Transcripts For CSPAN Louisiana 5th Congressional District Debate 20141025

Dickerson and jill bossi. Followed at 8 00 by the new Jersey Senate debate with senator cory booker and jeff bell. Wednesday night at 8 00, live coverage of the louisiana Senate Debate between three candidates, senator mayorry land drew, representative bill cassidy and rob maneess. At 9 00, the maine u. S. Senate debate and at 10 00, the texas Senate Debate. Cspan campaign 2014. More than 100 debates for the control of congress. Twelltwelltwelltwell in listening to the debate between carl demyoand representative scott peters, its just politics as usual. What we really need is for the politicians to quit making decisions based on power, money and votes and to start working together at a higher level seeking the best decisions for the American People. Im to the point that when theres any type of political event, both republicans and democrats and any other party that wants to get involved should organize it, should start from the gitgo learning Work Together and at this event show their constituents and the American People that they can literally Work Together, reason together at a higher level and on all the issues that americans are concerned about and get the best decisions by reasoning together, instead of it being based on power, money and votes. We win and you lose. Im calling to say thank you for airing the debates. I just watched the vermont governors debate and im embarrassed to admit that when i first saw there were seven candidates on the stage, i thought it was going to be a circus. But im glad i got over that and i watched. I was really impressed with some of the ideas that some of the candidates the suggestions that they made, particularly the gentleman who said that an educated workforce is to the benefit of our country, so we should be paying students to go to school, not charging them and putting them in debt for going to school. And i really like the woman ndidate who reminded us that jeffords senator jeffords would refuse to debate to attend any debate that didnt include everybody that was on the ballot. Its time that americans realize that we dont have to can and a een a demo republicly cat. Thanks again, cspan, for airing these debates. Continue to let us know what you think about the programs youre watching. Or us at 22026263400 email us with comments or send span comments. Follow us on twitter. In louisianas fifth Congressional District eight candidates met in monroe, louisiana, for a campaign debate. Six of them, including incumbent Vance Mcallister are republicans. Theyre joined by a democrat and a Green Party Candidate in. Louisianas socalled jungle primary system, if no candidate wins 50 of the vote in november, the top two candidates meet for a Runoff Election on december 6. This hourlong debate is courtesy of knoetv. Youre watching the campaign voice your vote. Im mark boyle. Imdale hoffman. Welcome to voice your vote live from monroe. Live on cbs two in alexander ya. Well hear from the eight of the nine candidates over the next hour seeking your vote for the fifth Congressional District in the state of louisiana. Now, were asking the candidates to provide brief and straightforward answers to questions that you have submitted to our stations, as well as questions provided by a professor and a political analyst, joshua stokley. Each candidate will receive between 30 seconds and a minute to answer, which will be stated at the beginning of each question as its asked. Since our format is a forum rather than a debate, candidates will have to hold any rebuttals until the closing remarks. Candidates will hear this bell, very good. And when the time is up we will start in alphabetical order and proceed in succession to the next letter for each question. All right, we begin tonight with several questions on health care. Gentlemen, the cases of ebola are growing daily in the u. S. And the threat is getting closer to louisiana and the Fifth District. Conditioned dates, in 45 seconds take a few moments to introduce yourselves and then answer this opening question qush what is an appropriate response as a nation to the ebola epidemic . And is the center for Disease Control handling the situation appropriately . We begin by welcoming dr. Ralph abraham. Youll have 45 seconds to introduce yourself and answer this question. Thanks to the tv stations for honoring this forum and thanks to the viewers force having us in your home. I am afl abraham and im runging for congress. Im a rural doctor, a veteran of special force else and a pilot that fliles for the civil guard, civil air patrol, a rmer, a former veterinarian, a father and grandfather now. The ebola situation is a serious deal, folks. As a physician, i can tell you its bad. The way to solve this problem is very straightforward stop the flights from liberia, senegal, sierra leone, seal our borders. We have people coming from 75 Different Countries over here. We dont know who they are or what theyve got. We dont know actually where theyre even coming from. So weve got to stop the flights, seal the borders, send a medical team over there of armed Army Personnel stopping it at its epicenter. Thank you, sir. Wed like to welcome Green Party Candidate eliot barron from the new orleans area. What do you see, sir, as the appropriate response nationwide to the ebola situation . The good news, as i understand it, is that we are cleaning up. It seems that we have containment on the disease at the time being. I spoke with the former diplomat to senegal and they only know of a few reported cases there. So the good news is that this outbreak seems to be waning. Now, that said, this is not a new disease and protocols have been out there for a long time for handling it. I do trust the center for Disease Control and i think were doing the best that we can. That said, its up to everybody to take care, to stay alert and stay alive, and if that means personal protective equipment like a breathing mask or some such things, maybe even avoiding flying, then those are personal decisions that one can take for their own safety. Thank you, mr. Barron. Welcome to evening to republican Fifth District candidates harris brown from monroe. Mr. Brown, americas response to the ebola epidemic. Let me begin by thanking the tations for putting this forum on. Its great opportunity for all of us to get in front of the people. A brief introduction to myself. Im harris brown, a Small Business owner here in the Fifth District and lived here my entire life. I have industry experience that overlaps this district very well, be it farming, oil and gas or timber and i have a host of Community Service and nonprofit work that ive done on behalf of all the hardworking citizens of the Fifth District. In regards to ebola, this is clearly an imminent and dangerous threat to our union