Welcome to the Vermont public 2024 General Election Debates.

I'm Mikaela LeFrak, the host of Vermont Edition.

Today is the first in our series of debates and candidate interviews ahead of the November 5th general elections.

And we begin with the race for Vermont's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Live today in the Vermont public studio in Colchester, we have Congresswoman Becca Balint of Brattleboro, a Democrat.

She was elected to the U.S. House in 2022.

She previously represented Windham County in the Vermont Senate before entering government.

She was a public school teacher.

Welcome.

Thank you so much, Mikayla.

Our other guest, our other candidate today is Republican Mark Coester of Westminster.

He is a small business owner with a background in fishing, logging and sugaring.

Mark, welcome.

This year, Vermont public has adopted the citizens Agenda approach to the election coverage.

More than 620 Vermonters have submitted questions for candidates and thoughts on the issues they care most about.

You'll hear some of those throughout today's debate.

To submit your own question for one of our other upcoming debates or candidate interviews, email us at vote at Vermont public.org.

Here is the format that we're going to use today and throughout the 2024 debates.

In the first segment, I will ask common questions to both candidates from our Citizens Agenda and the Vermont Public Newsroom.

They'll each have one minute to answer.

I will also ask short follow up questions in the second segment.

The candidates will ask each other questions.

They'll have 30s to ask a question and one minute to answer.

They'll also have time to ask follow ups.

In this third segment, we will return to questions from our citizens agenda and our newsroom.

Candidates will have one minute to respond.

We'll follow that with a lightning round of questions, where candidates will have 10s to respond.

We'll conclude with one minute closing statements from each candidate.

Vermont public used an online name generator to decide who will go first and Mark Coester.

You will begin a reminder in this first section.

Please limit your initial response to one minute.

Let's start with the federal government's role in bringing down costs for everyday Vermonters.

Rising costs of utilities, housing and basic goods are on the forefront of many Vermonters minds.

Brenda in Orange County submitted this question.

What are you going to do for people on a fixed income to make sure they can afford to live in Vermont?

All the costs of everything is directly related to the cost of energy.

it would take cooperation in the government to lower the cost of energy, and that would be a worthy goal to attend to.

can you say more?

What cost of energy and what needs to be attended to?

All energy America has the technology to produce unlimited clean energy, carbon free, at half the cost of what we're paying now.

Everything.

The price of everything is directly related to the cost of energy.

I want to ask you about manufacturing.

President Trump's economic plan centers on offering companies low tax rates to manufacture goods in the U.S. otherwise, they'll face sky high tariffs.

But the data shows that manufacturing employment actually went down during President Trump's four years in office.

And some of his current tax proposals, tax cut proposals would require legislation from Congress.

Do you support significant cuts to the corporate tax rate?

I would have to see the evidence of what you're saying.

Sounds like hearsay to me.

Which part sounds like hearsay to you?

What you're saying, the question sounds like you're saying I'm asking you to support for tax cuts.

Show me the evidence.

I'm asking you a question about corporate tax cuts, corporate tax cuts, cutting the tax rate on corporations to try to encourage them to keep jobs, manufacturing jobs in the US.

It's one part of President Trump's economic plan.

I'm not completely aware of Trump's economic plan.

Where did you get that from?

his foundation?

No, he has stated his economic plan in the debate that he had with Kamala Harris, as well as during some of his rallies during this election season.

Well, I didn't pay any attention to that debate.

Okay.

That was a clown show.

Okay.

All right.

Well, let's move on.

Congresswoman Bohlen, really appreciate the question.

I know that many Vermonters are struggling with the high costs of of many of the the, you know, their household needs.

I have a housing plan that I introduced last year.

It's a $500 billion investment in housing.

It is, designed to increase supply.

Make sure we have protections, renter protections.

It has an end to price fixing by by corporations that buy up housing supply.

And it also has a affordability provision.

But it's not just housing.

I know it's prescription drugs.

we saw, a great plan put out under the, Inflation Reduction Act that finally, after many, many years, enabled the federal government to negotiate for the price relief, through Medicare.

We need to expand that to folks who who aren't on Medicare.

I also have introduced a bill to reduce the cost of of child care.

I'm a big supporter of Medicare for all because we know that we need to decouple, insurance from people's jobs.

that's holding back the economy.

And I also am part of, work within the judiciary, in the budget committees to, go after price gouging of groceries.

So many labor levers.

We need to pull a lot of these, levers that you have brought up are similar to Vice President Kamala Harris's economic plan, which is also similar to President Joe Biden's.

Do you feel like these these efforts have been enough to ease low and middle income and middle income Americans tax burden?

It's a fair question.

I mean, we you still are feeling that pressure, in the pocketbook.

But I sit on the budget committee, and I know that our recovery in the United States has been better than any other westernized nation since the pandemic.

