turks over the question should the u.s. shut its borders? the debate is moderated by harry weiss. watch friday 9 p.m. eastern on c-span and online at c-span.org. >> the house will be in order. >> c-span celebrates 45 years of covering congress like no other. since 1979 we've been your primary source for capitol hill providing balanced unfiltered coverage of government. taking you to what the policy is debated and decided all with the support of america's cable companies. c-span, 45 years and counting, howard by cable here. >> a debate among the three leading democratic candidates running to replace outgoing democratic congressman andy kim to represent new jersey's third congressional district. posted by the new jersey globe,

the candidateshare the views on universal healthcar a speech and college campuses and how the political values compare with representative kim. the states primary is scheduled to be held in early june. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello and welcome to the first debate between the democratic candidates for the u.s. house of representatives from new jersey's third congressional district sponsored by the new jersey globe, on new jersey and rider university. this is a race for the open seat of andy kim who is running for

u.s. senate. we have three of the five candidates are running. herb conaway and carol murphy. our panelists this evening are david wildstein and joey fox at the new jersey globe. in micah rasmussen director of the institute at rider university. now after drop of cards we would have determine carol murphy will go first. herb conaway book of second and joel joe will get there. we've gone over the rules about to keep in mind our time want to cover as many topics as possible so we will dive into opening statements and i can i tell we have lost ms. murphy picture scheduled to go first that will come back to her and go to aunt or second person who is herb conaway. he stands by his for his opening statement. dr. conaway, good to have you. you have 90 seconds. >> thanks. thanks to this body for giving us this opportunity. my name is herb conaway. i was born and raised in berwyn

county. my dad and my mom raised us come in my three cities i went on to public school and then off to princeton and then down to philadelphia to go to medical school at jefferson medical college. i can when it is the service at mcguire air air force base a captain and did medical corps on the base. i was fortunate to become after that i went through residues and internal medicine and was fortunate to be elected to the general assembly in 1997 taking at the service in 1998. i have been in leadership for most of that time. i've been sharing the h.e.l.p. committee and now speaker, and that taken on the big tasks here in new jersey. we have a new funding, i have a funding program for middle-class districts. i i worked on prescription drugs for seniors. i brought obamacare to new jersey, increased access to healthcare.gh this election probably the most important in one's life check

some of the first amendment major party candidate who said he will be a dictator and will go after our cherished public institutions. and we've seen regrettably that women's rights are under attack here in this country. i have been fighting for reproductive freedom. i am a practicing physician. i know what happens in the exam room. the tough decisions that need to be made. i've delivered, i talked with but reproductive rights and healthcare. i know politicians have noood business being in the examination room. i ask forne your consideration tonight. this is a historic election for me personally. if elected i will be the first black position to serve in congress in the nation and i will be the first african-american to represent south jersey. so i look forward to your questions and was again thankswa for this forum. >> our next candidate, joe cohn, for his opening statement was to

work on those technical issues for ms. murphy. jo koy, your opening statement. 90 seconds. >> thank you. i'm joe cohn. i'm not a politician. i'm a civil rights attorney. living in southern new jersey for the last 16 years and from my small farm for blasting. i've advocated for civil rights. during my 20 years as a lawyer for nonprofits like the aids law project, the aclu and the foundation for individual rights and expression come i have one on issues that matter to democrats. legislators are blue, purple and deep and red. for example, last year i i lea successful campaign against of the santa's backed bill in florida that would've rolled back for you back right. congress needs people with my civil rights background and my experience building winning coalitions. we simply cannot afford to let the polarization continue because it and a certain former president have placed our

democracy in real danger. enour civil liberties like the right to choose on the chopping block.e, to defend our democracy and allr rights we must restore faith in government. it starts by having a congress laser focus on solving our problems rather than exclusively waging culture wars that drive us apart. our prioritize ensuring all americans have quality, affordable health care. saving social security, getting the wealthiest among us to pay their fair share so we can fund universal pre-k, justin the border, fighting climate change and reestablishing a federal right to reproductive freedom. i want to thank tonight sponsors and the moderators and my opponents for sharing the stage with me. i hope to earnin your vote on j. thank you again. >> carol murphy, we have our technical issues ironed out. over to you for your opening statement.

