This is a k SBS PBS election special.

Senator Patty Murray meets Republican challenger Tiffany Smiley in their only eastern Washington debate.

It's the battle for the Senate.

Live from the Myrtle Wolfson Performing Arts Center on the campus of Gonzaga University.

Produced in cooperation with the Spokesman-Review and the League of Women Voters of Washington.

Welcome to the U.S. Senate debate.

Thank you all for watching.

Today's debate is sponsored by the Spokesman Review's Northwest Passages Community Event series, The League of Women Voters, KSPS Public Television and Gonzaga University.

It is affiliated with the Washington State Debate Coalition.

I'm moral democratic, and I am pleased to be here today to moderate this debate between Senator Patty Murray and candidate Tiffany Smiley.

Today's debate is a Q&A format.

I will pose a question and each candidate will have 90 seconds to answer.

Each candidate has the opportunity for two rebuttals throughout the debate.

If you choose this one, feel free to hold up one of the cards that you have, and I will give you 30 seconds to do that.

There will be no counter rebuttals.

I also reserve the right to ask follow up questions when needed.

Ms.. Murray won the coin toss to determine the order and she chose to open.

I also want to mention to both of the candidates that the monitor that has the time has been going in and out, but the time is correct and it will come back .

So just keep that in mind.

So let's get started.

There is no formal opening statement, but I do want to start by asking a broad question to focus on your experiences.

Ms.. Murray, you have been Washington Senator for almost 30 years now.

Ms.. Smiley, you have said that you want to be a fresh face for Washington in the U.S. Senate.

Why do each of you think you are the best candidate for this position?

Ms.. MURRAY Well, start with you.

Well, thank you to the League of Women Voters and the Spokesman-Review for hosting this debate tonight These have been really challenging times.

I understand that.

I grew up in a family with seven kids.

My dad was a World War Two veteran, and he ran a small store on the main street of Bothell.

We had tight budgets.

I understand that.

So I always fight to make sure we have an economy that works for working families In the past year and a half, I have passed legislation to lower prescription drugs costs.

I've worked to deliver the largest middle class tax cu in generations to lower energy costs, fight climate change, and bring manufacturing back here to Washington State.

You know, whether it's getting a VA clinic into Tri-Cities or making sure Spokane has the resources for police and firefighters, I always listen to communities here and fight for our families in Washington, D.C..

This is one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime.

Women's rights are on the ballot.

If you send me back a pro-choice Senate, I will wor to pass my legislation to codify ROE into law.

Our democracy is on the ballot.

I will fight to protect every American's right to vote.

And our economy is on the ballot.

I will keep fighting to lower costs and make sure your family has a fair shake.

Thank you.

Ms.. Smiley, you have 90 seconds.

Yes.

At 23 years old, I walked into my husband's trauma care unit at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

I had student loan debt.

I had a car payment.

And he had tubes coming out of every or every orifice of his body.

He was in a coma.

And that was my first experience with the bureaucratic government system.

My amazing husband is in the audience with us today, and thank God I was a nurse because I wasn't afraid to take on the government and fight for him.

I didn't know if I was going to meet him dead or alive, but I was going to be there.

And unfortunately, the suicide car bomb that he car bomber that he was negotiating with in service to our country in Mosul, Iraq, had detonated his car and sent shrapnel through both of his eyes so he would be forever blind.

But I knew he still had purpose, and I fought for his life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.

I took on big government and I won.

He went on and became the first blind, active duty officer to ever serve our country.

We served for over a decade with him completely blind, and then I knew I had to go back and make it right for everyone else.

So I took on the VA.

I took another flight out to Walter Reed Army Medical out to Washington, D.C. and I took on the VA and we passed meaningful reform for veterans that was so needed.

So for me, it was truly in that fight that I knew.

We have so much more to fight for.

I have a record of taking on big government and winning.

My opponent doesn't.

She works for Washington, D.C. She is the image of big government.

Washington state deserves better.

Thank you.

Ms.. Smiley, we'll start with you for this one.

Congress has tried and failed to pass comprehensive immigration reform for decades.

Would you support a bill that increases border security as well as provides a legal pathway to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants?

Why or why not?

Absolutely.

Know this is such an important issue for Washington state because we know that China is pumping the components of fentanyl across our southern border.

It's in Washington state.

It's not just in our homeless encampments that I have visited and spent time in, but it's also in our schools and it's killing our kids .

One pill will kill our kids here in Washington State is happening all over Washington State.

So I went to the southern border to see it for myself.

And I talked to law enforcement officers down there.

And you know what they said?

Our number one roadblock to solving this problem is Washington, D.C..

I don't know if my opponent, Senator Murray, has ever been down to the southern border, but I went down there because I know how important it is to Washington State.

We have got to secure our border.

We've got to stop the flow of fentanyl that is coming across and killing our kids.

Every state is a border state.

What my Agenda for Recovery and Reform calls for to turn crisis into hope for all of Washington.

We can make sure that Title 42 remains in place, ensure that our Border Patrol agents have every resource that they need to secure our border with technology and resources and, you know, career politicians.

They'd like to use immigration as a political red wedge when it comes to election time.

I actually will go secure our border.

Order and ensure that there is a pathway to legal citizenship in our country.

Thank you.

Ms.. Murray, you have 90 seconds.

Well, this is an important question.

But first, let me say, I have been to the border.

I went to the border when the Trump administration, who my opponent has said she would like his endorsement.

I went then because the Trump presidency was separating our children from their mothers at the border.

