tonight, we continue looking at the major races on november's ballot. this debate will feature major party candidates running to represent the sixth congressional district. thank you for being here. why don't you start us off? >> top scientist just issued a report that says unless we enact sweeping changes, we will start seeing the impacts of global warming in terms of food supply, wildfires, etc., by 2040, so how do you make the sweeping changes in a trump administration? mike? >> first of all, i am in a group in congress, a climate change caucus, and one of the issues i'm working with is to say how can the united states integrate trade policy with environmental policy. is wee are doing often are raising our and prime mental standards, but we are raising our costs and pushing jobs and manufacturing overseas to countries that don't have the same environmental standards. i think that is a big question. how can we do better domestically in terms of bringing our carbon footprint down, but how can we integrate that with trade. we are projecting it will be a significant increase in electric vehicles. the question is how do you produce the energy to do that. from thed an award coalition, so i have been supportive, but also supportive of the national renewable energy in terms of funding, because we don't want renewables subsidized indefinitely. we want them to be cost competitive. >> jason? us here.you for having we appreciate the opportunity to have the discussion. climate change is real. i am a father of young children. , we view thents world through the eyes of our children. day goes by that i don't forget about the world our children will inherit and the crises represented by climate change. my opponent has a 5% lifetime record with the league of conservation voters. that is turning his back on public lands, on the united nations climate accord at a time when we need to be doubling down and making investments in renewable energy, being a world leader. we are running rapidly in the opposite direction. we will not resolve this with the same leadership that brought us here. would you do in the trump to change this? >> there is a huge economic component. china and europe are making large investments in renewable energy infrastructure. we aren't making those investments. year ago called for investments in transportation infrastructure. how can we make those investments that he has called for so we have the energy infrastructure we need to distribute renewable energy and start moving towards cleaner, more renewable sources. league of conservation voters is a partisan group. it is an arm of the democratic party. it is set up to have partisan individuals like jason crow use those fictitious numbers against republicans. it's the wrong place to start. >> let's get to our next question. jerry? >> the sixth congressional district, the most diverse district we have in colorado. consequently, there are many immigrants and there is a lot of concern about immigration policy. through democratic and republican administrations, we have not been able to come up with a comprehensive immigration policy. i would like to find out where you guys stand on things like a wall on the southern border, deportations of people who have lived here for a long time and who are paying taxes and have not committed any crime, the remaining issue of daca. >> our immigration system is failed. we have not had comprehensive immigration reform in this country since 1986. so we had immigration reform. my opponent has served with a democrat in the white house and democrats in congress, a democrat in the white house and republicans controlling the white house, and now a republican in the white house and a democrat controlling congress. they embed two years of unity and has not gotten done so it tells me we have will not solve this issue with the same people that got us into this mess. we need to pass the dream act now. i think that a wall is the wrong thing to do. $25 billion for a wall is a waste of taxpayer money and it will not make our borders safer. i am for border security. i spent two deployments in afghanistan, so i know about securing borders. we will not do it with a $25 billion wall. we need comprehensive immigration reform and provide a path to citizenship for folks who have not committed violent crimes and are here contributing to our country and our community and that deserve a path forward. it will not happen with the same leadership that got us into this mess. >> mike, what is your response? >> when the democrats controlled congress, both houses of congress, the super majority did nothing on immigration. republicans say we will take a step-by-step process, but they never take the first step. republicans and democrats have come together to try to bridge the partisan divide in washington, d.c. and we have come up with a plan. i think one of the things that we will force is reforming the process that would allow a bill with 290 cosponsors to come to the floor. right now, we have a bill to lift the discriminatory cap for asian indians on the visa program, and it has 329 cosponsors and cannot get a vote because one person is opposed to it. we believe we can change that, can force those changes in the next congress. i believe we have to secure the borders. it is not a wall from coast-to-coast. it is enforcing existing barriers, sensors and drones in an area where a wall is not feasible. also increasing border patrol. but i do believe we have to be realistic. we have a lot of people that have been in this country for a long time that have not violated laws other than immigration laws. i think we should give them a window of opportunity before we implement something like an e-verify program to have legalized status akin to a non-immigrant work permit here it for the young people who have been taken to this country illegally as children that are under the daca system, 800,000 today, they should have a path to citizenship. a path to citizenship based on education