and i certainly support air restriction that is were put in place today limiting the inbound flights to five different airports in the u. S. A. But i would go further and eliminate all of the flights into the u. S. A. From these diseasestricken nations. This is not something we can take lightly. This evening were joined by republican Fifth District candidate zach dasher from calhoun. Mr. Dasher, what do you think is the appropriate nationwide response to the ebola situation . Id like to thank you guys for having us here tonight. My name is zach dasher. Im the father of four children and a beautiful wife, jill. To answer your question about he bo larks i think that c. D. C. , the center for disease confusion as some say, have made this into a debacle. We have to shut down flights coming into the u. S. And secure our borders. Number three, we need to fire the head of the c. D. C. For we dont need another czar. We need commonsense solutions. Thank you very much, sir. And republican candidate Clyde Holloway joins us tonight from forest hill, louisiana. Mr. Holloway, your thoughts on the u. S. Response to the bowla situation. Let me say the most important thing about Clyde Holloway is i served three terms in the u. S. House. So i have the most experience of anyone here. No one really knows what you do till you go fight for it. So i think i have a wife, kathy, four children, i hope to have a ninth grand child tomorrow. So my life is busy. Ebola, without controlling the border, knowing every person who crosses the border theres no way we can control what goes on in our country. We should know every single individual that crosses. If theyre not legal, sends them back. So i think its very important we should stop flights from the countries any passenger coming from one of these three countries, i dont care if theyre coming from india or wherever, should be sent back. Thank you. Current monroe mayor and our single democrat in a large field of candidates for the ifth district seat, jimmy mayo joins us. What is the response . Im jamie mayo, mayor of the city of monroe, the largest city in the fifth Congressional District. I came from humble beginnings. In fact, i grew up poor. But the values that i learned in my experience as a businessman, also in sports and in government, has taught me the true value of teamwork and that teamwork has helped the city of monroe to be in the best fiscal shape in the citys history. In addition to creating an environment thats conducive to growth where weve had a number of jobs and working across political lines or party lines to working with republicans, emocrats and independents to build a new airport, terminal and a number of other things. I had an opportunity to have a riefing with the president along with his secretary. They had an opportunity to brief us in terms of the things that were going on. Ok, thank you. Vance rent congressman mcallister joins us. In 45 second, what do you think is an appropriate response here . Well, let me say thanks for all of you joining in tonight. I know you could be watching Something Like dancing with the stars, but youre watching us. So lets get straight to it. Im congressman Vance Mcallister. If you dont know who i am, god bless you id love neat you. Ive been to the briefings and seen whats coming out of affairs. Were doing what we can. The c. D. C. Should have done better and could have done better, but its not a complete outbreak and were doing everything we can to control it. The problem is right now with the funding, secretary kerry just asked the other day for a billion dollars redirected funds to it. We looked to the c. D. Crfrpblts and some of the things going on, its ridiculous some of the things the government is doing. We have to control were funding 2. 9 million to find out why lesbians are obese or why elderly are not joining a championship. I can list on and on. 64,000 grants that are not being accounted for that we have to take care of. Thank you, mr. Mcallister. Rounding out our candidates in alphabetical order and the last candidate to answer our first question, republican ed tarpley from alexander ya. Mr. Tarpley, what do you think the nations response should be to the ebola situation . Nations response from the federal government is one the greatest examples of the dysfunctional nature of the federal government that you can possibly imagine. You know, it only takes common sense to realize that were dealing with an epidemic. Were dealing with a disease. This is not about Political Correctness. This is about protecting lives of american citizens and we need to shut down flights from west africa. I mean, everybody understands this. But why the c. D. C. Cant figure this out is a mystery to me. I think its Political Correctness that has run amuck in the Nations Capital and i think what we need is common sense and we need to shut down the flights from west africa until this situation is under control. Mr. Tarpley, thank you. Moving on to question number two and one that certainly is the basis for Many Campaign platforms this season, mark. We continue to debate the Affordable Care act. Each candidate will have one minute to answer this question if the Affordable Care act is not the solution for insurance gget uninsured, what is . If it is the solution what, would you propose to improve the act . Mr. Barron, youll be the first candidate to answer our second question. Thank you. Im on the record as saying that i think the Affordable Care act is a step in the right direction. But its a short step and doesnt go far enough. Id like to see the Veterans Administration more fully funded and expanded as an affordable as an Accountable Care organization and as a model for universal care and access for everybody. All right, thank you very much, sir, appreciate. I mark . Thank you. Mr. Barron . Mr. Brown, if the Affordable Care act is not the solution, what is and what would you propose . The Affordable Care act is not the solution. Ive never seen a worse policy put out. The jobkilling nature of this as well as the personal mandates and the unconstitutionality of some of the subsidies go beyond the scope of the executive branch. Lets be sure we push back on these jobkilling policies like that. A ink the real solution is privatebased free market system that can provide better and Cheaper Health Care to all of the Fifth District. Republican zach dasher. If Affordable Care is not the solution, what is . What would you propose . When i think about obamacare its like taking my son fishing, he throws the cast out there and gets the backlash. Sometimes the backlash is so bad you cant untangle it. You have to cut the whole mess out. Obamacare is a debacle. It will raise our taxes and cost 2. 5 million jobs according to the c. B. O. In 2021. Look at the premium increases. They wont post those until affidavit election and theres a reason for that. We need to rip this thing out and replace it with freemarket solutions. 