Rob Caldwell, a reporter and anchor for NEWS CENTER Maine, moderated the 2nd District debate between Republican Austin Theriault and Democrat Jared Golden. (Image via NEWS CENTER Maine)
A veteran of the U.S. Marines who served combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Golden said he knows what he is talking about when it comes to national security and he is supportive of what the United States has done in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel one year ago.
“I’ve supported every package that’s gone forward to their military to make sure they have the resources they need to carry out the fight against these terrorist groups — both of which also target the United States,” Golden said Monday during the second debate between the congressman and his Republican challenger for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, state Rep. Austin Theriault
Theriault said during the NEWS CENTER Maine debate that he believes there is bipartisan support for Israel to be able to protect itself.
As for other foreign conflicts, both candidates said they want Ukraine to win the war against Russia, but Theriault said there needs to be accountability to make sure aid is being spent usefully.
Arguing that there are already boots on the ground to provide that accountability, Golden went on to say it is cheaper for the U.S. to send weapons and bullets to Ukrainians now than for a future Congress to have a hard conversation about sending young American men and women to war in Europe.
Because of that, he criticized the Biden administration for not going far enough to provide stronger support for Ukraine.
“Don’t trust the experts, people like Jake Sullivan who have nice degrees in national security,” Golden said of the national security advisor to President Joe Biden. “He’s never worn a uniform. He’s never been in combat and he has constantly talked about ‘we need to just give them a little bit.’ — I think leading to a stalemate.”
Golden talked about his efforts on a bipartisan coalition of mostly veterans who have pushed for the U.S. to go all in on its support with Ukraine. “That’s how wars are fought,” he said.
“At first people like Jake Sullivan said ‘no,’ but ultimately, they’ve gotten to ‘yes’ and they should have been from the very beginning,” Golden continued. “So, I would agree that the Biden administration has been way too slow in getting the tools into the hands of the Ukrainian war fighters to get out there and not just fight to a stalemate, but win.”
Foreign wars was just one topic that the candidates covered on the debate stage Monday night for their second in a series of three public forums before the Nov. 5 election.
While there was some overlapping discussion from the first debate, the debate co-hosted by NEWS CENTER Maine and the Maine State Chamber of Commerce included federal spending, cost of living and taxes. However, there was no poignant conversation about immigration, despite calls from Theriault near the end of the hour to bring up the topic.
This debate fell on the same day that in-person absentee voting started across Maine.
Federal spending and taxes
When asked if he would support a higher tax rate for the wealthiest Americans including billionaires and multinational corporations, Theriault said the federal government has a spending problem, not a tax problem and that he likes tax rates where they are now.
Golden, on the other hand, said millionaire and billionaire households — but not the middle class — need to be taxed more to truly address the nation’s $1.9 trillion deficit. He also spoke of closing legal loopholes in the tax code.
Both the three-term congressman and the freshman state legislator agreed that federal spending needs to be lowered.
That’s why Golden said he didn’t support the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act, which he felt was too much spending, but did vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which included provisions to reduce government spending.
The candidates also talked about the future of Social Security.
Rob Caldwell, a reporter and anchor for NEWS CENTER Maine who moderated the debate, said there are three options to address the shortage of funds that could lead to a cut in Social Security benefits in about a decade: A reduction in benefits, higher retirement age or higher payroll taxes.
Theriault disagreed that those are the only three options, saying he would rather see greater participation in the workforce. He said he believes that would work, even in Maine with one of the oldest populations in the nation.
Golden said he would rather eliminate the cap on taxable income, so that people would be taxed on all their wages and not just those up to $168,600 (which is the 2024 contribution cap).
Gun rights
Since Golden called for a ban on assault weapons in the wake of the Lewiston mass shooting in Lewiston, gun rights have been a key issue in the CD2 race.
During the debate Monday, Theriault said he would not support any changes to gun legislation on the federal level and reiterated his statement that he believes the response to the tragedy in Lewiston should be focused on increasing mental health access.
Theriault and other House Republicans voted against the state budget in April that would have provided various mental health investments in the wake of the shooting.
Golden said he has tried to have a balanced approach that weighs gun rights with public safety. He said that he has never supported a gun registry, but also didn’t specifically mention an assault weapons ban.
“It’s true after the shooting I said we need to take a good hard look at these most lethal firearms,” he said.
“I have said perhaps for those of us who want to own these firearms, in recognition of how lethal they are, some kind of permitting system, some kind of threshold so that we know that the people who have them are of good character, of good mental health, aren’t addicted to drugs and are in a good solid state.”
Carbon emissions
When asked what should America be doing to lead the world in addressing climate change, Golden said it is a “little naive to think the United States alone can fix the entire planet.”
He said a discussion about carbon emissions is really a conversation about energy policy and that he supports an “all-of-the-above” approach. Golden argued that American energy should be produced in the U.S., and again spoke to his support of the Inflation Reduction Act because of its investments in renewable energy sources while releasing more oil and gas for use.
Theriault, who repeatedly attacked the Inflation Reduction Act during both debates, said that America needs to pressure China and India to reduce their output of emissions.
“If America is going to be a leader, it has to be a leader in going after those countries that are basically using dirty energy to produce cheap goods that then they flood the U.S. market with,” he said.
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