First California Senate Debate Transcript

California Environmental Voters Education Fund. Now here are your moderators, Fox 11 anchor and host of California statewide political show, ‘The Issue Is’, Elex Michaelson and Politico’s senior political reporter, Melanie Mason. Now this is the Showdown for U.S. Senate.

[inaudible 00:00:19]. The crowd here is fired up, the candidates are in place. We’re now part of the showdown for the US Senate. Thanks for being here everybody. I’m Elex Michaelson from Fox 11 Los Angeles.

And I’m Melanie Mason with Politico. This will likely be the most competitive race for US senate that California has seen in decades.

Because of that, we’re on live in a lot of places right now. We’re on TV on Fox 11 Los Angeles and stations that carry our weekly political show ‘The Issue Is’. We’re on the radio on KFI, AM640 and other iHeartRadio stations across the state.

And we’re streaming live on politico.com and foxla.com and social media sites. Speaking of social media, we encourage you to use the #SenateShowdown in your post tonight.

Just say nice things about us. So how will this work? For the next 90 minutes, we will be together commercial free. Melanie and I will take turns asking questions of all the candidates with some help from our friends at KFI and USC. The candidates will have a maximum of one minute to answer the questions, but feel free to go shorter. There are 30 second rebuttals possible at our discretion if a candidate’s name is invoked.

We determined who qualified for the stage based on our recent Politico morning consult poll.

And we’ve asked the audience to refrain from applause throughout the debate, except for this moment, are you ready to meet the candidates?The Democratic Congress member from Oakland, Barbara Lee. The Democratic Congress member from Burbank, Adam Schiff. The Democratic Congress member from Irvine, Katie Porter. And retired Dodger and Padre Legend from Palm Desert, Republican, Steve Garvey. Ladies and gentlemen, your candidates, thanks so much. All right, so let’s begin now. We picked who would go first by picking names out of a hat, Congresswoman Porter, you either won or lost depending on your perspective. But let’s start with you. You’re here with three Democrats who in the house you vote together about 90% of the time. So I think a lot of voters are trying to figure out what’s the difference between you. So if California voters get you in the Senate, what’s the big difference that they get compared to your two opponents here?

Well, good evening, California. I’m really excited to be having a spirited debate with you about our state’s future. Before I was elected to Congress five years ago, I was a consumer protection advocate. I took on greedy corporations and Washington officials asleep at the wheel. And what I saw then is what we all know now, which is that Washington is broken. Lobbyists and big corporations spend billions to make sure that their agenda is at the top of Washington D.C.’s agenda. Special interests have too much power and we as Californians, we don’t have enough. Let’s shake up the Senate. Let’s change how Washington works. I’m calling for an end to earmarks, outlawing corporate PAC donations and lobbyist donations, and a ban on Congress members trading stock. We need a leader who puts our interest first to build housing, to fight climate change, to lower costs, not someone who caters to special interests.

All right, Congress member Lee, now to you. Remember the question is what’s the difference between the three of you?

Thank you very much. Good evening. I want to thank our host for this debate tonight and thank all of you for being here. Let me just take a moment also to acknowledge and thank my good friend Congresswoman Waters, who is here tonight from Los Angeles, who has done so much to help push the progressive agenda forward. I want to just say a couple of things about myself and who I am. I have been a consistent progressive who gets the job done, who has delivered for my constituents and will deliver for California. I believe in earmarks. I believe in not being derelict in my duty. California is one of the states that sends money to Washington D.C. We don’t get our money back here at all. And so I believe in targeting and sending money to nonprofits and to organizations that deserve their federal dollars. For homeless shelters, for LGBTQ plus health clinics, for education, for housing, for climate initiatives, everything that our community needs. And so I’m not going to stand here and say I don’t believe in earmarks. I do. I believe that I need to direct federal tax dollars to California.

Got it. We will do more on earmarks a little bit later. Congressman Schiff to you. The biggest difference between you guys up on stage?

Elex, California needs a senator who can lead in the big fights but also has a record of getting things done. As you point out, we have a lot of similarities in our voting record, but when our country was threatened by a would be dictator in the Oval Office, one of us stepped up to the middle of that fight. I took on the president, I investigated him, I led his impeachment when he incited an insurrection against our country. I served on the January 6th committee to hold him accountable. We need a senator in California who’s ready to lead in the big fights, but we also need a senator who can get things done. I have a record of getting things done. I prosecuted oil companies as a prosecutor. I took on the health insurance industry to pass a California Patient Bill of Rights. In Congress I brought back millions to California to build affordable housing. We need a senator who can get things done and I have a record of delivering.

All right, Congressman, thank you so much. Mr. Garvey question a little bit different to you because you’re not a democratic member of Congress. We’re getting to know your political beliefs. You talk a lot about being a member of team sports in the past. Of course, the Senate is sort of set up like a team sport. There’s the Republican caucus and the Democratic caucus. You want to join the Republican caucus. I’m wondering if there’s anything that the Republican caucus who usually votes together has done recently that you disagree with, and if so, be specific.

Well, let me establish myself first. I think many of you know me. Over 50 years ago, I came to California, the Dodgers brought me up for the day my dreams came true. I put on a uniform. It was also the first day that I came to California. And as I took that cab in from LAX, I saw a vibrant state. A state that was different than my home state of Florida. And that was the beginning of a career in the beginning of being your neighbor, being a Californian, taking a lot of pride, going around the world and representing this great state. But early on I thought this was the heartbeat of America. California with its vibrancy led this country and then all of a sudden one party started to take over. It was only one voice in California and this vibrant state became a murmur. As a conservative moderate, I thought it was time to stand up, time to stand up against career politicians, time to step up against those who have created policies that are-

We’re out of time.

Putting this state into quicksand.

But just real quick, the question was, is there anything that you disagree with your party on in the Senate? Is there?

Just about everything.

Just about everything?

No, I am common sense. I’m compassionate. I’m consensus building, and I think we need to get back to that in California, we can’t only talk about it in Washington, we have to start doing something about it. And I think my leadership based on years of building teams and championships, businesses will make that difference.

Okay, Melanie, the next question is to you.

Thank you, Elex. President Biden says that his economic record is one of the reasons that he should be reelected. On a scale of one to 10, how would you rate the economy for the average Californian right now? This question’s for all of you. We will start with Congressman Schiff.

Too many people are struggling. The problem today is not that people aren’t working. The problem today is that people are working and they still can’t make enough to get by. Housing is too unaffordable, childcare is too unaffordable. People can’t afford to put food on the table or the price at the pump. President Biden has done a lot to address this, but there’s a lot more that we need to do. We need to build hundreds of thousands of units of affordable housing, and I have a plan to do exactly that by dramatically expanding the low-income tax credit. We need to go after prices at the pump with a windfall profits tax on oil companies. We need to bring down food prices by enforcing any trust laws against these grocery store mergers. There’s so much that we can do to continue the work of bringing prices down to make life affordable, but I think the president has done incredible work, but there’s so much more that we need to do to deliver for California.

So just to follow up on that, with the things that are still yet to be done, can you put a number to how you would rank the economy right now? Between one to 10?

I would say probably a seven. Still people are struggling and a lot of it frankly has to do with marginalizing labor, making it difficult to organize, making it difficult to get a contract, making it difficult to enforce a contract, which is why I’m going to go to the Senate to fight, to restore collective bargaining so that we can raise wages and incomes.

Great, thank you. Thank you. Mr. Garvey. So we hear seven from Congressman Schiff. What would your number be?

Oh, I would say it would be five at the most.

And how would we get it to 10? If it’s a five right now?

We get to 10. But first of all, I’ve been on a tour of California. When you talk about the economy, I’ve gone around this state, I’ve talked to people, I’ve talked to them face-to-face. I’ve asked them what their life is all about 10, 15, 20 minutes. They poured their heart outs. And they look at me and they say, “Steve, first of all, thanks for running, but you’re talking to us. The career politicians that we elected talk down to us. They tell us our life is fine. They tell us the economy is fine. They tell us, ‘You should pay more taxes because you live in California.'” You just have to go to the gas pump in the morning and see hardworking Californians buying $10 worth of gas instead of 10 gallons worth of gas. When they get up in the morning, mom thinking, “Am I going to make it through this week and be on the positive side?” 88% of Californians feel that they’re losing money or breaking even.

Thank you, Mr. Garvey. Congresswoman Lee. Mr. Garvey says it’s a five. How would you rate the economy?