Now, that's that's cold comfort for folks who are seeing that that that pinch on their household budget.

But we have to build on the progress that was made there.

There were incredible investments, not just in, infrastructure, but in, chip manufacturing that I know has impacted us here in Vermont in a positive way.

There is always more to do.

I think, you know, one of the things that I'm focused on is making sure that regular people are at the center of the work that I do, in the budgets that I put in on the committees that I serve on.

Thank you.

That is time.

Let's move on to the climate.

This was also a very frequently asked about question in our citizens agenda projects, the climate and the natural environment.

Now earlier this week, we saw devastating deadly flooding hit the American South.

And those news stories gave many Vermonters flashbacks to the type of flooding that we have seen here in the past two years.

And globally, last year was the hottest year in recorded history.

Charlotte in Grand Isle County asks do you recognize the need to address climate change?

And do you see the elimination of methane and fossil fuel usage in the U.S. as necessary?

Congresswoman Ballard, we'll start with you this time.

Yeah, I really appreciate the question.

This is something that I hear about from many, many Vermonters are very concerned about climate change.

And we're even before the last two summers that we've had of catastrophic flooding here.

And you mentioned the the flooding, in Florida and North Carolina and Tennessee in the last 48 hours.

We do need to transition off of fossil fuels.

It's one of the reasons why I'm a big supporter of the Green New Deal and making sure that we are transitioning off of these fuels for, for greener, a greener economy.

We also have to build for climate resiliency and that's something that I've been very laser focused on in the House, is talking about the ways in which we need to change FEMA's protocols, because they were never designed for climate change.

And so we need to make it, absolutely.

Part of our plan to make us all more climate resilience in terms of the towns and the cities in Vermont that have been on the forefront of of facing the, the brunt of this.

And so it's it's many things.

It's reducing fossil fuels.

It's investing in, the Green New Deal.

It's making sure FEMA is working for this moment that we're in, and it is building for resiliency.

But I absolutely know it's an existential crisis.

I want to ask you about the Green New Deal, which, again, is to to transition the US off of fossil fuels.

But under the Biden administration, domestic oil production has reached record highs.

Do you think the US should continue to increase domestic oil drilling or try to decrease it?

I think I think it's important for us over time to continue to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

And I also think we need to go after corporate polluters.

So that's something that has been talked about for years.

We are in this moment because for years the big A fossil fuel companies were not honest with us about what they knew about the impact that fossil fuels were having on our climate.

And so there's money to be had from getting these, these people in these companies to pay their share so that we can then reinvest it in greener means of production.

And so, I am not a huge fan of the fact that we have, more, oil being produced right now, but it is, something that I know Vermonters definitely want to see us move the curve on.

Thank you.

And mark her start, do you?

I'm going to restate the question, from Charlotte in Grand Isle County.

Do you recognize the need to address climate change?

And do you see the elimination of methane and fossil fuel usage in the US as necessary?

Absolutely not.

Which part?

All of the above.

You do not recognize climate change as, I do realize that the climate changes.

I also recognize that has nothing to do with CO2.

The CO2 levels during the golden ages when humanity flourished beyond imagination were 0.6%.

They're 0.4% right now.

When you bring CO2 down to 0.2%, everything starts to die.

Zero carbon initiative means all life on the planet is dead.

That's sixth grade science.

They inject CO2 into greenhouses to get 30% more growth rate on plants.

They've been doing it for years.

It's a scam.

How are the electric vehicles working out in North Carolina right now?

Can I ask you a follow up question there?

I just want to be clear.

Are you saying that you believe there is a plan to eliminate all CO2 from the Earth?

Cause they're they've got a zero carbon initiative in a place where Laura Sibylla Cecilia openly admitted that reducing CO2 would do nothing for the climate.

Vermont's climate initiative.

She openly admitted in the Vermont House that it would do nothing for the climate.

It's going to cost our taxpayers billions of dollars, $4 a gallon more in fuel.

She was part of overriding Governor Scott's veto on the Global Warming Solutions Act in 2020.

When I fought that right along with John Rogers.

Can I ask you one more follow up question?

Another 30s here since, Congressman, you went, a bit long with some of your answers.

Where do you get your information about the climate, climate change and the the temperatures?

Certainly from real sources.

It was a sixth grade science class that educated people about CO2.

I gather you graduated sixth grade.

I did.

Good.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Okay.

All right, let's move on.

Well, our next topic is housing.

One of the primary issues facing folks here in Vermont.

we received a note from a person named Matt who lives in Chittenden County.

They work for an organization that assists people experiencing homelessness.

And Matt says that they've seen, quote, extraordinary rises in need over the last year.

And Matt writes that they may be forced to leave Vermont as the cost of housing has become untenable.

What role does Congress have in addressing the shortage of affordable housing in states like Vermont?

Mark, we'll start with you.

Well, the housing problem in Vermont actually has to do with act 250.