[inaudible] first -- [inaudible] [inaudible] >> we are still having technical issues with carolav murphy. so what we're going to do is we are going to jump to our panelists for the questions. and once we worked that out we will make sure that she gets her time to make a statement. so if panel you are ready. david wildstein, you will be up first.yo you have a question for mr. cohn. >> yes. you are seeking to replace andy kim as a other u.s. house of representatives from the third district of new jersey. i know you knew him well. i know you respect him. what positions have you taken or has he taken that you would seek

to emulate as his successor, and are there any votes that he has cast or positions he has taken where you don't share that view and wee do something different? .. kim has big shoes to fill because he has been a fantastic representative for us here in the third congressional district. what i share most in common with him is our shared commitment to trying to deal -- do everything we can to build bipartisan support. i admire >> i thought he did the right thing in voting to approve of the aid to taiwan, israel and the ukraine, while casting the no vote on the bill to ban tik tok. i'd share, you know, the same

voting record on that. i don't know where he would stand on other civil liberties issues that i would advance. so i'm a big proponent of criminal justice reform, i'm obviously a big supporter of free speech protections and i thank you for that question. >> okay, we're going to go mr. conaway, dr. conaway your chance for questions. >> andy, six years, i voted for him and campaigned for him. i can't say i know everything that he does, i know -- and in doing and work the work for the people here in the 7th district that i represent, but i know i support him and i know most importantly is i run for office meeting people at the door and answering the phone and meeting people in group that they're

for andy and i'm for andy as well. i think he did a fantastic job in outrich and it's been fantastic. i can't think anything off the top of my head i disagree, except maybe on tik tok vote. i listened to a program recently and a well-taken concern about china's involvement in tik tok. i want to keep tik tok in, i want china out. thank you very much, doctor. do we have carol murphy? we do have carol murphy, you have 45 seconds to respond. did you hear the question, if not-- >> i did not. >> do you want to repeat it or shall i? >> i can repeat it. the question you're seeking to replace andy kim in congress. what positions has he taken that you would like to continue if you're his successor and are there any votes you would have

voted differently. >> thank you for that. first of all, it would be an honor to replace andy kim in congress and work with him as he moves into the senate. i can start off by telling anti-semitic bill, i would have voted for that bill and i would also continue moving forward and worked with our congressional delegation to make sure to see that through. one thing i do agree on is the fact that we have to sell tik tok and ban it from u.s. and china should sell that and look, we have to protect our children and we have to continue with andy kim. i know he is a big huge advocate of reproductive rights and that's one thing that we will continue working together on. >> thank you very much. to our next question. mike rasmussen you have a question that will go to dr.

conaway. >> you are a public health official and physician. what is your position on sponsoring universal health care in the house and what do we need to do as far as the national policy on nursing staff levels and issues that we're having? >> well, thanks for that question. universal health care means, as you put it, a single payer health plan then i don't support that. i don't think the american people are ready for a government-run health care system. you look to canada and places in europe, particularly england. every time the government runs into an issue they cut health care. we're dealing with medicare cuts now that could imperil medicare itself and now you want the government, the federal government to control the entire health care system, i don't think the people want that and i don't sport that. if your question means can we do everything we can to advance poor people and i'm for that.

and improving the health care status of our citizens, i'm all for that. i'm for allowing those who are perhaps gapers, i might call them, they've worked and now waiting for medicare, for them to buy into the medicare program and that's important and the other divisions that go to expanding health access, i'm for health in that federal level. >> the next response goes to ms. murphy. >> thank you, first of all, i want to say that health care is a human right, it is not a privilege, it's a human right and protecting medicare and moving toward universal health care is extremely important, not only for me, but for those in new jersey and i strongly stand with my staffing folks to protect nurses and patients and doctors, and hospitals, to assure that we have a balanced staff that will be able to

provide access to health care. >> okay. and our next response, mr. cohn. >> well first, i think it's important to get as many people insured as we can. health should not be determined by one's wealth. what i would do, i would make sure that medicare was an option available to all. so not the only option, but would eliminate the age restrictions so that anyone can choose to be on medicare. the next thing that i think we need to do, is control the cost of prescription drugs. we need to have for what we'll get a drug on the list of those that can be negotiated for the price. and with respect to nursing levels. i think we need to provide -- continue to provide student loans for those that go into nursing and do everything we can to encourage better wages for those going into the nursing profession because

whether it's nursing or long-term care. we have a problem we can't to those jobs. the next question is to murphy. >> and there's an agenda what is it like in the body that people are retiring in droves. and why could you look to the house than the assembly. >> thank you for that and that keeps me moving and invested in what we do, not only in legislation, but my kitsy and the people of new jersey, once

we start working together and going to d.c. to be able to continue moving us forward is a huge responsibility that i take seriously. as i go into d.c., i can tell you right now, i'll bring the same tenacity that i bring to trenton, that's continuously working to make sure that we follow our constituents have a way to stay in new jersey and the affordability here. >> mr. cohn, your response. >> well, the reason i want to join congress, congress needs people who can bring people together. we're having a real national security threat in our country from polarization. it's tearing us apart at every level and we need people with the skill set and the determination to stop treating us versus them where we're

