c-span is your unfiltered view of government. funded by these companies and more. including comcast. >> student debt reliefs and abortion rights were topics in the next u.s. senator. natalie james and kenneth are hoping to unseat john boozman. they debated border security and

crime prevention. this is under an hour. [applause] >> hello, we are back. welcome to debate week on arkansas pbs. that candidates for the united states senate and they are in alphabetical order. the republican nominee of john boozman, the libertarian mr. cates and the democratic nominee natalie james. the court -- questions will become from a 2049 news and fayetteville. christina of natural state update, and arkansas pbs. i am steve barnes. the rules, they agreed to by the candidates. each nominee will have one minute to respond to a question, and the candidates will have 30 seconds for a rebuttal if they

choose. at the conclusion of questioning. each candidate will have one minute for a closing statement. the order of appearance all determined prior to the debate in a drawing overseen by the candidates or representatives. our first question will come from euna lee and he goes to mr. cates. >> think you for joining us. many arkansas based companies like walmart and tyson's say pay for abortion out-of-state. the pentagon will fund -- provide funds for troops. what is your stance on abortion? do you support this policy? mr. cates: i am pro-life 100%. quote moderator: to ms. james. ms. james: we are in a time where we have to trust women, doctors and those professionals to make the best interest for

everyone. abortion is not just abortion. we have to use the term correctly. it is an evacuation of the uterus. i have had a d&c and a failed miscarriage. i mean it does not fully come out. i could die, and my two children will not have a mother. who are thinking about those lives and the domestic violence or those part domestic situations where the men know that you are pregnant and you cannot leave? who is helping those women? abortion is a human's rights. it is not the states right to tell us what to do with our bodies. it is for us to make sure that we have adequate health care because abortion is health care. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: thank you, i am pro-life. as a result i do not believe in abortion except for rape, incest

and life of the mother. i do not believe in federal funding of abortion, the military is starting to do that. i will be opposed to that. we have many taxpayers throughout the country that feel the same way i do. they do not want their tax dollars used for abortions. in regard to walmart and private companies i do not agree with them doing that, but they are private companies. if they can do what they want. moderator: ms. gates you have 30 seconds. ms. james: federal funding and federal protection are needed in this time. we are not poised to take ourselves back 50 years. we are not poised to allow military women, our employees have a alley abortions. having access to health care they need.

we need to make sure what we are thinking about what is best for the citizens and not for us in our internal compass. think about what is best for the citizens. moderator: 30 seconds for mr. boozman. mr. boozman: arkansas is winners must pro-life states. again, as i go around the state, most of them do not want their tax dollars used for abortion. for that, i will be opposed and will fight the effort in congress to allow taxpayer dollars to be used for military abortions. moderator: a question goes first mr. james. >> think you for being here. agriculture is a huge industry in the state of arkansas. we prices gonna do to the conflict in ukraine. corn has gone up due to drought. what do you believe the federal government's role to subsidizing

farmers and those that make a living farming in the state of arkansas? ms. james: i feel are government should subsidize and arkansas were we not only provide to us. we provide to everyone in the nation". we are in a global market, and we need to make sure we remain competitive, top of mind. we are number one -- 11 and roller cattle. we want to make sure our agriculture and life in a way of life is sustainable, and our children can bring in new things to look for to an the 21st century education with our agriculture. and make sure we are number one and everything. moderator: we go to mr. boozman. mr. boozman: this is an important question. agriculture is 25% of our state's economy. when you get outside of anytown

and is not 25%, it is probably 85 or 90%. in 2023, and the next congress, every five years we do a big farm bill. i'm headed republican on agriculture. i hope to be the chair on the agriculture committee and the next congress. what we will be doing is working hard to make sure that the safety not are put in place so the farmers will be able to go to the bank, get the money they need to make those loans. so they can come back and produce the safest, cheapest food supply of any place in our nation. this is something we will be working on together. agriculture is not a partisan issue. it is not about democrats, and republicans. it is about taking care of the farming community throughout rural america, which is important. moderator: mr. cates gave one minute. mr. cates: i do not believe --