Well, thank you for that question. Let’s be honest here in California we have 40 million people, 20 million one paycheck away from poverty. I know that. I was on public assistance, food stamps, Medi-Cal, raising two little boys as a single mom. So many people in California are struggling. We have to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, first of all. Secondly, the president has done a great job with Democrats incidentally, pushing for and passing the Infrastructure Act, the Inflation Reduction Act. We’ve created millions of jobs, but those jobs still need a heck of a lot more involved in making sure those resources get to our communities. And so the cost of childcare, not affordable. When you look at the fact that in the Bay Area, for example, $117.000 is just barely getting by for a family of four, that’s $117,000. Who can make that off of a minimum wage here in California? So we’ve got to reduce the cost of living.

Thank you, Congressman. So a number from one to 10?

Six.

Okay. And finally, to you, Congresswoman Porter, how would you rank the economy between one to 10?

Well, I would say it’s a five, but that’s because we have an average. We have people who are experiencing a 10. CEOs of gigantic corporations, people who have generations of inherited wealth, and we have millions of Californians, including our farm workers and others, essential workers, for whom every paycheck is a struggle. So I only get to a five by average. And I think that’s really important because we have to address income inequality and wealth inequality in this country. And to do that, we have to elect our next senator who will be someone who will stand up to corporate power. And that is exactly what I’ve done. I am the only elected official on this stage who has never taken corporate PAC money. Ever. Not a dime, not ever. And that’s why I’m willing to hold Wall Street to account for its failure to build the housing that we need and we can afford. To hold big pharma to account for overcharging us for prescription medicines, to hold big insurance to account for denying our claims.

Thank you.

All right, we now want to move on to the Middle East, which is one of the areas of most disagreement among you. Of course, on October 7th, Hamas killed more than 1400 Israelis and took more than 200 hostages. Israel’s military response has left an estimated 25,000 Palestinians dead. According to the Gaza Health Ministry. Congress member Lee, on October 8th. Less than 24 hours after that attack, you called for an immediate ceasefire. If that happens now, if there is an immediate ceasefire, what’s to stop Hamas from retaking control and launching another October 7th?

Thank you very much for that question. Yes, I called for a ceasefire, a permanent ceasefire. Israel deserves to live in peace with security free from Hamas and all terrorist attacks. And I’m going to continue to condemn the horrific attacks of October 7th and work to make sure that whatever I can do to ensure that the administration as it continues this war in Gaza that has killed now at 25,000 people, that is counterproductive to Israel security. The only way Israel is going to be secure is through a permanent ceasefire. The only way that is going to happen is with a political and diplomatic solution, the path to peace and to a secure Israel and a secure state for the Palestinians with yet I do believe we have to see the end game and it should be a two-state solution. Killing 25,000 civilians, it’s catastrophic and it will never lead to peace for the Israelis nor the Palestinians.

Congressman Schiff, you have not called for a ceasefire. Why do you think that Congresswoman Lee is wrong?

Well, first of all, I go back to October 7th to the brutal murder of 1200 people. And not just murder, but rape and torture. The magnitude of that horror is still shocking to me. No country after having been attacked by terrorists like Israel was on October 7th, no country could refuse to defend itself. It has a duty to defend itself, and I think the United States should support Israel in defending itself. We also should work with Israel to reduce the number of civilian casualties. And my heart breaks for all the Palestinians who have lost lives, all the families that have lost lives. It’s not, in my view, incompatible with human nature to grieve the loss of both innocent Palestinians as well as innocent Israelis. I supported two state solution. We have to get back to a road to state solution, but Israel has to defend itself. We can’t leave Hamas governing Gaza. They’re still holding over a hundred hostages, including Americans. I don’t know how you can ask any nation to cease fire when their people are being held by a terrorist organization.

And a rebuttal to Congresswoman Lee, how do you?

Well, let me just say, first of all, I voted against the authorization to use military force right after the horrific attacks of 9/11. I voted against the Iraq authorization. I said then, and I’m saying now, it could spiral out of control. You see what’s happening? It’s escalating in the region. We have to make sure that our national security is also protected. And in fact, as this war escalates, as the Arab nations pull back, then what do we have? We do not have a path to Israel’s security, nor do we have a path to a Palestinian state. It will spiral out of control, like I said, it did and would after 2001 and it did.

Congress member Porter, some critics have said you’ve tried to have it both ways on this. You just heard two different worldviews laid out on this. Where are you and which one do you agree with?

Well, I joined millions of Americans around the country in mourning what has happened, the loss of Israeli lives and the loss of Palestinian lives. And we need as the United States to be pushing for the conditions that can get us to a bilateral durable peace. This is a very difficult situation and the conditions on the ground in Gaza have changed as the conflict has evolved. And so I have called for a permanent ceasefire, and I’ve pushed and identified with specificity what needs to happen to bring Gaza and to bring the people of Gaza to a better future and to make sure that Israel can stay secure. So I have called for a release for all the hostages, resources to rebuild Gaza, making sure Israel is secure, and a free state for Palestinians where they can thrive.

So just to be clear, she’s calling for a ceasefire right now. You are saying we need to do all this other stuff first. Right?

The parties to this conflict are Israel and Hamas. Ceasefire is not a magic word. You can’t say it and make it so, but we have to push as the United States, as a world leader, for us to get to a ceasefire and to avoid another forever war.

Elex.

Yeah?

If you don’t have a permanent ceasefire, now more people are going to get killed and there’ll be less security that is even possible for the Israelis and for Israel in the future if we don’t do this right now.

Mr. Garvey, to you, you say that we need to stand with Israel, but there also have been thousands of innocent Palestinians who have died in all of this. Does that trouble you, and is there a threshold where we could see death of innocent Palestinians that means the US should pull back from its support of Israel militarily, financially?

I stay with Israel. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow for whatever their needs are. One of our greatest allies and our greatest ally in the east. That day was atrocious. Terrorists, while Israelis slept, performed atrocities. With common sense and compassion, we realize that we have to give Israel the opportunity to fulfill their sovereignty, to fight back. I think it’s naive to think that we can ask our government to tell them or try to influence them to cease fire. If 9/11 became 9/12 and one of our allies came to us and said, “We want you to cease fire.” What will we have done? We would’ve looked at them. “Thank you for being our ally, but we must control our destiny and our sovereignty.” Compassion, yes. Has Israel had short ceased fires? That makes a statement for how they feel about the compassion to Palestine.

All right. Thank you very much.

Our government’s policy is to support a two-state solution. And Benjamin Netanyahu has totally said no, that is not possible.

And Elex, I think Californians need to know-

Okay, last point.

Whether Mr. Garvey supports a two-state solution. What is his vision for the future of the people of Gaza?

Do you?

I feel it’s also naive to think that a two-state solution can happen even in our generation. The difficulty, even the minds that have been involved with this situation over the years, going back 75 years, know that a piece was broken and it was broken on the seventh. And it won’t be until the next generation when we’ll be able to talk about that again.

Well, those that don’t believe in a two-state solution, don’t believe in peace and security for Israel nor for Palestine.

Okay. We obviously have some different views on that, but we want to get to some other topics as well. And one that I think infects so many Californians is the issue of housing affordability. This is our first student question. It is from Sophia Perez who is a senior here at USC. Sophia. And we’ll start with Mr. Schiff and everybody’s going to be answering the same question.

Good evening. Our state is currently facing an unprecedented housing shortage. Students like myself are finding it harder and harder to find housing after graduation, and some are simply moving out of the state altogether. How will you ensure that the next generation can actually afford to live in California?

Congressman Schiff?

Alex, when I was a kid, my father was a traveling salesman on the clothing business. He made $18,000 a year. And on the strength of that single income, my parents bought our first home for $18,000. That’s impossible today. I want this student, I want all students, I want all families to have access to affordable housing. And we can do this, but we’re going to have to build hundreds of thousands of units of affordable housing

In California alone, we need to vastly increase the low-income tax credit to incentivize the development of affordable housing, we need a much more substantial direct federal investment in housing. We have to help renters with Section 8 vouchers for all who need them. We need a renters tax credit to help renters stay housed and to help them afford to pay the rent. And we need to make sure that our students aren’t living under crushing student debt, which has to compete with their ability to pay their rent. We can do this, but we also have to make sure that you can build housing and build it quickly in California. We’re never going to solve this problem if it takes four years to build affordable housing. I brought back millions for affordable housing in California, and in the US Senate, I will bring back billions to California to build housing.

