Ready Good evening I'm mayor Hardy from Huntington Beach and thank you for joining us tonight for the first California Forty-eight Congressional District debate of topics also submitted by voters like you, unfortunately, one of the candidates for Congress was not able to be here tonight, but we will continue with Congressman Harley Ruta. We will continue with the proposed format, which is a five-minute introduction by the candidate 2 minutes to answer each. In a 1 minute, which I figure isn't needed tonight at 5 minutes for closing statements so without further ado congressman would you please deliver your opening session? Thank you Jill and thanks to everyone for joining us this evening. I'm congressman Hartley Rudolph and I was elected to this office 2 years ago and let me tell you why I decided to run in the 2016 election. I was very disappointed that both. Both candidates uh we're not talking about issues as our founding fathers and mothers wanted us to talk about instead of became an election about personalities and I'm with the belief that most Americans are between the twenty yards that we have a lot more in common than what separates us and as a moderate as somebody who used to be a Republican who voted for Ronald Reagan twice moderate, I felt if I ran for office and had the ability to win, I could help drive our country towards uh back to where we were back. Day and uh there wasn't that much separation between Democrats and Republicans and I was fortunate that fortunate enough to be a 30 year. incumbent Dana Rohrabacher and a historic upset and in the process of campaigning against Dana War backer, I kept asking him repeatedly to debate me and unfortunately he would not not to debate me and part of the reason that I've asked to debate. My challenger is that I believe you deserve to know where we are on important issues you need to know who's gonna fight for you who's going to fight to reduce your taxes who's going to fight to reduce drug care cost who's going to fight to make sure that there's justice and equal opportunity for all who's going to fight to protect social security and who's going to fight for future generations to protect our climate and I'm disappointed my opponent is not here we have asked her repeatedly to meet with us in numerous different venues and so far she has denied you The. To hear her firsthand, but I'm gonna continue on and I'm gonna continue fighting for you because. While fighting for you, it's also important that we get results and I'm extremely proud of the fact that I'm the most legislatively productive freshman in Congress and let me put that into perspective. There's almost 100 new members of Congress who came in on 116th Congress being sworn in early January of 2019, and in a short time frame of just over a year, I have passed more legislation through the house than any other freshman member. In fact, there's very few members in Congress who have been more. Legislatively productive than me, but it's also important to get that legislation into law. My predecessor I mentioned was here for 30 years passed three bills in that time frame and just over my first year. I'm proud of the fact that I have three measures that are now part of our wealth and you can't do that unless you're willing to work across the aisle with Republicans, especially in this atmosphere, especially with this administration being Republican in the Senate being Republican. And one of the bills I'm most proud of is with Mark Meadows. Yes, Mark Meadows, the chief of staff for the president of the United States. He was in Congress and I worked with him to address issues uh because of the opioid crisis because both mark and I well, we have differences we both recognize that the opioid crisis is not a Republican issue. It's not a democratic issue. It's an American issue and by working with him and putting our differences aside and putting our country first. We were able to pass that important legislation, so my ask is that you support me and my reelection I will continue to fight for Orange County and America and put country over party every single day. Thank you. so, of course, it's on the top of everybody's mind, especially here in Orange County, where we were just removed from the state's watch list in the last week or so um what have you done to help families get through this tough time with Roto virus This pandemic obviously is impacting us all in ways we never imagined would have happened to us uh as soon as we saw the initial challenges with personal protective equipment being available to front line responders here in the district I immediately took. And started making calls to companies here in town and individuals who might have excess PPE personal protection equipment, and I'm proud of the fact that we were able to assemble over 25000 pieces of PE and get that to individuals who desperately needed it. But that was just the beginning I worked my party to pass four major bills into law, including the Care Act and we have brought back. back hundreds of. Of dollars for individual by small businesses who are hanging on a threat to try and survive this pandemic. And making sure that our vets and our seniors continue to get the support that they deserve and I'm also proud of the fact that we brought 550000000. $550000000 to the county to address tracing tracking and testing, and I gotta tell you it took 6 months for my opponent to open up so desperately needed by people here in Orange County 6 months, We can't have that we have to have leaders who understand the importance of science and we will work to make sure that they serve their community. One of the other ways that um Orange