agree with federal subsidies. if the state chooses that, it is on them. one thing we could do, if the federal government could deregulate the farming industry. the epa puts restrictions on them. that could help them out, grow more, and do better and provide safer. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: we have regulations to protect us. we have epa regulations to protect ground, water, and air to make sure what is putting our agriculture is upping everybody. i think the subsidies will be amazing and one of them we are inclusive for everyone and all farmers and are not competitive subsidies. our farmers need to have ready access available to subsidies. we can remain competitive in a global market. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: providing farmers

the ability to have stability to make a business plan, to bar the money they need is a very important. because of inflation, and the terrible energy policies we have, much of agriculture and fertilizer they depend on. many the input costs, what it costs to run the sprinklers, tractors, the input costs are tremendous right now. because of that, agriculture is in pretty dire straits. moderator: moderator: mr. cates at haveman if you choose. wirral arkansas -- is becoming increasingly rural at an increasing pace. the implications are profound the delivery of basic services, education, crime prevention, environmental etc.. which of the federal

government's role in addressing these problems? they seem likely to mount for the arkansas countryside? mr. boozman: they will not, because if you look at arkansas. i believe 52 of our 75 counties lost population. you start losing population, you lose those turned back dollars. you do not have much to begin with, and you dig yourself in deeper. that is why we mentioned agriculture. that is the thing so important. 85 to 90% of the economy. it is not just agriculture it is schools and hospitals. you lose your school, you lose your community. the same is true for hospitals. one of the things we worked on, there is a lot of money in the system and a bipartisan way providing broadband. making sure that they are able to access.

we used to think in terms of the 3rs. if you are not wired you will not grow. moderator: mr. cates. mr. boozman: mr. cates: they're leaving the state because of no opportunity. we need to lower taxes, get businesses to come back, get jobs. that will get people coming back. ms. james: i will elaborate on taxes. we lower taxes for the citizens. so that way they can stand say. we're seeing a sharp decline in everybody leaving. if that is because the job opportunities are not there. we want to make sure that in rural areas they will not have to share hospitals. in multiple counties they have to share one hospital. that is not conducive living environment. our having -- having to drive a hundred miles to have a baby or she feels something is wrong with your heart. you should not have those types of crisis on type of seasonal

air. federally, i feel we can address these issues and help with the environment in the rural areas. we would do better in keeping our citizens while for taking care of. majority of the state is not taking care of. especially in the delta. hopefully will have opportunity to do better to protect all citizens and arkansas. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: we have real challenges throughout the state and arkansas. the average age of our farming -- former is 60. 40% of health-care care providers are over 60. young people are getting married at a later age because of that, they're having fewer children. the population is not to there to backfill. as a result, we need to work as a group. the state working with the federal government and local governments. we need to make sure that schools are not disallowed because they have five students

to low. moderator: 30 seconds for mr. cates. ms. james. ms. james: he is correct it should not be closing and allowing our estates to raise the actual -- goes from 300 to 700 requirement. people are not getting married because living wages. if you do not have a living to sustain your household, what incentivizes you to get married? if you know you will not have a job in your hometown. what incentivizes you to stay? we have to do multiple things and make sure they have a living wage so they can stay in the area and do -- be -- better protected. moderator: mislead question goes to ms. james. >> we talked about spending before in a separate interview. when asked about programs and departments we could cut from. mentioned department of defense budget. when -- what is your current

view on military spending? do we need to increase our cutback? ms. james: our military spending. our spending is extremely high. we have a lot of things we need to take care of. i feel if we cut some of the administrative role, and actually paid a -- e1 through eat d6 and base are taking care of. they are taking care of with health care we would have a better health care. we need funds to our estates and having a federal office work with our state office so we can use part of that $1.6 trillion. it is from the citizens from arkansas. it is also from federal allocation. we have those funds and. we have a center who does not ask where and why they're not being used for the citizen. that needs to change. i know i will ask why we are not using those allocations to hover the governor is. to make sure veterans are protected and have the resources

and sensibility they need and deserve. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: we live in a dangerous world. we have a shooting war in europe. just hard to imagine. my dad was a waist gunner on b-17s. hard for me to imagine. my children and grandchildren, how can this be? it has occurred. in the united states is intervening and helping provide materials. it is an example of the different hotspots throughout the world. we have around, we have -- iran, china flexing their muscles looking at taiwan. we are helping israel protecting them in the middle east. there are so many things going on. of the last thing we need is to cut defense. if anything, i would be an advocate, with inflation, we need to make sure we have the defense we need, for sure. moderator: mr. cates.

