District 9 candidates differ on issues, from economy to health care
That's about where Rep.
Hollingsworth voted for the
"That's enormous," Hollingsworth said. "That has only fed into the economy. It's led to people being able to make ends meet in ways that they haven't before. It's enabled work that pays more than it has before."
Watson, though, sees Hollingsworth's vote as one for himself. The wealthiest Americans will get the most money back on their taxes. A report from the left-leaning
"I don't think we can go back and let him double his money," said Watson, referring to Hollingsworth's re-election bid.
Watson also takes issue with the fact that the bill will drive up the country's deficit to
During Hollingsworth's time in office, however, the country's economy has improved; the unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent this year, its lowest since 2000.
"A better economy is what Hoosiers demanded first and foremost, and I and
But one part of the economy Watson thinks her opponent has ignored has been health care.
"It's expensive when people are out of the workforce because they're so sick, [and] can't continue to support their families," she said. "Bringing down heath care cost and increasing coverage is good for our economy, and it's an investment we need to be making."
Hollingsworth opposes the Affordable Care Act, instead advocating for a free-market service.
Watson supports "Medicare for All," which would work up to universal health care by gradually expanding eligibility for the government-funded health insurance. She also wants to authorize
"We're the richest nation on earth," Watson said. "And yet we have the highest health care costs and some of the worst outcomes. We can do so much better than this."
Besides continuing to improve the economy, Hollingsworth believes in stopping the same elected representatives from coming back to
Hollingsworth has personally pledged to serve only eight years, or four terms, if re-elected to his position. The first bill that he introduced as a Congressman would have kept senators from serving more than two six-year terms and House members from serving more than four two-year terms. The bill died after being referred to a couple of committees.
Since then, Hollingsworth said he's signed onto many term limit bills, but none have passed.
"There's the career politicians that have been here 20 to 30 years that don't want to see that," he said. "And then there are the people that have been elected in the last two or thee or four elections and say, 'actually, this is really important,' because they see the electorate that's angry -- that's angry at 'why are we electing the same old people and not solving any of the same old problems."
Personally, Hollingsworth would like to see term limits reduced to the time limit that he included in his first bill, but he said he'd be open to supporting another bill if it gets traction.
"I think making sure people have an expiration date, that's the more important thing," he said.
Hollingsworth also authored a bill in 2017 that would have stopped members of
One of Watson's other concerns is the health of the public education system. She worries about its funding and the prevalence of school vouchers.
"We need to make sure, you know, we protect and strengthen our public school system," she said. "And
Hollingsworth cited securing the
"I don't think we can have a meaningful conversation about what to do from step No. 2 to 450 until we first secure the border," he said. "And I voted over and over again to provide funding to secure the border, to increase border control, to provide for a wall, to ensure that we have a physical barrier between us and drugs coming into the country -- illegal immigration coming into the country."
When it comes to handling the immigrants that are already in
To solve aspects of those problems, Hollingsworth said he voted earlier this year for the Goodlatte bill, which if passed, would have given DACA recipients legal status for three years at a time, but also would have cut back on legal immigration, added to border security and immigration enforcement and mandated that employers use ""E-Verify" to ensure that their workers were in the country legally.
Watson, on the other hand, believes that the border is already secure, according to her website. She wants an immediate pathway to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in
Finally, Hollingsworth believes that advocating for the military, including proper pay, is something that will help Hoosiers feel safe.
Both candidates think they've figured out what Hoosiers want most.
ON THE ISSUES:
Tariffs
Watson: We're seeing the effects of these rash actions on soybean prices, on dairy prices. If you talk to the farmers, you know, which I've spent some time doing, they're very unhappy about what's happening, and I think that
Hollingsworth: ...Everyone agrees that
Trump and Putin / Russian interference in
Watson: Well, it's very concerning that the intelligence community says
Hollingsworth: I think that we have adversaries around the world that are looking to do harm to American interests. Whether that harm is in elections ... through
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