Thank you, Mr. Schiff. Mr. Garvey, this question to you, how does Sophia afford to live in California?

Well, the greatest sympathy a parent can have is that, when their children become of age, start to gain on building their family, can they afford housing? And I talk to young couples now, 25, 30, 35, 40, that can’t afford it. It gets back to the economy. Let’s get back to the foundations. It’s free market economy, capitalization in which we start to encourage this by let’s stop that inflation, rising inflation. Let’s get to the point where we cut this excessive spending in Washington. Let’s get to the point where we start to open up the pipes of gas and oil and start to cut our energy costs. This will stimulate the economy. Wall Street and Main Street are completely different. California has lost 800 to a million people, good paying middle class people, because they can’t start new businesses, small businesses. Well, let’s get back to a vibrant economy, gets people competing again, especially the building industry.

Thank you, Mr. Garvey. Congressmember Porter, your response to Sophia?

I launched my career in public service helping Californians who were cheated by predatory lenders and then, were being cheated in foreclosure by big banks. From day one of this campaign, housing affordability has been my top issue. The problem is Washington. We have housing policy that is being written by career politicians, who cater to their big bank donors. What we need is housing policy that works for us, housing policy that is centered on our needs. We need more housing for our seniors, for people with disabilities, and for young people. And we are not going to get there if we let Wall Street write our housing policy. They’ve been doing exactly that. And the only stories my colleagues have on this stage for housing are ones from decades and decades ago. That is not the reality for the people of California. We cannot have a growing economy if we do not attract and retain people to this state, and we can’t do that without millions of new units of workforce and affordable housing.

Congressmember Lee, how do we increase housing affordability?

Let me just say, I know what it means to not have a place to live. I was unhoused during a very difficult period in my life, and yes, I believe that housing is a basic human right. And I have co-sponsored, original co-sponsor, legislation calling for housing as a basic human right. I don’t know if my opponents have, I don’t believe they have, but that’s the framework in which I view housing. And as far as students go, yes, I was a student also, and it’s a shame and disgrace students are living in their cars. First, we have to make college tuition free. That’s one thing we need to do here in California.

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Secondly, with regard to our young people, we have to make sure that, in our housing policy, we address the range of housing, and I’m very proud to support Congresswoman Maxine Waters’ bill to End Homeless Act, which in the Senate, I’m going to champion and make sure we pass. Also the Housing Crisis Respond Act, I want to champion that and intend to, in the Senate, as well as the Downpayment Toward Equity Act. And I’m going to tell you, students can’t even dream of owning a home here in California. That’s how you transfer wealth. They can’t even think about that. So yes, we have to make housing available for young people to purchase.

Thank you very much. Okay, we’re going to now move on to another issue that so many people care about: healthcare.

Thanks, Elex. This first question is to Congressman Porter. You support Medicare for All, which would eliminate private insurance and replace it with a government-run healthcare system. How do you pass it? And how do you pay for it?

Medicare for All delivers the highest quality care at the lowest price point with the most patient choice. That’s what we should want in a healthcare system, choices, quality outcomes, at a price point that we can afford. So I’ve been proud to champion Medicare for All. Look, big insurance companies spend about $17 out of every 100 that we give them for insurance on administration, on claims processors, on denying us care. Medicare, it spends just $2. So I think we need to pass a healthcare system that gives us the best quality care, with the most choice, at the lowest price point. And there can be no debate on the facts, that is Medicare for All.

Thank you. Mr. Garvey, we haven’t heard much from you on healthcare. I’m curious, what do you think of Medicare for All?

Let’s get back to competition among companies. I think this state and this country is never stronger than when we have competition, and I think, when we see Medicare for All, we’re trying to figure out if Medicare for those that deserve it, we can be able to afford that in the near future. So Medicare for All will be a strain on our economy. I don’t believe in government getting involved. I think it goes back to competitive ballots.

So to that point, Mr. Garvey, do you believe that Obamacare should be repealed? And if so, what would you replace it with?

As I talk to people, it’s interesting, there was this big wave of people saying that, “Oh, we have to get rid of Obamacare.” I think it works for some people. If you were to ask people in this audience right now that have Obamacare, they say it works for them. As with anything, I believe we have to continue to look at it and refine it. I think nothing’s perfect, but I think, if we continue to look at it, and the people will tell us whether we’ve gotten to the right place.

Thank you. Congressman Schiff, we’ve just heard two vastly different perspectives on what to do with the healthcare system. Where do you land?

First of all, I fought to pass the Affordable Care plan, and it has extended coverage to tens of millions of people. I fought for a public option, and I’m fighting for Medicare for All, but I favor Medicare for All where all can choose to participate in Medicare. If you are in a union and negotiated a good policy or you like your doctor, I think you should be able to keep your policy and keep your doctor. But I think everyone should have the right to participate in Medicare. It’s a great system. My father is 96. He relies upon it. My wife and I had the experience of all too many people, of rushing our daughter to the hospital for an emergency. We were lucky. We had access to good quality care. She was fine. It kills me that there are so many thousands and thousands of Californians that can’t say the same, that don’t have access to good healthcare for their kids and their families. I think a Medicare for All plan would work. I think it would be very cost effective and efficient, and I think that’s the direction we need to go in.

Congresswoman Lee, do you think this sort of opt-in Medicare for All, is that the spirit of Medicare for All as you’ve endorsed it?

Let me say first I believe that healthcare should be a human right. It should not be driven by the profit motive. It should not be competitive. It should not be an industry. I think what you do in the past in your experience is a predictor of what I will do in the Senate. When I was in the California legislature, I led on the very first bill to look at how we would establish a single payer, which would afford affordable, accessible healthcare for everyone in California. I was one of the original co-sponsors of Medicare for All. I didn’t wait 14, 15 years. I started right away working on single payer Medicare for All.

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I not only fought for the Affordable Care Act, I’d helped negotiate the Affordable Care Act. Mind you, it was not going to even have health disparities and health equity provisions for people of color who, as you know, as we all know, die earlier because of health disparities. I was the one who helped negotiate those provisions of the Affordable Care Act. We’ve got to have Medicare for All, so that medical decisions are made by the individual and their physician, not by the industry or insurance companies.

Thank you.

Melanie, may I respond?

Sure.

These career politicians are talking about their fights 30 and 40 years ago for Medicare for All. But where are we? We are not there. Health equities are getting worse. The disparity in things like Black maternal health outcomes are getting worse. Why? Because we allow our health policy to be written by big pharma and big insurance. Mr. Garvey wants to talk about competition, but do you even get to choose any doctor? No, big insurance tells you where you can go and what you can get done. Do you even know what things cost when you walk into your physician’s office for healthcare? So you can’t have competition, and you need to address the fact that we have not gotten there decade after decade.

If you’re talking about 30 or 40 years ago, let me just tell you, you have to be consistent.

I would like the Congressman Schiff response to that. You say that you’re somebody who delivers results. What we heard from Congressman Porter, she’s saying the results have not been delivered, so let’s have 30 seconds greater response.

I wrote California’s Patient Bill of Rights. That has delivered for Californians for years. So while others can talk about taking on corporations or taking on industries, some of us actually have done things, gotten things accomplished. And at the end of the day, what Californians want is not just more political talking points. They want someone who can deliver, someone who can get things done, someone who could work with others in Congress and deliver. Nancy Pelosi and so many of my colleagues are supporting, because they know I can deliver and have. And in the Senate, I want to step into Senator Feinstein’s shoes of delivering for Californians.

Thank you. Thank you, Congressman.

Mr. Garvey, do you want to get in there? Because she was basically saying what you’re saying doesn’t work.

Well, it doesn’t work. And you know, again, I’ve been a competitor all my life. I believe in building teams and I believe in looking at the existential problems facing healthcare. And as Porter said, we need to know the costs. We know the costs. Then we can go out, and then, we can look at our insurers and start to really find out what the bottom line’s going to be. And they’ll start to compete, as good competitors do, who want to win, want to have a better bottom line.

We don’t need to look at the bottom line in healthcare. And when I’m in the Senate, I’m going to start a sister caucus, Medicare for All caucus, because we don’t even have a Medicare for All caucus in the United States Senate.