County residents have really struggled is with their taxes going up um because uh the new law uh put a cap on the state and local tax deductions in the 2017 tax law, A lot of us were paying more and what have did you sir? What are you doing to lower taxes for your constituents? Yeah. That's a great question and my opponent likes to hold herself out as a tax fighter, and I think that. Sheer hypocrisy and let me tell you why my opponent has spent her entire life as a career politician living off of taxpayers, she makes 200 plus $1000 a year from the county while taking over $300000 from the law firm that she works out with her husband and while she's been living off the taxpayers, I have been paying tens of millions of dollars between me and the companies that I have built to make sure that our country is able to run so there's a big difference between. Fighter who lives off taxpayers and those who create the taxes to support our government. The fact is taxes are too high in Orange County in California and Sacramento certainly needs to take action to reduce those taxes and quit relying on Orange County taxpayers to disproportionately paying their coffers to support their tax bills. But I'm in federal UH II work in Congress. I'm focused on cutting taxes there and I'll share. With you I am a cosponsor of legislation to rescind the deductions that are prevented under the Salt Act, uh state and local taxes, which is causing taxpayers here in Orange County to pay double taxation in fact with 435 districts in the United States, this district is the hardest hit with taxpayers pay more now than they ever did before. we need to get that rescinded in addition. By the way that's sitting at the feet of Mitch McConnell bipartisan legislation waiting for him to pass it. Finally I have legislation submitted to address the federal deficit the federal deficit we cannot continue to kick this can down the road at the expense of our kids grandkids and future generations with $23000000000000 in debt, we have to tackle this problem if we want to have our country be as successful and prosperous as. Next topic is health care um we'd like to know what your status is on the ACA or or Obamacare and um what would you do to protect our health care coverage, especially for people with preexisting conditions? Look, we're at the pandemic right now and everyone is suffering, especially with having quality health care and at the same time we have a pandemic going on. We've got a president who has repeatedly lied to the American public about trying to protect preexisting condition. The president and his Justice Department right now have a suit in Texas to actually try and overturn Obamacare, The ACA and the preexisting conditions that are there to protect it. So look we've got to keep working to have health care for all and not free people can pay their way, but we gotta make sure that people especially during the pandemic have access to the health care that they need and deserve and I'm gonna continue to fight to make sure that preexisting conditions last well beyond. This presidency and into the future to make sure we are protecting our fellow Americans. so the next topic is actually a state topic. Um it's a simple bill, Five which the California Legislature recently passed and it caused a dispute with Lyft and Uber and threatening to leave the state leaves thousands of people out of work. um well, I know it's a state issue. I'd like to hear what your take is on it. Yeah. It's interesting. You ask me a question because my opponent has made this a key component of her campaign against me which I find interesting because GE as you pointed out, this is a state issue. And either she needs a civics lesson or doesn't understand what office she is running for look. AB Five is trying to address the fact that the lines between employees and freelancers and consultants and independent contractors and gig workers has board as the economy has changed in AB five is flawed legislation and I'm I hope Sacramento gets back to addressing the flaws in it, but again I'm in Congress. I am focused on helping small businesses succeed. I come from a small business background from starting companies and start-ups to managing companies up to 10000 people. I know what it's like to sign personal guarantees. I know what it's like to put a second and third mortgage on your home to make sure you can make payroll and I know how important small businesses are to this district where over half of the jobs held right here in this district or from small businesses and over 90% of the companies are small businesses and. Extremely hard in Congress to continue to support small businesses that are the backbone of the American economy, and I'm very proud that the United States Chamber of Commerce awarded me with the Abraham Lincoln Award for my work on behalf of small businesses, only a handful of members of Congress on both sides of the aisle receive this award and for me to be able to receive that award and my first term uh shows my commitment to helping small businesses not just in the district but across our great country. Who are you supporting for president and why uh I'm supporting Joe Biden for president and let me tell you why uh Joe Biden we saw is an incredible individual He only need to listen to Lindsey Graham talk about how great Joe Biden is and how horrible Donald Trump is and we know that Donald Trump's play card is to create fear chaos and divisiveness, and he also. After he creates all of that acts like he's the only one who can solve it. That's not what we need. That's not what we need from a president in President Biden will unify us President Biden