100 Clyde Holloway, your opinion on the Affordable Care act, and what would you do personally to improve the situation . Well, i would call it the unaffordable act. There are so many things that its costing people to go part time. Were looking at Huge Companies that are putting people at 30 hours or less. That is something that has to be addressed in issue. We need to totally wipe it out. And then we have to have suggestions of what to do. I think we have to take care of people with existing conditions. We have to do things that are good, but number one, we just have to take care we have the best Healthcare System in the world. Why destroy the best Health Care System in the entire world . I look at countries that have this and they have waiting lists to have surgeries. We need to be able to address the situation where people can have their surgeries timely. Doctors, we need to allow people to run the Healthcare System, the doctors to run the Healthcare System. We need medicine that is cheaper and can be afforded. Thank you, mr. Holloway. Democrat jamie mayo. The commonly held assumption here is that democrats as a whole support the Affordable Care act as implemented. Is the act the solution for insuring the uninsured . If you support the act, what would you do to improve the current legislation . First of all, we all should the are of the fact that afford autobiographical care act will not be repealed, especially in the next two years because its the law. And certainly even if the senate is taken over by republicans, they will not have enough votes to repeal it so we need to get that straight. Secondly, you need to understand that there are a couple of good features in the Affordable Care act. One is the fact that theres knee existing el in hises preexisting illnesses will be taken care of, and children can stay on their parents policies until theyre 26. We know that it is not perfect, but why tear up the whole thing when you have something that will afford the opportunities for citizens to have health care, which many president s have tried to have, but this president has been able to do. So those are the type things that our people in our country need. They need to be help thee in order to be able to be gainesvillely employed and also have to jobs so they can be productive citizens. Represent Vance Mcallister, your opinions in one minute on the Affordable Care act as currently written. Look, im up there in the middle of it. Ill tell you, we can talk all day about hot air and how were going to repeal it and get rid of it and its just not going to happen. Even if we get the control of senate its still not going to happen. What we have to do is for the next two years until hopefully the republicans can take over the executive branch and be the next president of the United States, we have to deal with the reality of whats going on in this world. And its hurting jobs, its creating uncertainty in the markets. Youre exactly right. The premiums are going up in 2015. But weve done a lot in the house right now to try to dismantle parts of it, such as making a parttime work week be 40 hours or less, so these companies do not have to cut employees. But the problem is if we dont take over the senate were still in a battle for the next two years of trying to deal with the destruction that its causing this country. Weve got 370 bills sitting on harry reids desk that has not been able to be passed on the floor to dismantle whats going on with the Affordable Care act. Ed tarpley from alex andrea, what thoughts do you have on this legislation . Its really not the solution. The solution is the free market economic system. That is the solution to this gigantic economic problem in our country. The Affordable Health care act has in fact hurt the middle class as much as anything that we have ever seen. Do you realize that the 40hour work week is being destroyed as a result of the Affordable Health care act . And why is that . Well, its because under the act, a fulltime employee is someone that works at least 30 hours. So whats happened is, is that employers are not hiring fulltime employees. Theyre hiring parttime employees and the ones they have, theyre cutting the hours so they or 29 hours wont have to pay for their Health Insurance. And we have other employers such as walmart that is completely getting rid of Health Insurance for their parttime employees so what we see happening with the Affordable Health care act are unintended consequence that is are damaging the middle class, hurting wages and hurting working families in this country. Finally on this muchdebated question, republican Ralph Abraham and your thoughts as a physician on the Affordable Care act. I am a physician and i work with this in bingham, louisiana, every day and its a mess. Im to the point in my practice i cant write a prescription that i want to send to my patients. I cant get an m. R. I. Or c. T. On a young lady that hassan aneurysm in her brain. Does it need to be repealed . Absolutely. Can it be repealed . We will throw the hail mary pass, but if we cant do it that way, well do yardage every time of the week. Now, you ask about the solutions. The solutions for the medicare, medicaid, the obamacare, is whats called an a. C. O. An Accountable Care organization. There is a program in place right now that has saved medicare 30 million as of august 30. But guess what . The federal government wont advance it because i guess it works. But it has to be changed because i can tell you working in the trenches right there in good old manningham, i have to dance around it every day of the week. Ok. Our third question. A 30second question. From recently retired disabled veteran kim gibson. Our candidates want to know what you will do to help veterans and improve the current state of health will care provided to veterans. We begin with republican harris brown. Whats happened at the v. A. System is a real tragedy. To think these men and women have made all but the ultimate sacrifices for our freedom and our country and have to wait in line or even die in line waiting on health care is a real tragedy to our system. What we need to understand is this is a clear example of the dysfunctionality of the United States government and their ineptitude at managing systems. What i would do to improve is hold the people that are responsible accountable for hair mistakes and if we need to start firing people from the top down, lets do it. Mr. Dasher, your plan to help veterans improve the current state of the Veterans Administration health system. What do you think can be done . Id like to thank our veterans or their service and sacrifice. They deserve better than what were giving them. They deserve the same quality of health care that i have access