And by the Vermont legislature passing harsher act two fish 50 regulations for 97% of the state.

It makes it that much more difficult to build housing anywhere, except for in 3% of the state.

Now, the regulations are so extreme that simple businesses like Rescue Inc that wanted to put, an auxiliary facility in West Townsend far, far above the the waterline on a gravel bed cost them $250 million in permitting just for Rescue Inc to expand three years and $250 million in permitting.

There is so much going on here.

The problems with affordable housing stem from Vermont.

Congress shouldn't be addressing things like that in Vermont.

So you have federal.

Vermont has a role.

Well, Vermont is a hindrance to creating affordable housing here.

There are certain duties granted by the states to the federal government.

Within the 10th Amendment.

The federal government doesn't really have a role in addressing Vermont's affordable housing problems.

It's Vermont legislature that needs to address that.

The restrictive regulations need to be re addressed.

Thank you.

Congresswoman Balint, what role do you think Congress has in addressing the shortage of affordable housing in states like Vermont?

I absolutely think it has a role to play.

It's holding back our economy here in Vermont.

I travel around the state a lot, talking to employers in every sector.

And they say that the housing shortage is holding them back from hiring the workers that they need at all levels within their their companies or their organizations.

And I just want to be really clear, this is not just a Vermont problem.

This is a nationwide problem.

There is a housing crisis, in rural America, there's a housing crisis in some of our biggest cities.

And so Vermont is not alone in this, which is why I believe that the federal government does have a role to play and why I introduced my, Community Housing for All Act.

it is about increasing supply to lower the costs.

It is about renter protections, affordability and making sure that we end price fixing for rental properties.

But let's be clear.

We have a, a very low vacancy rate, which is what I think the caller was, was speaking to.

We have, we should have about a 7% vacancy rate for housing in Vermont.

It hovers around 3%.

And in places like Chittenden County, it's down to about 1%.

It's acute.

And so we have to build on the work that was done by the state legislature when I served on the at this time.

Yeah.

Agreed.

Okay.

I want to ask you about, first time homebuyers assistance, because that's something that that you support.

But critics say that this type of assistance can incentivize sellers to raise their prices, knowing that buyers have essentially extra cash on hand.

How do you respond to this idea, and can you point to examples of the contrary?

I really I really appreciate the question.

We always have to look at unintended consequences of any legislation that we passed.

I can just speak to the experience that we had here in Vermont when we passed our first time homebuyer.

policy, when I was in the what I was saying before on that, on the Housing and Economic Development Committee.

We weren't sure if there was going to be any take up rate.

We didn't know if it would be popular.

It was so popular.

It was reauthorized by the legislature and the governor multiple times, because it was the difference for so many young families to be able to buy housing.

So there will always be unscrupulous sellers.

There will always be people who take, you know, there will always be folks who will take advantage of this situation.

But what we've seen here in Vermont is that it has enabled so many young families to be able to get into housing.

Thank you.

Let's move to health insurance.

The price of health insurance in Vermont has risen sharply in the past four years.

Vermonters pay more than double the national average.

What role does the federal government have in ensuring that Americans get the health care they need at an affordable price?

Congresswoman, we'll start with you this time.

Well, if you if you look at the biggest insurance program that we currently have in the country, it's Medicare.

And so and it's incredibly successful and on many metrics.

And so one of the things that I know is integral to the work that I do on the budget committee is making sure that we're constantly protecting Medicare and, of course, Social Security, because it makes a difference for so many Vermonters on fixed incomes.

We have a role to play in continuing to bring down the costs of prescription drugs.

Again, we have to build on the work that has already been done there, but we need to expand the medications that fall under that program.

And we also have to go after, prescription, that, excuse me, pharmacy benefit managers and the ways in which they are, creating these stacked layers of controlling the insurance industry.

And so that's the work that I'm taking on in the Judiciary Committee is making sure that we as, folks who watch the purse strings of the federal government are watching to see who's making a profit when Vermonters can't get the Medicare or the Medicaid or the Social Security that they need, it's often large corporations.

Well, speaking of Medicare, you've expressed support for a single payer health care system, also known as Medicare for all.

Vice President Harris at one point supported Medicare for all, but she has since removed it from her platform.

Do you think that's a bellwether for the Democratic Party's approach to health care?

Can you see yourself changing your mind on Medicare for all?

I don't I don't see myself changing my mind.

I Medicare for all, I believe, given the quality that so many seniors get from the program, if we were to expand it slowly in bands, you know, lowering the the age at which you qualify and, you know, to the point of whether, the, the vice president has backed off of, supporting Medicare for all.

We are not.

We're running against perfection here.

We're running against somebody who has tried to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

I think 60 times.

That's what we're up against.

So what I want is somebody who is fighting for regular people.

And I think that is Vice President Harris.

Thank you.

And my cursor I will repeat the question.