At the southern border.

And I went not with the photographer.

I went with a pediatrician to go make sure that the kids who are separated from their parents have the care they need.

Our immigration system today, which is what you asked about, is not working for anyone.

It is not working for our growers or our service industry It's not working for our high tech companies who are trying to attract new people here to develop jobs here in the United States.

We have to fix our immigration system.

I have voted for and worked for changing our immigration system to make sure that we allow a path to citizenship, that we fund our border and Border Patrol and customs agents in a good way, and to make sure that we have a system that works for those who are seeking asylum.

Why don't we have that?

Because the Republicans stopped it from happening.

They now use immigration during every election to score political points and have refused to come back to the table.

We can't let this be a political fight anymore.

We need to work to find solutions.

It's important for our economy.

It's important for humanitarian reasons.

And it's important because we are a country of immigrants and we can do better than this.

Thank you.

We will start with you for the next question.

And nations around the world are experiencing high inflation in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, as well as rising gas prices worsened by the war in Ukraine.

That's no different than what's in the United States right now.

Murray, what should Congress do to address rising costs?

You have 90 seconds.

That's an important question in every community.

I know families are struggling.

And like I told you in the beginning, I know what that feels like.

So I have been very focused on lowering costs for families as we get through this global challenge that we are facing.

I have worked to lower prescription drug costs in the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest reduction in prescription drugs we have ever seen, allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prices, capping $35 insulin at $35.

Making sure that families have extension of the ACA so they can get lower costs for insurance.

We passed the bill to make sure that we lowering energy costs.

If we move to a clean, clean, new energy program and we lower our costs, that will help every family's pocketbook.

I am looking at every step we can take to lower costs, including my plan to pass child care.

And you elect me and we will get that done so families can lower the cost of their child care, get back to work, and help help our economy be productive again.

Thank you, Miss Smiley.

That sounds like a Washington, D.C. answer to me.

I took on Washington, D.C., Patty and I won.

You've never taken on Washington, D.C.. You are Washington, D.C..

Senator Murray stood with Joe Biden with the Inflation Reduction Act and said, this is going to help us.

Don't be deceived by the name because this isn't coming from me.

This is coming from the CBO.

It does nothing to combat inflation.

In fact, it raises taxes on all of us.

87,000 IRS agents coming after our small business owners and hardworking Washington families.

Do you know those making $25,000 or less are five times more likely to be audited by the IRS?

That's why I'm standing up and fighting for.

Also in that, I think it's important that Washington families know Senator Murray was the deciding vote on the excise tax on natural gas.

So there has to be a way to pay for all of this.

So you will see your energy costs go up.

She stood by Joe Biden with the American Rescue Plan and said we are in a better place now.

I in every room I've been into in Washington state.

But in all 39 counties, I've listened to thousands of voters across Washington state.

I ask, are you in a better place?

They say, no, we are worse.

Senator Murray allowed $1,000,000,000 to go to criminals like Larry Nassar in the Boston bomber.

That's not a good use of taxpayers money.

I will be a steward of that.

I will ensure that we reduce the spending, we rein in the out-of-control spending.

I certainly will make sure the 87,000 IRS agents do not come after you and I wil permanently extend the 2017 tax cuts for the middle class and get our economy on the right track.

Time is up.

We will start with you for the next question, Ms.. Smiley.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade earlier this year, both Trump both parties have talked about crafting a nationwide abortion law, whether that be to restrict access or expand access to abortion.

What would you want or not want to see in federal abortion legislation Yes, I would, Claire.

I am personally pro-life.

I think there's good people on both sides of this issue.

And we need to be able to come into the center of this and acknowledge I've been clear from the very beginning, I oppose a federal abortion ban that's long before the supreme the unprecedented leak from the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court's decision gave the power to the people, and that's where I believe it belongs.

I respect the will of the voters here in Washington State.

So what I will do is ensure that women have acces to health care, that they have access and affordable access to contraception and child care, unlike Senator Murray has been there for the last 30 years.

I'll go get that done for women.

And when women are in a time of crisis, I want to ensure that they have every resource that they need should they choose to keep their child, that they have every resource that is not a ticket to poverty or a lack of education.

You know, there's one extreme on this issue is Senator Murray, because if she had it her way, she would change the will of the voters of Washington state.

Her record represents it.

It would be taxpayer funded abortion on demand all the way up to the point of birth.

And the question we should all ask, Senator Murray is, do you believe in any legal limitations to abortion?

And again, don't take it from me that the most recent Newsweek article that was out yesterday, Senator Murray, has no right to lecture me or any women in this room or in this state or country, for that matter, on how we should be treated or any any of us.

Patty told her national security adviser that her luck had run out for having two children within two years and she fired her.

Senator Murray.

Thank you, Miss Smiley.

Your time is up.

Thank you, Miss Murray.

There is a huge difference between me and my opponent on this issue.

I believe that every woman should be able to make her own health care choices about her own family, working with her doctor, her faith and her own needs.

This should not be decided by politicians.

You just heard my opponent say politicians should decide.

I do not agree with that at all.

We should not be in a room with people when they are making medical decisions.

Now I hear my opponent over there saying I'm pro-life.

Don't worry.

I got to tell you, I was in the Senate.

I saw Supreme Court nominees come in front of us and say to us, I'm pro-life, don't worry.

And look what happened.

They overturned 50 years of precedent and put this country and women's lives in chaos.

We have women coming here to Washington State because they can't get reproductive car where they live.