trying to dunk on our political opponent. i spent the last 20 years of my career in legislatures across the country trying to bring people together to make real progress and i've had success, even where republicans have the power and the control. and right now that's what we need more than anything is people who are going to be able to navigate that situation. >> herb conaway, you have 45 seconds. >> thanks, well, i'm running because i love my country and my country has given me a lot and i want to serve it. i've served in the military and raised my hand for the nation and prepared to work for the nation once again. you're right that-- and i know i'm only one person, but my approach has been to speak the mind, the common situation and common ground. we have much more in our country that we agree on. a great deal of commonalty. i know i'm only one person, if

there are enough people who are focused on the american people and in the american people's interest, then we'll have a congress that functions the way it should. as a doctor, i do science-based fact-based politics and that's how i've governed in new jersey and with the same if i'm in that body. >> yes, i think that over any election in new jersey, is george norcross, a power broker who holds immense sway over democratic politics. if your opinion has mr. norcross been a force for good in south jersey. >> well, listen, i don't know mr. norcross. what i will say is, we can't continue to have politics go through any person no matter who they are.

we need to be in a situation where the voters and the voters alone determine who our leaders are. and that's why i was proud to be amicus on the challenge blind. and why my opponents before the county convention to join me in a statement saying that our race should be handled on an even level. neither one of them replied and that's why i think that we need to get back to the basics of the grass roots work that brings all of us together. >> okay. carol murphy, you have 45 seconds. >> thank you. one of the things that i could say is that being a part of the county, i worked to support jersey and assure that we get our fair share. i can tell you i'm very independent from the democrats in camden county. it serves me well and gives me

the ability to continue being independent from my constituents. but i can tell you this, i was a member of the south jersey delegation. we have worked to pass many good bills for everyone in the state of new jersey, including pay equity, reproductive rights. those are just a few of the things that we have done as a south jersey delegation. and i stand with-- (inaudible) >> okay. we're going to go to herb conaway, you have 45 seconds to response. >> the question again was, i'm sorry? repeat the question. >> joey, would you like me to repeat it or you have it. >> in your opinion has george norcross been a force for good in south jersey? >> well, norcross has at the head of a thriving business. he has been the driving force

behind the expansion of cooper university hospital which has been a driving force in providing health care for the underserved, not only in camden city, but across the region. and so, he has force was good and i think the answer to that question is yes. >> okay. joey, we're going to go back to you now. >> back to you now with a question for herb conaway. >> so one thing that murphy noted was the legislative democratic legislation has passed a lot of bills and one of the things that you three opposed as a bill that significantly hobbles the state's open public record act so i'm not going to ask whether you oppose it because i know that all three of you were publicly against it, but do you think there should be consequences for the legislators, the south jersey legislators who did support it? >> well, look, the voters are

always in the driver's seat and can always decide. i'll leave that to them. the people who took their votes, i'm sure they took their votes based on the evidence and the facts that were presented to them and i hope looking to the needs of their constituents. i can only say for myself, is that i listen to what my constituents say with respect to that bill and it was overwhelming that my constituents wanted a no vote on that bill and while anything we do in the government can be reformed. this particular vehicle was not so far as my constituents were concerned, not the kind of reform they wanted. so, i'll let the voters across the state make-- past judgment on all of this, on all officials as they should, which is their right in this country. >> okay. and joe cohn over to you. >> i agree with assemblyman conaway that the voters will ultimately have their say and i

predict they'll be really unhappy with the members of the legislature who voted to roll back protections. you can't have democracy function well without real meaningful transparency and you don't get meaningful transparency when there aren't accessible ways for people to get to court when requests are improperly denied. there is a serious problem, the polling on it shows that voters are angry and i think that there's going to be a lot of accountability for that vote. it's a shame. it didn't have to be that way and hopefully the governor will veto the bill. >> carol murphy, you have 45 seconds to respond. >> had a little bit of a different spin. while we have to protect our transparency and our documents, the consequences that we're going to see, not necessarily with those who voted for the

bill because you know what? with pure respect for all of my colleagues, they have a right to vote the way they feel is important for their district and they feel that works for their district. where the consequences is going to come, it's not just this bill, but many other bills that we are going to see over time whether it works or not. those are going to be the consequences. it's not going to be just because we voted yes or no on this bill. how does this bill stand up to the test of time moving forward and as a person who's been over in the past, i can tell you that's where the true consequence is going to come whether it works or not work. >> and david, we're going back over to you, you have a question for carol murphy. >> should clean energy policies depend on the ability to mine essential materials like cobalt and graphite and lithium? my question is, what restrictions should be placed