What role does the federal government have in ensuring that Americans get the health care they need at an affordable price?

You people are most me more of the.

Had Bernie Sanders loaned you his mittens, it would have been better.

But you know, most meme worthy.

Can you say more?

Do you have thoughts on.

I do health care because, Medicaid and Social Security will be protected without a doubt.

problems in Vermont.

Thousands, tens of thousands of people lost their health insurance when Obamacare took effect.

There is no competition in Vermont's health care system, and that is why the prices are up and they're rising and they're doubling.

So you start doubling cost not only of health care.

You double the cost of fuel, you double the cost of housing, you double the cost of food.

And then I'll give a little a bonus.

Let's give them $15 an hour minimum wage.

It's all smoke and mirrors.

So you you brought up Obamacare.

President Trump and Republicans in Congress have been trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Would you support this repeal?

And if so, what you want to change is already a plan in place to replace it.

That plan already exists.

Okay.

So smoke and mirrors fear porn telling people they're going to take away their Social Security.

But what would you want to replace it with.

This is my question.

What vision do you have for a replacement that plan has already created.

Which plan is that?

Could you be more specific to replace Obamacare?

Yeah.

Which which plan are you referring to?

Who who made it?

You said that plan is in place.

I'm just curious.

I do believe that was created by a great number of people.

Okay.

Okay.

That is time.

So we will move on.

I want to move to abortion.

A Vermonter in Windham County told us through our Citizens Agenda project that, quote, restoring women's right to abortion is her top concern this election season.

Another person wrote us to say there is, quote, too much access to abortion.

What can and should Congress do if anything, to expand or curtail abortion access on the federal level?

Mark Coester, we'll start with you.

That's your concern.

Excuse me.

What?

Repeat that question.

The question is, do you, do you think Congress should do anything to expand or curtail access to abortion at the federal level?

So not at the state level.

None of the above.

So you do not.

It's all been given back to the States.

It was codified into our constitution in Vermont.

It's a non topic here.

Well, Republicans have pushed for a national ban on abortion.

Republicans in Congress.

Yeah.

That lunatic Lindsey Graham.

There are many other Republicans in Congress who have voted for a ban on abortion at the federal level.

Check yourself.

It's unconscious.

You believe that?

That's incorrect.

Fake news.

Okay.

Misinformation.

We did get a question specifically for you, Mark, from a listener named Sam and Perkins fell on this topic.

Sam wrote, and I'm quoting here I am an independent, unaffiliated voter.

I recently received a text from your campaign stating in part, Mark will protect our individual freedoms.

Does that mean you are pro-choice?

How how would that, Sam how would how would that question pertain to pro-choice?

Was the protection of individual freedoms?

I think Sam was wondering if you could clarify if those individual freedoms extend to access to abortion.

It's already been codified into the Constitution in Vermont.

Nonissue, if you want to apply it only to that one topic.

Individual freedoms.

Are you willing to answer Sam's question or whether or not you are?

he twisted the question and made it your.

Does that mean you are pro-choice?

That was his question.

Okay, I'm going to I'm going to move on.

I'm since you don't want to answer that question.

So I'm going to pass it to Congresswoman Balint.

Now.

So it's it's absolutely clear to me, given what has happened with the Dobbs decision and the overturning of Roe v Wade, that we have to make sure that we guarantee full reproductive rights, including abortion, for every American, regardless of where they live.

And it is worrisome that my opponent will not answer the question of whether you believe that women have a right to control their own bodies.

I absolutely believe that women have a right to control their own bodies.

And what we've seen in Congress is that there are many people within the Republican Party that are going to try to make abortion illegal nationally.

And one of the ways they're going to do that is by using an outdated law called the Comstock Act, which I have a bill to to repeal.

And what it will say is that you can no longer use the U.S. mail to mail something like mifepristone or other, drugs that are used in medication abortion.

Right now, women and girls are less safe because of the overturning of Roe v Wade.

And I can just I just can I say one other thing?

That is time.

I'm sorry.

I do want to ask you one more question, though, which is about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade because it happened when there was a Democratic administration in the white House.

So I guess my question is, can can Democrats in Congress realistically do anything to, to to protect abortion access nationwide?

When that happened, when there was a Democratic president?

Yes.

We can codify it in statute.

We can.

And look do we should we talk about the Supreme Court now?

Because I'd love to talk about the Supreme Court.

Okay.

We have 22 seconds.

Let's do it.

Okay.

We need we need ethics guardrails on the court.

We need conduct guardrails on the court.

And we need to use the the power that Congress has to limit the amount of, cases that are heard on the emergency or the shadow docket.

Congress has that authority, and I want us to use it.

Thank you.

That concludes the first segment of this debate.

When we come back, the candidates will have an opportunity to ask each other questions.

This is Vermont public's general election debate for Vermont's At-Large seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

I'm Mikayla LeFrak.

