Following is a special presentation of the New Hampshire Votes 2024 Candidate Forums, a project of the Granite State News Collaborative.

Partners.

Welcome to the forum for New Hampshire's second congressional district, presented by the Granite State News Collaborative and hosted by nhpr.

I'm Mara Hoplamazian a reporter for nhpr, joined today by Michaela Towfighi of the Concord Monitor.

These forums are presented in partnership with New Hampshire PBS and produced with support from journalists all across the state, including at the Concord Monitor, the Laconia Daily Sun and the Manchester Ink link.

This forum is also streaming live at NHPR's YouTube channel.

And today we're joined by Maggie Goodland, a Democrat, and Lily Tang Williams, the Republican in the race.

Welcome to you both.

Thank you.

As you can hear, we've got a live studio audience at NHPR.

I'll just give you a bit about our format.

Each candidate will have 60s for an opening statement, and then we'll move to questions.

Each of you will have 60s to respond to the questions.

Michaela and I will at times follow up with a question or seek clarification.

You'll have 30s on those in the case of a direct attack.

Will give candidates 30s to respond.

We ask our audience to remain silent, and we ask the candidates to respect each other.

And please wait for your turn to speak.

For today's questions, we relied on the public's feedback and we thank everyone who supplied input.

And we'll get started with opening statements.

We flipped a coin backstage and Ms. Tang Williams You're going first.

60s.

Please.

Well, thank you for hosting this debate.

This is the only one of the two debates I will have with my opponent.

Too bad she won't engage me on college campuses, which is a three colleges invite us to debate, engage our youth voters in this mostly democratic process.

I am a communism survivor, and I'm super happy to be here.

Have the opportunity to represent the people of my district.

Our contrast is very clear.

I came here with nothing.

36 years ago and with a big heart and hard work to achieve my American dream.

And, I have lived on my American dream.

But I'm running today to save that dream.

And keep that dream alive.

For my children and for all you future in children and grandchildren.

And, the border crisis is a joke, and the high inflations are hurting people.

American Dream is not affordable right now, so people have a very, very sharp choice today.

Who do you trust to represent you?

DC is a DC insider who moved here a few months ago and to work for Biden administration, who has a high inflation border crisis have decimated the American dream and he's a, and the security adviser, Jake Solomon's wife, who caused the war.

Thank you, We're going to move on to our next question.

We're running out of time here and we'll move on.

Thank you, miss.

Goodlander Your opening statement, please.

60s.

Well, thanks so much to nhpr and the Granite State News Collaborative for bringing us all together this morning, eight days before the most important election in our lifetimes.

I was born on election day in Nashua.

Actually, my mom, Betty, was serving in the New Hampshire state House at the time she went into labor.

She went directly to the polling place at Broad Street Elementary School to vote before she went to Saint Joe's Hospital, where I was born.

And that is the spirit in which I was raised.

My my dad, Ted, served in the Navy and I was really proud to follow in his footsteps.

I served 11 years as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve, and one of the things I learned throughout my my lifetime of service is that when you take the oath to serve our state and our country, you don't take that oath as a Democrat or a Republican.

You take it as an American.

And that's the spirit that I brought.

So everything I've done in my life, whether it was at the Justice Department where I was taking on corporate monopolies that are jacking up costs for hardworking people in the state, at the white House, where I led the president's unity agenda to tackle our opioid epidemic and help end cancer as we know it, or working with Senator John McCain, who I worked together with him to take on Vladimir Putin.

I'm banned from Russia for life.

But I will tell you something.

I'll take Moscow.

I'll take Concord over Moscow any day of the week.

So thank you.

Really grateful to be here today.

Thank you.

We're going to get started with some questions about the economy.

Thanks for those opening statements, miss Tang Williams, we'll start with you.

You've expressed support for stringent tariffs on Chinese imports.

What specific policies would you support when it comes to international trade?

And would you support expanding tariffs to products from other countries?

60s.

Actually, I am a libertarian leaning Republican.

I support free trade as my general principle, but I will comes to a communist China.

The country I was born and grew up being.

When it comes to our national security, it is a justified to post tariffs on China products and they are take advantage of our open society infiltrating into our country and the state owned enterprises from China by forming joint venture relationships with U.S. companies.

They are even qualified under Biden economics to get our tax credit from the new green deals.

And that's totally wrong, because the way I empower them and they are our largest adversary.

So that's a different story.

But generally speaking, I support free trade and the tariffs will hurt consumers.

But when it comes to China, that's still a separate issue.

As I say, they just fight because of national security.

Okay.

Thanks so much for that response.

I'll just follow by asking you, you know, you've said you support the freezing of all federal hiring if you're elected to Congress as a way to reduce the deficit, you've also said you'd consider cuts to the Department of Education.

What other federal programs would you cut specifically and how would that reduce the deficit?

We are a country of $35 trillion in debt and as a service of their debt, just interest alone past $1 trillion.

And that take away all our options.

And that's actually our future is at a stake here as young people.

And I want to freeze the hirings, reevaluate our options and how much we should actually cut.

Right.

Rand Paul has a plan six penny plan.

If you actually just cut six penny out of $1 budget, it actually work with us.

Balanced budget within 5 to 6 years.

And when our family got the block where the cut 20% expenses.

So six penny plan if we put politics aside and bring everybody to the table, I hope we can get that done for good interest of our people in our country.

Thanks for that response, miss.

Goodlander.

We'll move on to you You've described a, quote, fair deal for Americans as a shorthand for your economic vision.

In a nutshell, what would that entail and how would it show up in people's daily lives?

60s well, let me start.

There are a number of ways in which it shows up in people's lives.

You know, I mentioned at the outset that I spent three years at the Department of Justice, including working at the antitrust Division, where I was taking on corporate monopolies that are jacking up costs all across the board, whether it's the cost of housing.

