Calling it an out dated policy and they called that vote antienvironment. Was it a mistake that vote . I begin by telling you that im great fool have had the support of the league of conservation voters in texas. I think i have a near perfect score with that organization. Yes, im happy with that vote. I drove here tonight in a dodge grand caravan that is burning gasoline. I want to make sure that this country frrks as long as we use fossil fuels and i just made the pledge to transition this country as quickly as we humanly can but i want to make sure that were independent of the need to maintain those fossil fuels from these endless wars in 28 years and counting in iraq and this president threatening to invade venezuela. Id rather those jobs and exploration take place here in this country to satisfy our energy needs and of others around the world. Id love to toughen the epa standards to make sure were doing this in the most environmentally sound way and transition totally off of fossil fuels to renewable energy. Thank you so much. Were going to take another quick break. Dont go can anywhere. Were going to be right back more from beto orourke. S. S. U. S. U. V. These letters used to mean something. Letters earned in backwoods, high hills, and steep dunes. But somewhere along the way, suvs became pretenders, not pioneers. 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Because stuffed animals are clearly no substitute for real ones. Feel the clarity. And live claritin clear. Welcome back. With beto eorourke. Want to get straight to the audience. A question from nick johnson who is the student body president right here at Drake University. While in congress you voted against several measures aimed at punishing russia after the annexation of crimea. Will you work to counter russian aggression in the world and if so how are we to believe you when your record suggests otherwise . Yeah, nick, thank you for the question. Ia may be referring to a vote i took against arming ukrain in their war against russia. If you think we enter more wars right now now that year in afghanistan and syria and yemen and somalia and iraq 1 2 dozen other countries where we are taking the lives of others and putting the lives of u. S. Service members on the line, then lets go for it. But if we think we ecan resolve these challenges paeeacefully without putting our Foreign Policy on the backs of 19 and 20yearold women and men in the greatest armed forces the world has ever known, then lets pursue that. And i think we have a lesson from our former president , barack obama. Greatest president of my lifetime, as far as im concerned. Who, when face would the threat of a nuclearized iran, without firing a shot and invading another country in the middle east, sat at the table with iran in germany to halt that countrys progress towards a nuclear weapon. An imperfect agreement but better than starting yet another war for this country. I want to make sure that we give diplomacy a chance. But if youre going to compare me or any other contender against donald trump who invited Vladimir Putin to invaud our democracy and the first call that he made after the Mueller Report was released to a foreign head of state was to Vladimir Putin with whom he spent an hour on the phone and described the whole report as a hoax. We can do a lot better than this guy in Holding Russia in check and i certainly plan on doing that. Just a quick final on that. You called many times for an end to wars in the middle oos. As commander and chief when would you think it would be appropriate to authorize military force . Only ewhen its the last recourse for our country. You should never put a Service Members life on the line unless and i dont want to be naive about the threats that are against us right now. We still have a challenge against isis of which we must remain vigilant. We have other powers like russia, aran, north korea that we have to make sure we address. I want to make sure we do that nonviolently, working with other partnerress in the region to do that. But it war is the last recourse is the thing we must do to proit tect this country and ourful oo oamericans, i will lead us into war but i want to make sure its the last option. Lets bring in James Stevens who works in financial services. The Current Administration has demonstrated to me an untolerable hatred. The president could have categorically edenounced hateful acts but did nothing. As president , what are your thoughts on how we can better overcome hate in this nation . Thank you, james. Appreciate that. Thank you for the question. Not too long after President Trump was sworn in. We were picking up these valentines day cards that they had done for veterans at the va. Connecting the youngest generation with the generations that had served before them. And this third grade girl as shes giving us the valentines day cards asks why does the president not like me e . She happened to be mexican american. She einternalized his hatred and the fact he called them rapists and criminals. A family took me aside and said our third grade daughter came home and because were muslim she asked if were in the right country despite the fact that she was born in this country as were her parents. What does that to do that childs conception of herself or whether shes even in the right place to begin with . When a president calls clansman and nazis and White Supremacists very fine people. When he conflats the words of representative omar, who happens to be a muslim member of congress, stoking islamaphobia and hatred and yes, violence, you begin to be able to explain the rise in hate crimes every single one of the last three years. Im making the cases that the president of the United States of america right now does not just offend our ears or our senseabilities. He makes possible the aktcts of violence and hatred play out today. I want to make sure we dont just tolerate and are spect each other but that we embrace them. That is how we become a stronger country and how i will reflect as your president. Thank you. Tony, who is an attorney here in des moines. Good evening, congressman. Im an attorney with a good paying job and 10 years of experience. Im still over 300 in debt because my parents could not afford my tuition. 2 3 of the it debt is Student Loans. The other 1 3 is private Student Loans. My question to you is as president , what would you do to urge as a private Student Loan Companies to offer repayment plans similar to the governments incomebased repayment plans . Thank you. This is a real crisis in our country. And demands that be met with the urgency required to solve it. Theres 1. 