to oose a private citizen. Why dont we take our tax dollars and buy our veterans a private policy, the same type of policy that i have that increases their access to healt care and they dont have to wait in line or die in waiting rooms. Thank you, mark . Mr. Holloway, your plan to improve the quality of life for our veterans. I was in congress 21 years ago. My plan then was that they should have a card to go to any hospital necessary needed to go to. My plan is still the same as it was then. A veteran should be able to go to the nearest hospital and get the quickette care he can get. He shouldnt have to wait on the v. A. The v. A. System is a governmentrun agency. Im out to tell that you its not a great thing for our veterans, but yet they sit and wait and to me they should all be able to go to the nearest hospital and use a card. Thank um. Mayor jamie mayo, your answer. I would do the same thing as the mayor of the city of monroe. I agree with the decision to fire the secretary. I would look at the opportunity and athletes as relates to the veterans affairs. Once we came up with that i would come up with a plan to address those issues. Those veterans are very, very important. They have served our country in a major way and we need to do everything that we can to make sure that theyre taken care of. Well do that on a federal basis, state basis as well as the local basis. Thank you, mayor. Representative mcallister, 30 second on this subject. Let me say as far as being a veteran, i know how important this is to make sure that we take caver our veterans. Ill continue to fight, just like i have been fighting for , such as legislation ive introduced for the rural Health Care Act for veterans because i represent the Fifth District in a durrell area, and i have to take care of those veterans. They reimburse veterans for mileage and things like that to facility. Nearest the v. A. Format we just passed was a step in the right direction but nowhere near what we need to do. They should be able go to any hospital any time. Mr. Tarpley . Well, i think we need to hold accountable those in the Veterans Administration who have failed our vet reasons. We need to make sure that veterans are getting the care they deserve to receive and as quickly as possible. It each inexcusable that they would have to wait in line months to get an appointment and furthermore inexcusable that there was a fraud in the Healthcare System, where they were keeping the duplicate set of books out in arizona on veterans that were waiting in line and getting seen by physicians. We need to be effective in Holding People accountable in the v. A. System. Thank you, mr. Tarpley. Dr. Afl abraham, your thoughts on the current status of Services Provided by our veterans. Well, as a veteran and a physician, let me tell you. Whats happening with our veteranses a moral travesty and tragedy. Its an example of how many layers of government can mess up a program. The more they have, the worse it gets. I actually know people that have died waiting to see a specialist in the v. A. System. Give those veterans to us, the private docs. We can take care of them. Well get them to their specialists in a week or two when they need them. We can do it better. Finally, mr. Barron, your plan to better assist our veteran community. It seems that im the only veteran in this group who is actually a patient of the Veterans Administration Healthcare System and in fact, it is a result of the Affordable Care act. I couldnt be happier about that, because its not just coverage, its also care. I want to salute the men and women that do work in the v. A. Every day with our veterans because they do a great job under trying circumstances. When you defund medical centers, the waits get longer on the other ones. So with the loss of walter reed and other facilities around the country, its to be expected. Thank you, mr. Barron. Our fourth question of the evening and the last health carerelated topic, the candidates multiple views in the Fifth District posed this question do you support the legalization of marijuana at any level . Starting with republican zach dasher. Please answer in 30e seconds, sir. I dont support the use of marijuana in any situation except in rare circumstances. Ok, thank you. Mr. Holloway, do you support legalization of marijuana on a federal level to legalize the use of marijuana for either health or Recreational Use . No, i do not. I believe that marijuana leads to many, many more problems than it helps. So im opposed to legalizing it state, vel in any federal, anywhere else. Democrat jamie mayo, your stance on the issue. It wont take 30 seconds. I do not support the legalization of marijuana for health or any other reason, period. Representative mcallister. Should marijuana use be legalized on a federal level perhaps or in the state of louisiana . Well, i definitely dont believe it should be legalized on a federal level. I think thats a state rights issue. But as far as recreational im totally opposed to legalizing it for recreational. When it comes to medicinal purposes, i have to leave it up to doctors and nurses, if they think its something they should do. But im not for legalizing it at all. Mr. Tarpley im opposed to the legalization of marijuana for recreational or medicinal purposes. Ok. Dr. Afl abraham, your stance . Again, as a physician, let me tell you what i see in my practice on any level of marijuana use is bad. Im against recreational, im against medical. In the medical profession for these chronic pain, poor Cancer Patients that need help, we have other alternatives that work better. Dilodid, objection con tin, you name it, we have several options that do a better job. Ive had hundreds of patients with cancer that ive treated and they do well with these drugs. And mr. Barron, the same question to you regarding marijuana legalization. Im absolutely for a states right to legalize marijuana should they see fit. And on that level it becomes a federal issue because in states like colorado and washington, their experiments in updating outdated laws is being hampered by a failure on the federal level to remove marijuana from schedule i narcotics. It is far less harmful to society than alcohol and tobacco and i recommend its use and enjoyment by anybody. Ok, finally republican hareds brown of monroe, your stance on legal scation of marijuana. No, absolutely not. Marijuana has been defined as a gateway drug and it will lead to harder and worse drugs for our teenagers and some adults. We need to hold firm on this and i dont support recreational nor medicinal use. It undermines our fight against the harder drugs that are on the street. Absolutely not. Thank you, mr. Brown. Were going to pause for a few moments for a short break. When we come back well ask the candidates about Border Security, Higher Education and new job dretion. Stay