We have providers right here in Spokane who live in Idaho and are worried about the work that they do every day to save lives and help women.

They will be arrested when they go home.

We have trackers who are following women in this country using their phone apps to make sure that they know where they went and when they come home, threaten them with arrest.

This cannot be.

If you elect me, I will pass my legislation to codify ROE into law and put precedent back in place in this country and protect women's right to choose.

You want to use one of your but yes, your 30 year fight.

You agree politicians should decide this?

I said I believe that the people should.

And I respect the will of the voters here in Washington State You can use it.

Then it makes it very clear what she just says out of the Supreme Court's hand That was a constitutional right that we have under 50 years of precedent.

What she said is politicians in are what politicians in state legislatures could now decide.

Politicians in a room with a woman and her family and her faith and her doctor making that decision.

And you would like the taxpayer as well.

Ms.. Smiley, your time is up.

Thank you.

So you both have used one rebuttal.

You have one more to you throughout the rest of the debate.

I do want to ask a follow up on abortion.

You will each have 30 seconds to answer this.

Ms.. Mary, to start with you, would you favor creating an exception to the filibuster rules to approve abortion rights nationwide?

I do believe that the rules of the Senate should allow us, when we are making a decision about constitutional rights, whether it's a woman's right to choose or voters right to make sure their vote is heard at the polls.

And that's the voting rights law.

These are rights that America hold near and dear And I do not think that the rules of the Senate should preclude us from codifying them into law.

Thank you.

Ms..

Finally of 30 seconds.

So again, Senator Mary made it clear that she wants politicians to decide this.

I believe and respect the will of the voters here in Washington state.

And if anyone should change this, it should be Washington state voters.

What I can do is add and ensure that women have every resource access to care and child care.

I just met with a young mother, a single mom from University of Washington, and she said, child care is so hard to come by.

I said, I understand.

I know what that's like, so we will go get that done.

But the filibuster is a long held rule that in the Senate that that balances the power and it's good for our society.

I do want to move on.

We have a lot of other topics that we want to discuss.

SMILEY To start with you, there has been a long running controversy over the Snake River dams here in Washington.

Several northwest tribes say that they are contributing to declining salmon populations, but the dams do provide economic benefits to the region As a senator, how would you bala conversations about the dams?

And are there any circumstances in which you would support breaching them?

So growing up on a farm, I understand, you know, the unique and and truly the what farmers do to do for our economy here in Washington State.

We're the third largest ag and food producers in the country.

Breaching our dams would be detrimental not just to our farmers and our agriculture.

It would mean more trucks on the road, as well as turning the lights out on every Washingtonian.

Our dams provide clean hydro energy.

You know, Senator Murray is typical Washington, D.C. bureaucrat who went along with the tides, flip flopped on the issue.

We have technology that that, you know, protects our salmon.

The Army Corps of Engineers just did a research study as well that showed that we have the most salmon now flowing through our locks and our dams and we've had before.

So we need to protect our dams.

Senator Murray wanted to breech them with no plan to replace that energy at a time when we are heading into recession with energy costs going up.

Our dams are essential to our economy, to our farmers and to our families all over Washington State.

Thank you, Miss Murray.

It's really important to know that salmon is part of our economy.

It's part of our culture.

And it's part of our tribal obligations.

We have a responsibility to solve the declining salmon populations.

I have worked very hard at the federal level for us her in the Pacific Northwest to make sure we have the resources to do what we can do every year.

I fight for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund that allows us to restore our ecosystems.

In the bipartisan infrastructure law, we fought to make sure we had the funds to fix the culverts that often preclude salmon from going back upstream and spawning.

And we now are starting to rebuild those.

That's a critical part of this.

We are working to make sure we're doing everything we can to save our salmon.

Now, there was an is a question about whether we should remove some dams.

I talk to stakeholders from every part of our state, from utilities to tribes to users of the river, including transportation.

And we do not have in place today the resources we need for both resiliency, for energy or for infrastructure to be able to take those dams down now.

But we do have an obligation to make a plan, to do everythin we can to replace our energy, to replace our infrastructure, so that if in the future, that decision is the one thing that will save our salmon, we are ready to do that.

We are not today.

But I am working hard to make sure we save our salmon in the Pacific Northwest.

Thank you.

We will start with you, Ms.. Murray, for this next question.

In recent months, the January six committee made its case with testimony of dozens of Republicans, Trump aides and administration officials that former President Trump was personally responsible for the January 6th riot.

How do you feel about the findings of the committee and how much responsibility do you attribute to Trump?

I was in the Capitol on January 6th.

I was stuck in my office.

I didn't get to run out of the Senate like Josh Hawley did.

I was locked in a room with insurrectionists pounding on my door.

I heard what they said.

I heard what their goal was.

It was to take over a peaceful transfer of power using brute force.

I will not ever forget that day.

I walked away from a terrifically horrible situation and realized for the first time in my life that our democracy doesn't happen just because you think it's there.

Our democracy is something you have to fight for.

We can never allow brute force to take over our votes or our voices.

I will fight every day to make sure that we never allo those people who continue the big lie, including my opponent on her website before she changed it in July to question that election, because that sows mistrust in our country for our democracy.

It is critical that we hold everyone accountable and never allow our democracy to be taken away.

We have to fight for it.

I'm going to fight for it.

And I want our country to know that this is a critical issue in this election.

Thank you, Miss Smiley.