on the supply chain to the united states on cobalt for electric car batteries? in some cases they come from forced child and adult labor in the congo or from ocean floor mining, i think they call it sea bit mining and could disrupt aquatic life and eco systems and still be discovered. >> absolutely. so, you know, one of the things that i take great pride in is the fact that i've been a strong supporter and champion for clean energy, clean water and our electric vehicles, and making sure that off shore wind plays a part in our environmental structure, especially during this bad time of climate change, which is now a crisis in the united states. for one thing, we should never have slave and child labor. that's a no. we should never have that. nor should we have ocean floor mining. we're able to accomplish the things that we need to do,

especially during climate change, making sure that we have off shore wind. we make sure we have clean water. we make sure we have clean air. it's a right for people to have these clean air and clean water. as we move forward, again, i'm going to restate we should not have slave or child labor in any of this. >> and conaway over to you for your response. >> and we talk about restrictions on vital resources that willpower our climate future. i certainly don't think these-- taken on a case by case basis we know that innovation is continuing in this space, moving from liquid state batteries, there's solid state batteries for cars at that change the mix of materials that might be vital for that, but we need this for our energy independence and delivering a climate that's healthy for the environmental going forward. of course, no one is for child labor and no one-- and we have laws on this.

we need to respect travel lands, and natural resources in the book, but understand this, we're going to innovate our way to an economy that's clean and healthy for our environment, and for the world. it's an important responsibility of elected officials to work for the future. i've been a leader on this, no question and i'll continue that if i'm elected to congress. >> joe cohn, you have 45 seconds. if we're going to get rid of child labor and slave labor we need to provide the incentive for those that are using those labor sources to eliminate them and that might require the painful act from us of paying higher prices for some of these materials until the innovations that senator conaway mentioned are real and can be used. we have the responsibility to workers to be using the carrot in order to encourage the conditions better for them. but we also need to have energy

policy that diversifies our energy sources and uses as many clean energies as possible. that's why i've developed a plan to use and put solar panels on every suitable square space of federal buildings and federal parking lots and bloc grants in the government to do the same. >> michael rasmussen, you're up next and your question will go to mr. cohn. >> this is a question for farmer cohn. the farm bill is still a big deal in congress every year. how important is it to bolster what's left of the agriculture heritage and how do you do that in congress with so much development pressure around us? >> well, i live in part of the district that is a rural street only five minutes away from a suburban area and of course, we're just a half hour away from philadelphia.

we have to make sure that we keep our open spaces open and we preserve as much as possible. and i'll be a voice fighting in congress to make sure that those in the agricultural world aren't left behind. you know, you see the bumper stickers all the time, no forms, no food, and it's true. so, my view is that it's a bill worth fighting for because you know, we can't get the open spaces back once we've developed on them. >> okay. the next response goes to herb conaway. >> well, you're right, this is agricultural. there are many agricultural spaces across the district and i served on the agricultural committee for 10, 12 years and sponsored a number of open spaces and certainly a critical part of what we need to do and a highly urbanized densely populated area such as new

jersey, but we have a great farming economy and the government needs to support that and if that means protecting access to water. and protecting the spaces from overdevelopment and preserving open space. we have to preserve the former and that's where that former is, and we need to make sure that they can use every about it of that land they can to maintain themselves while they're maintaining the forms and make sure that there's a pathway for their families, which we see across the country. so i recognize that we live in a great place. we have farming communities and they all need our support. >> carol murphy, over to you, 45 seconds. >> thank you. you know what, our farming community is extremely important to our economy. it is a key part of our economy, which includes farm conservation. farm loans to start expansion

of our forms. and so investment in our farms and protect our food supply. all of these fall under that bill that has right to farm and that's what we have to constantly remember, if we do not have fresh fruits, fresh vegetables in our grocery stores and on our food stands, we're not serving our residents well and in congress, i can tell you, i will continue at being an advocate, a strong voice for my farmers here in the county, mercer county. >> david, you're up next and first question to herb conaway. >> some protest over the way, israel and gaza taking over college campuses across the country and in new jersey. how can the first amendment rights of students be balanced with the academic concerns and

the reputational concerns of the higher education institution? >> well, let's start with the principles and you mentioned and you're right, we live in a free country with a constitution that says people have a right to free speech and express them selves by protest and organizing themselves to advanced policies in the government and that needs protection. there also is a right of students to go to school in an environment that's safe and to be free from the regrettable rise in anti-semitism and islamophobia not just on campuses by the way, but across the country that in my opinion have been spurred by one person whose name is donald trump. one way to deal with the very tense situations and they're all-- what we've seen is when this administrations go and try to understand where people are coming from, you know, the book referenced his grandmother and what she said was, i don't look down on someone you don't understand and i think that

should understand where people are coming from and work to ease tensions and to find a pathway to allow both peaceful protests, while dealing with those who choose to transgress the law and interfere with access of students to the education they need, to the facilities they need, for their growth and development. >> carol murphy, you're next. >> thank you. you know, first of all, in part of the first amendment right, free speech, and our pro protesters are definitely using their voice for free speech. and it's also not violence. we should not allow agitators on the campus to continue bringing chaos and violence to the protesters. and i also believe that our campuses, when we come to education, everyone has a right to an education. everyone has a right to be there. whether they agree with protesters or not and i believe that there should be a way to