with us as voice your vote continues on knoe and cbs 2. Your voice, your vote, youve been watching the campaign 2014 voice your vote Congressional Forum. Brought to you exclusively by creed and creed. Welcome back to voice your vote, a live Fifth District u. S. Congressional cabbed dates forum on knoe. Also live on cbs 2 alex andria. We begin with a 45second question regarding u. S. Involvements in the middle east. Do you agree with president obamas military policy regarding isis in the middle east and should he seek congressional consent prior to additional action . We begin this round of questions with mr. Holloway. Let me start out by saying probably the most crucial vote i ever made was to go to kuwait. I was on a plane from memphis to washington when i heard that our planes had gone in. You worry about how many people are going to be killed. So its probably the most crucial, but yes can, i think you should go to congress and get permission to go to war. I believe that isis we should kill them all. Theres no doubt in my mind what we do, we just cannot allow things you cant draw a line in the sand and when they cross the line, well, they crossed the line. You have to stand up, you have to have a set of you know whats, and our president does not have one. So do i agree with whats going on . I think we have to see that we get other people on the ground. Mayor mayo, your thoughts on the president s handling of isis and the middle east. I think that the president has done what any administrator would do, and that is listen to his military advisors intelligence and get a briefing as any administrator would do, such asday as mayor of the city of monroe. Theres 40,000 troops in isis. Theyre receiving 6 million revenue per day, so you have to be careful as you proceed. Of course, the air strikes i agree. The ground troops, i think he needs to listen to his military folks. And i believe that he should consult with congress and communicate with congress. But in terms of going to them to allow congress to make a decision, thats something that the president can handle. Congressman mcallister, same question, should the president seek congressional consent prior to any action against isis . I believe he should seek congressional consent prior to any additional. But let me just tell you right now i dont agree with a lot of the president s foreign policy. When it comes to isis and whats going on right now, absolutely. Hes doing what the military leaders have set out in the briefings. But i dont agree with his policies on sequestration and how its brought the military down to below retention strength, to where we dont have the 100,000 troops that they want to annihilate isis. But at any costs we must eliminate isil and make it to where this serious threat is no longer a threat to the United States, on their soil and not our soil. Mr. Tarpley, do you agree with president obamas military policy regarding isis and the middle east . I think the president should have sought congressional approval before ordering air strikes in syria and iraq. I think that congress and only congress has the authority under the constitution to declare war and i think that Congress Must have the courage to act with regard to fighting isis in the middle east. Absolutely. We need to destroy this group. This is a barbaric, inhumane and evil group of people that need to be wiped off the face of the earth. But we must have congressional approval and authorization in order to gore to war. Were at war right now, whether we like it or not. But the Congress Needs to act and the Congress Must vote to approve military action in the middle east. Thank you. Dr. Abraham, do you agree with the president s military policy regarding isis and the middle east in general . As a veteran, he missed the boat. If he wanted to destroy isis back in the spring, we had isis lined up like ducks on the pond. He would not take the shot. His general is starting to. He would not do it. Higher power is a good thing but now youve sis embedded inco banny, on the outskirts of baghdad. Arm the kurds. Give them weapons that work. The mayor is right. Theres 40,000 isis members, but theres about 2 million kurds. Calculate the difference there. As far as seeking congressional approval from congress, you bet. Its got to be better than his response that hes had so far. Ok, thank you. Mr. Barron, do you agree with president obamas military policy regarding isis and the middle east and should he seek congressional consent prior to additional action . Well, you flip a coin and you have to choose between world war and world peace, im going to choose world peace. So that said, this ball is rolling and i agree that congress should weigh in its momentous decision in the course of our nations history. Unfortunately, congress has voted. They decided they needed time to run for reelection. So theyre not in d. C. Handling the business of the World Affairs and thats a problem. Thank you. Mr. Brown, do you agree with the president s military policy regarding isis in the middle east and should he seek congressional consent before he really orders anything else . Sclutely. He should seek congressional action before he takes any further actions in the middle east. Im always more in favor of congressional actions that come from the people and not from the president. Thats what we knead to do in the case of isis. It is barbaric and a Severe Threat to our nation and in im t of the air strikes in support of munitionstothe occurred and supportive of putting boots on the ground if it comes to that. Mr. Dasher . I think the president should seek congressional approval. Its important to remember that we have an organization here, isis that, the crimes committed are so heinous, i dont think anyone here wants to rush to violence. You know sometimes the answer is to eradicate the enemy. We dont need to take anything off the table when it comes to eradicating this orble threat that is isis. And id rather do it on their soil. Thank you. Now candidates, a 30second question on immigration and Border Security. This is offered by a reviewer, tammy regan richards. But she asks what solutions or proposals would you offer regarding immigration . We all know that immigration is a tough issue and, of course, i think we all agree that Immigration Reform is needed. There are laws relative to that that need to be followed. The borders need to be secure and not only the president , but also the senate as well as the house need to Work Together to make sure that we have address these issues that were having with ilLegal Immigration. This country will be much better if we have both parties or should i say three parties, thats republicans, democrats as well as independents working together and not fighting one another. Thank you, mayor. Representative mcallister, what solutions or proposals