Stay with us.

This is Vermont Public's general election debate for Vermont seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

I'm Mikayla LeFrak in the Vermont Public Studio in Colchester.

Joining us today are Mark Coester of Westminster and Congresswoman Becca Balint of Brattleboro.

The candidates will now have an opportunity to ask each other questions.

The questions should not be longer than 30s, and the responses are limited to 60s.

And a reminder you can ask a brief follow up question.

And we will begin with Congresswoman Balint.

Your first question.

Thank you so much.

Mr. Cursor, 118 of my Republican colleagues did not vote to certify the election.

Can Vermonters trust that you will fulfill your constitutional duty and certify the election, regardless of who wins?

Most certainly.

Wonderful.

Do you have a follow up question?

if you had been in Congress when the, the Trump Pence campaign lost the election, would you have voted to certify the election?

I would have had to review the data at that time as what was going on.

There was a major interruption.

they recessed, and they joined back up, a little after midnight and certified it.

Do you think it was a free and fair election?

Considering the censorship of the story of the Hunter Biden laptop?

No.

Absolutely not.

Because 17% of Americans said they would have voted the other way.

Had they known it was true and it was true.

And it has been entered into a congressional record in its entirety, as you well know.

Okay, we're going to move on.

Mark, Krista, your question for Congresswoman Ballot.

Why did you vote not to deport convicted sex offenders that are non-citizens?

I'm so glad you asked that question, because it is already illegal and it is already a deportable offense.

And so what I've seen since I've been in Congress for the last, you know, almost two years, is that Republicans consistently bring to the floor bills that are not needed because it's already illegal.

For example, in the first year of my term, I think it might have even been in the first month.

They brought a bill to the floor to make it illegal to kill a baby after birth.

It is already illegal in every state.

There is so much nonsense that we need to vote on, and we don't get to the real issues that Vermonters deeply care about.

I'll give you another another example.

I had to vote on an act called the Hula Act, which was about protecting our household appliances.

This is what is taking up our time.

We have not passed our 12 bills for funding the government.

And the bill that you are referring to.

It's already illegal.

Do you have a follow up question?

How are the electric appliances working out in Asheville and Hendersonville right now?

They are digging out from their emergency in the same way, unfortunately, that Vermonters needed to dig out.

All right.

So their appliances needed to be protected.

I'm sorry.

To be clear, are you implying that the the bill that Congresswoman Ballard just brought up was, in fact, necessary?

A bill to protect the finances?

Okay.

All right.

We're going to move on.

Congresswoman Balint, it is your turn to ask a question.

So I want to go back to reproductive rights, because you seem to imply that it was irrelevant for us here in Vermont.

When I hear from so many parents that they're afraid of sending their daughters to states where they will not get full reproductive care.

So the question is, when it comes to the House of Representatives, to codify reproductive rights, will Vermonters have your votes to protect those rights for every woman, regardless of where she lives in this country?

Women have the right to get an abortion.

Is that your full answer?

That's good.

That's.

If you have a follow up question.

So, you know I'm not going to.

You have a minute to answer if you don't use it.

That is beyond the legal powers granted by the states to the federal government.

It's a states issue, state by state.

These things will change in states.

Arizona had some ridiculous archaic law.

that was no abortions whatsoever.

The Arizona legislature changed that.

It is a state issue.

It is not a federal issue.

Do you have a follow up?

I do.

Do you think politicians belong in somebodys doctor's office to be making these decisions for them?

Absolutely not.

Then why will you not right now promise that if it were to come to the House of Representatives, that you would vote to protect reproductive rights for all women?

That's what I don't understand why you want to.

That politicians have no business being in the middle of a doctor patient relationship.

Like.

But they are.

Yes, exactly.

They stop people from receiving ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, too.

Just to clarify, the congresswoman is asking whether if you were elected to Congress and a bill came before you to ban abortion at the federal level or to protect it at the federal level, how would you vote?

And I think asking me to comment that politicians shouldn't be involved between a doctor patient relationship.

I agree 100%.

I think Vermonters have a right to know how your vote.

Your time is up.

It is your turn to ask a question to Congresswoman Ballard in 2022.

You were absolutely vicious against Molly Gray for, being funded by out-of-state money.

For $1.1 million in advertising.

Not just for you, but for Peter Welsh.

What do you think about this?

Do we need some sort of campaign finance reform?

No question.

Absolutely.

We need campaign finance reform.

We have to get dark money out of politics.

When you have, donors that you're not able to trace, you can have situations like that where you have, super PACs spending on behalf of a candidate, and they have no control over that spending.

It's wrong.

It needs to change.

And I have signed on to numerous bills in Congress to overturn, the way that we are funded, including a bill to, overturn Citizens United, which opened up the floodgates to all of this dark money.

And so, no question, it's not healthy for the democracy.