I don't know who gave you that talking point, Senator Murray, but I have my agenda for political recovery and reform to turn crisis into hope.

And I address this issue because our elections are important to the people all over this country.

And in fact, you question the 2004 presidential election as well.

So I think this is on both sides of the aisle.

And to be clear and to the point, you know, I we we watched January 6th and I had to describe to my husband who lost his eyesight, serving our country what was unfolding.

It was heartbreaking for us.

And those who broke the law should be held to the full extent of of of our judicial system in our law.

But I want to be clear on this.

My husband lost his eyesight fighting for our country.

He's here in this debate listening to us.

He lost, as I say, fighting for democracy.

And our family lives with that sacrifice every single day.

It's certainly why I'm in this fight as well.

And so I want to ask, you know, do you believe that me and my family are a threat to democracy, Senator Murray?

Because I tell everyone here today either that or disavow your campaign's dangerous rhetoric that has spent millions of dollars to attack and paint me as someone I am not.

That's what's on the ballot this November.

I am here to unify, to bring us together to serve this country.

This is not about politics.

This is about the United States of America.

Thank you.

I do want to ask a follow up on this topic that I don't know that either of you have necessarily addressed yet.

We'll start with you, Ms.. Murray.

What do you say to Washington residents and your constituents who believe that the 2020 election was not valid?

You'll have 30 seconds.

I would say first to my opponent.

No one questions her belief in our democracy or her husband's fight for our country ever.

But do not conflate that with misconstruing about the intent of insurrectionists who were using their brute forc to overtake the peaceful transfer of power.

Using our votes and our voices is what a democracy is about.

All of you here tonight are participating in your democracy by being here But we cannot allow brute force.

With Smiley.

He'll have 30 seconds.

What do you say to voters who say that the 2020 election is not valid?

I say use your voices and vote.

I mean, we have to move forward as a country.

And again, Senator Marie's dangerous rhetoric that she spent millions and millions of dollars behind all over this state is is further dividing us.

So we need to vote.

We need to come together and know that we live in the greatest country in the world.

We are the shining beacon on a hill.

We can move forward and we will move forward.

But, you know, Patty Murray just goes along with Washington, D.C.

I'm here to fight for Washington state.

Thank you.

We'll start with you, Miss Smiley, for this on on another topic.

We are now almost eight months into the war on Ukraine, and Congress on a bipartisan basis has continued to give funding and support to the country.

Would you continue to support the amount of U.S. military support and aid currently given to Ukraine, especially in light of Putin's recent threats of nuclear war?

You'll have 90 seconds.

Look, we should never even be in this place in the in the beginning.

Senator Murray and Joe Biden have shown extreme weakness on the world stage.

Our failed departure in Afghanistan emboldened the evils of this world, emboldened Putin to take action And we should have stepped up right then and been tough on Putin immediately.

But Senator Murray, two times didn't want to sanction the Nord Stream two pipeline because she would rather line her pockets with their lobbyist than stand up and do what's right for Washington State in this country.

So overall, we should not even be in this position.

But we are And we need to ensure that Ukraine has everything they need if they know how to fight.

And we need diplomacy.

We need to show strength on the world stage.

We need diplomacy and we need it now.

Putin is working with Iran, and I haven't heard Senator Murray at all denounce what's happening in Iran, back away from the Iran nuclear deal and stand with the women and freedom in Iran.

That's essential because Iran is now working with Putin and Russia to get nuclear weapons.

This is extremely dangerous situation.

So we need to show strength from the world stage.

That's certainly what I am committed to doing when I am your next senator from Washington State.

Thank you, Ms.. Murray.

Putin's invasion of Ukraine was outrageous.

We just talked about democracies have a responsibility to stand and fight for those countries who are fighting for their democracy with our global allies.

President Biden was right to go to our NATO allies and to our friends in Europe to unite, to go in and support Ukraine in their fight, their brave fight for their democracy I was proud and am proud to support their fight with our U.S. dollars.

We do have to be careful not to get in a conflict directly between the United States and Russia.

And that's why it's important that we use diplomacy and bring our partners together.

We do have to condemn those those countries that are dangerous.

And I do every day, Tiffany, obviously.

But I will say that it is important for us to stand up and fight for our our democracies around the world.

Ukraine is one.

I'm proud that we are working with our NATO allies and our European friends to show a united front that we will fight back against Putin.

Thank you, Miss Murray.

The cleanup of the Hanford nuclear site has been going on for decades.

Federal funds for the cleanup have focused more on building a plant to turn radioactive and chemical waste into glass, but not necessarily at addressing leaking tanks.

Do you agree with this approach, and if so, why?

Cleaning up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is one of the things I do for the Pacific Northwest every single day in my role on the Appropriations Committee and as your United States senator.

We have a moral and a legal obligation to clean up the Hanford nuclear site.

Our first obligation is to protect those workers who are there day in and day out in dangerous conditions, making sure they have the training and the support and the gear they need to be safe and cleaning up that site.

We are making great progress in Hanford.

I've had to fight Republican administrations.

I've had to fight Democratic administrations to make sure we get the resources we need to clean up that nuclear site.

Classification is happening.

It has taken us a long time to get there.

It's expensive.

It will be expensive for a long time to go.

We also need to clean up the tanks that are leaking into the Columbia River.

This is one of the most important tasks I do every day as a United States senator to fight to make sure Washington State has the resources to clean up Hanford Nuclear Reservation, protect our workers, and keep our moral and legal obligation to this site.

Thank you.

Miss Smiley?