All right, we’re going to keep moving. This next question, I hope we can keep to 30 seconds each. It’s a pretty straightforward question, because we’re running long already. And asking it is one of our friends, we’re now live on KFI AM 640, Mo’Kelly hosts the Later, with Mo’Kelly show. He’s here now with the question. Again, we hope you’ll do this in 30 seconds, and then, I’ll ask a follow-up about this topic. Mo, I think we’re starting with Mr. Garvey.

Sure. Welcome candidates. Thank you for coming out tonight. Please finish this sentence, and this is for all of you. “If the American people should choose former President Donald Trump to return as commander in chief, then blank.” Mr. Garvey, we would start with you.

Well, I think the single greatest currency we have is the right to vote. And I think we should take this personally, and I think, when we vote for a president and he’s duly elected, I believe we should support that president, support the office, because that’s the leader of the United States, the free world.

Congressman Schiff?

If Donald Trump is elected president, then we are, and it rhymes with crude.

Screwed.

He is the gravest threat to our democracy in our history. He tore down our institutions. He incited a violent attack on our capitol. The best thing that we can do, and I’ve gone toe to toe with him, and if need be, I will go to toe to toe with him again, to defend our democracy. But his election would be the gravest threat in our country’s history, certainly its modern history.

Congresswoman Lee, let me repeat the question. Please finish the sentence, “If the American people choose former President Donald Trump to return as commander in chief, then blank.”

I’m going to say first I believe that our Republican opponent here on this stage has voted for Donald Trump twice, according to public reports. That agenda is an agenda to dismantle our democracy. And so, if anyone on this stage believes that Donald Trump should be president, because of his position to dismantle this democracy, then where are we here as a state and a country? So I will fight to make sure that we protect our freedoms, to protect our democracy, and to protect Donald Trump from ever again running for public office. And right now, I’m taking him to court. I’m the lead plaintiff in the NAACP lawsuit to hold him, the Proud Boys, and the Oath Keepers accountable. He is not above the law.

Thank you, Congresswoman.

Congresswoman Porter, “If the American people choose former President Trump to return his commander in chief, then blank.”

Then we will lose credibility on the world stage. It will set us back decades, in terms of diplomacy and being able to build democracies around the world. It will cause us to lose senior military leaders, who refuse to serve under somebody who was engaged in inciting an insurrection, and it will weaken the diverse recruitment of the military that we need to keep our country safe.

I just want to underscore what Barbara Lee said. Mr. Garvey, you won’t tell the public whether you’re going to support this man again. You voted for him twice. You saw what he did on January 6th. You have to see what a threat he is to the country. I can understand you don’t want to alienate MAGA world by saying you’re against him, but you also won’t stand up to him. What more do you need to see of what he’s done to be able to say that you will not support him, that you will not vote to put him back in office? What more do any of us need to see?

Well, actually, that was going to be my question.

I was channeling you, Elex.

Mr. Garvey, we’ll give you a minute because [inaudible 00:37:16] your topic, yeah.

There’s identity politics. It’s fine. It’s right there, trying to paint me into the corner, trying to call me MAGA.

Yeah.

Ms. Lee tried to paint me in the same corner, also. I’m my own man. I make my own decisions. I voted for him twice, because I thought he was the best person [inaudible 00:37:38].

Mr. Garvey, we’d like to know, as your own man, what is your decision?

Let him answer. It’s his turn.

You’re banging on that trash can, just like the Astros did a few years ago.

This is not a sport.

And I will continue that I think that it’s important to, when two people are the final two people, that you choose the person that you felt was the best person for the job. But if his first opponent, his first opponent talked down to the people of this country, his first opponent thought she was entitled.

You’re talking about Hillary Clinton.

His second opponent stayed in a basement and only came out in controlled environments. By the way, I wouldn’t have voted for President Reagan if he stayed in the basement. So both times, he was the best person for the job. How you feel about him personally is totally different. But economists say that he did. Excuse me.

Yeah.

Economists say that he did an exceptional job for our economy. People will say he created jobs for minorities, more than any in this history. So you can take things personally, but as far as I’m concerned [inaudible 00:38:49].

Let’s this together. Let’s keep it together. Here’s the question. At this point, Donald Trump has been president. Joe Biden has been president. We’ve seen both of them as president. Are you still undecided if the choice is Donald Trump versus Joe Biden? As you suggested to Politico, you may vote for Joe Biden. How are you undecided? And what would make that decision for you?

I didn’t say that.

Okay, so clarify your view then.

When the time comes, I’ll do exactly what I said to you. I will look at the two opponents. I will determine what they did, and at that time, I’ll make my choice. I don’t believe Joe Biden has been good for this country. I heard it said that Trump was terrible for the world, right? Yeah.

He was.

That we were less safe. We were safer more under him than we are under Biden. We’re on three different platforms throughout the world.

So Congressmember, he’s arguing that we were safer under President Trump. What do you make of what he just said? And what’s your response?

Well, California, I think what they say is true, once a Dodger, always a Dodger. He just chewed up two and a half minutes of the time to talk about substantive issues in this debate and refuse to answer the question. Ballots go out in six weeks, Mr. Garvey. This is not the minor leagues. Who will you vote for?

It is important the California voters know who is who and what these candidates stand for. And you cannot waffle on this. You have to say, if you support the MAGA extremist Republican agenda, led by Donald Trump to dismantle our democracy.

That’s going to be your minute. Then we’re going to do Congressman Schiff, your minute, and then, we’re going to keep moving.

I want to address the substance of Mr. Garvey’s comments.

Okay.

That somehow the world would be safer with Donald Trump than it would be with Joe Biden. Can you imagine what would take place if Donald Trump was president when Putin invaded Russia and Ukraine needed our help, the same Donald Trump who stood in Helsinki next to Vladimir Putin and took the Kremlin dictator’s side over his own country, of his own intelligence agencies, who talks about love letters, a loving relationship with the dictator in North Korea? There is no stretch of the imagination, no scenario, no whatever, in which we would be safer. Donald Trump was undermining alliance with NATO. He was saying that he might not even come to NATO’s defense. Our standing in the world plummeted. Other nations felt they needed to start to hedge their bets. “Maybe we need to cozy up to China, because we can’t rely on the United States anymore.” That is Donald Trump’s national security legacy. We don’t want to go back to it.

The United States will not be safer because of Donald Trump. I guess Mr. Garvey has forgotten January 6th. We were sitting on the floor. I had to escape, so did my colleagues. And so, please, the United States will not be any safer, let alone the rest of the world.

Let’s wrap this up. I’m going to give you one last chance to respond of 30 seconds, because they all just attacked you. And there are tens of millions of people that support Donald Trump. Polls show California Republicans, he’s supported by two thirds. There are a lot of people in this country that love Donald Trump and think he was a great president. What’s your view?

I love how I’ve stimulated the baseball terms with everybody today, but let’s face it, at the end of the day, it’s all a personal choice. As my personal choice, I will make it in the sovereignty of wherever that is, and that’s my personal choice.

Candidates don’t have personal choices when it comes to being an elected official.

As you can see, identity politics is exactly what’s got our country to where we are now, exactly where this state is. It’s a one party state, that has only one voice. And that’s why I’m running. I want to be a voice of the people.

[inaudible 00:43:14] We’re going to move on to some issue, get back to the issues that people really care about, the number one issue in California right now, the issue of homelessness. And we want to talk about that and get your views on that. Melanie?

Yes. And we will start with Congresswoman Lee on this. California voters, they say that homelessness is the top issue that they’re concerned about. Aside from promising more money, what would you do as a senator to address this crisis?

First, it’s a shame and disgrace that we have so many unsheltered people living on the streets in California. Secondly, we have to make sure that, and my background is mental health, I started a community mental health center, and so, we have to understand the total human being and what is the necessary strategy

… strategy to put it all together, so people don’t, first of all, become unhoused. And I think, again, going back to Congresswoman Maxine Water’s bills, I intend to champion these bills in the United States Senate, especially the End Homeless Act because it’s so important that we prevent evictions. I think we should have a national eviction policy. I’m going to fight to have that national eviction policy.

(44:24)
Also, we have to have more affordable housing built. We have to make sure, if people are unfortunate enough to end up on the streets, we have to have safe clean housing for them and their children. A lot of the homeless individuals look like me, a black woman with children on the streets, so we have to make sure children have safe housing and we have to make sure the federal government invests in our unsheltered population.

Thank you. Congresswoman Porter, same question to you.