and work history and military service. and for those in temporary protected status, we should give them a regular immigrant status . they have been's country for a very long time legally, and the administration is looking at not renewing that status. so i working with members of am congress across the aisle to try and get their status extended and have a permanent solution. >> i will say the congressman has been saying the same thing for years and it just not getting done. he is also talking out of both sides of his mouth. just a few months ago, a recording capture the congressman behind closed doors talking to his private supporters saying he is to the right of the trump administration on daca and saying tps is a bad idea. these other things he says to one group, and then he comes out and says another. we have to have consistency and we have to have real leadership that will do the same thing in the district they are doing in washington and actually this done. it has to get done. >> tps is a bad idea. tps was founded on the premise, passed in 1990, that people from countries that had natural disasters or civil emergencies could come to the united states and remain temporarily. well, nobody ever went home. the salvadoran community in this congressional district has been here since 2001 when there was a series of very devastating earthquakes in el salvador. both administrations from both parties looked the other way and renew the status year after year , and this administration does not want to do that. i am fighting them to get that done. i am fighting them to get that done. there are a little over 400,000 currently under tps. i want to suspend the program in the future but give them a regular immigrant status that would give them a path to citizenship. then on the question of daca that jason raise, yes, i was in a bipartisan working group. we came up with a number of 1.1 million, the current 800,000 in it on adjusting the age to accommodate more people to come into the system. the president came out with 1.8 million. calculates those who are eligible who did not apply for the program in the first place. i support that number now, but yes, that number is more generous than anybody has come up with in congress. to what extent the president is actually for it, we can debate that. >> i think that is the question, if i can follow up. we hear both democrats and republicans saying they want to do something on daca, yet push comes to shove, it doesn't get done. the question is, if it's not happening and is because you have a president that is not willing to go there, why wouldn't voters want to put somebody else in there and put more pressure on? >> well, democratic leadership also walked away from the table. is reason why, the problem we had a deadline. we thought we had a deadline on daca of march of last year. i can remember going to st. michael's catholic church and it doing a town meeting in spanish after the service on a sunday, where the anxiety for the young people in daca, because they were worried that there wasn't a solution that they would be deported. then we had several court cases in federal court intervene and say no, the president does not have the ability to suspend the program. and so now, eventually, it will wind its way to the supreme court. when they took at that deadline, unfortunately they took out the pressure from congress. i have signed a discharge petition to bring a bill to the floor. finally, we did bring -- there was a bill on the floor but it to not have bipartisan support. again, i think one of the things we have to reform is to fundamentally change the rules in congress to allow more bipartisanship. there are bipartisan consensus on all these immigration issues. but i think the leadership on both sides of the aisle wants to use immigration as political leverage, and that is wrong. >> a quick response. >> the congressman likes to talk about the petitions, technicalities, voting rules, and procedures. we have seen every iteration and we have been talking about this for far too long. the only common denominator is the people we keep on sending back to washington to do this, the career politicians that have failed us and failed the community. there is no greater case than right now on this issue for a new generation of leadership to go to washington and actually roll up their sleeves and get it done. >> the first bill i introduced in the congress was a bipartisan bill with congressman gutierrez , a democrat from illinois, and it was called the bridge act three-year extension of the , a protections of daca in january before the president was sworn in to send a signal to him about how important this issue is. >> and it didn't get done. >> let's switch gears here. if democrats take control of the house and bring impeachment proceedings against judge kavanagh and/or president trump, would you support that? who is first? mike? you are now first. i've lost track. >> we have to see what the evidence is. i think the issue of judge kavanagh has been fairly litigated. i am disappointed. i am disappointed. i think the republicans in the senate made a mistake by not making that fbi report public to where the american people can see it prior to the vote. i think that was a mistake. so we are taking the word of the senators that, in fact, there was no additional information there. we have to wait and see where the mueller investigation goes as to whether or not it's justified. >> fine. collusion between the trump administration in russia? >> a violation of law. a violation of law. >> well, with respect to now justice kavanaugh, i came out and viewed his record and saw what he stood for after he was nominated. i said he was not the right choice for america. whether you are talking about the issue of gun violence in america, women's health and reproductive rights, environmental protections, he takes this court drastically to the right and he is a step back in time for this country, in my view. this process