Yes.

I believe that we do have an obligation to to clean up Hanford.

Let's do it in an efficient way, less.

Let's maximize the dollars that are spent there, not drag our feet on it.

I believe that those workers need to be protected.

And I will fight for them.

I'm here for them.

That is clear.

It's interesting.

My opponent, you know, she she will go fight for the government.

For the government.

We need someone who will go fight for the people as well.

It's easy to take on the government and get what you need.

I will have no problem doing that.

And ensuring that Hanford is fully funded, has every resource that they need to protect their workers and continue to grow and with their clean up operations out there.

I also want to recruit more scientists and grow our labs and our technology and our research that is going on out there.

But I think it's important that we have an economy and that we have an environment where it's it's good to come here, where house prices are lower, where cost of living is lower, that that we don't have the rising cost of inflation and gas prices that people want to come to Washington State.

That's certainly what I will fight for.

Thank you.

And Ms.. Smiley, recent polls have shown that Americans are worried about crime rates.

How should Congress address crime across the nation when most funding and reforms for law enforcement is decided at a local level?

It's also decided at the federal level as well.

We have a crime crisis in Washington state.

It doesn't matter if you live in Spokane or you you live, you know, in a certain county or you're up in the San Juan Islands.

I've been everywhere.

And crime is on the rise everywhere.

My opponent, Senator Murray, you know, June of 2020, she went on the Senate floor and she called for funds to be diverted from our police force.

And then she disappeared as she went into hiding.

And what I've heard all over Washington state is, in fact, we didn't hear from her until she came out attacking you directly, Tiffany, in June.

Our cities are being destroyed by crime.

Our police are not being supported.

In addition to the crime, we have fentanyl all over our streets.

I went to a homeless encampment to help clean it up and understand what their barriers to help were were.

We're allowing a humanitarian crisis to unfold right before our eyes.

We're allowing people to poison themselves to death, and we do nothing.

Just go along with DC and do nothing.

What I will do in my agenda for for recovery and reform is ensure that our police officers have access to federal grants for $5,000 retention and recruiting bonuses.

I will work closely with prosecutors, especially Seattle city attorney and Davidson, to make sure that we prosecute repeat offenders.

There are things we can do.

We can ensure that Title 42 is never lifted until we have a plan for a secure border.

These are things that play to crime and crimes out of control Patty Murray is to blame.

You can look at her record by going to Patty Hearst in public, say your time is out.

Thank you, Ms.. Murray, your 90 seconds.

We just heard a whole slew of things that I'd love to take time to rebut.

But let me just say, this crime is an issue that everyone needs to address at the local, at the state and at the federal level.

That is exactly why under the American rescue plan that every single Republican voted for and Tiffany Smiley said she opposed.

We put resources in there for our police officers so they could stay on the job and fight.

And our communities are using that those for that funding now and need to continue to in that slew of a response you did not hear anything about gun violence.

This is an issue we need to address after you've already we made some small steps at the federal level, but we need to ban dangerous weapons.

We need to ban assault weapons.

We need to make sure that we have really good background checks and enforce the our ability to make sure that those who are shouldn't are dangerous, do not have guns That is what I fight for because gun violence is a part of this.

And the other part she didn't address is mental health.

I am working right now with some Republican colleagues We hope to pass a bill by the end of this year to help with mental health resources for our front line workers, making sure that they have beds, that they have training, that they have the capability to help people with.

One of the most critical issues we face in this country today, mental health and substance use disorder.

Thank you.

And you brought up gun violence.

I want to ask a question about that, and I'll start with you, Ms.. Murray.

The Senate recently passed bipartisan legislation, as you just mentioned, to address gun violence.

But would you support further steps at the federal level, such as reinstating an assault weapons ban, restricting magazine capacity or limiting ghost guns?

And the answer to that is absolutely yes.

No one should have to worry about walking in their neighborhood or sending their kid to a schoo or going to a movie theater or to the mall about gun violence.

We need to do everything we can to address the issue of gun violence.

One thing I am working on is that we have never done any research on the issue of gun violence and what causes that.

Why?

Because the NRA, who supports my opponent, says we couldn't do any research on that.

Finally, last year, I got money for the CDC to do research on what is causing gun violence.

And when we have that research, we will better know what steps we can take at the federal leve to reduce the issue of gun violence.

I will fight every day to make sure that your kids don't have to worry about somebody coming into their schools, that you can walk through the streets safely, that we as a country stand up to the NRA and fight back and make sure that we put public safety first Thank you.

Miss Smiley?

Yes.

We have a crime issue.

We we need to ensure that we protect our Second Amendment rights for law abiding citizens and that we keep weapons out of the hands of criminals.

Again, crime is out of control, Senator Murray.

You are to blame.

And anyone can go to her record at Patty versus public safety dot com.

30 years in the Senate and this is where we are.

And it's not just guns, Senator Murray.

There's families who are worried about people on the streets swinging bats.

Students at University of Washington with.

They have to wait for someone to stop swinging a machete around before they can come out of their class.

A woman was violently assaulted just walking to lunch.

In downtown Seattle.

And she looked around and she said, What do I do?

And someone said, Don't call the cops because nothing will happen.

So it's clear that we have a lot of work to do.

That is clear.

We need to you know, I'm honestly, I'm proud to be endorsed by Walk Cops and the Fraternal Order of Police.

They know that I have their back.

They know that the bedrock of a society is law and order.

We need that now more than ever for our kids, for our families all over Washington state.