I also introduced a small dollar donor protection bill, which makes sure that every single individual, donation that comes in is actually coming from the person that that it claims to be from, and deals with that fraud.

And I also supported the Disclose act, which is getting to transparency and election integrity.

So I completely agree.

Do you have a follow up question?

So the dark money that you've railed against so much on Molly Gray is what got you elected.

Did you pay back the $11,000 from to Sam Bankman-Fried?

So let's be clear.

It was stolen from donors.

Yeah, let's I'm very happy to answer that question.

So we have put all of that money in a separate account.

We have fully cooperated with the investigators.

I have never been accused of any wrongdoing.

The money is sitting in account waiting to go back to the folks who were made on hole by the demise of FTX.

And, you know, to your other question, in the last month of the campaign, I had 12 times the number of small dollar donations coming into my campaign, and our internal polling showed us up by double digits.

And so I know, please, she finishes again.

Outside expenditures, independent expenditures cannot be controlled by the campaign.

That's why we have to end this system.

That is your time.

And this concludes the second segment of our program.

When we come back, the candidates will answer more questions from our citizens agenda and the newsroom.

This is Vermont public's general election debate for Vermont seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

I'm Mikayla LeFrak.

Stay with us.

Welcome back.

This is the general election debate for Vermont seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

I'm Mikaela LeFrak.

Joining us is Vermont Public's Colchester studio art congresswoman Becca Balint of Brattleboro.

And Mark Coester, excuse me of Westminster will now return to questions from our citizens agenda and the newsroom.

Thank you to everybody who submitted questions or noted particular issues that you wanted the candidates to address today.

And just a reminder to the candidates to please limit your answers here to one minute.

This election season has been marked by two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump, and the last presidential election was closely followed by an attack on the US Capitol building on January 6th, 2020.

Kate in Caledonia County writes, quote, it seems clear to me that there is more political violence in our future.

Do the candidates have plans to cope with that?

Mark Coester, we'll start with you.

Cope with political violence.

Address it in your role as a congressperson.

Well, there should be no political violence whatsoever.

So it sounds like you would condemn political violence.

Is there any other steps you would take?

Changes to rhetoric?

votes.

I don't need to address political violence.

That's that's a normal, rational human being.

Knowledge that there shouldn't be violence regarding politics or anything else.

And yet there is.

Yes, there is.

Yes.

All right.

Would you like to use the rest of your time?

Well, nobody's tried to assassinate Kamala or Joe Biden.

All right, let's move on.

Congresswoman ballot.

So it's absolutely devastating that we have had two assassination attempts on the former president.

And I was asked recently, you know, should we have the same level of protection for sitting presidents as we do for former presidents?

And I think in this day and age, we absolutely need to do that.

I do think that our language matters, and I think it is important for all of us to bring down the rhetoric.

And I'm very concerned.

Sarah Longwell, who is a Republican, she, she works on Republican campaigns.

And she said recently that that I have never seen such a nasty, fear filled, campaign coming from at the top of the ticket on the Republican side.

And I'm very concerned about the rhetoric around immigrants in Ohio.

from the vice presidential candidate.

And I think we as Democrats, we need to watch our language as well.

It does matter if we, use our platform to lower the temperature.

And that's something that I've always tried to do.

Thank you.

What was your initial.

I want to ask both of you a follow up question here.

first, Congresswoman, about what was your initial reaction when you heard about the assassination attempts against President Donald Trump?

Both of them.

Yeah.

I was actually on a, congressional trip, overseas looking at some some programs.

in Nairobi and I was stunned and saddened, deeply saddened and scared for our country.

And I had a lot of questions about, what what are the systems that are not in place that need to be in place to protect anyone who is a public official, right now?

And so it was it was first shock and, deep dismay.

And, Mark, I want to return to something you you said at the end of your answer.

I just want to follow up there.

you said, no one has tried to assassinate President Joe Biden or Kamala Harris.

was there a point you were trying to make there?

What what were you saying by bringing that up?

she's talking about the rhetoric.

There's the political antagonistic rhetoric.

I just want to be clear for listeners, are you drawing a connection between rhetoric?

And certainly I was on the way to the to the national convention, to the RNC national Convention when I got a call that they tried to assassinate President Trump.

It's like, oh, again, he's alive.

Thank God.

You know, there are those that.

Wished something other.

Okay.

Let's move on to international affairs which we haven't yet discussed during today's debate.

We are coming up now on the one year anniversary of the October 7th attacks by Hamas in Israel.

Since that day, more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian authorities.

And around 1700 Israelis.

The conflict continues to escalate.

Recently, Israel invaded Lebanon.

Lebanon?

Excuse me, I'm using my Vermont, pronunciation here.

What actions should the U.S. take to help end this war?

Congresswoman Ballin?

Yeah.