will show us what it means to be patriotic President Biden will work hard to build back America and make us better than before he's done it before he did it after the Great recession and I know he can do it again and this is a time of America. all of us need to come together and we need a leader. Bring us together. Thank you um you've attended several black Lives matters protests here in Orange County. Do you wanna defund the police and how do you wanna navigate our country through this rough times? Let me be absolutely clear I do not want to defund the police in fact, the Heroes Act, which we passed in Congress would provide uh $2000000000 plus to Orange County to help provide additional moneys for law enforcement and first responders. But what we've got to recognize to that we have a real issues in our country around systemic racism and it's not just in law enforcement. It's in all of our institutions and this is a wake-up call to all of us recognizing that we have to do better to provide equal opportunity and justice for all in the United States and we also have to recognize that we ask too much of our police force. you know right here in Orange County. We are fortunate I am proud of the law enforcement agencies We have here in Orange County uh they have adopted. Long before the legislation was recently passed in the house to address these issues and it shows but we ask them to do too much in the sense that in my speaking to the police chief here in the district, it's very clear that once said, it's like the kitchen junk drawer gets thrown at them they have to deal with mental health issues in the streets of their community. they have to deal with the homelessness they have to deal with domestic disputes and they have to deal with. Uh the usual items that we expect law enforcement to deal with we need to do a better job of having other qualified individuals. take some of that load off of them so that they can focus on what they were hired to do. and that's why I support not defunding the police but actually bringing additional funds and support to them. There is concern about China's control over the United States. How would you say stand up to China and hold the country accountable? Uh great question. I really wish my opponent was here right now because she and her husband have been caught up in a an investigation by the Wall Street Journal regarding Pay-to-play politics where people associated with the communist China government have paid. To get access to Donald Trump and the fact that my opponent and her husband who's law firm has been caught in this web of corruption, we need answers to it and at the same time that's going on over in her world, I have actually been fighting to protect our national security. I passed legislation. That has been passed into law that prevents the Chinese government from using federal tax dollars to get transportation bids here in the United States, putting our national security at risk if we didn't have that protection, so let me be very clear, No one's gonna fight harder to protect us against China and Russia and others who whether their attempts to jeopardize our fair and free elections or to diminish our national security and I welcome the opportunity to go. With my opponent on what she's really doing in China. This is the final question of President Trump recently signed an executive order canceling the payroll taxes and that funds social security. What is your stance on funding social security? Well? The good news is the president can't cancel. We cannot do that It's simply not allowed that would be an act of Congress and we're certainly not gonna allow that to happen. We're not gonna allow his attempt to sign some phony document from his golf club in New Jersey to impact senior citizens across the United States every day I'm fighting. To protect social security and let's remember social security is money we paid into the system for our retirement and for this president and his Republican supporters to try and take away the benefit that you have paid your entire working career is beyond extreme and to kick seniors while they're down during this pandemic shows why this president shouldn't be in the office because he should be fighting for seniors. He should be fighting for vets. He should be fighting for all of us, not pitting Americans against Americans. Thank you so much for answering all of those questions. Do you have a closing statement for us? Thanks Jill. Yeah, As I said when I decided to run for office, I was focused on a bipartisan work reaching across the aisle and putting country over party and I'm proud of those results and I'm proud to make that continued commitment over the coming years, but I need your support and I respectfully ask for your vote this November to make sure that I can continue to do. Good work we have done for the constituents and voters of the Forty-eighth District of California and what we're at a crossroads right now. This is the time where all of us need to be engaged in our country. We need to be engaged in the politics. We need to respect each other. We need to recognize that we cannot have contempt for the other side and while we may disagree on how we solve the problems of the United States, I do know that if we don't talk to each other, we're not going to solve those problems and I'll continue my commitment to work with Republican. Independents and Democrats to address these difficult issues that are affecting us and with your help. I'm prepared to serve another term. Thank you very much. Thank you and thank you for watching. Hopefully you learn as much as I did and we hope this is just the first of many events.