Our homelessness crisis is a direct result of Washington’s failure, decade after decade, to write housing policy and deliver housing policy that is about us, that is about families and is about people. Did you know there’s not even a Housing Committee in the United States Congress? It’s just a subcommittee of banking and that tells you what you need to know about how Washington politicians think about the problems of housing and homelessness. That it is a tool to keep Wall Street printing money.

(45:22)
I support fully funding Section 8 vouchers, I support low cost programs to prevent eviction and, I think, bottom line is we must build more affordable housing because for every person that we help off the streets today in California, we see another person experiencing homelessness. And it’s not just people experiencing street homelessness, it’s students living in cars, it’s families overcrowded in apartments. The solution to homelessness is housing.

Thank you. Mr. Garvey, same question to you.

When was the last time any of you went to the inner city? Actually walked up to the homeless, as I have over these last three weeks? I’ve gone to San Diego and Los Angeles and Sacramento. And, actually, because this is part of… You know I’m not a politician, but I needed to talk to the people and say I needed to talk to the homeless, went up to them and touched them and listened to them. And you know what? They looked at me and they said, you’re the first time anybody’s come up and asked us about our life. The homeless man who spent five years on the street in Sacramento. They don’t get it.

(46:29)
When I go back to the Senate a year from now when I’m your next elected US Senator from California, the first thing I’ll do is an audit. Where have the $30 billion the federal government has spent? Just look at the Alpha Project in San Diego and the Dream Center right close to here. These are examples of what can be done when you spend your money wisely. And, by the way, these are career politicians that talk about Washington being dysfunctional.

Thank you, Mr. Garvey.

You’re Washington.

I know I’m the youngest person on this stage, but my career didn’t just last five years. I was elected to Congress five years ago. I am not a career politician, but I’m proud of the work I’ve done in Congress.

Congresswoman, we need to let Mr. Schiff here.

And his response was so patronizing, I’ve just got to say, as somebody who’s been unsheltered, I cannot believe how he described his walk and touching and being there with the homeless. Come on. Please.

All right, thank you Congresswoman. Congressman Schiff, you you have not had-

When you do that, you really care. If you care about the homeless-

Mr. Garvey, we need to let-

Let’s get some order in here.

Alex, thank you.

Order in the court.

First of all, and this will be my one and only baseball analogy for the evening, Mr. Garvey, I’m sorry, that was a total swing and a miss. That was a total whiff of an answer. And I say that… Credit where credit is due, you are a hell of a ball player. Can I just say that? You were a hell of a ball player. But here’s the thing: This is predominantly a problem of not enough housing. It’s a supply problem and we need to build hundreds of thousands of units of new housing. We can do that if we incentivize, through tax credits, the building of affordable housing. Otherwise, we’re never going to solve this problem.

(48:14)
We need to make sure, also, local government responds quickly to the need for housing with approvals of housing. We also need to make sure that people can stay in housing. And, when we do find shelter for those who are homeless, that they get the services, mental health services, substance abuse services, they need to stay sheltered. I want to go back to something that Barbara Lee said, in her first answer on this, housing is a human right. It pains me to see so many people living on the street-

Thank you, Congressman.

…and a state as prosperous as this one, it’s utterly unnecessary and, therefore, utterly shameful that we don’t do more to address this problem.

Thank you. Thank you, Congressman.

All right. Now we’re going to go to something that I hope you all can answer in 30 seconds to try to get to know you a little bit better, and I don’t think this one is going to be as feisty. I think it’s a nice thing. Congressman Schiff, let’s start with you. Who is the one person who has most shaped your worldview and what did they teach you?

Probably my father. He’s 96 years old. He lives in Boca Raton. We affectionately call him Boca Eddie. He told me when I was young, if you’re good at what you do, there will always be a demand for you. It was a very liberating idea. That, man, I just had to focus on being good at what I did. But he also taught me to stand up to bullies and I thought about his advice a lot when Donald Trump was President. Not to back down from a bully, because at the end of the day, they’re really cowards.

Congress member Lee.

My late mother, Mildred Parish Massey, born and raised in El Paso, Texas where I was born and raised. She was one of the first 12 students to integrate, then Texas Western, now the University of Texas at El Paso. It was led by the NAACP. She was a plaintiff. In that lawsuit, my mother told us never to back down. She had three girls and she said, look, even though we’re fighting for our rights, we’re fighting for voting rights, we’re fighting to end segregation, we’re fighting to be seen as black people, as women, as women of color, don’t back down fight for your freedom-

Thank you.

…fight for democracy-

Thank you.

…fight for your rights. You are as equal as anybody else.

Thank you.

And I believe I’m going to do that and fight for-

Thank you very much.

…in the Senate for everyone in Congress.

Congress member Porter. To you.

I would say my three school-aged kids. And I hope you won’t make me choose amongst them on television, but the reason I say that they have most shaped-

We can be tough, but not that tough. I’m not thinking favorite children.

…they have most shaped my worldview is because they keep me squarely focused on the future, on how we are going to keep California strong, on what the threats are of climate change, on what will happen to our economy in California if we can’t attract and retain and house workers and lower cost of living here, so my three children make me the strong politician that I am.

Thank you. Mr. Garvey. Who’s most shaped your worldview?

Our parents always shape who we are. A strong mother who teaches us about respect for women, a strong father who teaches us to be gentlemen, but I look back now on the time that I spent with Ronald Reagan and the strength of man, who was a Democrat and became a Republican, but he was an American. He stood for America. He stood for our sovereignty and that we carry the torch for democracy around the world. And when he and Tip O’Neill came together, that was an example of what all politicians should do for the sake of the country. Democrats and Republicans coming together for the good of the country.

Thank you. And just to remind everybody that this minute rule is something you all agreed to and it just ensures that we all get to talk about more topics. If we can try to stick to the minute that allows you all to talk about more things and we’re trying to get as many topics in as we can. And now we go to a topic that is a little more controversial than the last thing we just talked about, abortion. Melanie, to you.

Thank you, Alex. First question to Mr. Garvey.

Yes?

You’ve said that you would follow the will of California voters when it comes to abortion, even though you personally oppose it. Californians have voted to protect the right of abortion in their state constitution. Will you vote the same way in the Senate if the issue comes up?

And I think I said that, as an elected official, I will always support the voice of the people of California and the people of California have spoken and I pledge to support that voice.

To follow up on that, does that same logic then of supporting the will of the voters extend to issues like guns or even supporting President Trump, where California voters have made their views pretty clear?

I have my opinions, obviously, and with common sense and compassion and a building of consensus, I’ll look at all the issues. I think I’m fair, I think the people of the state of California and the country, the millions of people that I’ve interacted with over the years, have taught me that it’s building a consensus in listening. I have nothing that’s truly etched in stone except what is truly right. As I think President Lincoln said one time, “I will stand with those that are right. I will walk away from those that I don’t agree with.”

Thank you. Mr. Garvey. Congressman Porter. You support abortion rights. From what you heard from Mr. Garvey, do you feel confident that he also would protect abortion rights if he were in the Senate?

No.

Would you like to expand on why?

Yes. Look, abortion is a freedom issue and no government that champions liberty and justice for all should restrict people from deciding for themselves if, and when, to have a child. And Mr. Garvey’s party, the Republican Party, has said that, if they win this election and control Congress and the House, they will pass a nationwide abortion ban. That will take effect here in California. Mr. Garvey needs to be clear about where he stands on this and actually all the other issues.

(54:19)
Look, I think all the Democrats on this stage are going to say that they support abortion access, but I think we have to have someone who understands the stakes. Congressman Schiff mentions abortion on his website under a page called Adam’s Accomplishments. And, as a mother of a young daughter, I do not feel like abortion rights have been accomplished, not in a year when millions of Americans have lost abortion access.

Okay, Congressman. Congressman Schiff, your name has been invoked. For 30 seconds, if you’d like to respond.

I would be delighted to respond. And, first of all, what the Supreme Court did in essentially repealing women’s reproductive freedom was not only a terrible break with precedent, but it was dangerous. It has endangered the health and safety of millions of women. I strongly support a national right to abortion laws. Representative Porter knows. I will champion that, and more than that, as Representative Porter also should know, I’m one of the leading authors of legislation to expand the Supreme Court, so we don’t have a future reactionary Supreme Court striking down the right to abortion or any other freedom of Americans.