I know I speak for so many Vermonters this has been an absolutely devastating year as we see the suffering, in the Gaza Strip and the terrific loss of life.

I think what we can do in the near term is consistently use our diplomatic forces to bring about what has been so elusive, which is a cease fire and a release of all hostages.

And I also think we need to be, holding all of our allies, including Israel, to the same standards.

And we need to be enforcing laws like the Leahy Law that makes sure that any ally receiving, military aid is abiding by all, humanitarian protocol.

And I have been an outspoken critic of Netanyahu.

I will continue to do that.

I do not believe he speaks for the people of Israel, but the violence and the suffering need to stop.

And I believe, more has to be done to get, an end to the violence and more humanitarian aid into into Gaza.

And a brief follow up here, your colleague Bernie Sanders recently called for the U.S. to stop sending weapons to Israel.

Do you support Senator Sanders efforts?

You know, I saw he had a series of, resolutions that he released last week, and we're still looking through all of them.

but I did vote against sending additional military aid to Israel, this past year.

And I take every single, bill incredibly seriously.

And it's possible that I will sign on to, some of the initiatives that Senator Sanders, we have not had a chance to get into the details of what weapons he's talking about, because I want to make sure Israel still has Iron Dome and, David Sling, which protect them from the rockets coming from Hezbollah.

Thank you.

And, Mark Coester, what action do you think the U.S. should take it to help end the conflict between Israel and Hamas?

Negotiations are a good thing that all of our legislators chose to boycott.

When Netanyahu came to the United States.

Is abhorrent.

And then Netanyahu went down to speak with Donald Trump, just as Zelensky went down to speak with Donald Trump.

I believe Zelensky also wants negotiations and wants that war to end.

Were well over 600,000 Ukrainians have already died, and we will get to Ukraine in just a moment.

But I want to focus here on so Israel, you know.

This horrific thing here, this horrific thing there.

Negotiations are the key when people squashing negotiations squash peace treaties that are already signed.

You know.

We have an incompetent boob in the white House.

What do you expect?

Right.

And we do have a, a policy here in Vermont, public against using language like that and personal attacks.

So if we could keep it civil here.

Well, he was deemed incompetent to stand trial for the document case of over 18,000 documents that he took while he was vice president.

So he's incompetent.

Okay.

You know, you can state your opinion.

I just want to keep the language, civil here, please.

Israel recently expanded the war into Lebanon, with Iran vowing to retaliate for the assassination of the Hezbollah leader.

What role do you think the U.S. can take in preventing an even wider regional war beyond negotiation?

As you just said?

With the current administration.

Nothing will change.

Okay.

Thank you.

Let's move on to the war in Ukraine, which has been going on now for two and a half years.

What role do you see the U.S. playing in ending that fighting?

And what would the quote unquote ideal ending to that war look like?

Mark Coester, there has to be an agreement that comes together between, Putin and Zelensky.

And I saw very clearly that Zelensky was open to that, and he wants it to end.

It's absolutely horrific what's been going on.

An entire generation of younger Ukrainian men are dead.

We want the death to stop.

Thank you.

And, Congresswoman Balint, I think it's incredibly important that we continue to continue to stand with Ukraine.

It's not just about their democracy.

It is about other democracies in Europe.

I think it's critically important that we stand with with our NATO allies.

I was very happy to be able to vote in support of the Ukraine package that was finally pushed through Congress, that we had many members of the Republican conference voted against it.

I also think that it's important for listeners to remember that a couple weeks ago, in the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, he was asked specifically, did he want Ukraine to be victorious, Ukraine to win the war?

And he would not answer in the affirmative.

And that I find that deeply concerning, that authoritarianism is on the rise globally.

And I think that was a very clear line.

And he had an opportunity to show what side he stands with.

And he didn't do it.

And I will be a strong voice for a free, an independent Ukraine.

Thank you.

One more question in this segment here.

And let's discuss immigration.

Conversations about immigration are usually focused on the southern border, but there are a record number of people entering this country illegally from the Canadian border in our state of Vermont.

Do you see this as a major problem, Congresswoman Ballard?

Well, look, we don't have an immigration system that anybody is happy with.

I think that we have, kicked the can for far too many years in the federal government in dealing with comprehensive immigration reform.

I think it is absolutely, understandable that we do want a safe and secure border.

And we also have to treat migrants and immigrants and people seeking asylum with dignity and humanity.

And one of the things that I hear about, again, from employers across this state is that they desperately need there to be comprehensive immigration reform so that we have, workers who can come on a seasonal basis to work here, and we can't even get agreement on that in Congress.

And so I am always going to be somebody who's standing up for comprehensive reform and making sure that our immigration policies are humane.

And I'm very concerned about the rhetoric right now around immigrants and migrants at the national level.

Thank you.

And my cursor, run that question by me again now.

Sure.

so we're talking about immigration here, which is usually a conversation that's focused on the southern border.