mr. cates: first thing i would cut defense 10 -- spending is woke agendas. our soldiers need to do one thing is defend america. that is how they defend america. another thing is defense contractors, lobbyists, they are setting the stage for when we go to war and or not. not the legislative branch. that needs to change. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: when we talk about work, we are talking about making sure our job in the united states is to balance those alliances and manage those and de-escalate crisis. what we're seeing, it is why we are doing de-escalation. we do not want world war iii. we need to have provisions available. that means reallocating from our military to send over to those who need it. so they can have revision so we do not have to use our military

to provide services to any foreign country. i want to make sure we understand, it is important we have federal candidates that will manage and de-escalate and properly use the funds appropriately for us. moderator: mr. boozman another 30 seconds. mr. boozman: we spend money and waste money on things the federal government does not need to do. the defense of our nation. i cannot do that as an individual. the state of arkansas, senator hutchinson, our legislature cannot do that. we depend on the federal government. this is one of those things it is not a question of how much. it is a question of what is needed. we need to provide the funding, whatever it takes to keep our soldiers safe and keep us safe. moderator: mr. cates. mr. cates: if we look at the war in afghanistan, the u.s. government admits that six to $9

billion was wasted of the 2.3 trillion. i would ask everybody, these billions we are sending, how much of that is wasted? i want freedom for the people of ukraine, i prefer the peas, but we have to look at how much it is not going to what it says. 69 billion in afghanistan lost of the 2.3 trillion. moderator: a question for mr. boozman. >> this is a question from one of our viewers. president biden pardoned americans who served federal time for simple marijuana possession. you agree, and why or why not? mr. boozman: thank you for the question. president biden pardoned those in federal penitentiary for simple possession. i think when we look at that, that would be a handful of people. we did a massive reform several years ago of reforming the

system so people like that would stay out of jail. what happens is, you commit series offenses and your plea bargain down to simple possession. those in federal penitentiary for smoking marijuana, they need to be let out. their record is expunged. on the other hand, if you're in jail for possession of marijuana, and you committed a serious crime, you need to stay. moderator: mr. cates. mr. cates: i agree that any person incarcerated, over half the people incarcerated in the u.s. is for simple drug possession. if they need to be released. they have not committed a violent crime or crime of the victim, the war on drugs is a failure. it is a hundred years old. we have to look at policy and figure out if it is effective or not. the result is how we do that.

if we look at the war on drugs, the result i've only gotten worse. marijuana, it is not even considered an unhealthy drug. we need to look at the -- 90% of drug use is with the u.n. drug office calls nonproblematic. you do not get addicted. each do not have health issues. 90%. marijuana is not on that. it is 10%. it is 10%. as her opiate overdoses. even opiates need to be, not criminalized but treated as medical condition. we can do this without compromising the safety of the american people. moderator: ms. james. i -- ms. james: it is important to decriminalize on a state level and on a federal level to continue to help and add to our economy and citizens back to art working class and workforce so we can have a more productive america, a robust arkansas. so we can compete on a global

market. we are trying to keep up, and it is important we have all americans available. they want to go in and serve into the military, they have the opportunity. do not let in indiscretion hinder them from serving their country or getting a job or providing back. it would help alleviate crime, alleviate poverty and bring in to household income. there are more people to get married. it is important, and i'm glad we're are in the right direction. moderator: we go back to mr. boozman for another 30 seconds. mr. boozman: i agree if you are in a federal pen -- penitentiary. at 2% are in federal penitentiaries. if you smoked a marijuana joint, and you got picked up, they need to let you out. i do not think there are many of those. i think this is part of the president sitting around in the oval office and trying to deflect from the economy,