would you offer regarding immigration . One thing that we had, we stayed three days longer into our recess to get the Border Security bill passed. For me its pretty simple. Lets be real bit. They wouldnt be here if we didnt want them here. Theyre sitting there allowing us to happen. When you cross the border and come to this country, theres a legal way to come to this country. Right now what were running into is we have Border Agents saying they caught the same immigrant three times in the same night, thats unacceptable. Mr. Tarpley, what proposals would you offer regarding immigration . First of all it is a federal crime to come into our country without a visa. If you come in twice its a felony. I think we need to enforce the law. We already have enough laws on the books right now to solve the problem of ilLegal Immigration. They just need to be enforced. The president has not enforced the law and Congress Must hold him accountable for failing to enforce the immigration laws of this country. Im not in favor of amnesty or in favor of a pathway for citizenship because i dont think we should reward people for violating the law. Thank you, mr. Tarpley. Dr. Abraham, what solutions or proposals would you offer regarding immigration . We certainly need Legal Immigration for our workforce because we are deficient in that area. Weve got to fill the borders. Do it with the national guard. As i said earlier, we have illegals coming in from 75 Different Countries. Again, were talking about laws here. Enforce the laws, but you have to catch them first. There are up to 2,000 people a night that cross our borders that we never know about. Ive got pilots that i fly with that actually are on the border and the border is so porous that they just walk in. Thank you. Mr. Barron, what solutions or proposals would you offer here . We have a very complicated relationship with latin america and i dont think its the immigration we have a problem with but those who seek to settle so thats a different conversation. Its also an opportunity to look at the relationship between church and state. These people are coming from countries where the Catholic Church has a very large influence and abortion is illegal. Women who are making more babies than they can carry are sending them north to our border and its become our burden to carry. Thank you, mr. Brown your solutions or proposals regarding immigration. Yes, absolutely. Lets seal the border. Lets enforce the laws that are on the books and lets stop the flow of illegal aliens into our country. Theyre putting a burden on our local Law Enforcement agencies and now putting a burden on the state of louisiana to the tube 280 to llion with a 300,000 refugees that we receive here in louisiana. Its a burden to our Law Enforcements and our budget and it needs to be stopped. We can no longer incentivize free travel across our border. Thank you, sir. Mr. Dasher, what solutionings or proposals would you offer regarding the nations immigration . Number one, seal the border. Number two, enforce the laws on the books. Number three, this is something nobody is talking about. What is the reason for the influx of aliens across our borders . Its because we subsidize a large percentage of our population not to work through our welfare programs. We need to have a serious talk about entitlements reform. Theres ra reason why theyre coming. Its because no jobs are available because americans wont take them because they can make more money on welfare. Any serious discussion about Immigration Reform must begin with a discussion about entitlements. Thank you, mr. Dasher. Mr. Holloway, what solutions or proposals would you offer here regarding immigration . Believe that we have the Border Patrol people that could stop anyone from crossing our border. We can send them back, we can absolutely have fences. We need to have a fence. And im not afraid to say that one of my nieces husband said after 9 11 they had no problems. They thought we were going to kill them if they crossed the boards border. There was no work for them to do because there was no one crossing the border. Theres a lot that can be done but number one, we have to know every person that crosser our border. Now to a 30second question to our candidates on education. Shut the federal government provide Financial Relief to College Graduates who are struggling to repay Student Loans, and what proposals do you have to make college possibly more affordable . Well start with representative mcallister. This is one the problems weve facing fade is the burden of what it costs to get a degree from one of our Higher Learning institutes. We had to come up with some programs to get somely leaf. In a lureldict like we have, we can allow the brightest minds to come to area where they needed to find jobs. I allowed them to come here and contribute back to the community. I believe its a problem thats building that were not aware of. Its festering right now and its going to become a big problem in the very near future. Mr. Tarpley, in 30 seconds, should the federal government provide Financial Relief to College Graduates struggling to repay some of those loans . Colleges have charged enormous tuition fees to students going to college. One of the reasons is because of this neverending flow of money under the federal student lone program. What we have to do is get control of the federal Students Loan program. Tuition has just gone through the roof and one of the things we see right now that the largest growing the largest portion of debt growing in this country right now is student loan debt. Students loan debt is unbelievable and we have to have relieve for students that are struggling to repay threes Student Loans. Dr. Abraham, your thoughts on possible relief by the federal governmenttor College Grads who are struggling to repay Students Loans and what proposal do you have that could make college more affordable . I have three children that have been through college, so i get it. Lower the Interest Rate on these Student Loans to 1 or 2 . Right now theyre playing 6 to 8 . Thats an easy, simple solution that can happen tomorrow. Another alternative let them go to college, let them go to a trade school, any advanced school out of high school and if they cant afford it, have them go into Government Service for a year or two afterwards to repay the government what a novel idea. It would work. Other countries do it. Its worked every time. Mr. Barron, your thoughts on whether the federal government should provide financial relieve to College Grads who are struggling to repay those loans and thoughts on how college can be made more affordable. Well, if the federal government is going to step in and bail out the auto industry, the financial industry, the Insurance Industry as weve seen with the bones theyve been thrown through the final passing