Their voices are up Thanks Shawn. Are you sure oh sorry about that? I think think what facing as as we get into office is the lack of PPE. you know we hear that hear that we are reopening the economy. We're heading into you know, phase phase three and and phase what not not having reopen your small business is inhumane and I I think our federal government needs to step up so that we're not asking people to go die. The sake of the GP GDP I that no matter no matter what we do our government is going to actually have to to spend a lot of on creating jobs. so my role as your Congresswoman, I will be be sure that the creation of this job is in the Green economy is in really rebuilding an economy that it to the most vulnerable in our communities to black and Brown people and low income. and in that, we will through federal Homes Guarantee housing integrated housing that will eliminate the way our elders are being treated and integrate them in housing where their grandchildren can play with them in the playground. I will be making making sure we bring in funding for more renewable energy. we need more wind we need. Solar, Massachusetts was in the lead and we falling back. I will will be making that these jobs are also tending to rebuilding our schools schools infrastructure and importantly for our districts in particular particular transportation, which need the rail and we need the South Coast Trail and those need to happen immediately because without access to economies people of color. Be true participants in our economy, our our small businesses need to actually be out. what I see our government doing is bailing out the big banks and the sorry billing out the without conditions right, they're giving the bailouts and the corporations are still laying off people, but what we need to do is to make sure that that we bailing out the people as we get out of the covid- 19, actually right We speak the debt collectors are suing people and people are not able to pay their credit debt. people are a little humanity right. Thank you so we're going to need to bail out the people we need to give give people $2000 a month for the duration of the pandemic and fixed it to one six months to one year after that to make sure that they can put food on the table. Thanks thank you. Right so first and foremost, we absolutely need to get direct aid aid to States to towns. I'm a former board member in know just just the of pinch that local governments are in trying to make budgeting decisions right now as revenues revenues plummeting. we know we know that there's that would get get one trillion dollars, part of a three trillion dollar package with the House passed Mitch McConnell's desk right now, no surprise, we keep fighting for that funding. Yes, absolutely to to support schools to support municipal infrastructure, but Particularly interested in what Jay Inslee has proposed they're calling it the Evergreen plan, and it includes 11 points that would integrate a covid- 19 response with a climate crisis response and quite frankly. if we're failing to integrate with you, we are not looking at a recovery correctly I'll I'll spare you the 11 but they important things like funding funding for weather aid for weatherization disaster relief and investment in transit programs. that's the type of lens with which I think we need to be Direct aid to States and cities and towns, we absolutely need to be supporting small businesses, particularly women in minority owned businesses with P program that actually works and actually in the hands of businesses and we need to be directly supporting workers. That's the third leg of the the me, $1200.01 time payment. Anyone who knows about working families knows that that that falls so short, we need at least $2000 a at least the foreseeable future of four months. That's what Canada has done with the. Extended if it's needed, Those are the big three things that I would prioritize as I about how we make sure that Massachusetts is stable and equitable moving forward out of this crisis. Thank you everybody. Our next question is from Chrissy. Thank Claire and thank you to Environmental League for hosting this forms, The federal government plays a large role in our transportation system here in the fourth district, but the federal highway Gas tax has not increased since 1993 and Congress is a bail out the Trust Fund with more than a hundred billion dollars of other tax revenues since 2008. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, both here in Massachusetts and nation, and you all the challenges this district faces in transportation, congested and unsafe road. trains communities like Fall River that have been asking for service for decades and aren't receiving federal help to get project done. these failures have large environmental impacts. So my question for the candidates is what's one thing Congress gets right about transportation policy and what's one thing that it gets wrong? We'll start with the on lucky, then go to Jessie Mumm then Siegel and I'm going to ask you to stick to two minutes so we have time for audience questions. On you, thank you you so one thing our federal government gets right our transportation is that it is crumbling and the one thing that it gets wrong is that they not investing enough to make sure we have have a 20 century transportation system that actually open up economies for Brown and black communities and so with that, as a lot of you know candidates who take money from corporate lobbyists will not be the the you