be able to live together when there are protests going on that are within our realm of nonviolence and being able to use our voice to get a message across, not just to create chaos and violence. so, with that, i will-- my time is up. >> i didn't even have to use my bell. john cohn, you're next. >> great to get a question on my area of expertise. i've spent my career fighting for the rights of students on college campuses. let me make thing one thing perfectly clear, a bright line, it doesn't of protect vandalism, property destruction isn't protected at all under the first amendment. but campus administrators should be allowing as much

speech as they possibly can. have a right to go to school without any uncomfortable. without being discriminated against. >> there have been incidents where students have crossed those lines, access, occupying buildings that they don't have a right to occupy. students have-- >> we have to stop you there. time is up on that one, i apologize. >> thank you. >> joey fox, you're up next with a question for carol murphy. >> congress itself, of course, has a lot of say over the policy. and this week the house is set to vote on a bill that would override a biden administration decision to pause an arms shipment to israel over humanitarian concerns. if you were in the house would you support that bill? >> to override the

administration, the president. that's a difficult question because i don't know what is in the bill, but i can tell you this, it's never, in my former practices to override any president's decision on what is happening on foreign policy, especially with the president who has so much experience in foreign policy to assure that we are able to continue moving our country and protecting our country and our allies. i would probably be in a position i would not be voting for that bill. >> over to joe cohn. >> well, i'm jewish, i support israel's right to defend itself. i think it's crucial for the united states to back israel and to provide timely support, including timely weapons. i don't have a problem with the biden administration withholding a particular weapon if they think it's inappropriate for a particular mission because of the amount of damage that it would cause

provided they are providing other weapons that they think are, you know, more appropriate for that purpose. i don't know enough about what is being withheld and what is being offered to say how i would vote on the bill, but that's how i would analyze the question. >> okay. and over to herb conaway for your response. >> well, look, as a doctor i'm focused on preserving life, but let's go back to the first principles. since i was in high school i was supporter of the united states involvement in israel, cultural and -- the united states guarantor of israeli security and the israelis have a right to defend hits itself. as a physician i want to see

people-- have a break in the action so that we can move people to safety, food, water, shelter and we need a pathway for hostages to be retrieved. i don't know all the facts as the president does. i join with others getting those facts and asking for a briefing so they can understand what the president knows that we don't know and make a decision accordingly. >> next up, david, and a question for mr. cohn. >> some members of the congress from the 3rd district, both parties for decades, have made sure they had seat on the armed services committee, that is to protect a major contributor to south jersey, the -- will you commit right now to seek assignment on the house services committee to protect that interest for your district? >> absolutely.

that helped save us some time. [laughter] >> if that's all you have to say on it, then we'll go on to carol murphy for your response short and to the point. making up for time. ms. murphy. >> thank you. like joe, absolutely. that's on my committee list to pick up. i presently now as an assembly woman and a daughter of a u.s. army master sergeant, i can tell you that i already work on the joint base now with many of my base commanders and the other folks that do work on there. we also, as we move forward armed services i've made that same very commitment to many of on the county military affairs committee which i am a lifetime member of to continue working with them on many of the military issues that we have going on. not only here in new jersey, but one the biggest ones we

have, also-- >> okay, we're going to go to herb conaway for his response and we hear there is some feedback and we know we're getting it and we're working to address that so the audience and those participating in the debate know we are aware of that. herb conaway, to you. >> i've served and treated and in my practice, a number of people who are part of the veterans community. i'm a member of a veterans organization. i know how important these bases are to our veterans and to our national security and i would seek to serve on the armed services committee, hopefully they would allow to do so. on the general assembly i serve on the veterans affairs committee and sponsored several pieces of legislation into law that make things better for our military families and with respect to the services that veterans apply to our country. >> michael rasmussen, you have

a question for dr. herb conaway, take it away. >> you voted with south jersey democrats in support of governor chris christie's proposals to increase the contributions of public employees, including teachers and first responders, as well as their health care benefits and pension. indeed, when steve sweeney collaborated with chris christie, you were there in support of those measures. were you an enabler of some of christy's most memorable legislative priorities and do you regret that? >> i took on chris christie in contra distinction to what you just said when he tried to cut planned parenthood. i led the fight to override that veto and cut hurricane for women, particularly women speaking care, and against the administration and so, you know, i don't-- look, even across twice a day,

