Inflation, Ukraine and Jan. 6 committee topics of McGovern, Sossa-Paquette debate

CHICOPEE —  U.S. Rep James P. McGovern of Worcester and his challenger Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette of Shrewsbury shared their differing views on responding to inflation, the U.S. response to the conflict in Ukraine and the Jan. 6 Committee during a televised debate Thursday.

McGovern, a Democrat who has represented the 2nd Congressional District for more than 20 years, and Sossa-Paquette, a Republican businessman who operates a Access Futures Child Care Center in Worcester, took part in a debate hosted by Springfield-area TV station WWLP-22News. The debate was hosted by Rich Tettemer.

The two square off in the Nov. 8 election.

The debate was broadcast from a Western Mass. TV studio with no audience. In addition to much of Worcester County, the 2nd Congressional District includes the western counties of Franklin and a northern portion of Hampshire County.

In his opening statement, Sossa-Paquette talked about his experience as a small-business owner and operating a child care center for families below the poverty line.

"I have signed 45,000 paychecks to my employees over the last 25 years," Sossa-Paquette said.

McGovern said he has fought against corporations, including pharmaceutical companies, on behalf of families in the district.

"I fight hard against billionaire corporations that are trying to rip you off, whether it's at the gas pump or whether it's at the grocery store," McGovern said.

On the budget reconciliation bill, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that was signed into law in August, Sossa-Paquette said the bill will not do anything to curb rising inflation.

He recalled the 2010 process to finalize the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and said the then-Democratic Congress ruled that they would not negotiate prescription drug pricing, saying that the price of insulin will not go down in 2024.

McGovern started by saying that the bill's cap on insulin prices goes into effect in January 2023. He added that there are cost-saving measures in the bill for consumers and called it "hypocritical" that Sossa-Paquette has called for rolling back spending after accepting two loans from the Patient Protection Program for his business during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Access Futures Child Care Center received a $54,000 PPP loan in April 2020 and a $56,556 loan in February 2021, both of which were forgiven.

Sossa-Paquette later said that he used the loans on his employees.

McGovern, a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal legislation, said the country is "absolutely" ready for the climate transitions laid out in the proposed climate package.

"We have to transition away from a dependence on fossil fuels to greener energy," McGovern said. "It means a planet that will survive, it also means more and more jobs for people."

McGovern said the Green New Deal legislation is aspirational and touted climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Sossa-Paquette responded that the country is not ready for the Green New Deal. He said that New England will face rolling blackouts this winter due to a lack of natural gas coming into the region. He faulted Democrats for not approving a pipeline from coming into Massachusetts.

"There's no battery that we're going to build, there's nothing that's going to help our citizens this winter when we're looking at oil," Sossa-Paquette said.

When the debate turned to Ukraine, Sossa-Paquette said Congress needed to hold hearings on the matter of America's response. He called America's involvement in the conflict a "proxy war" over access to Russian energy.

"Let's make no mistake that what is happening in Ukraine is over energy and we need to be energy independent in America with all forces of energy," Sossa-Paquette said. "It is absolutely unacceptable that we keep using the United States military to fight wars over energy."

McGovern said Congress has already held multiple hearings, and added that Congress has acted to support humanitarian and security assistance to Ukraine. American forces are not fighting in Ukraine against Russia and are instead providing assistance, McGovern said.

"This is not about energy. This is about freedom, this is about human rights and if the United States is not going to stand up for human rights in Ukraine then we've lost the moral authority to do it anywhere else else," McGovern said. "When Republicans talk about cutting aid to Ukraine, you're telling [Russian President Vladimir Putin,] 'Hold on a little bit longer, don't settle, hold on.' "

McGovern recalled being a part of the delegation to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that Zelenskyy told the delegation about Russia targeting civilian buildings and Russian soldiers sexually assaulting Ukrainian boys and girls before turning them to traffickers.

Sossa-Paquette replied that human trafficking, such as what McGovern described in Ukraine, is happening all across the world and that millions of women and children are being trafficked in the U.S. on a yearly basis.

On an assault weapons ban, McGovern said he supported one while Sossa-Paquette was opposed. McGovern said parents of children killed at the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, could not identify their own children due to the nature of the assault weapon used.

Sossa-Paquette said a mental health crisis was the root of mass shootings. He said  children and young adults in the "Generation Z" cohort are being overprescribed medication. He said one of the most alarming things he has seen is young children in his day care being medicated for being hyper.

Sossa-Paquette said the federal government should not have taken any action to cancel federal student debt, saying that families such as his who have children attending college did not ask the American taxpayers to put them through college.

McGovern said canceling student debt was the right move by President Joe Biden, saying that many Americans have found themselves in a tough economic situation after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. He repeated his call of hypocrisy over Sossa-Paquette's PPP loans.

The final question was on whether the work of the House Jan. 6 Committee has been valuable. McGovern, who was the last person on the House floor during the riot, said their work has been important as people continue to question the 2020 election results.

McGovern said Sossa-Paquette posted a photo on his Twitter account with someone who wore clothes claiming that former President Donald Trump won the election.

Sossa-Paquette said he denounced Jan. 6 and Trump's role in the riot at the time, and that the photo was a result of posing with people as a political candidate. However, he said the committee has not uncovered the answers Americans need about the riot, faulting U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not securing the Capitol.

Video has emerged showing Pelosi requesting the National Guard to come to the Capitol following the protesters entering the Capitol.

McGovern and Sossa-Paquette found more room for agreement on a few social issues. Both said they disagreed with the Supreme Court Decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization and a national 15-week abortion ban. In addition, they both said they would support a federal law legalizing same-sex marriage.

Sossa-Paquette said he is personally pro-life, referencing the adoption of his two children, but he said that he recognizes the people in his district want access to abortion with limits and that states should be the entity to legislate the limits.

"What the constituents want in District 2 of Massachusetts and across this country is legal abortion with limits," Sossa-Paquette said. "And what are those limits is what's at question here."

McGovern said the Dobbs decision was a "horrible decision" and argued that Sossa-Paquette has supported anti-abortion politicians such as Trump, gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl and New Hampshire U.S. Senate candidate Don Bolduc.

"If the Republicans win control of the House, and if they win control of the Senate, they will bring to the floor — they've already said this, Minority Leader (Kevin) McCarthy has said this — they're going to bring to the floor national abortion bans," McGovern said.

McGovern contrasted Massachusetts Republicans like Gov. Charlie Baker, who tend to be more moderate on issues such as gay marriage, with national Republicans. He said that Democrats could not find the 10 Senate Republicans needed to pass a federal bill protecting same-sex marriage.

Sossa-Paquette, who is a married gay man, said he has fought for the right to adopt in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. He said he does not believe gay marriage is in jeopardy.

Sossa-Paquette also said that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer did not put gay marriage up to a floor vote, adding that he believed there were more than 10 Republican senators willing to support gay marriage.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: James P. McGovern, Jeffrey Sossa-Paquette meet in debate