know fighting for a 20 first. Green system that will make a a for communities of color in district. If you look Milford, for example, you know there is a hub of of of an economy in Western Milford communities Cannot get to because they don't have the transportation to get them there folks from Fall River the same thing if they wanna get into Boston as you mentioned in the bus two hours the bus comes every two hours doesn't come on the weekends. These are problems that. the communities and them their jobs. So when we're thinking about transportation, we speak locally with the the communities that most affected. Speaking just to elected officials is not enough. It's important to to elected officials at the town and state level to see has been done and how we can improve and how we can can act together as a as a United, as a United districts and as a United State. but it's. For us to to to advocate the federal level, not to funding but to actually funnel funding towards the communities that are affected and open them up on the economy. As I mentioned before, we we need East-West rail. we need the South Coast Rail and those are projects that overdue and even those who have been in in office before me, they have delayed and delayed in the late. so we need people who can actually deliver and I look forward to being in that. Congresswoman for you, Thank you you Hassan right at minutes. Jesse you're up next well. you know I was very proud to serve with you over the past nearly five years on the Executive Committee Transportation for Massachusetts and this conversation more than once you know recently, I do think Congress has gotten something right and funding to the regional Transit Authority and Attleboro and Tom right the regional bus system system that runs There's another one from Fall River in New Bedford, New Bedford not in the district, but we still like them and want them to have access to transportation and clean air and so. Federal funding for RTA is something that I I hope we see more of out of something that I look forward to leading on. We that R T A's are incredible assets when it comes to reducing local greenhouse gas emissions and to economic opportunity, education and health care. You know one of the areas where think Congress really gets it wrong is understanding the intersectionality between how we're investments in transportation and lifting up the focus on climate change and I'll give you an example, you know transportation for America wrote a post seven or eight weeks ago now, but then. Can't fund transit like it's 1982 1982, they decided that only 20 percent of money raised from the gas tax would go to in transit and ratio continues today. 8020 split only 20 cents a dollar going going to in public transit as we try to our climate right places as we try to tackle the public health crisis that surrounds it As we try to regrow our economy coming out of the very dark, several months that we've had we need. Reassess how how Congress is about the intersection of transportation funding and the climate crisis and look at making we are investing more money in something that in this district, in will be absolutely vital to charing that fair just and equitable path forward and a path forward that continues moving towards our goal of a hundred percent, renewable future and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions so that we're adequately tackling the crisis. Thank you. Jesse just under two minutes and we'll go to bed. Thank you Chris so much. Look one of the things I think the government is doing right right is actually just last week, the Democrats rolling out a a billion infrastructure bill invest in finally had a a focus on public transportation and on, but not it, but it, but frequency of using that and a focus on our most most vulnerable low-income communities. I think we're starting to get on the right path that far more money, but it's one thing. I think that we're starting to do right. Where are we going wrong? Number one. We all know that we are not getting the investments we need to update and modernize our infrastructure board. I take Green line every day before Cove. I know what what the that was we're not doing that both in our commuter rails or in our MBTA system that we have here we need to do that in a clean and efficient way. Number two is we need to regions to work together on smart transportation projects walking and biking paths, not just in one community, but throughout the district. Cities and towns in the suburbs we're not getting any attention on that. I think we also need to to make connection between our transportation with our housing. we to create transit oriented have affordable housing market rate, housing and subsidized housing, and and on not connecting the two. But if if we work the two together, we're gonna be more efficient and far more greener and efficient. We need to also make sure we have a cap and a real first. sorry we need. We goal finally on on what our cap on a missions gonna be. We really have never had that federally across the board and and lastly is we to make an ultram ultimate investment in our low income communities communities of color so that we can come back racism that has been the subject of this making sure that transportation is efficient and effective and affordable to get the low income communities to places of business where they can raise. Standard of Living Thank you Ben two minutes also to the candidates for your and thank you very much for running to represent those of us