inflation and from the border. if you want to do something about drugs, we need to control the border, 70,000 americans offered -- die defense no overdoses. moderator: mr. cates. mr. cates: not only control the border, but most of the stuff used to make fentanyl is coming from china. we need to address that. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: we need to address protecting the ports. that is where a majority of drugs are being brought in. we need to talk about inflation and the wonderful things, but this is an important step to help people. we are in a global pandemic. we lost a lot of lives, families and have the opportunity and bring people back to gather. which is what we should be focusing on and bipartisan effort should be doing. moderator: education outcomes for decades measured against

other countries have achievement levels against other countries have been disappointing. post-pandemic they have been especially disappointing. mr. cates, what role you think the federal government playing if any, what should the extent now of federal assistance to states for education? mr. cates: i think we need to decentralize education to get the federal government out. currently, the u.s. students in reading, math and english ranked 20th, 30th and 40th. we should be in the top three. this is the greatest country. the government keeps get nate -- getting in the way. they tell teachers, and the state, the teachers, parents how to teach, what to teach. they need to get out of the way. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: the federal government is there to maintain

our school systems, especially locally will might not have all positions needed with resources. we sought more school districts where state of oklahoma had nine schools. now they have 20 to fill in schools. saying we do not need the government come in and help your die do not agree with that. my mother was an educator. i am a daughter of a minister and small business owner. my mother told me something important. when someone shows you who they are the first time, you need to believe them. we are hearing from very polished answers for my opponent and i am not here to give you pretty words. i'm here to make sure you know you have an option and have a choice on who will represent you, your education, future and family. when we talk about not having the federal perversions needed for education, how will we -- and went with the military.

how will we advance with anything if we do not have a proper education system for our most vulnerable? moderator: we go to mr. boozman. mr. boozman: education is at the top. i was on the school board for seven years. i was proud to serve in that capacity. there are all kinds of room for the federal government helping out. they are helping out. education is primarily a state function. again, lots of help from the federal government. one of the things i'm excited about is the help with vocational programs. shop classes, not like what was. now teaming with our vocational colleges. you can go to school, at the end of the 11th grade you can be a phlebotomist and have a certificate. by the time you graduate from high school, you can be an lpn. by the time first year after that, you can be a registered nurse, and make a very good wage.

this is the key, in order for arkansas to move forward we have to have the workforce we need. we have to have a -- skilled workforce. this is the jobs we want and the way to do it. moderator: mr. cates. mr. cates: i agree vocation is great. that is something the states can do. they have enough money. if we want to look at the effectiveness of a policy. we have to look at the results. the federal government has been involved for a long time. the results speak for themselves. 20th, 30th and 40th place in math, reading and signs compared to the rest of the world. the federal government is involved in we see the results. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: policy from the federal government is preventative and impacted for all citizens. it should not be reactive. what we are seeing on a state level is a reactive policy against our actual education system.

we need to make sure we have the federal protections in place so we do have the policies that will help. i cannot keep saying it. 21st century to compete in the market is so important. we are 43 and education. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: i am a proponent of the regional concept. the federal government helped with that. you cannot do things by yourself. you're seeing counties going together and make a difference. i agree, we need to have metrics, outcomes, we need to hold people responsible. that is why i like it so much, these programs are not just going to class and studying. you are working towards a certificate. once you get through school, you can make a living wage. moderator: ms. lee to mr. boozman. >> we are seeing rapid growth in northwest arkansas.