But there are a record number of people who are entering the U.S. illegally from the northern border, from Canada into our state.

Do you see that as a major problem?

Yes.

The northern border has increased.

I believe, 1,700% or more.

More incursions than there had been in the previous ten years.

The southern border.

I went there to see it myself, and back in 22, it was horrific.

Absolutely horrific.

You could look across and see the rape tents.

You could see children's I rape tents.

You could look across the border and see the rape tents.

Okay.

I have not seen any evidence of a rape.

I don't.

I saw them in person.

Oh, you could see the cartel on the hilltops.

Not only on the Mexican side, but on the U.S. side in camouflage.

Everywhere you looked.

I was there for more than 24 hours.

We were handing out water bottles and snacks and Bibles in Spanish, with a number to call if people got in trouble.

Okay, this is your time.

It's horrific.

Oh, okay.

Well, first I would like to ask a follow up question to to each of you.

one were the question here was about the northern border.

So I would like to hear from both of you on that.

we can agree that there are issues with our immigration policy that are specifically focused on the southern border.

But here in Vermont, do you think that that there is an issue with, quote unquote, illegal immigration?

And how would you address that in Congress to allow the Border Patrol to do their job?

Say more.

What is what are they not?

They're telling people that they're not being allowed to do their job.

Who is they?

The Border Patrol.

Okay.

Do you have anything else to add there?

Any details?

I just want to make sure you use your time.

If you'd like to follow the existing laws.

That's that's the thing.

First, you need to follow the existing laws.

Enter only through a port of entry.

And then we can negotiate some sort of immigration reform.

My my wife came into this country legally from the Ukraine.

Right.

You know, that is that is your time.

Congresswoman.

talk to us about the northern border.

Yeah.

I really appreciate the question.

there was a border bill that, came bipartisan border bill in the Senate that would have infused, more money, significant, more money.

to hire more Border patrol agents, more asylum judges, more, technical assistance to, detect fentanyl, which I know is a ravaging, so many, so many families here in Vermont.

And so we have to get back to a place where we can agree, as Democrats and Republicans, that this is an issue that we have to stop using as a political football and sit down like they did in the Senate to get a comprehensive bill passed.

But what we saw was that, the former president intervened and I know my time is up.

Thank you for jumping in there for me.

we do have time for a brief lightning round, which I want to make sure we get to before the end of this debate.

Please keep your answers as short as possible.

So 10s or less here.

First question.

Should we raise income taxes for people who earn more than $500,000 a year?

Yes.

No.

Should the federal government institute term limits on members of Congress?

Yes.

I support term loss.

Should schools be required to tell parents of their child's gender identity?

I think that's a conversation that needs to happen with, a counselor at school with the parents, parents rights to know.

All right.

Well, this is, for to the end of our very short lightning round, we will, have time for closing statements from each candidate.

And again, the order was determined randomly before the show.

And, Congresswoman Valent, you will start us off.

It has been the honor of my life to represent Vermont in Congress.

I never imagined that I would be in this position as the child of an immigrant in a working class mom, and I take my job very seriously.

I'm proud of the work that we have done in my office this year, because although my name is on the door, I have a whole staff that works with me.

We've been able to help over 2000 Vermonters, cut through the red tape, to get benefits that are they are entitled to for Social Security, Medicare, get help with passports.

I've been able to bring back $11 million to community projects here in Vermont.

15 different projects funding things from housing to meals on Wheels, to, making sure that we have, childcare facilities.

And so that's the kind of work that I'm doing on behalf of Vermonters.

Every single day.

So it's not just the votes that I take.

It's the work that happens in my office to make sure that anyone who calls the office is going to get somebody on the other end who understands that they're working on behalf of them.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And my Chris, for your closing statement or closing statement.

I got no.

Okay.

I do solemnly swear or affirm that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.

That I will take this obligation freely and without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion.

And that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.

So help me God.

Thank you.

This concludes the general election debate for Vermont's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Vermont public.

Many thanks to the two candidates for being part of the program today.

Congresswoman, I will ask you to keep that on, please.

Thank you.

Congresswoman Becca Balint of Brattleboro, thank you.

I really appreciate the time.

And Mark Coester of Westminster, thank you.

You have a wonderful day.

Front Porch Forum is Vermont Public's lead outreach partner for the Citizens Agenda project.

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The Vermont Public Debates series is produced by Holt, Albee and John Aarons, with production support from Daniela Ferro, Andrea Lauren, Dave Rice, Brain Stevenson, Kaylee Mumford, Joey Palumbo, Riley Cartwright, Phil Edfors and Frank Alwine.

Our timekeeper is Rick Barrett.

Audio engineering by Peter Engicsh, radio direction by Mary Engicsh and video direction by Mike Dunn.

I'm Mikaela LeFrak.

Thank you so much for listening and watching, and we'll catch up again soon.