i'm not saying he's right on the issue, but to say i'm an enabler of the christie administration i've fought things that are critical, particularly for women in this state. as aphysician, as i said, i understand this, that health care has -- is about the relationship between the patient and her health care provider, her physician and her family, and i fought for that in new jersey and i'll continue to fight for that if i'm favored with election to congress. >> and jeff cohn, we're going to let you chime in on that. >> well, i don't think that collaboration is always a dirty word, but it should never be at the expense of workers. so, you know, we need to make sure that, you know, moving forward, that pensions are protected fully, that no matter what we are doing in collaboration with people we

disagree with, that we stay true to our principles of making sure that we're fighting constantly for working class people to have what they need, to have affordability of the things that they need for their lives. we need to make sure that the richest amongst us are paying their fair share. that would be my focus moving forward. i would work with anyone to make that happen. >> carol murphy, over to you. >> thank you, you know what? i'm going to answer that question directly. i can tell you one thing when that went down i was working with start greenstein as her chief of staff and stood with her on the streets of trenton when they had the bulletin board and microphones, that the chapter is going to hurt our teachers and schools and i stood with her in protest making sure that bill didn't go through, unfortunately it did,

but linda greenstein, and myself, who is a senator, she was in monmouth county, and parts of mercer. and we stood fighting and i couldn't have had a prouder moment of myself doing that. >> time to let our candidates ask the question of one of their opponents. you have 30 seconds to ask a question. one minute answer and 30 second response. again, one question to one opponent. we're starting with ms. murphy. you are first. >> thank you. senator conaway. you've criticized me for campaigning on identity politics, you stated in the pine tribune, another distinction between me and my chief opponent is my refusal to run on identity politics. do you mean talking about women's issues as a woman is identity politics? can you explain what you meant by identity politics, please?

>> what i meant was that, and say that one's sex or one's race should not be the principal driver of a campaign. simple as that. i am a person of color who represents a majority white district and i have governed in a way that irrespective of sex or race or gender or any other distinction that one might have. so, i meant nothing more than that. >> okay. carol murphy, you have 30 seconds to respond now. >> yeah, thank you. you know what? my experience as a woman is relevant and speaking otherwise is why we never have elected a woman into congress from south jersey. and anyone and some women if you think that women's issues and representations are just identity politics, then how can women trust you to protect our items? this isn't trivial. our rights are being taken away

and i will not stop talking about women's rights. >> women's rights, talking about women's rights, i've been there and done that and done that in my practice as well as as an elected official and in my defense of equal rights, particularly for women, if i'm elected to congress -- (inaudible) i have dealt with them and i stand second to none in my support for women's rights and equal rights and certainly protecting rights from this attack on their ability to live freely and make their own decisions. >> herb conaway, you're next with a question for your opponent. >> ms. murphy, you announced that you're running for congress before you got reelect today the assembly and you announced that you were supporting andy kim and his quest to take a seat in the

senate or run for the senate and going-- you changed your position, and so, i think people are going to want to know when you stand and say i will do such and such, that you're going to actually follow through and do that. so, can the people count on you to stand and dig in for the things that you say you'll do or are you going to flip-flop when it's politically convenient for you to do so? >> so, please, not to interrupt and i'm sorry, i thought it would be conaway to joe cohn, as well. he's a member of our campaign and andy has always supported andy kim. i think the next question if i'm not mistaken for the rules it supposed to go to joe cohn,

please clarify. >> do you have a question for joe cohn. >> that my understanding-- >> do you have a question for joe cohn. >> that's not my understanding of the rule and i have a question for your format and i don't have a question for joe. >> okay, ms. murphy, do you have anything you'd like to stay, another 30 seconds to respond. >> i've always supported andy kim, and you know what, when it came to this line i had a meeting with andy kim in december and we had breakfast, we had breakfast in january talking about the idea of making everyone on the same line. making it possible for the voices to be heard of every single democrat. i've never flip flopped on my support for andy kim in that effect and every single convention, i went up to him and told him i truly support

him. so to be payable to talk about flip-flopping is inaccurate, assemblyman. i do support andy kim and i've always supported andy kim and i voted for andy kim. >> need the globe, it's right there in print. >> now we're going to move on to joe cohn, you have the next question to carol murphy. >> assemblyman murphy, under my plan to help the next generation save for retirement, parents of children age one to five would be able to purchase a u.s. bond for up to $1,000 each year, that would mature when the child turns 67. at which point it would be worth $248,000 per parent. the parents would get a dollar for dollar credit on their taxes. and let parents do the same and

employers-- what's your plan to help save for retirement? >> you know, i've been a strong advocate for our pensions, preserving our pensions, preserving our social security and make sure that we focus on child care and tax credit while we support the children and the growth that they need. our children are our investment in the next generation, as we move forward i can only imagine what it's going to be like if our social security is cut and i read an article and read if donald trump gets elected, that he's going to cut out social security. that's not going to help our future leaders, our future adults and we have to focus on them today in order to preserve tomorrow because our future is uncertain if we don't worry about that and our pensions and our social security and all of them are an essential part of our children's growth in our society. >> before we go to our last round of question, joe cohn,

