On Monday, October 21, the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce presented the third and final Virginia 9th District debate between Congressman Morgan Griffith and candidate Anthony Flaccavento in the banquet hall of the Salem Civic Center.

Both candidates answered 17 questions during the hour-long debate. Three local journalists – WDBJ7 Senior Reporter Joe Dashiell, WSLS anchor John Carlin and WFIR reporter Gene Marrano – represented the panel. Dr. Harry Wilson, the Director for Institute for Policy & Opinion Research at Roanoke College and WDBJ7 senior political analyst, served as the debate moderator. Virginia’s 9th District consists of 18 counties and seven cities, including Salem. The purpose of the debate was to give voters another opportunity to better understand where each candidate stands on a variety of issues before they head to polls on Tuesday, November 6, to cast their vote.

Interstate-81

(Panelist John Carlin) The topic that I think voters are most interested in this week is Interstate-81. We’ve had terrible accidents and a situation where there simply isn’t enough space for all the people who want to use this strip of the interstate. It’s been frustrating for a very long time for people who live in this area to see so much transportation money diverted to northern Virginia and the Hampton Roads area. What would you do to improve the situation on Interstate-81?

(Griffith) “The system works where money from the federal government from the federal gas taxes goes to the state. Under the current system, the Commonwealth Transportation Board makes those decisions. As you know, they have diverted a lot of that to northern Virginia. What I would advocate is for a small portion of that to be allowed for individual congressmen and congresswomen to designate where they would want that money to go.”

(Flaccavento) “So we have road issues throughout Southwest Virginia, and I-81 is the most acute. I think there is a general sense that we are losing out on critical road funding. It is primarily a state issue, but I think my perspective on it is two-fold. Number one, we obviously need to do something now. We’ve been kicking the can down the road for quite some time. Over the long term, as a congressman, I would like to bring federal funding that will also enable us to expand rails.

Gun Rights

(Panelist Joe Dashiell) Gun rights are a key issue to many in the 9th district. What are some changes in national policy that would reduce gun violence that you think a majority of your constituents would support?

(Flaccavento) “That’s an incredibly important issue. I think the problem we’ve had in the national debate about gun violence is that we tend to set it up in two extremes. On the one hand, you either believe in the 2nd amendment and the right for law abiding citizens to own guns. On the other hand, you want all guns to be taken away. It’s a dichotomy that’s false, and we have to get beyond that. I’m a gun owner, but I’m also someone who believes it’s past time for us to create a truly universe background check system. Certain people just shouldn’t have access to guns.”

(Griffith) “As we continue this debate, you’re going to hear a lot of discussion about how Congress is giving up a lot of its power. The Energy and Commerce Committee that I serve on studies these issues on a regular basis in addition to what the causes of gun violence are. Domestic violence folks and people who are on the terrorist list are already excluded. The problem is people aren’t following our current laws. We need to make the laws that we have work better rather than creating new laws that infringe on gun rights. I have an A-plus from the NRA (National Rifle Association). My opponent has a D.”

Republican Tax Cuts

(Panelist Gene Marrano) So far the tax cuts passed by the Republican Congress last year have added to the nation’s debt without generating the additional money necessary to bring that down. Do you still support the tax cuts as is, and do you think that it will bring down the nation’s debt in the long-term?

(Griffith) “I do believe they will bring it down in the long-term. Look, it’s created jobs. Whenever you have a creation of jobs to the extent that we are creating them, what happens is people are coming off of government social safety net programs. That reduces the cost that the government has. Also, you are increasing the tax revenue. As we have higher and higher employment, as we see more goodpaying jobs, we will see the national debt start to come down.”

(Flaccavento) “I’m very much a supporter of tax cuts, but I think they should be targeted. The fundamental problem in this tax plan that was passed was that far too much of the tax cut went to people, who by all estimates, are already sitting on over a trillion dollars in cash. It’s not an issue of a tax cut or not; it’s who gets the tax cuts. It’s about time that we give up on the trickle-down myth that giving more money to people who already have so much is somehow going to create prosperity for the rest of us.”