You know, Senator Murray, she has good talking points for Washington, D.C.

I'll go fight for Washington State, for our kids and for your families.

Thank you.

Ms.. Smiley, do you believe that humans are contributing to climate change?

If so, what should be done to address its impacts?

Yes.

You know, I grew up on a farm.

I you know, farmers, there's no better stewards of the land than farmers.

And I believe in protecting our planet, doing everything I can.

In fact, I'm honored to be endorsed by the American Conservation Coalition, along with the Conservative Conservation Climate Solutions C three.

They know that they have a fight in me who will ensure that we a protecting our lands, that we we can plant more trees You know, what I'm worried about is Senator Murray shut down our energy independence and she gave it to enemy countries that hate us Last time I checked, China and Russia, they don't have any environmental standards.

So if we really care about the planet, we will do it right here where we do it best, because we are ruining our planet by allowing these enemy countries who have no standards to emit emissions in our air.

So I will fight to work with our local governments when you talk about forest management.

Senator Murray Those fires were started by manmade fires, and I certainly would have led the charge of working with local officials to get in front of that and to stop them.

But I know getting the input also from local governments all over Washington state is the key to to better climate solutions is best handled at the local level with the unique situations that come up.

And I look forward to ensuring that we have forest management so we stop these out-of-control large forests that are burning continuously every single year.

Thank you, Miss Murray.

We just heard a whole slew of Republican talking points, but we certainly didn't hear any issue, any way that my opponent is talking about how we reduce the impacts of climate change.

This is having an impact all across our country here in Washington state.

We are seeing the impacts of drought and extreme heat that keeps the fires that start the wildfires, which are from being able to easily be put out and to last longer.

And we all see the health effects of that smoke in the air that we have been breathing for far too long.

It's causing asthma.

It's causing health.

In fact, it affects so many people.

But we also have an economic impact here.

We are losing some of our critical industries, like our shellfish industry, because of the impacts of climate change.

I was proud that Democrats took this on two months ago in the United States Congress, and we passed the biggest investment in climate action in the history of this country.

Not one Republican voted to help us do that.

We voted for climate change investments because it is the right thing to do to move to a new clean energy economy, where we begin to develop that new energy technique and begin to sell it globally instead of having to buy oil and gas from other countries.

This is how we become energy independent.

This is how we lower energy costs.

We are making major investments and it will move our country forward.

Thank you.

And I do I want to follow up with both of you.

And you'll each get 30 seconds, because I'm not sure that either of you answered the first question, which is, do you believe humans are contributing to climate change?

Ms.. Smiley you'll have 30 seconds.

We need to protect our environment and our climate We all live on this planet.

So I think, you know, to be clear, we need to have an approach.

And my agenda for economic recovery reform calls for immediately unleashing our natural gas and our oil pipelines so we can lower the cost for you.

Now, immediately, while we work for a long term perspective of all of the above approach and expand our green energy and our clean energy, Washingtonians should not have to suffer for some DC pie in the sky idea of climate.

Thank you.

Ms.. Marie Hill.

I think you just heard a plan to increase emissions.

Our plan to stop the effects of climate change is to lower emissions.

And that's what our bill did.

And yes, humans have an impact on this.

When we use products that create emissions, when companie do, it creates climate change and we need to address that.

What you heard from my opponent is let local cities deal with this.

That's what corporate America wants.

I think corporate America is what contributed to climate change in the beginning Thank you.

And we have an audience submitted.

QUESTION And we'll start with you, Ms.. Murray.

The pandemic impacted our educational system in many ways What will you do to address the opportunity gap?

That is a really critical question.

When the pandemic hit, I, as a former school board member and as a grandparent, was so concerned about all of our schools being shut down.

And what I did from the first was to make sure we had the funds to get to our schools to make sure that they could reopen safely.

My opponent keeps talking about this like it was a national decision.

It was up to our local school boards based on public health reasons at the federal level.

What we did was to make sure that our schools had the resources to open.

Now, in terms of learning loss, that has been a concern I've had from the beginning.

I actually wrote the provisions into the American Rescue Plan that Tiffany proposes to make sure that we are dealing with learning loss.

I talk to teachers and communities all over our state and I know the impacts of kids who have not been at school.

We got them back in school.

They're all there, but we're still dealing with learning loss.

I put money into the American Rescue Plan for afterschool programs and tutoring.

We need to do more.

We are not there yet.

And the number one priority for me when we are doing our appropriations bills in the next month and a half.

Thank you.

Miss Miley.

Yes, Senator Murray.

I think the great problem that's going on here is to pass policy based on good intentions.

We need to be passing policy that delivers results and our children are set back.

Terribly.

They're test scores are plummeting.

Childhood anxiety, self-harm is on the rise.

You talk to any parent, you know, on the CNN interview, you doubled down.

You said you have no regrets how we handled the pandemic.

This you were a champion of mandates and shutdowns and our children suffered because of that.

With no plan to catch them up.

You know, this isn't a money problem.

This is a solution problem.

This is a leadership problem for our country.

I have an agenda for our children in this state.

I want to ensure that the money follows the child, that your zip code doesn't determine your destiny in Washington State, that parents have a choice in where they send their children for education.

That we give.

We pay teachers more.

The average bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., makes $180,000.

They don't set foot in your children's classroom where they're teaching them reading math.

We need competitive quality education.

We need to ensure that our children are exposed to trades at a much younger age.

College education isn't the only pathway to the American dream in this country.

We need plumbers.