you have 30 seconds to respond to that. >> yeah, i just think that there's more that we can do. we need to make social security solvent. it's absolutely crucial because you know, we're going to run out of the surplus by, you know, 2036 and we need to take action to fix that now by raising the cap so that people who earn more income are contributing more into the system, but we need to do more than that, because social security doesn't cover enough for people to have real meaningful retirement and that's why i'm thinking we can leverage time to get money into people's hands so compounding interest can work for them. >> we have time for two more questions. and next question for joe cohn. >> you've identified protecting the prime lands in priority in keeping with the landmark protections that jim fleurieu first established from the house. what are some ways that a federal lawmakers can have the

protections today and what are the needs of the pinelands today that the house can advance? >> well, i think that one of the things that we need to do to preserve the pinelands is to make sure that the federal government is giving enough money to environmental protection agencies to enforce rules. we need to make sure that we get bloc grants for municipalities to be able to purchase more lands that are open space now for preservation because that's absolutely, you know, critically important and we need to work with all of the local nonprofits like the preservation-- pineland preservation alliance and others, they're plugged into what the individual needs are, whether it is deciding whether or not you're going to be doing building in pemberton,

or you know, other projects in other parts of the pinelands we need to prioritize making sure from congress that our epa is ready to do enforcement and has the resources and the municipalities have the money to be able to turn away development projects. >> herb conaway, you're next. >> well, when i was in high school, i actually ran on the pinelands preservation and so i am all about serving that -- you know what the federal government can do. we have to continue to wage a battle on climate. new jersey is surrounded by the ocean on one side and the river on the other and we need to drive the climate policy to lower the temperature and keep the subintrusion from what is underneath the pinelands.

i've led on the infrastructure on climate change and by the way, leading on infrastructure for climate change and addressing it is jobs, and-- building the infrastructure, putting people to work and other things that joe said, i agree with what he said, and that will help with the important resource for new jersey. >> carol murphy, you're next. >> i'm a strong supporter of the pinelands. a few years ago when we had major fires down in the pinelands, i went with the agriculture committee to tour the pinelands and i could tell you, one of the things that i think we need to also focus on is stronger foresty. we have to assure that our foresters and those working and our park police, et cetera, are able to continue keeping our pinelands strong. our pinelands continue to protect clean air and clean water and it's also important

for our eco system. right? and it makes not only south jersey, but also makes new jersey a great place to live because we have those pinelands for people to go and actually, you have some recreations, camping, if we don't have strong pinelands and we don't have strong foresters and strong rules and regulations that protect our climate and our forest and our woods, we will not be successful. >> joey fox, you're up for the question for herb conaway. >> and i haven't mentioned tonight and moderators have not mentioned, the rights and abortion and gun control and marijuana and they're important topics and also topics i think the three of you would largely agree on. so, my question for you, if you're elected to the bitterly divided, currently republican-controlled congress or republican-controlled house, what would you do to go about implementing your preferred policies on a lot of these

really contentious issues? >> well, you know, you have to-- as joe pointed out, you have to know how to deal with people who disagree with you. first, on my tombstone hopefully comes up many years from now, here lies the -- and i can reason with people that make an argument and type that you don't flip-flop on them. on the marriage equality, working to build data sets into our health data acquisition so we can understand what is happening with the lgbtq community and fought some of the issues around smoking, big tobacco was targeting vulnerable groups, i led on that and i can lead in the congress, my experience, will inform in the congress. and work with people, if you're reasonable with them, you try to understand where they're coming from, work for common ground and commonalty and

common values and get things done. that's what i've been doing and that's what i'll be doing. >> carol murphy. >> first of all, i can tell you make any type of policy work and strengthen it, you have to have the investment of those folks with whom it impacts directly and that's what i believe in and that's how i directly come about making my policy, is speaking with those that is directly impacts. not only that, but as a part of the national conference for straight legislators that i sat on in the executive committee as well as a co-chair with a republican senator from montana, we did talk on the national state and federal policy. we talked about issues and how to resolve them in washington. and talk about these issues that impact all of my folks, not just one class over another. and you know what? i've worked to get legislation passed in red, purple and blue states through both of these

organizations, as well as the national foundation for women legislators. and i can tell you-- >> your time is up. joe cohn, joe cohn, final thoughts, 45 seconds. >> thank you for that question. you know, i've been working on civil liberties for my whole career and even before my career as a teenager i was fighting for gay marriage. if we're going to make progress on these challenging issues, we need to build a coalition from the reasonable, comes with treating people with respect and talking with them and being patient with them and i had success doing that, especially in states that were where you wouldn't expect it. what i mean by that. i've had instances where i've talked to legislators on the wrong side of issue and censorship and became my bill sponsors because i talked and listened and treated them with dignity rather than just pointing the finger at them. one much them was the republican chair of wisconsin's college and university