was bungled from the beginning. the process was not followed. we did not go through due diligence that i thought was appropriate for a lifetime appointment on the supreme court. it's also very important to say is that i believe dr. ford. i believe the starting point has to be to believe women. i believe her testimony and i found it compelling. i found a deeply troubling and yet, the senate still crammed through the appointment. >> but democrats are talking about impeachment proceedings. would you support impeachment? >> right now, i wouldn't. i would have to see the facts. i'm somebody who has taken oaths to defend the rule of law, so we have to see the fact. we also have to have leadership now that will unite our country and move us forward. >> if the mueller investigation comes back and fines collusion, you would support impeachment? >> i would also have to see the facts. i am not going to washington with a partisan agenda. i don't want any president to fail. we are talking about the president of the united states, and if a present fails, the country will suffer as a result. i will hold this administration accountable. we have to defend the rule of law and we have to insulate the mueller investigation from political influence so we can get the facts. >> can i say one thing? >> a quick reaction. >> i think the president was absolutely wrong at one of his rallies to denigrate the woman that stepped forward. i think that was a big mistake. i supported the violence against women act on the armed services committee. i worked hard to and sexual assault in our military through training requirements, through special victims advocates and through the implementation of special prosecutors on sexual assault cases. >> gentlemen, let's get to our next question. our friends at aarp want to find out how you will work to strengthen social security for current and future generations. jason, we will start with you. >> the starting point has to be that that is the people's money. people have paid into that system. they have earned that money over a lifetime of hard work. they deserve to have that money when they retire for a retirement of dignity. my opponent has called that system a ponzi scheme. i think that's reflective of his view. i deeply disagree with that characterization. that's people's hard-earned money, so it's time we lift the weight cap so we confirm up that system and give it the solvency it deserves and that we fight against issues like chain cpi that are going to make it harder and harder for people to pay their living expenses and live in a community with increased cost of living. >> mike? >> i strongly believe we made a commitment to the seniors on social security. we back that commitment. if there's a problem with the solvency of the fund, it will come from the general fund which will further aggravate the debt. but we made that commitment. one important bill that i voted actually social security is divided into two separate funds. one is disability among others the one for seniors. the disability fund was going insolvent. and what i argued is let's use this as an opportunity to reform our disability program. and instead, what congress did, and i voted against, was to allocate a greater percentage of the payroll tax that is dedicated to social security from seniors to shore up the disability program, further aggravating the solvency of the program for seniors. think think has to have much more respect for this program and i was right to vote no on that bill. >> the bottom line is congressman kaufman wants to cut benefits. he supported the trump tax bill this past december, which blew a hole in our federal deficit with , was a giveaway to the top 1% and our largest corporations, most of whom have funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to his campaign. and the next step for his party 's they will cut medicare, medicaid and social security, and i don't want to let that happen. let me just talk about the tax reform for a minute because i think it's important to this economy. i get it that jason crow wants to raise taxes and i understand that. but the fact is, we were losing jobs. the u.s. corporations were moving overseas as a result of having the 35% tax rate. the fact is we were alone in the industrialized world in taxing overseas earnings paying to the host country and then paying again to coming here. in so we have ended that practice, lower the rates to 21% , but also for individuals. we doubled the standard deduction to $24,000 that's not taxed. increasing the child tax credit from $1000 to $2000, and lowering the individual rate from 15% to 13%. jason is a big-time attorney who represents some pretty unsavory individuals. but anyway, i won't go into that. >> let's keep going. we are running out of time. let's get jerry in here for another question. >> i want to ask you an open ended question. we are at the midterm elections and many people regard this as a referendum on the current administration, the trump administration. we are to bring years and now. two years in now. i would like you to give me a grade on style and substance. >> i would give a b on substance. well, a b is kind of hard, maybe a c. i differ on immigration, trade. i think fair trade is great but when you get into protectionism, that's wrong. i think the tone, i would give him an f. i think it's wrong. i think there is a certain dignity to the office of the presidency of the united states. i served in the army and the marine corps, noncommissioned officer in the army, feel grade officer in the marine corps, and there was always an expectation when i got promoted for how i would conduct myself. i think it ought to be the same for the president of the united states. he is the commander-in-chief and he ought to conduct himself accordingly. >> jason? >> i think this administration is failing across the board. just a few weeks ago, congressman coffman said he disagrees with the tone of the but thinks he is doing great things. the tone