in the fourth district. Thank you so now so now we're go to our first live audience question. this question is very very timely the local calls to defund or restructure police forces and the question is the US military is one of the the emitters of greenhouse gases in the entire world. How would you tackle that issue in Congress? would you move to make make carbon neutral and would defund our massive military budget? start in order with Jessie. Yeah, there's no question that segment of the United States government needs to move towards carbon neutrality and you know massive sources of pollution. Like our clearly have to be at or near the top of that list. So yes to make sure that our is carbon neutral and yes to you know, reassessing the ways in which we fund the military and you know, I think those of us in in Progressive community have have been frustrated decade after watching you know the military or quite quite frankly when corporate interests or you know Donald Trump's friends need need a tax break the money for that. To be there instantly right no problem and the second that we need money for investment in mitigation or investment in or housing or transportation, that's when the spreadsheets have to open up and we have to go go single penny and that's not to say that budgeting and fiscal discipline aren't important, but you know the ways in which we are implementing our values speaks volumes about this country, and it's a a huge part of why we're the crisis that we are in the intersectional crisis that we are in today so. Money that is being spent on the military money that is being spent on police could instead be spent things that actually keep us safe. You know what is a public safety and and a defense a National defense crisis, the climate right a huge way in which we we need to keep country safe is by reducing our greenhouse gas emissions, climate crisis seriously and making sure we're preparing to mitigate the impacts of what very likely lies ahead. if we fail to act adequately over the next decade. I absolutely think that we make our military moving toward carbon neutral. I absolutely think that we need to to reassess ways in which we so readily and excessively spend money on the defense system and put it toward that actually make the rest of of the safe actually invest in community and invest in our public disparities housing transportation and addressing the climate crisis. That's all around us. Jessie Ben Yes. Thank you. Claire a hundred percent Jesse. I mean we need we need to move the military to to being carbon That's absolutely true. I also percent agree with Jesse when it comes to we need to to on how military spending its money and so we have never seen a a full audit in the military. What happens is certain programs get audited, and it a small little vacuum. Instead, we a massive audit to look at are are spending for 20 century needs security are we spending in the right places are in cyber security? Versus aircraft carriers that no longer needed in the way that our military is using. I think what we would also also need to is similar in Congress, where there's a Congressional Budget Office that looks at every piece of that's put forward in terms of what is it cost cost gonna be how much do are We gonna use We need an an office. It's gonna at every every single of legislation through through the environmental lens. What is its impact on the environment gonna be and that includes everything. To the military, what is its impact on the environment gonna be and look through that lens that we can have a smarter and more efficient and a a safer military that excess money for making sure we're combating environmental racism in our health care system and education and our transportation system. so that's where I would focus. I would demilitarize the police as that that has we've all seen a huge issue with where we're going Look, I was in Fall River where. Have 200 last week protests. We have 200 protesters and we had 300 police fully with the with almost the number of armed Guardsmen National Guardsmen with AK, 40 sevens, or at least that's what they look like narrowing in on group, we need to demilitarize the police and it needs to happen now. Thank you Well all we we have to an end to put an end end our forever wars. we need be the country that has promised to be promoters peace and give back to conversation table and to diplomacy. We need to make sure that you know that instead of continuing to increase the military budget we actually decreased the military budget and fund our schools fund. Fund our our Transportation System the Green New deal. We need the Green Deal and we need need international Green deal. We know that our has benefited from economies and resources other countries across the world, and and we need to be fighters for Justice and for that, instead of to increase wars across the world, we need to actually become allies with people who need to have a Green economy and to be also protect. Of peace across our global community, so I do you know I support defunding the military. I will not vote to our military and know that's that's all that I have to say on this one. I one. I don't that you know solar panels on on our on our tanks is gonna something beneficial. Actually we don't need. We don't need tanks What we need is a peaceful is a peaceful. And we need to work on that. Thank you. Alright. I think we're gonna one one last audience question and then I'll all do a closing statement, but but I'm gonna and get to a minute