Thank you, Congressman. We’ll come back to you for your full minute in a bit, but I want to turn to Congressman Lee. You’ve been open about your own experience of having an illegal abortion in Texas before Roe versus wade was decided. You want to end the filibuster in the Senate to pass national abortion protections with a simple majority vote, but are you worried that, if you do, a Republican controlled Senate could go ahead and pass a national ban and Democrats would be unable to stop it?

No, I’m not. We first have to know that we have to end the filibuster. Any rule that was established after slavery to prevent black people from participating in our democracy is bad, regardless. Secondly, it’s so important that we know and understand that what the Supreme Court did was, for the first time, take away a constitutional right and when the Texas decisions came down, I have been very reluctant to talk about the abortion I had. I was living here in Southern California in San Fernando, went to San Fernando Junior high, San Fernando High School and I got pregnant. And my mother and I made that decision that that’s what I would do. That was the type of healthcare I decided I would achieve in terms of an abortion.

(56:41)
I flew to Texas, where her friend took me across the border, let me remind you, this is before Roe, took me across the border to a back alley dark clinic. I was terrified. I was terrified because I knew it was illegal in Mexico. It was illegal in Texas and California. And so, reproductive freedom for all is important. I intend to work to codify the women’s right to protection into law.

Congressman, just real quick, in 15 seconds, would eliminating the filibuster, make it easier for national bans to be passed?

We have to fight politically to make sure that that doesn’t happen. We have to elect enough Senators to make sure that we can codify into law the Women’s Health Protection Act and to end the Hyde Amendment.

Thank you.

This is about our freedoms. It’s about women’s decisions, people’s decisions to control their own body-

Congresswoman, thank you. Thank you. And Congressman Schiff, the same question to you about the filibuster. Does that crack open the opportunity for Senate Republicans to pass a ban?

I support doing away with the filibuster for a variety of reasons. One, to pass a national right to abortion law, we need to do away with a filibuster. To protect voting rights, we need to do away with a filibuster. To finally pass common sense gun safety legislation, we need to do away with a filibuster. Count me squarely in the camp of doing away with a filibuster.

(58:02)
But if I can return to the question about reproductive freedom, when we start losing our rights as Americans, it is a sure sign that our democracy is in trouble. We not only need to pass a national right to abortion law, but we need to change the Supreme Court that struck it down to begin with. We need to expand that court, we need to termilate that court, we need an enforceable code of ethics on that court.

(58:29)
Yes, it’s part of my democracy agenda, which I’m very proud of, which I’m very proud that the Wall Street Journal editorial page editorialize against and called radical. That’s a good housekeeping seal of approval, as far as I’m concerned. But here’s the thing about Mr. Garvey’s answer. He would also respect the right of states to refuse abortion care for millions of other Americans, including Californians who are visiting other states.

Thank you, Congressman. We have to move on.

And that decision would be dangerous.

Mr. Garvey, your rebuttal?

Yes. I think you’ve been censored for lying. You have put words in my mouth. And this is-

I’ve been censored for standing up to a crook President, Garvey.

…exactly what I’m talking about. That you-

The same corrupt President that you-

…career politicians-

It’s Mr. Garvey’s turn. Let him go.

…who are trying to determine who we are by race or by color or by gender. They never listen. They have prearranged words to say. And, by the way, I would not vote for a federal ban on abortion. Let’s make that clear right now.

Thank you, Mr. Garvey.

All right-

I’m going to insist on answering. I was just called a liar by Mr. Garvey.

Okay. 30 seconds.

Mr. Garvey, I was censured for standing up to a corrupt President, and you know something? I would do it all over again because that corrupt President, that President who’s been indicted with 91 felony counts, that President that you won’t refuse to support, he’s a danger. And I will stand up to him and Kevin McCarthy and Jim Jordan and any of those MAGA enablers of his in the Congress. The reason why our democracy is in trouble is because folks don’t have the courage to stand up when they need to.

Okay. Thank you very much. We’re going to keep moving.

Let me just… He invoked my name.

All right. Real quick.

Sir, you lied to 300 million people. You can’t take that back.

Okay. We’re going to keep moving. This is the showdown for US Senate and it really is the showdown for US Senate. You’re watching us live now, at FOX11 throughout the state, on our US stations, on KFI AM 648 Radio. I’m Alex Michaelson, along with Melanie Mason.

(01:00:40)
Now, we want to bring up one of our viewer questions. FOX11 viewer Chris Duner wanted to know more about earmarks. In Congress, for people that maybe don’t know, an earmark is where specific members request money for their districts for specific projects. For example, here in LA, Mayor Bass has asked for earmarks to combat homelessness. Representative Porter, you’ve talked already tonight about how you want to get rid of earmarks. Why?

Earmarks is just a fancy word for Washington politicians substituting their personal interests, including getting earmarks for their big donors, for what our needs are. Look, the problem here is that earmarks invite corruption. They invite self-dealing and they do not prioritize what we need, especially our communities of color. Don’t believe me, believe President Obama, who was a forceful critic of earmarks and said he would not sign any spending bill that contained earmarks in it. We see people literally building bridges to nowhere with our hard-earned tax dollars. We need to be prioritizing what our community needs, that means fighting to get a California size share of federal dollars, but directing it into every part and pocket of California.

Congressman Schiff, your response.

Diane Feinstein brought billions back to California, for water infrastructure, for housing, for healthcare. I’m going to fight to bring that money back to California. Alex, we are a donor state, which means that we send far more back in tax dollars to Washington than we get back. Any Senator from California that says, no, I’m not going to fight for those resources, that’s going to be wonderful news to 49 other states who’ll be thrilled to have that money.

(01:02:32)
No, I’m going to fight to bring back money for housing, I’m going to fight to bring back money for mental health services and other critical needs. When Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, said, will you help bring back money for housing? My answer was you’re darn right I’ll help because I would rather have my constituents and Californians housed than some political talking point. Californians want someone who’s going to deliver. They want someone to deliver. They want someone to try to improve the quality of their life. They’re looking for someone who’s going to build housing and to leave billions of dollars back in Washington, I’m not going to do that.

Thank you. He’s saying you’re leaving money on the table. How do you respond to that?

Incorrect. The earmarks process actually short changes California. The data show that diverse districts and diverse states actually get half as much money. We only get two Senators, which means we only get… Every state gets two sets of earmarks. The process actually prevents us from getting the share of funding that we need based on our population and based on our problems.

(01:03:35)
Look, it is no surprise that Washington politicians think earmarks work. They get to go to a nice ceremony, pat themselves on the back. But we know that Congressman Schiff didn’t solve homelessness in LA and Congresswoman Lee hasn’t solved the challenges in Oakland-

Okay.

It’s going to take more than earmarks to do that. It’s going to take someone who will stand up-

Thank you.

…to big corporations and fight for California.

Thank you. Mr. Garvey, what do you think about earmarks and would you ask for them?

I thought it was interesting to talk about owing people or entities. I’m quite sure my three opponents owe people who have contributed to their funds, who have asked them, we need this money. Can you provide money for us through earmarks? I owe no one. I’m a fresh face. I’ll have fresh ideas. I will listen to the needs of Californians just as I’ve done. I’ve gone to central California, listened to the farmers, talked to them about their needs for water. On Imperial Canyon Valley there, in county, talked to them about their needs. Same way with San Diego and the homeless.

(01:04:36)
And then we get to the topic, and you’ll probably bring it up, about the crisis at the border. These are the things where we need to protect the sovereignty of California. That’s what I’ll fight for.

Would you request earmarks if you’re a Senator?

I wouldn’t call them earmarks. I’ll call them necessities for the state of California that I will fight for to be able to allow this state to come back to being the heartbeat of America. Like I talked about.

And Congresswoman Lee, your thoughts on this?

Sure. First, it’s important that we recognize that earmarks must be transparent and there must be accountability. Secondly, it would really be a dereliction of my duty to my constituents if I did not fight for every single dollar that I could find. Because, yes, California is a donor state, they deserve their tax dollars back. And, no, it may not solve all the problems, but it sure has filled in the gaps.

(01:05:25)
And let me tell you, healthcare for communities of color, when you look at the LGBTQ+ community, what they need are unsheltered children. When you look at housing, when you look at a variety of nonprofits that don’t have the money to write proposals and have Washington lobbyists, I am their representative and I am really very clear about my responsibility to California and my constituents.

(01:05:54)
Finally, let me just say, when President Obama said no more earmarks, I wrote him a letter. I was chairing the black caucus

Oftentimes I disagree, but respectfully, and I said to President Obama, “You are denying communities of color who don’t have the resources but know how to provide the services, the jobs, and the opportunities. You’re denying them the opportunity-”

Thank you.