companies like walmart are opening a new headquarters. tyson requiring all headquarter employees to move to arkansas to work out of the springdale office. jd hunted is to reconsider growth in our area. what is the government's role in our infrastructure plan, how do we deal with the growth? mr. boozman: infrastructure and so important. it is one of the issues that is not a partisan issue. i am on the environment and public works committee. i had the opportunity to serve on the transportation committee, in the house. the roadbuilding. i've been involved with everyone except for this last one. when you conference in committee. i am committed to that. that is how you move forward. we used to think in terms of roads, railroads, runways, water. that is how an area developed. now you have to have broadband. the other thing we have to do, i

mentioned the importance of working together. that is one thing that the regional aspect of northwest arkansas does a good job. the northwest council. it is not just northwest arkansas. central arkansas, the jonesboro region, we have hotspots very important to take care of. moderator: mr. cates. mr. cates: in regards to the federal government providing money for infrastructure. they passed an infrastructure bill, hardly is going to infrastructure. also, if we want the government to take care of infrastructure, let's look at they take care of theirs. they have 77,000 buildings that are not used or underused they cost $1.7 billion each year. do we want to them taking care of our infrastructure? moderator: ms. james. ms. james: i am glad to syria allocation people relocating. i am glad we do have infrastructure bill put in place

no thanks to our current senator. i'm grateful to see it. what we are seeing is we have a senator who voted against infrastructure, but it is quick to show up when it is time for an arena. but not for the votes. when i heard him speak i did not hear him say about arkansas. that is an important part. it is 450,000 citizens that are due to her senator. we need to make sure we have someone who will use the infrastructure in a bipartisan way and continue to grow arkansas the way arkansas deserves to grow. why frankly, we have not had that. we have been less than everything. i've seen since i was in high school. time first to change in time for us to grow together. this includes the whole state in all regions. including the south. moderator: mr. boozman another 30 seconds. mr. boozman: thank you steve. again, i have been very involved

in infrastructure. i feel it is so important. it is interesting. i did not vote for the last infrastructure bill. the reason i did not vote for it, is i on the environment public works. the committee that together the roads, railroads, runways. that aspect of it. we allocated more money then spent before, came out of committee 19-0. the democrats stuck $300 billion of wasteful spending that had nothing do with infrastructure. that is why voted no. moderator: we go to mr. cates. mr. cates: again, if we want to look at how government handles infrastructure. a look at the round. they passed an infrastructure bill, the majority does not go to infrastructure. 370 billion to climate change. 25 million to implicit bias trying -- training. look at how they handled infrastructure. a look at how they handle their

own. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: voting against something and not providing solutions is not what arkansas needs and deserves. i will repeat again, two decades, three bills passed, a post office for harrison arkansas. you voted in first -- infrastructure and do not provide solutions to health all of arkansas. you mentioned northwest arkansas, jonesboro and central arkansas. in the south where they need that infrastructure, you voted against it. we need to make sure we have somebody who will vote for all of arkansas. moderator: christina question. >> we talk about the health-care industry. many hospitals, especially rural only survived the pandemic because of federal assistance. they are now struggling, doing -- needing more federal assistance, or is it if they fail they fail. especially in numeral arkansas that is a huge concern.

mr. cates to first. mr. cates: both parties always look to fun health care instead of how to fix it. of the problem with health care is the billing. all the prices are hidden, which there is no free-market competition. if you have a heart attack, and south arkansas. it can cost 25,000. if you have a heart attack and north it can cost 400,000. they keep the prices hitting. they charge outrageous markups. one study shows that 23 -- 23 times marked up -- medicare allowable price. we need to make billing open and inspire that free-market competition. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: you are correct we do. we had a provision and bipartisan to have alleviate those questions in the

affordable cares act. it was broken apart and away it should not have been and did not help arkansas and americans. we do see a lot of hospital across the state and it is important we have the hospitals being taken care of. it is a lot more than we could be doing to keep them open. people are not having to drive hundreds of miles, people are not having to flown it. people are not having to do take my medicine now and divvy up until i get to my doctor's appointment. do i want to have this drive and spend another gas tank to drive to little rock? arkansas did not have the resources available, especially with veterans. we need to make sure everything is taken care of, with all hospitals. that should be first and foremost. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: rural hospitals are so important.