And I've talked to so many voters across this district for whom the American dream is just simply out of reach.

The American dream of having a home is out of reach because the cost of housing is just too high.

We could spend a whole hour on this topic alone, but what I'd say is, I'm going to bring a basic sensibility that says we need we need fairness when it comes to a level playing field for for businesses in this country and fairness when it comes to taxation.

And I think this is a real difference between me and my opponent.

My opponent has embraced Donald Trump's tax cuts.

And tax cuts are really deceptive term, because what we saw were $2 trillion in cuts for the biggest corporations in this country and for the most wealthy people in this country.

I believe that working families in this state deserve a tax cut.

That's who should be benefiting from a tax cut.

That's going to that's going to help us get our deficit and debt under control.

And it's going to create a level playing field.

Tax fairness is a is a question of fundamental fairness.

Got it.

And and given some of the new spending that you've called for in the past, do you see any place in the federal budget in need of spending cuts and which programs would you cut?

Well, let me just say that first of all, I think when we have a fair system of taxation, one of the biggest questions for this next Congress is going to be whether to extend Donald Trump's tax policies for another year, and that's going to be a huge piece of business and how we're going to get our spending and our debt and deficit under control.

But what I'd say, you know, I know from my time in the United States Navy Reserve, that there's a lot of room for improvement in how we think about our defense spending.

I believe deeply that sunlight is the most powerful force in government.

It's one of the most powerful disinfectants.

And the we should be taking a close look so that we're not in a situation where hundreds of millions of dollars can sometimes be a rounding error in our budget.

So I'm going to bring those New Hampshire values to the to our budget process every step of the way.

Thanks for that response.

We'll move on to immigration.

Michaela, you've the next question, Miss Goodlander you've previously worked for Senator John McCain on the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration reform bill.

How does the contemporary system fall short, and what specific policies would you support in reforming it?

60s you know, that was an important effort 11 years ago, and we've been in desperate need of Congress stepping up to the plate and, actually updating our vastly outdated immigration laws and properly funding our chronically underfunded system.

So that bill, no one thought it could pass through the United States Senate.

It did.

And it's become a framework for the future.

And what we have now is another bipartisan bill that both President Biden and Vice President Harris have said they would like to sign into law.

It's a bill that's going to properly fund our immigration courts.

You know, we've got 92 immigration courts around this country that have been chronically underfunded.

I saw that firsthand working at the Department of Justice.

It will fund our Border Patrol agents who are doing really hard work with not enough resources.

And that's why the Border Patrol has endorsed this bill.

It's going to help us update a vastly outdated system, this bipartisan bill.

And my opponent has opposed this bill.

I believe the Congress should be focused on actually solving the crisis at the border.

Not so in chaos.

And that is exactly the spirit that I want to bring to this work.

And it wasn't that long ago that the Gang of Eight was heralded as a model for bipartisan policymaking, but it failed.

So what's different now in Congress to make reform more likely?

Well, what I'd say is, one of the things I learned from that experience was that sometimes comprehensive can be the enemy of progress.

And I believe deeply that we've got a wide range of comprehensive reforms that we've got to work on.

But I also believe in something that Senator Ted Kennedy said, he he too, worked to update our immigration laws during his long, tenure in the United States Senate.

And his rule of thumb was you've always got to find the 30%.

You might disagree with someone on 70%, but you've got to find the 30% and get it done today.

30% is a big piece of the pie.

But what I can tell you is I will always look for the 30%, or if it's 3% or 0.3%, I'll find that common ground and get the job done.

We'll have to move on now.

Miss Tang Williams, you said when sponsoring your brother's path to immigration, it took 13 years.

Do you believe the comprehensive immigration reform is needed in the US, and if so, what specific legislation would you support to that effect?

60s well, I'm legal.

Immigrants have a great ability to speak on this issue that my brother did wait 13 years in China by having me as American sponsor, which is for the first five years he is his family were not be on the back of taxpayers no public burdens, but he is a part of a failed by the ministration.

Open border policy is how many billions of dollars we spent on illegal immigration and the what the the Biden do after he become a president and the any kind of immigration reforms I'm for, but on the condition we must secure our border first and stop federal government offering incentives on the backs of taxpayers to get if people come here illegally.

It is a slap in the face to all the legal immigrants waiting in line with American sponsorship at while five meaning of them and the issue to tell people what is taxpayer some money spent on illegal immigration.

How many of them coming from a how many you know not friendly countries and where are they?

And you should give us the numbers since you are part of the failed Biden open border policies.

A follow up to that in your campaign platform, you noted support for granting citizenship to DACA recipients without criminal records.

Is that still your position, and how would you convince members of your party to agree to such a proposal?

DOCA was a different the case, and now we're talking about over 10 million coming under Biden's.

And so he reversed all the border policies on day one.

And, that's all I said.

I'm legal immigrant.

I wanted to send a message to the world, if you want to come here, work hard and come the right way, we welcome you.

And you can achieve American dream.

This is greatest country on earth.

But if you don't follow these laws and you go to that dangerous channel, you know, untangled, I mean, like the route is coming here, it's because Biden send the wrong message to the people in the world.

Thank you, miss Tang Williams.

We have a lot to cover today, so let's keep moving.

We're going to go back to Mara.

We're going to turn to the environment and, energy policy right now.

Miss Tang Williams, communities in your district have been hit hard by extreme storms that have destroyed roads and homes.

The scientific consensus is clear that human activity is warming the planet and fueling more extreme weather.

In the past, you've cast doubt on climate science.

Do you accept the consensus on climate change, and what policies would you support to address the impacts on residents of your district?

You know, I have to say that, you know, climate change and Israel and the our country, our people are mostly environmentally conscious people.

There are lots of people at the grassroots level volunteer to work on environmental causes.