committee and subsequently introduced the only bell bill to the best of my knowledge for identity harassment. >> we're going to end is there with the question and answer. time to go to closing statements, carol murphy, herb conaway and then joe cohn. >> thank you, thank you, david, laura, joey and micah and thank you, herb, and joe for joining us tonight. and the truth is we cannot get swept up in the politics of this primary. honestly, my greatest concern is taking on trump extremists lining up to take andy kim's congressional seat. that's tilely what's at stake here and we cannot afford to forget it. we're talking about people who believe that women are second glass citizens. people who believe in trump's mission to overturn free and

fair elections. people who want to eliminate social security, medicare and deny people rights for living wage. the reality is we cannot send one more marjorie taylor greene, lauren bobert, and donald trump for this united states. and what is at sake the future of our democracy. we may have debated, but we're not enemies, we're united in a common purpose and we're all fighters in the trump resistance army, nothing more sacred for our democracy than the choice before you and i humbly ask for your vote and promise to make you proud pass your congresswoman. thank you. >> herb conaway. >> thank you to the organizers of that debate and thank you, my colleagues, for joining in this discussion.

look, i am-- my background, once again i'm the best person to serve this district. my record in public life, my record in my private life of accomplishment puts me in the best position for the seat for the democrats which is critical. i raised my hand and served my country in the military, i've been a leader of the general assembly working on issues important to people and i fought to preserve senior's income from taxation. i fought to make sure that they can stay in their homes and keep their family together by providing property tax relief. i fought for prescription drug access to senior citizens. i bought for voting rights. every bill that comes to that legislature i've either sponsored or sponsored of the john r lewis voting rights act. and i'll take that to congress if i'm elected to that body. i've fought for women's rights, i'm a physician, i engaged with

hard discussions with people about cancer diagnosis or what to do about reproductive rights and i understand how important it is that politicians stay out of the exam room, that the doctor-patient relations a sacrosanct. and needs -- i'm proud to be one of the electors in the body. and passed over 300 bills. if you let me go to congress, i will not let you down, i'm ready to serve go on day one. >> joe cohn, final thoughts and statements. >> i want to thank our sponsors and those tuning in watching the debate at home and my opponents to for joining me tonight. i'm running for congress because the country desperately need more leaders who fight for rights and not career

politicians. we're not short in supply supply in congress or in this race. i have not been in politics for 20 years. i would be the first a.c.l.u. lawyer in congress. we're not sending someone to trenton where they run the show. i should be your choice because i'm the only candidate in the race who has ever won in legislators where republicans have real authority. for example, i've successfully led campaigns to defeat red state bills that would restrict telling women where they could get abortions. in congress, i work tirelessly to build faith in our democracy and our government. i'll do it by building a coalition of the reasonable to address everyday affordability issues like lowering the cost of drugs, capping out of pocket expenses, fixing social

security. getting the wealthiest among us their fair share, and tackling the debt from bipartisan support. i'll do everything i can to work together. we need to if we're going to save our democracy. i hope you'll join me in this fight of america's future by signing up for joe cohn for congress. and i'll work my hardest to make you proud of that vote. thank you so much. >> thank you all, that concludes new jersey's debate night i would like to thank the candidates, carol murphy, herb conaway and joe cohn for their too many and responses and thank you to our panelists, david wildstein, michael rasmussen and joey fox, and the institute for ryder university for this debate. thanks for c-span for airing the debate and nje spore for sponsoring the debate.

stay tuned after, we'll talk more and get reaction and insight. rather, primary day is june 4th, head over if you'd like to see the debate again. we thank you for watching. ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪

>> book tv, every sunday on c-span2 features leading authors discussing their latest nonfiction books. at 8 p.m. eastern, fox news host brian kilmeade talks about the relationship between president theodore roosevelt and educator booker t. washington, his book, teddy and booker t. then at 10 p.m. after words, jim wallace, the author of the false white gospel argues faith, healing and hope must be used from gospel-- and watch c-span2, or watch anytim a book tv.org. >> c-pan is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and

more, including wow. >> the world has changed. today, the fast reliable internet connection is something no one can live without. so, wow is there for our customers, with speed, reliability, value and choice, now more than ever, it all starts with great internet, wow. >> wow supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> we take you live now to the capitol where the senate is about to gavel in. today lawmakers are considering more of president biden's u.s. district court nominees. they'll also vote on the house-passed resolution to repeal a sec rule on banks holding cryptocurrency access for customers. you're watching live coverage on c-span2. ...