if you do not have a world hospital, you lose that, you lose it in your county, and community. you lose your doctors. pretty soon, you lose your community. that is what people look at is what are the amenities in play? order the schools like? that is why schools are important. what is the health care situation? there are a number of federal programs helping federal hospitals -- rural hospitals. hospitals, even though we had the pandemic. they were not able to do elective surgeries and things like that. that is their bread and butter. it is amazing, they were slammed during the pandemic. although, lots of people were sick. i'm committed to continuing those programs as we go forward. recognizing the importance of the world hospital system. moderator: we returned mr. cates. mr. cates: the affordable care act was mentioned. it was written by the same

companies that want to keep prices hidden. thank you. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: we are talking about hospitals and making sure that everybody has a doctor. we are also hearing where we have a federal abortion ban that is being put in place. a national abortion plan that another party does not one for everybody. we need to make sure that we are protecting hospitals, the same way we are protecting doctors and making sure doctors can make adequate decisions to protect all citizens within those hospitals. we can open up plenty of them, but with we are not allowing doctors to take care of patients for health care, then we are doing them a disservice. moderator: going to mr. boozman. mr. boozman: helping hospitals means partnering with bigger hospitals and communities. tele-medicine is a big boon for rural medicine.

these are things we can work on, again at realizing the importance is as we go for, protecting our rural communities. moderator: we are having a moment to remind you that the candidates are free to participate in a press conference, individually, directly following the debate. to watch that live it your home or wherever you scan you are -- qr code on your screen. there it is. with your mobile device. you will see that qr code periodically through the balance of our debate. a question that goes to miss james. hardly any other issue it in arkansas is driving the political debate than crime. what do you see as the federal government's role, these are the cities and states in addressing the problem? ms. james: addressing the

problem means thinking about a solution for it. we have not heard solutions from the other side how we can help alleviate crime. the solution is simple. make sure you give people a -- have a fair wage. make sure that health care available, make sure they have immediate resources for education. when you are not making enough money. you make strange or poor decisions. we have nine private prisons. that is too many. we do not have a recidivism program that incorporates giving people back into the actual socialization population of arkansas. it is another access we should be focusing on. crime is from repeat offenders because we are not training and coaching, and motivating them to be citizens. we are motivating them to continue to be career criminals.

we should not be doing that. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: this again, is a question we have to deal with. arkansas, the nation experienced major crime. eu pickup a newspaper, and you read in -- you pick up a newspaper and you read were the top 20 most violent crimes per capita. that is not just a little that is arkansas when people see that. when they are trying to decide where to settle. there is a big place for the federal government to be helpful. i am on the subcommittee that controls the funding for various programs like this. the bernie jack program, which gives policeman, law enforcement the tools they need to keep themselves safe, to keep us safe. these are the kind of programs we need to support as we go forward. moderator: mr. cates.

mr. cates: we fight crime by not demonizing the guys who fight it. most officers -- departments are experiencing significant turnover. a friend of mine is in law enforcement. he is down three guys on his shift alone. we demonize the guys who find it. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: right now, upholding somebody accountable is not demonizing them. holding people accountable as i hope all of arkansas holds me accountable as future senator is needed on all fronts regardless of who it is. we need to address at the mental health crisis and make sure we have the mental health workers and make sure we address the major issues contributing factors to crime and poverty. we can address those issues in a more sound way, we can alleviate all that stress law enforcement is receiving. moderator: mr. boozman have

another 30 seconds. mr. boozman: i had an opportunity to visit with federal law enforcement agencies. asking them what they need to -- to do to help local law enforcement. there is a lot of task force that goes on -- making sure they got what they need. the other thing we did, myself and senator cotton under the trump administrator -- administration. we did put prosecutors in place to fight crime and help the police. moderator: ms. cates,. mr. cates: i agree and holding officers to a higher standard. we should not demonize the whole industry. we should hold the one accountable, and support the rest. moderator: mr. lee for mr. cates. >> let's talk about immigration. many people across the political