I respect that, but I don't want to top down mandates because that will cost our economy, our jobs, and our people are paying for high inflation.

And those kind of mandates green new deals like by wire.

We must have electric vehicles and get rid of gas stove.

Those are top down mandates will hurt people.

What is the percentage of New Hampshire people have low EV car right now?

Maybe less than 1%.

And we want to embrace those, central government mandate.

And they'll tell you by what year you got to get rid of your gas cars.

And I just cannot support that because we won't have choices.

New Hampshire people are very independent minded.

I'm sure you will make the best informed decisions when it comes to your daily life, when it comes to business and the when it comes to environment.

Got it.

And to follow up on that, home insurance costs have been growing in recent years as weather related disasters increase in New Hampshire, where flooding is one of the biggest threats to homes, most property owners are not insured for flood damage.

How would you address these twin problems?

The increasing vulnerability of homes and the rising insurance premiums?

30s.

Well, it's funny that the people always blame corporations on losses, and so never blame on government who caused lots of problems.

For example, high inflation caused by who on the Washington DC government can print money, devalue our dollars, and make you pay for higher costs of food and energy and insurance.

You know, when the inflation goes up, everything goes up.

They are related.

It's not isolated incident, but to blame corporations, the causes problem, is it's really a lack of fundamental economics.

Well, just just to quickly, you know, clarify how would you address both the vulnerability of homes due to, you know, rising risks from climate change and insurance premiums that are becoming unaffordable for some?

Well, you're assuming that those insurance calls relate to the climate change, but I wouldn't want to say we address it as a market competition.

We need the open up.

And the insurance industry is very, very highly regulated.

If we increase competition and, and people have the choice of pick the best plan to fit their needs, hopefully we will bring down the cost of a homeowner insurance.

But that also goes with, of course, natural disasters.

And we see that happening in Ohio, in North Carolina and, and our, Hawaii, our federal government actually failed to provide timely relief to those victims.

Thanks for your response.

This Goodlander we will turn to you.

Scientists say transitioning off of fossil fuels is essential to mitigating climate change.

Renewable energy generation has been increasing in the US, but fossil fuel production reached record highs during the Biden administration.

You say you want to make New Hampshire the center of a clean energy movement.

What policies would you support to enable that shift?

So, 60s, thank you.

Let me just first say it is simply not enough in 2024 to acknowledge that climate change is real and this is a real difference between the two of us.

You know, I see it everywhere I've gone around this district, the impacts this is not a crisis that is is explained in a textbook.

This has had real human impacts all across New Hampshire.

The Department of Defense has been saying for years that this is a threat to our national security.

So this is if you're a climate voter, then I hope you'll take a hard look at both of our policies and approaches, because we couldn't be more different when we when it comes to solutions.

So what I tell you about this is, you know, New Hampshire, we're we're behind when it comes to investing in clean energy technology.

We're we're behind when it comes to the transition.

And I think, what I, my hope is that the Inflation Reduction Act, which is the most significant piece of climate legislation passed by any country on earth ever, will be a first step towards a clean energy future.

What that's going to do, and I know I'm running out of time, but what that's going to do is it's going to reduce energy costs.

We've got some of the highest energy costs in New Hampshire in the country.

It's going to create jobs.

And I saw this firsthand when I was in Groton just a few days ago at CU Hydrogen, a company that is transforming a paper mill into a clean energy future.

And it's going to help us address an existential crisis of our time, the climate crisis.

Thanks for your response.

I want to dig down more on energy costs, you know, what do you say to people who are concerned about the costs of developing more renewable energy, like solar and wind, and how that might affect their energy bills?

Well, look, we've got to responsibly transition, and that is that that is absolutely essential.

But I think what we see with clean energy technologies, when we do invest in them, they do lead to lower energy costs.

And we right now we're just we've got some of the highest costs in the country right now.

It's something I hear about every single day.

And so we we've got to be ready to make this transition.

It's like I said, it's a, it's a, it's a win win win situation where when it comes to costs to the creation of jobs, you know, this this paper mill I mentioned in Groton was the center of public life in Grove Town.

And when it shut down in 2007, 300 people lost their jobs.

We have an opportunity to create good jobs in that same very spot and help us address an existential crisis of our time.

Thanks for your response.

Over to you, Michaela.

Miss Tang Williams, you've said the decisions on abortion should be left in the hands of states and that more support is needed for American families during the pandemic.

The expanded child tax credit was one such measure and helped lower child poverty rates.

Do you think Congress should reinstate this benefit?

Abortion and, credit for a child.

And, it is a station.

I absolutely, support that belongs to this state and, and, my opponent, you say I want to ban abortion at the federal level.

It's not true.

It's on my website.

I have said over and over again, and, actually, I am very sympathetic towards the actually the struggling families.

As I said, inflation caused by an government and their top down government policies, mandates were only hurt us more and not less.

And if people want to really afford to buy and to to afford rent and we should bring down inflation and they cannot blame corporations and, that's lack of economics.

101 and the way our country over $35 trillion that how are we going to continue to use a fake printed money to offer free stuff to our citizens?

I don't know.

So our priorities should be, of course, our American citizens, our people in our district.

And, you know, we are open to look at all options.

But they're saying you saw that the inflation is a high.

That's a a problem that everything else, you know, goes up a follow to that.

So many Republicans say that their opposition to abortion should be accompanied by pro-family policies.

What does that look like to you?

And does it include the expanded child tax credit?

30s.

Well, that, I actually, always promote culture of life.

I, I feel sympathetic to a woman who are going through a crisis and whether, if they had an adequate help, like a financial help and the free services or crisis pregnancy centers help you to do that.

And it's not just government is a solution.

And for the our families and children, with a lot of, single parents, household, they do need the help and this I you saw that the at the grassroots level, we need to help them to make informed decisions.