“… to deliver these kinds of services.” So I’ll support earmarks in the Senate and bring home as much money, federal dollars-

Thank you.

… to California as I can.

Okay. Thank you. We’re going to move on now. Melanie, this is a segment where we’re giving you an opportunity to respond to some of the biggest criticisms of you.

Yes. Thank you, Alex. First to Congressman Schiff. In 2019 when you served as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, you spoke repeatedly about, quote, ample evidence of collusion in plain sight between the Trump campaign and Russia. Five years later, many Republicans including Mr. Garvey say that you lied about that evidence. What is the evidence and did you allow partisanship to get ahead of the facts as you investigated Trump?

The evidence is pretty clear. Donald Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort was secretly meeting with an agent of Russian intelligence, giving Russian intelligence internal campaign polling data while that same unit of Russian intelligence was helping the Trump campaign through a hacking and dumping operation through a social media troll farm in St. Petersburg. So yes, that’s collusion and what’s more the Russians reached out to Donald Trump’s son, Don Jr. and offered what they said was dirt on Hillary Clinton as part of the Russian government’s effort to help the Trump campaign.

(01:07:37)
And what was the Trump campaign’s answer? It was, “If it is what you say it is, we would love it.” Preferably in late summer, which is when the Russians started dumping the stolen emails. So you’re darn right, there’s evidence of collusion. But it’s just a part of the damning evidence against Donald Trump, not just with respect to Russia, but his withholding of hundreds of millions of dollars from Ukraine, a nation at war, which was ultimately what he was impeached for when I let his senate trial.

That’s time. Thank you, Congressman. Congressman Porter, you are known as a warrior against corporate influence in politics, but before running for office, you consulted for a mortgage servicer. Does that work undermine your credibility as someone that would hold corporations to account?

I have never taken corporate PAC money, period. And I’m the only elected official on this stage who can say that. I was working across California to help enforce a settlement and agreement against big banks. And because of that I developed expertise in how banks were failing to communicate with us, burying things like the opportunity to save your home or cut back the amount of your mortgage in fine print. After I was finished with that service, I was asked by a company to come on and work with them in a short-term engagement to address and improve how they contacted and communicated with Californians.

All right. Congresswoman, thank you for that. Mr. Garvey, you’ve never served an elected office and you said you don’t plan on giving specifics about policy until after the primary. Why did you get into this race if you don’t know where you stand on these issues and how can Californians know what they’re getting if they pick you?

Where did you read that?

On my script.

Politico? No. I have said that I’m new. I needed to explore California. I needed to talk to the people. I needed to hear from them, their feelings about their elected officials and that’s what I’ve done. And policy for me is position. I’ve taken strong positions, especially on the homeless and what should be done. We should do a strong audit on that. I talked about the economy and inflation, rapid spending. Let’s get back to energy that’s affordable.

(01:10:04)
I’ve talked about the border, the crisis of the border. Let’s close the border. Let’s take a deep breath. We have a pathway to citizenship. Let’s enforce it. Crime. Let’s get crime off the streets. Let’s fund the police. Let’s make sure that they keep our neighborhoods and our community safe. I mean that’s policy, but it’s my position and by tomorrow you’ll see a lot more.

Thank you, Mr. Garvey. Finally, Congresswoman Lee. You have represented Oakland in the House of Representatives for a long time. Crime in that city remains stubbornly high compared to other cities in the state. Oakland has lost the A’s, the Raiders, Warriors and just this week and in and out. Given its struggles, why should you get a promotion to the US Senate?

Well, first let me say a couple of things. I want to represent the state of California in the United States Senate for many, many reasons. First, I’m the most experienced. I’m the most consistent progressive who gets the job done. I have been able to deliver for Oakland and my entire district and for California. Secondly, public safety is on everybody’s mind and I understand that. And we have to have a public safety plan that one gets the guns off the streets of California, which means in the Senate I’m going to fight for an assault weapon ban, getting these AK-47s off the street and really fight for real gun control.

(01:11:29)
Also, it’s important that we have police reform. We have to have more resources coming into our communities to make sure that there’s more interaction between the police and the community. And so believe you me, I understand what is happening in my community and throughout the state and throughout the country, but we have to have a real public safety plan and the punishment must meet the level of the crime and not over police yet make sure the public safety is there-

Thank you.

… to begin to engage in crime prevention, which again-

Thank you.

Thank you, Congressman.

… going back to earmarks is one of my earmarks for young people. [inaudible 01:12:06]

Okay. Thank you very much.

We’ve got to move on.

Everybody has been going over time and we’ve had a lot of exchange, which is interesting and shows the contrast. But let’s maybe try moving this to 30 seconds answers instead of a minute if we can going forward just so we can get some more topics in or else we’re going to run out of time. The next question comes back to and from Mo’Kelly. We’re on KFI AM 640. He’s the host of Later, with Mo’Kelly. It has to do with immigration. It’s going to start with Congress Member Lee. No.

Mr. Garvey made this clear that he believes that there is a crisis at the border. So Congresswoman Lee, is there a crisis at the border? And if there is, how can you get Congress to act on the issue for the first time in four decades?

As I said earlier, I was born and raised in a border city, El Paso, Texas, in an immigrant community. Secondly, no person is illegal. Thirdly, we have got to have an immigration policy that provides for due process that’s orderly and that is humane. Right now, the president is trying to get Republicans mind you to step up and support over a billion dollars to make sure that immigrants are treated fairly in the communities where Governor Abbott and DeSantis are sending migrants.

Thank you.

Pitting migrants against residents. And so what I intend to do is first make sure that we get this funding so that these communities-

Thank you.

… can treat immigrants properly and make sure that the jobs that are yearning for employees are filled. And these immigrants know-

All right. Thank you, Congresswoman.

… that they have come to this country for a better life. Our economy in California depends on the good work of immigrants.

Mr. Schiff, to you.

Candidly, I think this question deserves a lot more than 30 seconds. My grandfather immigrated here. My great-grandparents immigrated here. They were in search of a better life. They were fleeing violence like so many others that have come to this country. I want to start with recognizing people are coming here to flee violence. They’re coming in search of a better life. They deserve our respect. They deserve dignity. And I also think what these Republican governors are doing is just shameful. It is a crisis. It is unsustainable, but we should approach this with compassion and we should also try to get people to apply for asylum safely from their home countries.

(01:14:25)
I think that’s the most important thing we can do. But we also are going to need to surge resources to make sure that we have interpreters and we have court personnel so we can process asylum cases much more quickly. It doesn’t do anyone any good for an asylum seeker to be here for two or five or 10 years before they get their claim adjudicated.

Thank you.

Thank you, Congressman.

The system is broken.

Thank you.

It does need to be fixed.

Mr. Garvey?

First of all, if you break the law, it’s illegal. Second of all, where have you all been the last three years? Four years ago, a thousand immigrants were coming across the border. Today, between 10 to 15 to 20,000 illegal immigrants are coming across the border and bringing with them drugs and cartels and human trafficking. That’s the truth. You can’t deny it. Career politicians cannot deny that this administration has protected we the people of California and Texas, and all throughout this country. But there’s a stress on America because we’ve let this happen.

Thank you. Ms. Porter.

Our immigration system is a mess because Washington has failed decade after decade to take meaningful action on immigration. The reality is we need immigrants to have a strong stable economy and to have vibrant, diverse communities. We need more farm workers. We need more service workers. We need scientists and doctors to help do research and take care of us, and we need to have border security. We need to have a lawful, orderly, humane immigration system. And the crisis that we’re seeing at the borders, what we’re seeing in those border communities, what we’re seeing in cities where migrants are being bused is a direct result of Washington’s decades and decades of failure to act.

Thank you very much.

I want to address, because part of the question too is what will it take to actually get this done? And in the interest of democratic self-criticism, when Democrats controlled the House and the Senate and the White House during the first two years of the Biden administration and during part of the Obama administration, we didn’t get it done. The Republicans are never going to help us on this. They think that the border situation is the political gift that we’ll never stop giving. Democrats are going to have to do that ourselves. I’m going to go to the Senate to fight to do away with a filibuster and pass comprehensive immigration reform

All right [inaudible 01:16:50] We’re going to move on to our next-

Immigration reform will not work.