spectrum say our immigration system is broken and in crisis. how do you think the current administration is handling emigration, if you had a moment with the president, how would you cancel the president to reform our immigration system? mr. cates: thank you for the question. they're not handling it. thousands of illegal immigrants come across every day. i want those people to have a better life, like i'm sure we all are. we are a nation of borders. that is what is -- what makes it sovereign's borders paired we need to secure and focus on reform. so such as work visas to make a better life. moderator: ms. james. ms. james: we are nation of immigrants and cannot forget that. we did not originate here. we came over seeking shelter from religious persecution and taxes. we cannot call them illegal immigrants. we need to call them what they are. they are refugees seeking

asylum, seeking help. that is the same thing we did when we came over and it this same should be allotted to anyone who wants to come over and be a citizen and productive. i agree we need to cut the red tape. there's too much red tape that is hindering the actual filing process. the refugee process. or any immigration process. we need to make sure we are doing what is best and humane for everyone involved in all parties. even if it means hiring more people to make sure they are able to adequately process and get everybody in, and bring people to a safe way of life. moderator: over to mr. boozman. mr. cates: mr. boozman: we need to secure the border, if you do not secure the border it does not matter what immigration system you put in. it will not work. people will continue to flood across. it is a flat. it is a humanitarian crisis. it is a national security crisis.

80 people this year were rep -- apprehended on the border on the terrorist watch list. 3.5 million people were caught since president biden has taken control. 500,000, they know cross to the border but were not able to be apprehended. if you think about it -- a state that has over 3 million people. you have arkansas coming in the last two years. everybody feels like it will be even greater unless we do something. that is million people. what do you do with these folks? some will be sent to new york, a few thousand. this ensures city. they have gone crazy and tried to draw out the national guard. this is national crisis and national security moderator: . mr. cates, 30 seconds. mr. cates: those immigrants came in legally. they had to register on ellis island. my immediate families immigrants. or immigrated to the u.s.. we did it the right way. moderator: ms. james.

ms. james: right now, what we are seeing, we do have -- when we talk about immigration, and we talk about securing our border. 3 million people were stopped. that sounds secure to me. drugs were stopped. that sounds like what we have in place is working. stopping actual individuals, whether it is 3 million to seek asylum. america is large. most of americans can fit in alaska. the size of alaska has and have an acre of our own. we have plenty of bass into they want to be productive citizen -- citizens. if they do not that is what immigration processes four. have those who are here that will be productive. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: we are nation of immigrants. we have five mean the only people online. most will take up to 10 years to get there naturalization.

we naturalize a million people year, more than the rest of the world put together. we can be very proud of that. we are nation of laws, we cannot have hundreds of thousands, literally millions of people crossing the border in an unlawful way. moderator: first question for ms. james. >> talking about higher education. the cost of college into the rising cost is making it the most unattainable for many arkansans. whether or not you agree with the student loan debt relief plan, being argued over. what would you do to help struggling arkansans play for higher education? ms. james: i'm a mom of a 17-year-old get ready to face that. making sure she has an education needs and any supplemental education. since when does you can still go here and have different vocational traits and options.

we push college, but it may not be for everybody. we need to make sure we are pushing all options for our children. not every kid is the same. we want to make sure we wreck -- recognized that. the student love forgiveness is in the right direction. it helps those in south arkansas , especially those communities of color. it helps build communities often left behind by career politicians, but no solutions. i am glad we have an actual solution put in place. not another trope would we talk about borders or anything else. how to stop the fear and advocate for our future, and advocate for all those enjoying. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: i am opposed to the plane of forgiveness. the reason is, it is not fair. why is it fair if you paid off your student loans before march of 2020, and if you took a student loan after that you get

your loan forgiven online and and the other not? why is it fair that a family of $250,000 gets loan forgiveness of $20,000, when you got a hard-working family making 35, 50, 70,000 nobodies pay their debts. that is why i oppose. what we got to do is get these introduce the system under control that their inflation rate is being tremendously greater than normal inflation. moderator: mr. cates. mr. cates: i greet vocational it should be another option and the prices of college is out of control. remember, student loan forgiveness. the federal government paid for someone student loan is not free. someone has to pay for it. the tax paradise. you're transferring get from one person to another. moderator: ms. james.