of the Affordable Care act, why not the individual students . We rely ode indication as a benchmark for many jobs and those jobs are usually the jobs with benefits if ears going for the private free market solutions. So we want to encourage people to get a Higher Education or some traininging. Mr. Brown, should the federal government provide some relief and what might make college for foy ardable . The opportunities there is to allow these students the opportunities to refinance these loans and get a better rate of interest on their loans and then when they get out of the college, lets be sure they have the proper work environment. Lets be sure we provide the proper incentive in these rural parishes, so they can get a job and work down on this 100,000 worth of debt. Its all about creating the proper environment so that jobs, including individuals, can prosper in. Mr. Dasher, should the federal government be providing Financial Relief to College Grads who are struggling to repay loans and do you have a proposal to make college more affordable . We have about 144 trillion worth of unfunded liabilities in this country, an 18 trillion debt. The thought of bailing somebody else out is ludicrous. We dont have the money. I think the answer is, is to get the federal government out of the way. The seems like the more they get involved, the price goes up. The answer is we need to get the federal government out of education as much as possible. Ok. Thank you. Candidate holloway. Should the federal government provide Financial Relief for some of these College Graduates . Well, a Senior Citizen gets less than 1 on an account. So why should they be paying 7 , 8 , 9 for a student loan . I think the interest is one of the things we can do the best. I think Public Service should be i think everyone in our country should have Public Service. If youre a young person you should serve in this type of Public Service for six months, a year, two years, whatever they set for time. I just believe that would create what we need in our country and make young people more responsive. Ok, wrapping up this question, mr. Mayo, your thoughts on the issue of Student Loan Relief and how college can be made possibly more affordable. Theres no question about the federal government should provide some relief in terms of decrease in some of Interest Rate. In fact, im aware of the fact that senator land drew is working on a bill to do such. Ive had two kids that have gone through college. Not only are they having to pay back the loans, but im having to pay back the loan myself and my wife. So its unconscionable to think that all the money thats got to be paid back by students. Thank you, mayor. Our eighth question of the evening posed by many of our viewers is all about jobs and the economy. What is one thing you might do to create new jobs in louisianas Fifth District . Mr. Tarpley, 30 seconds, please. One of the biggest problems we have is government regulation. Weve made it so difficult for Small Businesses to operate and function. The tax burden has been unbearable and the Regulatory Burden has been incredible. Small businesses arent able to afford lawyers and accountants and all sorts of experts to help them deal with all the Regulatory Burden that they have. Reducing the burden is one thing we can do to help Small Businesses create jobs, because most jobs are created by Small Businesses and thats the backbone of our economy. We need Small Business job relief in the Fifth District. Thank you. Mr. Abraham, what is one thing youd do to create new job in louisianas Fifth District . Fifth district is the largest row crop district in the nation and we cant supply enough lib for it because of the regulations that the e. P. A. , the i. R. S. , obamacare puts on our businesses. Those are the job killers. Cut those back, repeal what you can, change what you cant. Its not a matter of funding, its a matter of spending that were doing. Lower the Corporate Tax rate from 35 to 20 , cut the income tax, and go to a flat tax if we could and that would solve 99 of your job problems. Thank you, mr. Barron. 30 second. Whats one thing would you do to create jobs in louisianas Fifth District . Id like to think id be a bit of a traffic cop in directing Industry Leaders looking for great places to do work. I know of two new plants that have been built in old timmerlands one in Morehouse Parish and grant parish, making an alternative fuel used in the united kingdom. Theyre building rail cars in rapides and painting them in st. Landry. I love all of this. I want to make sure that investments continue. Ok, mr. Brown, what is one thing you would do to create new jobs in the Fifth District . Well, lets be sure the federal government is providing the proper environment where jobs can prosper. Were the ninth poorest district in the nation. We have to do something to bring ourselves out of this rut. Lets lower the Capital Gains rate and get rid of the gridlock and get the Keystone Pipeline improved so those jobs can be put to work and promote our own energy resources, so hundreds of thousands of highpaying jobs can be brought to the Fifth District. It could be a 74 billion impact to the state of laos and 4 billion goes to the local and state tax covers. What would you do to create new jobs . My plan starts with eliminating Capital Gains tax. This would ignite Capital Invest in our economy. We have to have regulatory reform. In 2013 the Competitive Enterprise Institute estimated that we spent as americans 1. 86 trillion to make compliant government regulations. This is 15,000 per household. We have to peel back some of these unnecessary regulations. We need to pursue Domestic Energy production. We have enough oil and gas here in the United States of america that we could be virtually energy independence. That would create thousands of jobs. Thank you, mr. Dasher. Mr. Holloway, what is one thing you would do to create new jobs . I look at a company that was bought out by another company yesterday. They put money into their proposal that would help Economic Development. We need to have Economic Development. We need to further process our egg products which we produce in this district in large numbers. We can have plants that are going to continue. Quit shipping them out of state and further process in our state. Theres a lot that can be done. But there are jobs and i think we have to help people who make low income, but we need to demand that they work. Ok, mayor mayo, whats one thing you would do to create jobs in the Fifth District . As mayor of the city of monroe we have created many jobs with center link and also chase and created an interthats conducive to growth. You have mega site here in Richland Parish and mega site in Tangipahoa Parrish and also i would develop along the red river in rapides parish. The first thing to do is to stop