We’re going to move on to our next…

We can’t look the people of California in the eye and tell them they don’t have a problem. Their life isn’t threatened.

Okay. We’re going to move on to the issue of climate. This question is for you, Congresswoman Porter. California is planning to end the sale of new gas powered cars by 2035. Do you agree with that timeline and do you think that should be a national model? Would you try to make that happen in the Senate?

For decades, Washington has failed to act on climate doing the bidding of big oil, cashing checks from organizations like BP and Chevron while they fought against the clean energy policies that we need for our future. So the time to act on climate was yesterday. And so I think we do need to be bold on climate. As we do that, we need to recognize that the need for people to have assistance and help in transitioning to green energy. Cars are expensive. New cars are a lot of money. So if we’re going to have rules that prompt people to move toward greener energy, then we need to have programs to assist them to get there.

Mr. Garvey, your thoughts on that?

Well, first of all, climate change is real. But as a people, we are never stronger than we realize there’s a problem and we work together. But you don’t cut off gas and oil. You don’t put a stress on the economy of this country and say, “Oh, by the way, in 10 years you have to drive an electric car,” without realizing about what it takes to put a battery together, what it’s going to do to the clouds. I mean, let’s get together and start doing this with a conscientious path. And I think when it’s all said and done, as always, we, the people will dictate what we can afford.

Well, and Mr. Schiff, we got a question from a Politico reader named Sean who lives in rural northern California. He says there’s a lot of value in some of these climate processes, but he’s worried about how much it’s going to cost him and a lot of average Californians are worried about paying for an electric vehicle. What do you say to that?

Well, first of all, I support California law and I’d like to see it expanded in other states as well. It is not going to outlaw gas powered cars. So people have cars that are already gas powered are going to be able to keep their cars. But here’s the thing, others can talk about this. I prosecuted oil companies. I fought for mass transit and am known as the father of the gold line for my efforts to get mass transit built. Some of us have a record of actually doing things and producing for California.

(01:19:22)
We do need to transition to renewable sources of energy. If we’re going to get ahead of this tipping point, we need to dramatically invest in renewable energy and stop incentivizing a fossil fuel industry that is killing us and killing the planet.

Thank you. Congress Member Lee, the balance.

I do support this transitioning to electric vehicles, but there’s always a but, when you have 20 million people in California living one paycheck away from poverty who may not be able to afford this. So I believe as a United States senator, it’s up to me to make sure that low-income people working families are at the table when these climate policies are developed so that they will make sure that low-income people will have those investments to be able to purchase EVs. Secondly, I was born in El Paso, Texas in a community where there was a smelter. Climate justice has been part of my life and I intend to fight for climate justice in the United States.

Thank you very much. We’re going to keep-

May I have a few seconds because I have stayed on time.

Okay. A few seconds and then we’re going to keep moving.

Representative Schiff may have prosecuted big oil companies before he came to Congress, but when he got to Congress, he cashed checks from companies like BP, from fossil fuel companies. I have delivered results on climate in my few years in Congress. I have raised my legislation to raise the rate on polluters when they drill on our public lands was signed into law.

Real quickly, your chance to respond.

Well, first of all, I gave that money to you, Katie Porter, and I was happy to do it.

I wasn’t in office when you were taking fossil fuel.

The only response I got was, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” But look, at the end of the day, it’s about what have you gotten done? I didn’t hear anything from Representative Porter about anything she’s actually accomplished. I’ve taken on oil companies and prosecuted them. I’ve gotten mass transit built. I’ve worked on bipartisan legislation to expand open space. At the end of the day, what Californians need more than anything else is not more talking points. They need action and they need action in particular on climate.

Thanks, Congressman. We need to-

Honestly, Representative Schiff, I didn’t realize how much dirty money you took until I was running against you. You’ve taken money from big oil, big pharma, cable companies and other industries. [inaudible 01:21:36]

We’re going to keep moving.

Okay. We’re going to keep it moving here. Our promotional partners at California Environmental Voters would like to hear your take on the farm bill, which funds an array of agricultural and food programs. It has not yet been renewed. As senator, what is the single most important priority for Californians that you would advocate for in that bill? Mr. Garvey, we’ll start with you.

Well, I think a lot of people don’t realize we are arguably the greatest agricultural area in the world. We need to support those that provide the food on our tables. Not only in the state and in the country, but around the world. We need to support them, whether it’s water, whether it’s technology, whether it’s deregulation. It’s strangling right now in terms of cost. Let’s get back to investing in our agriculture and our ranching.

Okay. Congresswoman Porter, one priority for the farm bill.

In the farm bill, we need to be investing in regenerative sustainable agriculture. We cannot solve the climate crisis if we don’t figure out how to grow healthy foods here in California using less water and creating less pollution in our communities.

Thank you. Congressman Schiff.

Well, the farm Bill is vitally important to farmers, but it’s also vitally important for low-income Americans who rely on assistance that comes through the farm bill. I want to make sure that we provide a strong assistance to those who are struggling to put food on the table. So in terms of my top priority, I would say it is making sure people have enough food, but I also want to support California’s agriculture industry. It is a vitally important industry. I’ve been meeting with both farmers and farm workers. I’m proud to have the support of the United Farm Workers in my campaign. I’m going to fight to make sure that our farm workers, those who put food on our table, are also taken care of.

Thank you.

With a pathway to citizenship.

Thank you. Congresswoman Lee.

Sure. I serve on the agriculture subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. Actually, I think I’m the only Democrat west of the Mississippi on the Appropriations Ag Committee. And the priority for me is the nutrition assistance provisions. In California, we have too many children growing to bed hungry at night. In the Central Valley, food insecurity in the bread basket of America is prominent everywhere. And so for me, nutrition, making sure that everyone has access to good, healthy food. Even our grocery stores, they need SNAP benefits to ensure that they survive. And so the nutrition assistance is extremely important.

Thank you.

Thank you very much. We go now to a USC student question from Jacob Wheeler. He’s a sophomore. We’ll have 30 seconds each to answer this as we’re running out of time. Take it away. The first question goes to Mr. Garvey.

Thank you, Alex, and thank you all for being here. We’ve seen a dramatic rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia, and acts of intolerance since the October 7th terrorist attacks on Israel. Many students, including right here at USC, have been scared just to be on campus. Why do you think the discourse is so broken? And what will you do about it in the US Senate?

Well, one of the most compassionate times of our life is right now with the Israeli war. And what that’s ignited in terms of people standing up and expressing their racism, expressing the ugliest towards other people. I think we have to start getting back to what really matters, and that’s faith and belief in each other. We have to talk to the people that are responsible for running our campuses and ask them, “What do they really stand for?” They’re supposed to stand for a unilateral commitment to equality.

Thank you. Congress Member Porter.

Our campuses should be places of debate, but they should never become places of hate. And so I think it’s really, really important that we continue to encourage young people to learn and to be in dialogue with each other. I do a lot of work with our interfaith community in Orange County, which has been incredibly helpful in bringing people with different views on a lot of issues, including this war in Gaza together in conversation. I’m also the lead sponsor of the Pray Safe Act to keep our places, places of worship safe during this difficult time.

Thank you. Congressman Schiff.

Well, I take this issue obviously very personally. I had a lot of that antisemitism directed against me. People have posted on my social media things like, “I hope you go back to Auschwitz with your family.” What’s happening on college campuses I think is terrifying. Students don’t feel safe. I’m the only member of Congress here that’s voted for each of the antisemitism resolutions that have come up this year.

(01:26:24)
We need to speak out forcefully in condemnation of this. We need to fight online hate because the online hate seldom stays in the online world. As we saw with the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting. It can lead to the real world with deadly consequences.

15 seconds you, Congresswoman Lee.

I’ll fight against antisemitism each and every day until we dismantle it totally. And it is so important to understand that hate speech can lead to hate violence. And so antisemitism, Islamophobia, white supremacy.

Thank you.

Hate against the LGBTQ plus community. As a Black woman, I know what hate is and so believe you me, fighting against antisemitism, I’m bringing together right now.

Thank you. Thank you

Multiple communities, communities of color, all who are experiencing hate. And it’s important as a United States Senator and as a member of Congress we’ll bring people together and fight against hate.

Congress member, thank you very much. We are out of time for tonight. I just want to thank you all for being here and sharing your views. Thank you to the audience for being here as well. And thank you all for watching. We encourage you to go vote. Thanks for watching Showdown for US Senate. Thank you.