And at the federal level, those are open to discussion.

Okay.

Thank you, miss Goodlander, you've said on the campaign trail that extreme politicians and judges have ripped away basic rights regarding reproductive freedoms.

You've talked in general about your ability to find agreement where you can, but abortion is an issue that often feels elusive.

Where does the middle ground on federal abortion policy look like to you?

You know, my my view is the view that is shared by the vast majority of Americans in Granite Staters, which is that when it comes to choices about health care, there is no place for a politician in between a woman and her health care provider.

My opponent has fully embraced the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v Wade.

What does that mean?

That means that she has judged it the right thing to do, to put that power in the hands of politicians at the state level.

I know from my own professional experience that when we try to do that, lines are hard to draw and people lose their lives.

I know from my own personal experience that we are living every single day with the consequences of the Supreme Court's decision ripping away a fundamental constitutional right.

This is this is become in this country, a matter of life or death for so many Americans.

And I hope that we will all remember the name Amber Thurman.

She was a woman in Georgia who, like me, was 20 weeks pregnant and needed access to health care.

She was denied that care because her doctor was afraid of being prosecuted and said she wasn't close enough to death.

She was sent home and she died.

This is not the country we should be living in, and I believe that the fight to restore reproductive freedom in this country begins in the United States House of Representatives.

So you don't trust people to decide in the Granite State?

You know, that's the most a democratic way to decide.

I have a follow up for Miss Goodlander.

Abortion rights aside, what other policies would you favor to support families in the United States?

Well, let me just respond to this question.

I trust women to make their own health care decisions, and I do not believe that politicians have any place in between women and their health care providers.

I just don't, and this is a very big difference between the two of us.

But the Congress may decide is a politician.

They're not politicians in D.C.?

We have a lot to cover today, and we're going to need you to respond when we ask you questions.

So back to the follow up.

What other policies do you favor to support families?

So look, I think that as someone who really wants to become a parent in this country, my husband Jake, and I want to raise our kids right here in New Hampshire.

It's never been a harder time to navigate the questions of if, when, and how to become a parent.

So I believe in the first instance, we've got to protect the basic right to access abortion services, to access contraception, to access IVF.

These are basic health care rights that should be protected by Congress.

You mentioned the child tax credit earlier.

You know, we have a crisis in affordability and accessibility of child care in the state.

And all across this country.

I hear about it everywhere I go, women who are having to literally choose not to go back to work because they can't afford to do so.

The child tax, credit card, child poverty in half.

And in a moment when almost 40% of people in this state can't afford an unexpected expense of $400, this is a solution that will help.

Thank you.

Back to Mara Thanks.

We're going to turn to foreign policy now, miss Goodlander Recent polling shows more than half of Americans believe the United States should not be sending weapons to Israel.

Would you support halting weapons shipments?

And if not, what do you say to the more than half of the country that believes it's the right thing to do?

60s.

Look, you know, I know from my experience in the United States Navy two things that guide me in how I think about this.

Number one is that we the relationship, the bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel is one that is rooted not just in a shared history and shared values, but in in shared threats to our to our own national security.

And so I that is a starting premise that our enemies are Israel's enemies.

The second point here, though, what I would say is that these kinds of decisions are ones that have been entrusted to Congress, and you've got to take a really close look at the details.

You've got to take a really close look every time.

And federal law has been set up in a way that allows Congress.

We've created standards and conditions.

And Congress writes those laws and they're applied most often by nonpartisan public servants who make judgments about these laws.

If that's what what you're asking about halting arms shipments.

So would you would you support that or not?

As a general matter, I believe that one of the most important investments we can make in the Middle East for our own national security is to continue to deepen the relationship between the United States and Israel.

Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, is one of our closest intelligence and military partners in the world.

And so this is a relationship that I strongly support it, particularly in the aftermath of October 7th, which was the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

And, you know, Israel is leading recipient of U.S. foreign aid, including military support.

You've said just now that that that relationship is rooted in deeply held values.

How do you square that with assessments that the country's longstanding occupation of Palestine violates basic human rights and tenants of democracy, and a recent U.N. findings of crimes against humanity and Israeli attacks on Gaza?

Well, what I should say is, look, the anyone who looks at the situation right now in Gaza can be left with nothing but heartbreak, because there has been so much human suffering, so much human suffering.

And part of the role of the United States, is to advance our interests and our national security, but also to advance our values and to abide by the rule of law, to uphold the rule of law.

And so these are these are ideas that we always have to balance.

And to me, the solution here includes, number one, we've got to bring about the the status quo that we saw before October 7th, which was a ceasefire.

We've got to bring about a ceasefire.

We've got to return home.

The hostages who have been kept in brutal captivity for more than a year now, and we've got to surge humanitarian assistance into Gaza because, you know, I think of of of what John Dunne said in a poem, he said, any man's death diminishes me because I'm involved in mankind.

And that is true in Gaza, that anyone's death in this conflict diminishes me.

And I will fight to make sure that we get the humanitarian assistance that's needed.

Thank you, Miss Goodlander.

To you now, Miss Tang Williams, I want to ask you the same question on the arms embargo.

Would you support that?

And if not, you know, what do you make of the roughly half of Americans who think that's the right choice?

Well, the world is on fire, especially the Middle East because of failed Biden and your husband, Jake Sullivan, foreign policies.

And, this tragedy will never happen.

On October 7th and the year, we had a very strong, not absent leadership in white House and also that the accord, which is a peace deal between Israel and, the Middle East, almost reached right before October 7th.

There are five countries wanting to sign up with this deal.

Then Hamas attacked.

Iran is behind terrorist organizations, a Hamas attack and Iran deal was a mistake broken the by Biden and the Jake Sullivan regime that gave them billion dollars cash and also release the economic sanction on them.