ms. james: if were going to talk about forgiving months. we need to talk about tpp loans forgiven of colleagues and coworkers of senator boseman and his company. we have seen articles on his ability for corporations. we have not seen easy ability and articles for student loans. color really first citizens -- are for citizens who want to go to school. it is indicative of a future said -- synergy hat. to think about everybody in natchez the court colleagues and workers. the ppp loans amounts for millions of dollars forgiven. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: we need pell grant's, scholarships. you need to get your act straight in the sense of when you accuse people of things. i have not received any ppp loans. i do not know where that is coming from. my brother and started a clinic

many years ago. i worked there for 24 years. i am not associated for two decades. like i said, i do not know who is feeding your facts, but they are false. right is right, wrong is wrong. ms. james: you are invested correct? mr. cates: mr. boozman: i have not been there 20 years. moderator: for closing statements if we can. [indiscernible] ms. james: i mentioned your article. correct? moderator: mr. cates is up. mr. cates: -- moderator: closing statement as determined prior to the broadcast, mr. cates your first. mr. cates: if you feel like something is wrong and d.c..

congress has an approval rating almost in the single digits. both parties answer to big corporations, and to the local mob. we need to leaders who put people first, not profit or politics. thank you. moderator: mr. boozman. mr. boozman: we have the senior broadcaster in arkansas. the guy that is to the dean of broadcasting. we haven't innocently and muniz, edge to the future deans of broadcasting here. we appreciate your hard work and public broadcasting. as i go around the state, and the primary thing i hear about -- in fact, i always said if you cannot make a living, if you cannot take care of your family everything is pretty important. the thing that is killing americans is inflation. 8.2%. we had over eight point 2% inflation for the last seven months. this was going to be transitory.

we are in a situation where we simply have to do something about that. i believe if we lift our eyes above to get to work here, working together, we will be of to solve that problem. we have a lot of other problems we can solve working together. america will continue to be the greatest, freest country. moderator: got a call the time. i apologize. ms. james, you have one minute. ms. james: call inflation what it is, it is corporate greed. we have seen numerous corporations and colleagues of our current incumbent receive millions of dollars of tpp loans to be forgiven. yet, they continue to have 50 prophets. highest we have ever seen. we have 8% inflation. but it is forecasted to go down because what the current administration is doing is a goes down to 5.3%.

enough with the fear and wolf in sheep's clothing. enough with the political 20 year polish. very polished rehearsed responses. they tell you what they want you to hear. they go back to washington and vote against your interest. arkansas, you have a choice. have a choice to make sure you have someone who will vote for veterans, families, working class and make sure everybody's taking care of. i am natalie james, and i'm asking for your vote today and check out my issues for arkansas. thank you for the opportunity. moderator: we think our three candidates were appearing on our broadcast. to our viewers you can watch this, and all the pb estimate -- debates on demand at the pbs youtube channel. on the pbs video app, and on our website. a reminder the candidates have the option to participate in a press conference, directly

following this debate. which will air on youtube. you can watch it live part of our livestream. once again, scan the qr code on your screen now and begin watching on youtube. once again, thanks to our three nominees and panelists and the audience here. on the campus of ucla and. election day, tuesday, november 8. ♪ c-span's washington journal, we are taking your calls alive, on the air, on the news of the day, and will discuss policy issues that impact you. coming up saturday, the federal government begins to accept applications from borrowers. we'll talk about president biden student loan forgiveness with washington post national higher education reporter daniel douglas. our spotlight on podcast, culture editor for the federals.

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talks. squatting in the diner is even harder. that is why we are providing low income students access to affordable internet. homework can just be homework. >> cox, along with these television providers giving your front was c2 democracy -- to democracy. >> susan wild is hoping to hold on to her seat for third term is facing a republican challenger who she defeated in 2020. both are vying to represent pennsylvania's seventh congressional district. fully redrawn to include carbon county among others. this debate was hosted by w lvt tv. >> please welcome news director generally held. moderator: nk