We need truck drivers.

There are multiple ways to achieve the American dream, and we need to make sure that we reduce the stigma that college is for everyone.

And we can do that right here in Washington State.

We are falling behind.

I'm here to fight for Washington state.

Senator Murray only stands up from Washington, D.C..

Thank you.

You'll have 30 seconds.

And how much can I correct in 30 seconds?

So, first of all, it doesn't surprise me.

You just heard the talking points you did, because I know that Betsy DeVos and her family is supporting my opponent.

But I will tell you this.

Our public education system is the backbone of our democracy.

I fight every day to make sure we have the funds, to make sure that every child has an opportunity to get a good education.

We cannot funnel that money to private, for, profit, unaccountable public schools.

I support the charter school law here in Washington State, but I do not support federal funds going to private, for profit schools that are unaccountable.

Thank you, Ms.. Smiley.

You won't get a counter rebuttal, but you can use one of yours if you choose.

Okay, so you use both of yours and you still have one left with Smiley.

So, Ms.. Smiley, we'll start with you for the next question.

Earlier this year, the House passed a bill to guarantee a right to same sex and interracial marriage.

The bill will come up for a vote soon in the Senate.

Would you vote to codify a right to same sex and interracial marriage at a federal level?

Why or why not?

Yes, I want to be clear that this law is settled law and merely a distraction from my opponent, Senator Murray, to distract from their failures on the economy and the rising gas prices and crime.

I have been very clear I would support that bill as long as there's strong religious protections within it.

Absolutely.

But let's be clear.

I'm here to fight for life, liberty, pursuit of happiness for all.

We need to ensure that we rein in the out-of-control spending that is ravishing our state.

Thanks to Senator Murray.

Democrat economists warned it would cause the greatest inflation that we've seen in a generation that it has.

Again, it's not a money problem.

It's a solutions problem.

So I will fight for everyone's quality of life, ensure that we have got to lower the gas prices in this state and in this country.

There is a plan and a path to do that.

We need people to get back to work.

We need to ensure that we have the best economy right here in Washington State.

We're falling behind on every level.

That's certainly why our family is in this fight because we want all children in Washington state to have a shot at the American dream.

So, yes, I would support that bill as long as there were strong religious protections in it.

Thank you.

Ms.. Murray.

I feel like I'm listening to Mitch McConnell on the Senate floor.

So let me take your breath away.

The question was whether we would support codifying same sex law, same sex marriages into law.

And I absolutely do.

And the statement.

But what I will tell you this is that the reason we need to do that is because the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade using the privacy exemption.

And that puts in danger, as Clarence Thomas himself told us, the right for people in this country to have same sex marriages.

So, yes, we do need to codify it into law.

Thank you, Ms.. Murray.

In 2018, the Senate passed the Mission Act, which, among other things, made it easier for veterans to get care outside of the VA system.

Critics say that it is heading down a path toward privatizing the VA. You voted for the bill at the time, along with most of your colleagues.

Was that the right decision?

And what should the VA look like in ten years to better serve the next generation of veterans This is such an important question.

I fight every day for our veterans.

I told you my dad was a World War Two veteran.

My mom had to take care of him when we were growing up.

He got arms and he lost his job.

So I know what our veterans families go through.

When I came to the United States Senate.

There had never been a woman on the veterans committee before.

I signed up for that committee to fight for the men and women we serve.

And I am proud of my record making sure that we are doing everything we can to defend fund our veterans services.

Making sure I passed that a Higher Heroes Act to make sure that when our veterans come home, they have access to good jobs and the training that they need I have passed the care legislation to make sure we're taking care of our caregivers.

I have passed legislation to make sure the PACT Act, which we just passed over Mitch McConnell's objections to make sure that veterans who are exposed to toxics get the care that they come home.

I just talked to a gentleman here today whose son will now be covered.

And yes, I do think we have to look at how we fund privatization of our veterans services because our veterans deserve the care that we promised them when they went to fight for us.

Privatizing it has is causing us a lot of problems, overcharging long lines, the inability to get the kind of care that they know they can get at a VA. And so I want to make sure that we fund it as we promised our veterans when they went to fight for us.

They will get the care they deserve when they come here.

Thank you.

Ms.. Smiley, I just wonder what insurance you have, Senator Murray.

Because our families certainly went through the process of the VA that you've been in charge of for the last 30 years.

Oversight.

And it was a system that wasn't ready for our veterans.

That's certainly why I am in this fight.

It's a bureaucratic government system that throws red tape in front of our heroes who who deserve that care that they earned.

The Pact Act is great, and I absolutely would have voted for it 100%.

But why did it take 30 years?

Our veterans deserve the best that this country has in front of us.

And I certainly will.

We'll put veterans at the top of my list in 2013.

You voted for cutting pensions for working age veterans.

That's not okay.

So veterans need a leader and a fighter who will go cut through the red tape, who will cut through the government bureaucracy, who will make the government work for them and ensure that at the end user that the customer are our American soldier, our veterans gets everything that they earned.

Our family, I had to take on big government and I won.

That's what I will do for all of you if you send me to Washington, D.C., I would be honored to earn your vote.

You know, Senator Murray, you're not the mom in tennis shoes anymore.

It's been 30 years.

You've become a career politician.

You've voted for inflation.

Your time is up and it is time that doesn't work.

Thank you.

Miss Smiley, I want to ask a health care question.

Are you satisfied with what was in the Affordable Care Act?

And if not, what would you want to see changed?