So Iran with the sale hundreds of billions dollars oil to China in order to get more cash to supply to the Hamas and terrorist organizations.

It's unfortunate for the innocent people who are involved in this Middle East conflict, but the Israel does have right to exist, have a right to defend themselves, and we will try our best to bring the peace and together, while the United States does not get the chance to tell them what to do.

Thank you, Miss Tang Williams, I want to follow up on that.

You've advocated for cuts to federal spending in multiple ways.

The US has provided about $18 billion in military aid to Israel since last year.

Do you support that level of aid continuing, and if so, why is that a higher priority for federal spending than domestic programs?

You know, was a our aid to Israel is a fraction of our money sent to Ukraine, which every Democrat in Congress supported $175 billion to Ukraine.

Think of how much cash That is where people are paying for printing the money.

High inflation and the all Democrats wave Ukrainian flag from the US floor of Congress, and they deny you want other people to know that the mainstream media do not report that.

I want to have our foreign policy look at, at each country separate deals instead of a lump them together.

Ukraine and Israel and Taiwan are totally three separate deals.

We need to look at each places.

Each bill separately.

So all the deals, you know, details.

I, you know, in the bills that we need to talk about them and debate them.

I don't want to rush through to pass any more, you know, huge chunk of printed money and to other countries.

All right.

Thanks so much, miss Tang Williams.

We've reached just about halfway in our time here, so we'll take a short break.

This is the Granite State News Collaborative and NHPR's candidate forum for New Hampshire's second congressional district.

We'll be right back.

You are watching a special presentation of the New Hampshire Votes 2024 Candidate Forums, a project of the Granite State News Collaborative.

Partners.

Welcome back to the Granite State News Collaborators Forum for New Hampshire's second congressional district, hosted by NHPR in partnership with New Hampshire PBS.

We're talking with Lily Tang Williams, the Republican nominee, and Maggie Goolander, the Democrat in this race.

I'm Mara Hoplamazian a reporter for nhpr.

With me is Michaela Towfighi of the Concord Monitor Michaela, you have the next question.

Miss Tang Williams, on your website, you write that you would work to repeal, quote, ineffective gun control laws that criminalize law abiding gun owners.

What gun control laws, in your view, need to be repealed?

And what steps would you support to keep guns out of the hands of people who may harm themselves or others?

You know, my heart goes to all the, you know, victims of gun violence in our country.

And by the whenever something happened, you know, we should look at the root of the problems.

It's not the guns is like it's guns are just a tool.

Just like a car is a tool for you to drive and set up lots of loopholes and do gun control.

Make a law abiding citizens go through loops.

And that's just un-American.

And our Second Amendment right is there to protect, you know, us against tyranny, and we have a constitutional carry in our state, and we have the least amount of gun violence.

So we have no school mass shootings because people carry guns.

I still think that the gun free zones by the federal government, it cost lives because they offend the resource officer, which is policeman, is not obligated to rush to the school shooting to save your life.

That's what the court says.

So we cannot rely on one officer to do that.

And there are lots of veterans who are working school district.

Well trained, and they can't conceal, carry and protect kids and teachers.

I think out of compassion for those innocent victims to say, hey, that's the best way to save our lives is by allowing people to volunteer and to train and to carry.

So on that note, as you've just mentioned, you've called for allowing armed volunteers to patrol schools as a way to prevent mass shootings.

What would that look like in practical terms, and how would you respond to parental concerns about more guns in school buildings?

Well, that's, misinformation.

I have lots of parents who tell me they would rather to have law abiding citizens to conceal carry.

Nobody knows you have to carry or not.

So when criminal, think twice.

They don't go to shoot up police stations.

You know why?

Because every police officer is armed, and that guy will be dead before he shoots somebody else.

Same thing applies everywhere.

Law abiding citizens.

Concealed carry can save lives and the parents should trust the law abiding citizens instead of criminals.

Give them unlimited, you know, basic access with some mentally ill issues involved and think you go to do mass killing.

Thank you, Miss Tang Williams.

Miss Goodlander, you said you'd, quote, go after the gun industry as a way to limit violence from firearms.

Gun manufacturing is a significant business in New Hampshire, including the second district.

What would going after gun makers look like in terms of congressional legislation?

And what do you see the impact being on local gun makers here?

Let me just first say, look, I teach constitutional law at Unh law School here in Concord and at Dartmouth.

I believe in our Constitution, and I believe in our second Amendment.

I believe that our Second Amendment allows for a wide range of common sense gun safety solutions that will address what is the number one killer of our kids in America.

And that is gun violence, the number one killer of our kids in 2024.

You know, my opponent has said she wants to put more guns in schools.

I think there are commonsense constitutional solutions that will actually address the problem, including by stepping up background checks, by closing loopholes, both the Charleston loophole, which I heard from my colleagues at the Department of Justice, we just simply have not given law enforcement enough time to to undertake serious background checks.

That's a loophole we should close.

We should also close loopholes that have allowed the gun industry to go unaccountable and to be immune from civil lawsuits that would actually help to impose some measure of accountability, for families who have lost their loved ones.

This is a change the Congress can make under federal law.

But the most important change that I think we should see, is actually to continue to build on the bipartisan progress that we saw in the last three years.

I mentioned the president's unity agenda, a core pillar, an accomplishment was the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which put 14,000 mental health professionals into our public schools.

I think we think we need more resources for mental health, not more guns in our schools.

Thank you.

So you've called for what you getting term weapons of war off the streets?

Given the recent failure of Congress to reinstate any kind of assault weapons ban?

Does that mean you'd support a federal gun buyback as a way to reduce the number of guns in our country?

You know, I think we need to look at the full range of reasonable constitutional solutions.

This is, as I said, the number one killer of our kids.

You know, I know from my experience in the Navy, and I know just as a reasonable person in this world that weapons of war have no place in our community centers, in our public schools.