minute and a half and keep a little bit to make sure we end one. I know a few people have touched on offshore and some of your but some have said that the fourth district could to gain from offshore wind development than almost any other district America. If elected can you share your top priorities for harnessing this potential and the Of this resource and we're gonna start with Ben on that one. Yes, Thank you. Claire. I absolutely. I know the answer of whether we have potential for far more offshore wind than other congressional in the country, it wouldn't be fair to me for me to get that but we need to harness the impact of that. to make sure it's environmentally safe. you know yesterday was World Oceans Day right and know that the majority of auction and that we breathe comes from the oceans. We know know how sacred the oceans are so we need to make sure we protect it, but we need to harness that power so that we can make. we are moving towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and moving away from fossil fuels and reinvesting in renewable energies like like wind and others as well and like solar and so we have that ability here and Massachusetts to to do it than most. I just don't know if it's more than everything. but one size and and one solution is not fit all to combating this climate crisis. and so as much as we need to do that, we also need to make sure we have the workers who are trained and skilled. Many of which you might be working in the fuel industry can to working in wind industry and in a energy so need to give them those tools before we transition and over that, so we can make sure we have an efficient clean energy economy that works for everyone. great. Thank you Ian. You would you you mind repeating question I just if elected, share your top priorities for harnessing the of offshore wind? Absolutely so, especially the South Shore, Shore, I think there's a huge opportunity for us to to you know have offshore there are a lot of opportunities across the country. You know, we're gonna have to fight for the South Shore and fight fight for the country because we to get out of fossil fuels. Look, we're gonna we're gonna of candidates who agree on these issues. I wanted people to. That the only only thing that's us and offshore wind is the corporate interest compressors and and gas companies and fossil fuel companies who don't want offshore to happen who don't care if people from the South Shore, get those jobs or not and who don't care if our children continue to drink dirty water and and read the gas air and as a mom and as a regulator. Know how to fight these corporate interests? Thank you thanks and Jessie. So we know that you know one of if not the greatest opportunity for offshore wind on the entire East Coast is right here in Massachusetts Coast of the South Coast and off the Coast of Rhode Island. We also know that there are folks in Virginia and in New looking to capitalize on opportunities there really surpass us in this sector and so it's our job and it's the job of the next number. From this district to ensure that our communities benefit those from those incredible economic opportunities that exist because of offshore wind and that we're seizing the chance to make really impacts and and lowering greenhouse gas emissions and moving to that a hundred percent renewable that I'm so committed to know my priorities are around making that we we completely do a way with the stuff that that Donald Trump has put on this project solely because of his own interest in the interest of cronies, making sure that sure that we're the needs around transmission and energy storage, something that those of us who have. The clean energy space for a long no have been challenges, challenges, but we've made progress and clearly there are large opportunities in Somerset around great point, both to tackle the transmission and storage issue, but also to create really jobs. we do have to make make sure that offering mitigation for our friends in the fishing industry who understandably about impacts on their livelihood but I think you know there are ways in which we can and must address that and to make to make that the jobs that we're creating in the offshore wind industry offshore wind itself. In storage and transmission good Union jobs with signed project labor agreements, making sure that those workers are protected that they have unions who have their backs and we are genuinely creating economic growth that will lift families for years to to come. we invest it will what will hopefully be a thriving offshore wind wind that creates economic growth and tackles our climate crisis and I look forward to leading on that that issue and partner with advocates around the state and on the South Coast as as the next member of Congress from this district. Thank and I thank you for that for that and it's not. I know right into our closing statements to make sure sure we can wrap up so I know you had a point wanted to make but we are ending now so now so you can you can make the point and if you could keep it to about a half we've we thank you again for joining us today. We really appreciate you guys taking the time and caring about these issues. so it's on go ahead. Yeah. So just a quick point the offshore is that you know as a regulator, I understand what the revolving door in. Regulatory institutions to standing between us between our labor between you know our workers and the potential that we can have for a Green New deal for offshore fark is one of