Mountain Valley Pipeline

(Panelist John Carlin) We all know about the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the issues related to that. There have been a lot of people who feel that eminent domain was improperly used in the case. Do you feel that we have a good working relationship with FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and eminent domain?

(Flaccavento) “We definitely do not have a good working system with regards to both FERC and eminent domain. Eminent domain is basically out of control in many respects in this country. There are simply too many instances in which people can exercise eminent domain to take private property without clear and obvious public demanding. We’ve got to reign in this guaranteed profit margin of 15 percent that the pipelines are able to give to investors.”

(Griffith) “My opponent and I do not have a lot of big disagreement on this particular issue. FERC does have too much power. This is one of those cases where Congress said ‘these are hot potatoes so let’s give it to somebody else.’ And now we don’t have the power to go in and protect our own citizens from a situation that is unwarranted. Why do we need two large natural gas pipelines coming through Virginia at the same time? We will continue to work to see that we get more power back to the elected officials and away from the unelected bureaucrats.”

Healthcare

(Panelist Gene Marrano) Is Medicare-for-All a realistic campaign platform at this time?

(Flaccavento) “I think it is realistic, but I think that’s a secondary question to whether or not it’s the right thing to do. We can provide Medicarefor- All. I have a different view than Senator Bernie Sanders. I don’t think it should be a system in which nobody pays it. In fact, I think we should fold Medicaid into Medicare-for-All as we develop the system. Medicare takes three cents out of the dollar while private insurances are taking 20 cents out of the dollar.”

(Griffith) “Under the Affordable Care Act, we were told that you could keep your health insurance, that you can keep your doctor and there would be an average reduction of $2,500 for the average family. None of that happened. So government run healthcare is not going to work. We’ve seen this in numerous other occasions throughout history. 157 million Americans currently get their health care through their employer. Government run healthcare takes that away and starts a whole new system.”

Trump Impeachment

(Panelist Joe Dashiell) Mr. Flaccavento, some Democrats have called for the impeachment of President Trump. If you are elected,  and Democrats take control of the House of Representatives, would you support efforts to impeach the President?

(Flaccavento) “If Bob Mueller’s investigation is allowed to be completed, which it absolutely needs to do, and it shows evidence of impeachable offenses, then yes, I would support that. I am not running against Donald Trump. That’s not what drives me. I am running for the seat that Mr. Griffith holds.”

(Griffith) “This is the third of our debates and Donald Trump’s name is not going to be on the ballot. The Mueller investigation is expected to wind down after the midterms. After that, major announcements will be made. I think that’s fine. But what we don’t want in this country is an openended, never-ending investigation without any evidence that there has been something done by the President which would necessitate impeachment. If there is something there, then obviously we have to take a look at it.”

Closing Statements

(Flaccavento) “By now, most of you have heard that I’m the farmer and small business owner from the Abingdon, Virginia, area. I’m running for Congress for a few basic reasons. Number one, I believe we are way past due for real representation in the 9th district. From the beginning, I’ve committed to taking no corporate contributions. I’ve stuck to that pledge. Just a little over two percent of all of our funds have come from PACs of any kind compared to my opponent who gets nearly 60 percent of his money from PACs. The fact of the matter is, if we want to change Congress, we have to make sure that they are showing up in our communities and we’ve got to get them there on the power of people, not corporations. I want to be beholden to you and not to a few big donors and corporations.”

(Griffith) “Growing up, my mother slept on the couch so that my sister and I could each have a bedroom of our own. I learned from those early experiences that I would have to work very hard if I wanted to achieve anything in this world. Nothing was going to be handed to me on a silver platter. I am married to wife Hillary. My daughter Abby is at Virginia Tech. My son Davis goes to Andrew Lewis Middle School. My youngest son goes to West Salem. When I go to Washington D.C. after listening to thousands of people in numerous different settings, I take your voice and your vote there. You get to decide the outcome of this race. Do you want a conservative Republican like myself or a liberal Democrat like my opponent? I am honored to represent, and I hope that I’ve earned your vote again.