Alaska Public Media, Alaska's News Source, and KTOO present Debate for the State: The U.S.

House race.

Good evening.

Thank you for joining us for debate for the state, for Alaska's lone U.S.

House seat.

We're coming to you live from Alaska Public Media and simulcasting on statewide TV, radio and online.

I'm Lori Townsend, tonight's moderator.

My colleagues, Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media's Washington, D.C.

correspondent, and Wil Courtney, political reporter for Alaska's News Source, will ask the questions.

We have two candidates on the debate stage tonight, incumbent congressman Republican Nick Begich and challenger independent candidate Bill Hill.

Although Alaska's ranked choice voting system features four candidates running for Congress on November's general election ballot, we invited only candidates that received at least 5% of the primary vote.

Candidates will have 30 seconds for opening comments.

The order was determined earlier by drawing numbers.

All answers will be timed with the yellow light indicating you have 10 seconds left, and the red light followed by a ding means you are out of time.

Each candidate has four 30-second rebuttals to use during the debate, and candidates will have the chance to ask each other one question.

We'd also like to hear from you, our audience.

Choose the issue that matters most to you.

If you are watching on TV or online, scan the QR code on your screen or go to alaskapublic.org/poll and that will take you to a live poll.

That's alaskapublic.org/poll.

Now let's get started.

Mr.

Begich, your opening comments please.

You have 30s.

My name is Nick Begich.

Congressman, for all Alaska, it's been the honor of a lifetime to represent you in Washington, D.C.

these last two years.

And we've accomplished a lot.

Priorities that we've been seeking to achieve for decades.

Opening up NPRA, the 10-02 area of ANWR, 70% of revenues now coming to the state of Alaska from those lease sales.

We're doing so much.

We've delivered so much, but we have a lot more to do.

I look forward to talking with you about that as this debate continues.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Mr.

Hill, you have 30s.

Good evening.

Alaska.

I'm Bill Hill, a lifelong Alaskan, Denaina Athabascan, I live out in Naknek, Alaska.

You know, I've done a lot in this state, and I've lived a lot of places.

I grew up in Kokhanok.

I've lived in Naknek.

That's my home.

I've been to Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau over the course of my life.

I've been a commercial fisherman since I was eight.

A construction worker, an educator for 25 years, and a small business owner.

I'm the father of four and grandfather of seven.

And I think we need a change in this state.

And I'm the one to do it.

Thank you.

Gentlemen.

The first question is from Liz Ruskin about affordability.

Gas prices are hovering around $5 a gallon in urban Alaska.

They're much higher in rural parts of the state.

Alaskans are also concerned about grocery prices.

How will you work in Congress to make it more affordable to live in the state?

You have 90s seconds, starting with Mr.

Begich.

It's such an important question and such an important challenge in Alaska.

It's something that we have dealt with for many, many years.

But core to addressing these challenges is the cost of energy.

Cost of energy in Alaska, of course, is high, and we need to see more energy produced for Alaskans, more energy produced for Alaskans to make sure that we can heat our homes, more energy produced for Alaskans to make sure that we can afford fuel in our vehicles, more energy to make sure that we're bringing down the general cost of living, not just in Alaska, but across the country.

And that's been a huge priority of mine in Washington.

You know, as part of the budget reconciliation bill this last year, we mandated for lease sale, well and gas exploration.

30 million acres in the NPRA, in the 10-02 area of ANWR and out in Cook Inlet.

We need these resources in Alaska.

And the nation needs these resources as well, not just because it lowers the cost of energy, but it also helps to reduce the pressure that's being applied to us down in Juneau for an income tax or a statewide sales tax.

You know, a huge portion of our state revenue comes directly from oil and gas royalties and production taxes.

The more we produce, the better our state does.

That means more money for power cost equalization, more money for permanent fund dividend checks, and lower costs of living for Alaskans.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

90 seconds, please.

You know, when the spring fuel barge showed up in Naknek this year, the price of gas immediately went from $6.70 a gallon to nearly $9 a gallon.

I went from paying $118 to fill up my truck to over $200.

And I know that experience is not just mine.

People from across Alaska have been feeling the pain that the decisions have been made by my opponent in Congress are impacting our lives with.

Heating fuel in my hometown doubled this year.

Went from $4.50 a gallon to $8.31 a gallon.

Heating fuel in some of the smaller communities in my region is over $15 a gallon.

How are people going to survive?

These are decisions that have been made.

These are decisions that have been backed by Congress and my opponent that are impacting our lives now.

It's not something that's in the future.

It's not this vague promise of improvement.

It's something that's impacting our lives now.

And when you take a look at a state like Alaska, which is so massive, the price of fuel affects every single thing that we buy.