is deeply troubling. the messages he sends your allies and his twitter feeds and the message he sends to our diverse communities and the message of the other he constantly sends to the country is tearing this country apart. at the same time, we are gutting environmental protections. we are not addressing climate change, not addressing the gun violence issue. for the first time since the affordable care act was passed, there are now fewer people on the health care rolls than there were before the formal care act was passed. people are going bankrupt, people are dying because they don't get the care they need and we have families in our community, in our district who are being torn apart as they are being deported across the board. the people of our community need help. they need leadership that will actually hold this administration accountable, not be a rubber stamp. >> gentlemen, we are very close to closing statements. let's get a a quick answer. >> the gist of the ads you both have running right now. your ad ties mike to president trump, so besides the tax cut, what one vote would you have taken differently that mike has taken? and we need to keep these answers to like 30 seconds. sorry. >> it is hard to decide. there are so many. he has a 96% voting record with this administration, the highest of any elected representative. in addition to the massive shift of wealth the top 1% and the large corporations that the trump tax bill includes, congressman voted for that bill to remove the individual mandate from the affordable care act. the purpose of that is to sabotage the health care system and it will make it more expensive for the folks in colorado. >> so the tax cut is the one main vote. mike, you have talked about him working for a law firm that your campaign has hired to do work for you. you have taken campaign donations from this firm. it seems kind of hypocritical. that jason was handpicked by the democratic establishment in washington, d.c. seth moulton out of massachusetts was tasked with taking a combat veteran with no voting record in swing districts , and he reached out to jason, and jason was a candidate that was picked for a very good reason. he has never stood up to his party on a single issue. he will be a reliable vote. the fact is. -- there, and weit will go to our closing statements. you have an opportunity for one minute each. each of our candidates has one minute each for a closing statement and we flipped a coin to determine the order. mike, you go first for your one -minute closing statement. >> thank you. i'm a marine corps combat veteran and former small business owner. in congress, i have been a voice voice for thist district. i have worked with both the obama administration and the trump administration when i thought they were right. and i have spoken out against both of them when i thought they were wrong. regardless of who's in charge in congress, there is simply too much power and too few hands with too little getting done for the american people. i am in a bipartisan group of republicans and democrats that have come together to try and bridge the partisan divide in washington, d.c. together we have come up with bipartisan bills to reform or health care system, fix immigration, and improve our infrastructure. last month, we introduced a bipartisan reform agenda. that would require bipartisan compromises like ours to come to the floor for a vote. today, i would appreciate your vote so that i can continue to be that independent voice that this district needs. thank you. >> thank you, mike. jason, your closing statement. >> two years ago, my wife and i were not planning to run for congress, but we have been deeply moved by what is going on in our country and community that we decided to step up again and to serve our country again. i have never run for anything before. i grew up in a working-class family. i work in construction to put my way through college. i served this country is an army ranger during three combat tours in iraq and afghanistan. my wife and i have two young children, a five-year-old and eight-year-old. like most parents, we view the world through the eyes of her children. our country has a very important choice to make in 30 days. will we elect the same career politicians that have brought us to this dysfunction we see today ? or will we go with a new generation of leadership who are standing up across the country to say what is happening in this country is not ok, we are better than this, we can and will move forward? my name is jason crow and i humbly ask for your support so i can be a part of the new generation of leadership that will move us forward again together. thank you. >> thank you. that is all the time we have for the debate featuring the major party candidates to represent the sixth congressional district. thank you to our candidates. i also thank our panelists. to find a more information about this year's general election issues and races, please visit our website. for everybody here at colorado public television, thank you for watching. good night. announcer: with the midterm elections days away, watch the competition for the control of congress on c-span. see for yourself the candidates and debates. make c-span your primary source for campaign 2018. >> announcer: next, senator elizabeth warren faces her challenger geoff diehl for their second debate in the massachusetts u.s. senate race. the boston globe and other media polls have consistently given senator warren a double-digit lead and list the seat as safe democrat. the midterm elections are in 16 days. tonight's debate takes place in springfield, massachusetts. ♪ >> welcome to a debate between massachusetts senator candidates, incumbent senator elizabeth warren, a democrat, and the republican challenger, state representative geoff diehl . the debate is brought to you by the western massachusetts media consortium. i am pleased to be your moderator. a

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