those institutions that has had had revolving door for a long time where those who work at the top the corporations of the fossil fuel companies and up right on the inside of the regulatory agencies and so that's something that I will. To end and I will work along with others are already in Congress and been working on from Senator Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren to get a porter and many who have been fighting corporate interests in the name of the American people and and and consumers would you like me to also make the closing statements Or is this? Yup? Okay? great. Thank I wanted to thank everybody here again. I thank the candidates for. Sharing their opinions and how you their vision district for I am an immigrants from Morocco. I'm the only woman of color color in race and the only one who had the guts to run against Kennedy to push him on Medicare for all and on the Green New Deal and to stop him taking corporate money PACs and and I'm one who has been committed to these issues since before running office. I have been on the right side of racial Justice and as many of Not know we have people who are running in this race approve of the of raising the Confederate flag. We have people are running this race who you know have lives of black people and we have to look closely. you know, look at the to inform the future and I have been here for you every step of the way I will continue to do that and I will continue to carry the voices of the most vulnerable in our communities across this district. And across and across country and into the halls of Congress, Thank you very much for having me. Thank you Jessie well, Claire and Chris and Elli and Dottie and everyone else who joined Thank you so much for putting this together. I really appreciate appreciate it. I'm incredibly proud to have been leading again in partnership with so many of you over the past 20 years on issues of climate change, protecting our environment transportation, you know whether it's sharing the Climate Action Brookline when I was I was on the board for a ago, working in the Patrick administration serving as the head of the alliance. Leadership where got to work on on carbon carbon pricing on investing in transportation and communities that left behind increasing the renewable Standard, so many things that we know are absolutely essential to tackling our climate crisis and creating a just equitable Massachusetts. I'm incredibly proud to be in race to continue that fight in a new role. I'm grateful for the opportunity to be with you today and I look forward to continuing to partner with you on the issues that we've all prioritize together. Long as the next member of Congress in the fourth Congressional district and hope people are safe healthy, both mentally and physically during these very challenging times. Thank you and Ben Thank you so much. Thank Claire and Chris and Elli and Dottie really for such a wonderful questions and really putting us to talk about where are we at with with the environment and the climate crisis look similar to the Covid- 19 pandemic where we have always said We are all in in this together. We're get through. That's where we with the climate crisis pandemic. We are not going to be able to combat the climate crisis if we are all working together, lifting up the voices of everyone. There's no one size solution that fits all we need to move away from We need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. We need to our global leadership in the Paris accords and take it further. We need to and renewable energies that we talked whether that's wind or whether that's solar or so many ways we need to connect our transportation to our housing. We need to make sure that that we giving people the skills and the training to from other industries into a clean energy industry. All of these pieces are important but That we need to combat environmental racism and injustice. If we truly are gonna come back back climate crisis and help lift of the burden that so many of our black and Brown communities are they're holding that are on on their shoulders and we But we're only gonna do that if we are one and that's the theme of our campaign. We the fourth are all gonna have to this together. if we're gonna make that change. So if you believe that we are all in this together if you believe in unity and strength. If you believe you need a leader who has and understands the diverse perspectives of community and advances, diversity, and inclusion that am that candidate and I ask you to go to Ben Siegel for Congress dot com. Check us out. Read about us. Follow us on Facebook and I can't wait to join you in this movement to make real lasting change for everyone. Thank you Ben and thank you to all the candidates again for for joining us today and thank you you for for office and and thank you to listeners for joining us. we really appreciate it. We encourage you all to join us again on Thursday. Next Tuesday, where we will hear from the rest of the candidates similar questions, we will sending out recordings to all attendees attendees who joined today so you can re it or send to your friends and most importantly, we're really do encourage everyone to get out on September first and this election ELM also has an upcoming Wednesday webinar tomorrow on corporate sustainability and public policy. If you'd like to to RSVP for any of these you can go to our website environmental dot org. Thank you. For joining us, Thank you everyone. Thank you. Thank for having me.