5 trillion in outstanding Student Loan Debt right now a default rate of less than 10 . Which shows far too long are able to shoulder the burden. Its a drag on them and its a drag on our economy. If we want to open this economy to everyone and deal with the crisis you just described, there are two big things that we can do. The first is to stop digging the hole. Lets make sure you do not accumulate debt if you are attending a Community College or fouryear university and lets insure that Fouryear College l costs, not just tuition but room and board and books can by finished debt free for those of modest and middle income means anducters whaare able to pay their way should do so and the other big thing is refinance, to your question, existing Student Loan Debt at the lowest possible rates for everyone that has it right now. Whether the issuer was the government or a provet issuer. And its go itting to necessitate an investment but its an investment in your future and to contribute more to our shared success. And i like this idea a lot. Is to vastly expand the Public Service loan forgiveness program. There are 35,000 Unfilled Positions at the va right now. That means theyre waiting not minutes, or hours but weeks to see a provider. If youre willing to work at the va and fill one of those clinical positions, lets wipe clear and clean your debtd. I think thats how we can meet this challenge. In a total of 1. 5 trillion of student debt out there. Would you support a plan to forgive all of it . No. But i think i would start with those steps you just described. If youre willing to move back to your home town, a Small Community in underserved job thats in demand, i want to make sure youre rewarded for doing that. That you can focus on contributing to your community by wiping clear that debt. There are others who have the means to pay that back and i dont know that we want to be in the business of rewarding the very wealthiest in this country. Not Everyone Wants to go to college. So if youre going to be career ready, i want to be sure we empower and lift up unions in this country. Command the skill or trade and a living wage for the rest of your life. I want to make sure were including everyone in this economy. Not just in the college but those who want to contribute to their full potential. Lets just give this a real world example. You heard tony say hes 300,000 in debt. Do you think your plan could wipe out his debt . It depends on the career that he chooses. Its a career of Public Service. We need more public defenders in this country. We need them to afford that incredibly Important Role in our judiciary and our democracy. I think theres public value and interest in that. Refinancing that kpusing Student Loan Debt at the lowest possible rate, the rate banks lend to one another mocks sense to me. So look, we cecan do a lot bett than were doing now and we ecan do it in an affordable way in this economy and this country. We want to get to the audience. Nina is a High School English teacher. Hello congressman. English teachers unite. Both republican and democrat each have 70yearold men as their frontrunners. Do you think this country is ready and will vote for a generation x president . Nina, ill just tell you that i have found my inspiration, my guidance, my leadership from the very youngest among us in our democracy. This is our 34th College Visit in the last eight weeks of this campaign. Why edo we keep coming to where the youngest people in this country are right now . Because on the issues of gun violence, theyre the ones leading the maefrch marches for our lives. Theyre the ones demanding answers and not taking any waiting or excuses. Theyre going to have action at this moment. On making sure everyone has health care, again it is the young people. Their urgency is something that cu compels me, inspires me. I dont know that i need comment on the ages of other president ial kabd dts. I just need tell you im so optimistic because of the peep 8 taking leadership right now and very often theyre in places like the one ware wrr unat Drake University. So thank you for asking the question. And i want to add this one other thing. Though weve held more than 150 town halls, answered hundreds of questions and are here tonight with dana and with all of you, i know not everyone has been able to attend one of these, so were opening an opportunity through our campaign right now called town hall for america. You can go to beto orourke. Com and ask me any question and i will do my best to get you an answer. That will make me ea better candidate and i hope a better president for you and others. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for doing this. Thank you to our audience here at Drake University. And i will be back next thursday at 10 00 p. M. For another live town hall. This time with senator michael beent and on sunday june 2nd, back to back to back democratic town halls with seth moulon the, tim ryan and Eric Swalwell at 6 00 p. M. Eastern. Thank you very much. This is cnn tonight. Im don lemon. And you just watched our cnn town hall where the former texas congressman beto orourke is answering questions in his first nationally televised town hall. He talked about impeachment, row ev wade, medicare for all and a whole lot more and year going to discuss it now. Im going to bring in david, who is in des moines. Gentleman, good evening mp. He jumped in the race. Do you think its a reboot . I think were really evident is the practice hes getting on the campaign trail is paying off . In the fall when he did another town hall with this like him . This is somebody whos done a lot more since then . Clearly has been studying up on many of the issues and i think shows himself to be a more prepared candidate than the impromptu. I dont can know if i recall him having a jacket on before. And a tie. And he wasnt standing on a bar or a table. Listen, democratic calls for impeachment for growing. This is what orourke said on the issue. Should begin impeachment proceedings against donald trump. [ applause ] i understand the political implications of this but i think this moment calls us to look beyond the politics and even the next election. Its the very sankty of the ballot box the future of democracy. We need to look past those shortterm consequences. What hes saying is democrats cant worry about the shortterm consequences, even if it hurts them. What do you think of that . Hes basically calling out nancy pelosi a bit there. Hes sawing the democratic leadership is basically making a political calculation right now that moving forward with impeachment at this stage in the game would backfire on them. Youve heard Speaker Pelosi say this is something that will work oo to the president s benefit, rally his basis and hes saying that is not the political calculation that should be made. We should note hes also making a political calculation in adhiegz one of conviction he may be making, which is the Democratic Base is very much in favor of moving forward with impeachment and that is who he is courting for this democratic nomination. Hes not looking to the general

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