Yes, I was working as a nurse when the Affordable Care Act came through.

And as a nurse, it was hard because it was very clear that we wouldn't be getting any raises.

Our bonuses were cut and they asked us to see more patients in less time.

And I don't think that's good health care that doesn't lead to good outcomes for for our people.

And so I look forward.

We need transparency, we need accountability, we need to lower costs.

But at the same time, it's I think it's important to to know that within the health care scope, we need to support our private practice doctors as well.

We're losing more and more rural doctors out in the rural communities.

They're having to go drive miles, sometimes days to get to get the health care that they need.

And so that's something certainly that I will fight for and ensure that that, you know, women families in Washington state have affordable access to health care, that there is transparency and consistency within our health care system.

Thank you.

Ms.. Murray, what you just heard was my opponent tell you that she would be willing to repeal the ACA.

Mitch McConnell has.

Mitch McConnell 70 times has come to the floor of the United States Senate to repeal the ACA.

And remember what the ACA did.

Insurance prices were skyrocketing.

So we passed the Affordable Care Act to make sure that when you bought insurance, you were covered for what you needed to be covered.

You couldn't be kicked off because you had a preexisting condition.

That has saved so many American lives that you would get contraceptive care free.

That's so important for women that you could keep your kids on your insurance up to the age of 26.

That has made a huge difference for so many families as they transfer out of K-12 and into a world where they don't have the resources to buy insurance costs that they were at and to make sure that we are subsidizing health care so we lower the price of health insurance for everyone.

In the bill that we just passed.

We made sure that we extended those ACA subsidies.

And that means right now we're all not going to see huge increases in insurance costs.

That's what the Smiley just said she would not support.

You, Miss Smiley, would you like to use you?

Have one more rebuttal right now.

Okay.

Miss Murray, we will start with you for this question.

And this is another audience submitted question.

Congress continues to use deficit spending and budgeting, while some programs like Medicare and Social Security are heading toward insolvency.

What should be done about that?

Well, first of all, the most important thing you should know is in the Inflation Reduction Act, which Tiffany's said she would not support.

We just helped Medicare in a great way.

We passed legislation that I've been fighting for for so long for you to make sure that Medicare negotiates prescriptio drug prices with the force of the federal government to lower costs and prescription drugs for all families.

Now, that is an important step, and we made sure that those on Medicare would cap the price of insulin at $35 a month.

I tried to make that for all Americans, but the Republicans would not give us one vote for that.

And we kept out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 a month.

That will ensure that Medicare works for for our families as they deserve.

And on the issue of Social Security and Medicare those are extremely important programs in our country.

I will work to strengthen them.

I have and I will continue to make sure that when you work in this country and retire, you have the support you need.

In fact, right now I'm working on legislation to strengthen Social Security.

The laws were really written decades ago when women were not in the workforce.

So we need to revise them to make sure they work for for women today as well.

That's what I'm working on for all of you, because I've come home and heard from you that these are programs that mean have really meaningful impact on families.

And I am there to protect you.

Thank you.

Ms.. Bailey?

Yes?

I want to be clear.

I will not touch anyone's benefits who are receiving Social Security or about to receive Social Security.

Career politicians use this as a wedge.

And you know when it's time to vote a wedge issue to scare seniors.

And I think that's wrong.

Absolutely wrong.

In 2003, there was a bipartisan action in the Senate where Republicans and Democrats came together to ensure that seniors on Medicare had access to prescription drugs and Senator Murray blocked it.

So she had it her way.

You wouldn't have access to prescription drugs.

So I believe we need to sit down at the table and and work across the aisle and get this solved.

So it's not an issue that comes around every election season to scare our seniors.

We owe it to you to to uphold it, to fix it, to get it right.

And that's certainly what I will be committed to in the Senate.

Thank you.

And unfortunately, we have now come to our final question.

And based on time, it looks like we'll only have about 30 seconds to answer it.

We don't have a closing statement, but hopefully it's broad enough that you can bring up anything else you wish to say.

The country is currently in a time of division, and both of you have said that there is a lot at stake this election.

If elected, explain how you would work with the other party and those who did not vote for you.

Smiley, we'll start with you.

Yes, I am happy to work.

I mean, look at my track record of building coalitions and taking on big government.

You know, Senator Murray has put millions of dollars behind me to smear me.

And she shows you the picture of being Donald Trump, but she doesn't show you the picture of me and her because that's who I am.

I will work with anyone to deliver results.

Senator Murray wants to scare you.

I'm here to serve you.

I'm here to ensure that.

That we rebuild our reputation in Washington state, that people want to come here because it's the best place to get an education and work.

I'd be honored to earn your vote.

Thank you, Miss Murray, in 30 seconds.

I am proud to work with anyone in the Senate who works for Washington State families with me.

That's why I work to do the budget agreement with Paul Ryan when government was shut down and no one else could get us an agreement to move forward.

I passed a bill with Lamar Alexander, my Republican counterpart, to change No Child Left Behind so our kids could learn at school in a way that wasn't testing them every day.

And right now, I am working with my Republican counterparts to pass a Prevent Pandemics Act to assure that we never go through what we went through again.

That's why I ask for your vote and your support.

Thank you.

Thank you both again to our candidates and for everyone in the audience and for those watching at home.

I and another thank you to our sponsors, the League of Women Voters, Gonzaga, the Washington State Debate Coalition, and the Spokesman-Review.

Don't forget to vote on November 8th and have a good night.

Thank you.