They just don't.

And so this is something that I will work for.

And I think we should look at voluntary gun buyback programs because I think, these are reasonable steps that we've seen actually can deliver us results in addressing the number one killer of kids in America today.

Thank you, Miss Goodlander Over to you, Mara.

We'll turn to health care now.

Miss Goodlander, the U.S. remains the only industrialized country in the world without universal health care.

In New Hampshire, the number of residents without insurance has declined since the expansion of Medicaid.

But more than 65,000 people were still uninsured in 2023.

You've said you'd work in Congress to expand access to affordable health care.

How would you do that?

And would your approach include a single payer system?

I, I believe that every American deserves access to affordable health care.

It is core to human rights, I believe, in this country.

The Affordable Care Act is a really significant piece of legislation, more than a big deal, a huge deal, one that that delivered health care to people all across the state and in our country.

When when my opponent was a candidate for Congress in Colorado, she said that the Affordable Care Act should be repealed and not replaced.

You know, I believe that this Congress should continue to build on the successes of the Affordable Care Act.

But but the underlying problem and what I saw at the Department of Justice is that we have an incredibly consolidated health care industry in this country, and I believe deeply, you know, UnitedHealthCare is the fifth largest corporation in the world.

It's not just the biggest payer in this country.

It's one of the it owns more provider practices all across the country than ever before.

And one thing I'd say, you know, I was up in Berlin, a few days ago talking to health care providers up there.

We need to think fundamentally about how we can make this industry more competitive, because it's going to lower costs for hardworking consumers.

It's going to make providers more able to provide the care that they're trying to provide.

And this all starts with protecting, though the basic promise of the Affordable Care Act for including for for the tens of thousands of Granite Staters with preexisting conditions.

So would you support single payer health care as a way forward?

You know, I'm a capitalist.

I believe in competition, but I believe that capitalism without competition is not capitalism, which is why I'm focused on bringing back competition into our health care industry.

And I know you've talked about, you know, working for the Antitrust division at the Department of Justice a lot during your campaign.

How would you bring an antitrust approach to making federal policy on health care?

You know, I think we see it whether it's we're looking at big pharma or big health care insurers, who have that that the landscape has changed and federal law has not kept up with market realities, even the way that we've organized enforcement of our federal laws that are designed to to make our health care industry more competitive.

It's been, in some cases, more than a century since they've been updated.

And this is an area, Mara, where I see real possibility for bipartisan progress.

You know, when I was in the Antitrust Division, we saw we had partners all across the ideological spectrum because I think it is just a it's this is this is an area that is rooted in deeply American ideas, that no corporation is above the law and that corporate power, just like political power, should be checked.

Thank you.

Miss Tang Williams, you've said if elected, you would work to strengthen protections for Social Security and Medicare, but you're also advocating for cuts to federal spending.

Widespread.

Would those cuts include Medicaid, which about 15% of New Hampshire population relies on for health care.

Well, that, Social Security, Medicare are the seniors paying to through their years of hard work.

And I will protect those benefits and but also that the our federal government is always addicted to use your trust for money.

There's no lockbox.

They use it as a slush fund for their out-of-control spending.

And there are some programs being proposed right now for the illegal immigrants have a quick pathway to citizenship, and they're going to continue to be part of that, you know, social, security trust fund.

It will further actually drive them into insolvency.

I want to protect that.

I also want to on reducing inflation, to stimulate economic growth and jobs.

So more and more payroll tax dollars will go to that Social Security trust fund.

When you look at the Inflation Reduction Act, as I said, it actually cut Medicare by $30 billion to pay for the idea of Green New Deal.

So Medicaid, you know, would would your proposal for federal spending cuts include Medicaid?

Well, the Medicaid and the, I have to look into that.

And, if we have justified any spending for our own citizens, I'm always open minded, but I'm not open minded when we put our citizens last and the endless money to get involved.

End of this loss like a your husband is part of.

And, I say to my citizens, always tell me on my campaign trail, we need the resources here.

We need the money here.

So I'm very sympathetic.

I want to some long profit organization.

They all tell me their clients were there, their family, children were there.

Some were crying and begging for help.

I think those regular people were forgotten.

Miss Tang Williams, I want to ask a follow up question, which is many parts of the country, including across New Hampshire, are seeing a staffing shortage for medical professions.

Experts say that shortage will only get worse in the coming years.

How could the federal government address this?

You know what?

That, if we bring down the cost of everything that will help.

And the number two, I'm open.

Actually, to our senior citizens, you're relying heavily on your relatives care, your home health care to keep in your homes.

And maybe there's some federal tax credit expenses reimbursement, just like for self-employed people.

And I'm open to that.

But I also work visas for the people who are waiting to come here, take those jobs that we cannot fail and allow more affordable rate.

But the way the Congress together to say, hey, we need to offer work visas for those people, come here, take care of our senior citizens and it's not been done.

Thank you, Miss Tang Williams.

Let's move on to housing now.

Over to you, Michaela.

I want to say just one point on something that was said.

I think, look, when it comes to Social Security, this is one of the most important issues.

Is this a repsonse It's a it's a it's it's a response to what was said about how we're going to actually I'll give you 30s.

Thank you.

I think it is a hugely big difference between the two of us.

When my opponent was a candidate for Congress in Colorado, she said that no federal program should exist if it's not specifically mentioned in this United States Constitution.

That is a radical idea that would end Social Security as we know it.

She has repeated that she would raise the retirement age.

She has said Social Security should be privatized.

These are deep differences between the two of us.

And one thing that I just want to make crystal clear, no one should be shifting around and unclear about what their position is on protecting Social Security.

Thanks.

Miss Tang Williams, we'll give you 30s to respond.

Yes.

That was eight years ago in Colorado.

And, I don't know where you got that idea.

