Houlahan, Young Debate Economy, Abortion, Foreign Policy – ​​DV Journal

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester/Berks) and Republican challenger Neil Young debated on Wednesday.

Reading NAACP President Stacy Taylor moderated the discussion on Berks Community TV. The two candidates discussed war, inflation, immigration, borders and tax policy.

Young, a high school social studies teacher, claimed he was the 6th District representative. Higher prices, increasing chaos abroad and an education system that has traded “excellence for justice” are issues he would handle differently than Houlahan.

Houlahan, who has represented the district since 2019, defended her record in voting for various Biden-Harris administration bills such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips and Science Act, which have added trillions to the national debt.

Houlahan, a former Air Force officer and business owner, argued she has the experience needed to keep the country strong.

She wrote laws to combat inflation and gun violence. A bill she authored to prevent the importation of fentanyl into the United States has come into force, she said.

“I am recognized as one of our most bipartisan members of Congress,” Houlahan said.

Young began the forum by introducing himself in Spanish.

He said the Biden-Harris administration has redefined Title IX and “intentionally hidden important information from parents.”

“The truth is that we could have secured our border. The truth is that there was a House bill, but my opponent didn’t vote for it. We could have protected our girls on the sports field. We could have prevented them from being drafted onto the battlefield. We could have sanctioned Iran and limited its ability to finance terrorism. We could have passed the Parents’ Bill of Rights. We could have distanced ourselves from anti-police, anti-Israel colleagues like AOC, who stood on the steps of Reading High School just last weekend. We could have been honest about what the Inflation Reduction Act actually was. And that was a backdoor Green New Deal that boosted inflation and constrained American energy,” Young said.

When asked about the top three issues, Young cited foreign wars, inflation and illegal immigration.

“We came very close to World War III,” Young said.

“Inflation is completely out of control,” he said, adding that groceries now cost 21 percent more in Pennsylvania and gas prices have doubled.

“We have over 10 million people who have come to this country. We don’t know who they are. We don’t know whether their asylum applications are justified. And we lost 300,000 unaccompanied minors. We have a disaster on our southern border.”

Houlahan agreed that “we are in a precarious time in terms of our peace on the world stage.”

“I believe in precipitous times, considering what’s going on in Ukraine, what’s happening in Israel, what could potentially happen in the Indo-Pacific. And that’s why I believe we’re at an important time when we need to have people at the table, myself included, who have in-depth knowledge of this topic. I am a member of the Armed Services Committee, I was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and now I am a member of the Intelligence Committee.”

Houlahan said the COVID pandemic was “a major shock to our economy.”

“But fortunately we’re at a point where inflation is easing, largely because of some of the things we’ve done to make sure we keep a roof over our heads, to make sure we’re putting food in our stomachs “Make sure we protect schools with things like the Inflation Reduction Act, with things like the American Rescue Plan, and things like all the funding that we provided for the Paycheck Protection Program.”

America must continue to expand its economy, she said.

“And some of the things we’re doing with the Chips and Science Act, for example, reshoring, onshoring, peer shoring, all the jobs we need, the technologies we need to aggressively pursue, the things we are. “We also do this to ensure we stand on stage with the skills and professions that will take us into the next century.”

When asked what she would do about systemic racism, Houlahan said the federal government should ensure that “we have equal access to education” and that the criminal justice system treats everyone equally. Adults must have the necessary skills for the job, she added.

Young said, “Our schools are failing” — including those in Chester and Berks counties, where most have declined in performance.

“There is nothing that exacerbates wealth disparities and wealth disparities more than a lack of school choice,” he said.

Houlahan is against school choice.

“I’m not for it [of sending] Money to follow a child into a faith school. I don’t think that’s the government’s role. The government’s job is to educate and retain all children [in] a very strong public school system.”

They also argued about abortion.

Houlahan’s daughter was about to give birth to her granddaughter.

“And the idea that she is born into a world where she has fewer rights and fewer physical rights [autonomy] “I don’t have any rights anymore than I do, which is really, really concerning,” Houlahan said. “This is a conversation that a person should have with their family, their faith, their doctor, and our government should stay out of it.” She said 30 percent of military women do not have access to contraception.

Young agrees with the late liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg that Roe vs. Wade was “on shaky legal ground.” And while he is personally pro-life, he would leave abortion decisions to the states. Since Roe was overturned, there are now more elective abortions than ever before, and most of them are chemical abortions in the first few months of pregnancy, he said.

“I will always fight to ensure that we create a family-friendly environment,” he said. “That we don’t have to struggle with the cost of food and the cost of gas.”

The U.S. is experiencing a population decline, he said.

Young noted that 10 million people have crossed the border illegally since Biden-Harris took office.

“The House bill my opponent voted against contained one provision: Remain in Mexico. The [provision] takes care of a lot – to see whether your asylum application is approved. This saves us a lot of resources. There should have been more border guards. It would have criminalized visa overstays. It would have restarted construction of a border wall.”

Houlahan said she voted against that bill because it would allow children crossing illegally to be detained for a month, “which I found to be an atrocity,” but she supported a “bipartisan” bill that failed to pass in the Senate.

Young said the bill’s author said the final bill was “unrecognizable” and voted against it, as did six Democrats. It would have allowed 5,000 people to cross the border every day and given them the opportunity to apply for asylum.

“Sometimes bipartisanship only serves two parties and not the American people,” Young said.

When asked to discuss the high cost of housing, the two disagreed about the causes.

Young said the average cost of a home in Pennsylvania rose from $195,000 to $300,000.

He believes the Biden-Harris “war on fossil fuels, which we use to transport 90 percent of everything we produce,” is the root cause. He cited restrictions on drilling on federal lands and the export of natural gas, as well as “massive government spending.”

Additionally, illegal immigrants are competing for rental housing in Reading and Coatesville, he said.

“Rent prices and real estate prices are inextricably linked,” Young said.

Houlahan disagreed, saying migrants don’t play a role in housing costs.

She has met with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, which receives government funding to help people with affordable housing. She said Vice President Kamal Harris has proposed federal help with down payments.

Houlahan said the “Biden administration has done a wonderful job bringing in allies” to help in the Ukraine war.

“These are very dangerous times and we must work with our allies to ensure we are as safe as possible,” Houlahan said.

Young said Russian President Putin annexed Crimea while President Obama was in office. And now he has invaded Ukraine under Biden.

“Weak leadership will be punished,” said Young, who addressed “the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan.” This withdrawal had “long-lasting foreign policy implications in countries like Russia (and) on the strengthening of Hamas.”

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