fighting one another in congress and stop fighting the president and Work Together and do everything you can, because this is one of the poorest districts in the whole United States. Finally, mr. Mack allaster, what is one thing you would do here to create jobs . Id continue doing what i have been doing, trying to make sure that everything is applied for throughout the district for Economic Development, get support to give back, like the Million Dollars we got for the northeast rural center, building a new facility out by the monroe airport, like the madison ot for the port to create jobs there. For me its about supporting this district and cutting back every regulation we can to encourage a better working environment. I got 100 rate with Small Businesses. Small business is the key. Representative, our ninth question is just yorne, if you would. If governor bobby jindal announces his bid for the presidency, will you support him . Dr. Abraham, lets start with you. I will. Mr. Barron . I will not. Mr. Brown . Yes, i will. Mr. Dasher . I would not support anyone who wants to run. Mr. Holloway . I will not. And mr. Mayo . No. Representative mcallister . Hes got a lot of convincing to do with me, not right now. Mr. Tarpley . No, not at this time. All right, thank you, well be right back here in just a few moments. Well hear final thoughts when e come back. Youve been watching the campaign 2014 voice your vote Congressional Forum live on knoe news and cbs 2, brought to you exclusively by creed and creed. We are back, thank you for joining us. Final comments from our candidates. Welcome back to voice your opinions. Gentlemen. Well start with mr. Barron, a final thought from you, sir. I want to thank everybody for bearing with us all tonight and i want to let you know that 3 4 of the eligible voters that are likely to not participate in this election, but i am here for you, whether its the twoparty system or the candidates or the style of campaigning that has been taking place that has turned you off, were here for you and for the 25 of the likely voters that are still undecided, im appealing for your vote. Those of you that have chosen but dont like your vote, a vote for the green party is a vote for louisiana and its abundant natural resources, a vote for Political Freedom and independence. A vote for democratic participation, justice, fairness, for independence and freedom for one and all and its also a vote for peace. Im against Violent Crime and i want to bring louisiana back to the top. Ok. And next, mr. Dasher, we want to ask you, without mentioning any of your opponents here, why should i vote for you . Well, this is why i think all the issues that weve talked about tonight boil down to one thing. We have a federal government twha is out of control that believes that theyre god. I disagree. Theres one god. So i sit here before you tonight in the vein of reason with Thomas Jefferson when he wrote that famous statement. We hold these truths to be selfevident that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and thats why im running. I wants to fight on that ideal of what makes america great, godgiven natural rights. They dont come from governors and from president s and congressmen. Im not going to determine your rights, im going up there to defend your rights and i ask you for your vote. Please send me to washington so i can be a voice for your defense. Mr. Brown, 15 seconds. I walked you through my experience of farming, oil and gas and those three districts overlap. Ive mentioned to you my Community Service in the form of the levee district, the mosquito abatement board and the walsh tau valley association. These three nonprofits have sent me to washington for the past 15 years. Ive helped track cosponsors for bills and walked those bills through the halls of congress and seen them become law. These laws that ive helped secure are protecting thousands of residents in the Fifth District today. I secured millions of dollars of funding for Bank Stabilization along the wash tau river. Were number 27 on the ballot and i appreciate everyone being here with us dont. Id like to thank all of my opponents for coming out and its been a pleasure traveling on the campaign trail with them. Remember me when we go to vote, remember my industry experience and my Community Service and my commitment to you. Thank you, sir. Continuing on, mr. Holloway, without mentioning any of your opponents, why should i vote for you . Well, i want to start out by saying i think every night i ask god if im to win, that i win and if i win, i do whats right. I served three terms, which is six years. I do not guarantee people i get my seniority. Im not going to do that. But i feel that i will have six years into my seven years of seniority when i go there. 80 of the chairmans of committees or leading subcommittees are people that served with me years ago. So the relationship i have with those is very valuable, i think, to the Fifth District of louisiana and will be very valuable. The first bill i will introduce is one that will ask that we limit what you can buy with food stamps. I think that we allow tbony steak i grew up on peace, beans and blackeyed peas. I believe it would work on obesity and i think it would serve many, many things that we need done in this country today. Thank you very much. And mayor mayo, your final thoughts without mentioning your opponents. Why should i vote for you well, you should vote for me, please, because i have the leadership skills as well as the experience in both the legislative and administrative. And we have created the best environment thats conducive for job growth and Economic Development here in the city of monroe. Youve heard talk about a number of Different Things tonight and one of the problems that we have in congress is every answer has been against the president. Theres too much fighting. You have to be able to Work Together. Ive done ive worked together in government, in business and ill be able to do it in the fifth Congressional District. My number is number 31. I appreciate you tuning in tonight. God bless you and keep you in his care. Representative mcalister, why should i vote for you . Well, for me its pretty simple. For all of my 40 years ive only been allowed in the room to take what the government gives me and figure out how to make what i make through this world. Now you put me up there for a year and i got to be in the kitchen and for that i ask you to finish what we started. Back last november you trusted me to go up and fight the fight. Regardless of any personal mistakes in my personal life i have done the job. They call me a maverick. They call me a loose cannon. Im the 5th districts maverick and loose cannon. Im one of you. For that i will always fight for you. I am your biggest lobbyist when it comes to going to washington because im