And I want limited government and powers to manage our money because they have failed and they I've got our $35 trillion in debt.

But today I'm running as a Republican, and I listen to the people.

I put my own opinions aside.

I actually I develop a sympathy towards people who have a fixed income.

So that's a different story.

Now.

And I want to protect that.

I want to put our people first precisely because I say that this a trust fund is a slush fund for federal government who are addicted to your money, to use for others things.

Thank you miss Tang Williams We need to move on now.

Let's go.

Let's go on to housing.

Okay.

Miss Tong Williams, I've talked to residents in the area who live in manufactured housing parks, expecting to retire in New Hampshire.

Instead, investors across the country are purchasing these parks and pricing homeowners out.

What can the federal government do to protect these homeowners?

I think that, there is a small percentage of the, investors are buying up properties in New Hampshire and, I think that the Congress probably should be looking to investigate that, to say that, you know, what?

Special income to single family homes where our residents heavily rely on to purchase, to live our American dream.

But also, I am a free market capitalism.

Why do people want to invest in real estate?

Because our dollars going down, they think real estate is a hedge against inflation.

So all the investors want to have return for their money, which is coming.

You cannot blame them.

Do you?

I mean, our donors going done.

Gold.

Silver is going up.

Crypto's going up.

Who wants to invest to buy US dollars trade.

Right now even Chinese government is dumping because they say there's no future.

Our super inflation may come if we don't stop this out-of-control spending.

But I think we want to address affordable issues.

But again, it's the issue caused by the government and I don't want government coming use a print of money to offer a bigger government solution, because that would just increase your cycles and drive up inflation.

Again.

Thank you.

So work.

I have a follow up for you on that.

Beyond lowering costs, what other support do you think could be in place for New Hampshire homeowners and renters?

I think we need a local zoning law reforms because I believe in local control.

But the some towns have very, very restrict and zoning laws, and that prevents people from building more, affordable housing or multiple units, whether that's up to the local board to decide.

So if you want to get involved, want to reform the zoning laws, you've got to get involved in your local communities and vote as a one of the selectman board members.

And then you have you people are independent minded.

They even don't want the state government.

Tell them want to tell federal government.

Take a hike today.

Thank you, Miss Tang Williams.

Miss Goodlander, in August, the Biden administration announced $100 million to help remove barriers to affordable housing development.

But communities need to take the initiative to apply for this money.

Do you think the federal government should take a more heavy hand in requiring communities to build their way out of the nation's housing crisis?

Well, this is such an important issue.

I hear about it everywhere I go.

You know, the cost for people want to rent a home, want to buy a home?

It's through the roof.

You know, I was in the upper valley recently talking to a senior on fixed income in the upper Valley alone.

The cost of of of home rentals are up 82%.

That's the same percentage increase, by the way, that we've seen of single family homes all across the state.

So I really do believe that government is a team sport, and nowhere is that clearer than when it comes to the area of addressing our housing crisis.

So I look, I think we've got two big pieces of business here.

Number one is we do need to invest in infrastructure, which is going to help us really overcome barriers to increasing supply.

We know what our mandate is.

We need to build 60,000 new homes in the state of New Hampshire by 2030.

So that's going to take real investments in water and in sewage.

Building on the investments that we saw from the bipartisan infrastructure law signed into law during the Biden-Harris administration.

And you know what?

There's been a lot of disagreement in this debate, but I couldn't agree more that we've got to find creative ways to help make sure that local zoning laws are pointing in the right direction towards affordability and accessibility.

Thank you.

And many in the construction industry say they'd like to build more, but high cost materials make it difficult.

Is there a role for Congress in lowering these costs?

You know, one of the things I looked at closely, when I was at the Justice Department was, was our supply chains and why we are seeing, high costs of building materials.

So the shipping industry is an industry in our economy that for a long time, went unchecked, and for the first time in decades, we brought about shipping reform that I, that I believe is going to continue to have an impact on the affordability of basic materials.

But what I would say to this, too, is we really do have a role to play in investing in the infrastructure that's going to be needed to build up housing, supply 60,000 homes by 2030.

Most of these homes are going to need to be homes that people are purchasing.

So, thank you.

We have a big task ahead.

Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Tang Williams.

As you campaign, you've often said you'd rather stay in New Hampshire than go to Washington, which you've called the swamp.

But the swamp clearly holds some appeal for you.

This is your third run for Congress after an unsuccessful campaign for the same seat two years ago, and I ran as a libertarian for the Senate in Colorado in 2016.

Why are you so eager to get to a place that you say you disdain?

Because my slogan is that, I fear the country I love is becoming the country I left.

That's how I got involved as American citizen by choice over ten years ago to become a politically an activist in Colorado.

I fought against Obama's common Core federal education, centralized data, cleaning, testing, and standards, and I fought against gun control when they passed along the party.

And I to ban our magazines for AR fifteens.

And as long as this country is going down the wrong path, I do not feel like this is the country I came here for years free country and all citizens are created equal, have equal protection under the laws.

And now we have a censorship.

And to ask your former boss a few months ago, Biden.

How many people he censored his DOJ including former Democra like Tulsi Gabbard and RFK and the take it off people party to compete with him to run in the primary?

There are lots of issues I'm a worry about for our country.

I love living in Wear New Hampshire, but I have to go to Washington DC to really to reduce their power size in terms of If you if you if you're elected to Congress this time.

If you're elected to Congress, you know, can you identify the committees you'd most like to sit on and how they would best position you to serve residents of your district.

I'm a financial conservative.

I think our national debt, our, you know, out-of-control spending is really a major issue to prevent our kids to shop, have a shot at the American dream.

So I would volunteer if I get the opportunity to serve on all financial services committees and of, of course, I would be the only one who probably grew up and survived Mau's cultural revolution to go to serve in the Congress.

I would like to also serve on Foreign Affairs Committee to help our federal government deal with Communist China and protect American jobs and stop their infiltration.

I use our tax credit to come here to build factories in Michigan, in California, and there's a solar panels and drones and all the even.

Thank you, miss Tang Williams.

So I can be very helpful.

Thank you.

Miss Goodlander, you're from Nashua, but you've chosen to spend pretty much all of your adult life outside of your district, mostly in DC.

You've described your time.

Working in Washington is excellent preparation for Congress.

But what do you say to voters who remain skeptical of someone with deep ties to national politics, who returned to Nashua less than a year ago to launch this campaign?

Yeah, I am a proud fourth generation Nashua girl.

New Hampshire made me who I am today.

This is where I learned the most important things in life at Churchill Elementary School.

It's where I've come back to teach the next generation constitutional law.

The state made me who I am today, and every time I've taken the oath to serve our country, it's been to serve New Hampshire, too, whether it was in the Navy, at the Justice Department or at the white House.

And I'm in this race because I believe this is the most important election in our lifetimes.

I believe we have so much work to do to make life hard working people across the state are feeling a lot of pain right now, and being a candidate for Congress has been an experience of listening to people who are feeling pain.

They are worried that Social Security and Medicare on the chopping block.

They are worried that our democracy could cease to exist if we don't see the peaceful transfer of power in this country.

They are worried because their reproductive freedom has been ripped away from them.

We have so much work to do.

And I would say to this, you know, this is a job.

It's a job interview for a really hard job.

And in an unprecedented moment, I wouldn't be in this race if I weren't confident that I could deliver for this district right out of the gate.

Thank you, Miss Goodlander.

You've been renting an apartment in Nashua for this campaign, but you also own a home in Portsmouth in the state's other congressional district.

If elected, do you plan to move to the second district permanently, or do you expect to commute there from the seacoast?

You know, from my living room in Nashua today, I can see the hospital where I was born after my mom voted, of course.

And I can also see the shoe factory where my great grandfather worked.

This is the district.

I became a lawyer here in Concord.

I've taught constitutional law here.

So much of my adult life has been about this district, and New Hampshire is where my my husband and I want to raise our kids.

And of course, I would be in the second district to do just that.

This is the district who made me who I am.

It's literally where I was born and raised, and it's where I've spent so much of my adult life doing the things that matter most to me, including teaching the next generation constitutional.

So you'd plan to move to the second district.

Yes, and this is where I live.

Like I said from my living room today, I can see so many important sights.

My family's four generations in the state.

Michaela, over to you, Miss Tang Williams.

The peaceful transfer of power is a fundamental American value.

January 6th, 2021 was a day that put that value at grave risk.

How do you view the events of January 6th, and if voters elect you, how would you approach executing Congress's duty to certify the results of the 2024 presidential election?

Well, January 6th was a riot unfortunately happened.

I was looking forward to the debates when they were trying to have the, you know, hearings about that.

And it was quickly certified and went through, and the court never take up the cases.

And, so I, I think that the people were upset and there were some irregularities, Mail-In ballots after Covid and also that the censorship, from Biden's DOJ to force big Tech.

Even the Facebook CEO came out to say he was a force to censor Covid 19 information.

And the laptop and story of Hunter Biden evolve his father's crushing censorship.

He lies to people to know the truth so people cannot make a well informed decision.

Are we going to have more censorship for this election?

I don't know, and I know that, they're constantly suing Elon Musk and, want to shut him down because he has free speech app and lots of media is out there.

NHPR is on there.

So I enjoy to follow everybody in same way.

Deserve to know the truth.

Thank you Miss Goodlander, you often talk about the events of January 6th as you campaign.

You also talk about Congress's responsibility to provide oversight.

Under what circumstances, if any, do you believe Congress to be right to block the certification of an election?

Okay, we just heard something very important for everyone to hear.

We just heard an unwillingness to accept the results of the 2020 election, which President Biden won fair and square.

And there is nothing more dangerous to our country or our Constitution.

There's nothing more at odds with it then an unwillingness to accept the results of a democratic election when it doesn't go your way.

No one who is unwilling to accept the results of the 2020 election has any business running for Congress anywhere in this country is unacceptable, is a threat to our country and our Constitution.

The role that Congress plays and I'm very happy that the United States Congress came together to make changes to the Electoral Count Act, because I believe that here in New Hampshire, we can trust in our elections, our local election officials are on the front lines of our democracy.

They deserve our respect and our support, and I want to support them wholeheartedly.

So what I can promise you is I will absolutely certify the legitimate results of this election, just as I will recognize the legitimate results of the 2020 election.

Thank you, thank Well I have a 30s response.

You put words in my mouth.

I did not say I will not accept.

Biden is our president today.

And I will say the people were upset.

They had the questions to you.

Miss Tang Williams, we're going to have to move on.

We're nearing the end of the debate.

You cannot repeat your party and mainstream media talking points.

Thank you, Miss Tang Williams.

Thank you to both of you.

Believe it or not, with that, we're at the end of today's debate.

I want to thank our two candidates, Maggie Goodlander and Lily Tang Williams, for taking the time to be here today.

Also, thanks to New Hampshire PBS for partnering with us and thanks to the journalists from the Granite State News Collaborative, including the Concord Monitor, the Laconia Daily Sun and the Manchester Ink Link who helped produce these forums.

This is the last of our candidate forums this year.

You can find all of our election coverage at nhpr.org.

And remember, Election Day is November 5th.

I'm Mara Hoplamazian along with Michaela Towfighi Thanks for joining us today on NHPR.

This has been a special presentation of the New Hampshire Votes 2024 Candidate Forums, a project of the Granite State News Collaborative.

Partners NHPR Manchester Ink Link, Laconia Daily Sun, NH Bulletin, Concord Monitor and NHPBS.