The transportation costs, the fuel costs that apply to everyday groceries just makes them more and more expensive.

A bag of chicken in Naknek this spring was $80.

That's insane.

We need a change.

President Trump has imposed and also suspended tariffs on a variety of countries, including traditionally close U.S.

allies.

Do you support the president's tariff policies or when do you think tariffs are appropriate?

You have one minute.

We begin with Mr.

Hill.

Well, it's very clear that the way the tariffs were rolled out were not targeted and directed.

Tariffs when used in the directed manner, are really good for our economy.

They're good for the working people of America, and they're good to promote the growth of this great nation.

But when they're rolled out in a haphazard manner, they just become a tax on the American and the Alaskan people.

My opponent has supported these tariffs multiple times.

And that's not the that's something that I would not do in Congress.

Tariffs have become a tax on us.

Let's use them in a targeted manner.

Let's not just throw them out haphazardly because somebody in another nation said something that our nation didn't like.

Let's make sure that when we use them, we put union people to work, that we build industry in our nation, and that we know that we are providing for the working people of this great nation, not just blowing smoke and giving us costs that we cannot bear.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

Mr.

Begich, you have one minute.

Well, I'm glad we agree on the the impact of tariffs, the importance of tariffs for creating a free and fair trade environment for American workers.

For far too long, American workers have been at a disadvantage because other nations have been allowed to both subsidize their industries and send their products into our country for sale with virtually no barriers.

But our workers producing great products can't access markets in China and Japan and Germany and elsewhere.

Why?

Because they have exceptionally high tariff barriers.

In some of these countries, an automaker in the United States is assessed 100% tariff before they can sell their product in that country.

And tariffs are a way for us to ensure that we have free, fair, reciprocal trade.

The American worker is the most competitive, most productive worker in the world.

And when we have an opportunity to compete, we win.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

All right.

Let's hear a question from Anchorage Youth Vote.

Hi.

My name is Sunday and I'm a student at South Anchorage High School.

I'm also a member of Anchorage Youth Vote.

My question is currently the US is involved in Venezuela, Palestine, Israel and Iran.

Do you believe these specific types of engagement benefit America?

Please elaborate on your answer.

All right.

You have one minute to answer this question.

We'll start with Mr.

Begich.

Well, let's start with Venezuela.

Our involvement there absolutely benefits the United States.

We we have seen for years drug boats moving from the nation of Venezuela into South Florida and distributing drugs throughout our entire nation.

These are drugs that lead to the deaths of thousands of young Americans across our country, including right here in Alaska.

Toppling that regime and creating a new norm in our hemisphere is imperative.

And we were successful in doing that.

When you have a regime that chants death to America in their halls of government that is the leading worldwide state sponsor of terrorism and is hell bent on getting a nuclear weapon that's a threat to the American people.

And it's incumbent on the executive branch to eliminate threats of that nature.

These are actions that are in the best interest of the American people, and we need to see them through.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

One minute.

You know, I traveled over 20,000 miles over the course of this campaign to communities large and small in this state.

And the Alaskan people are sick of the wars.

They're sick of spending billions of dollars fighting wars that don't seem to have any sort of sense to them, wars that don't seem to have any end to them.

I hear over and over again, why are we getting involved in another never ending Middle Eastern war, when, you know, America needs a lot of money spent here at home?

I think we all feel the implications of an administration and a Congress that just continues to vote to expand the wars in our nation.

We all feel it every day when we go to the gas pump, when we go to the grocery store, we are feeling the pain of money spent in other regions that should be spent here at home, ensuring that we have things like health care and good public education.

Alaska's Constitution doesn't comply with federal law requiring a rural subsistence priority for hunting and fishing.

That means both the state and federal governments manage the system.

Do you think that's working?

And if not, what changes are needed?

You have one minute, starting with Mr.

Hill.

I think we all agree we'd like an aligned system, but let me be clear.

A rural subsistence priority needs to remain in place.

Rural people depend on subsistence.

I can tell you I went out in February of this year.

My mom was out of meat, so I went out and got a caribou for her.

It's really important to have a tier two permit to be able to do that.

A rural subsistence, a priority needs to be maintained, and I think the work that needs to be done is the state needs to recognize that that's an important part of our life here, and that we need to have a state that agrees to abide by a rural subsistence priority.

There is something really important.

It's, you know, subsistence is not just protein on the table.

It's a way of passing on your traditions to your kids.

It's a way of connecting you to the waters and the lands.

It's a spiritual way of life, and it really connects you to this great place called Alaska in a manner that's been done for thousands of years.

We need to protect that.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

We know the cost of living in Alaska is high.

It's far higher in rural Alaska, where there are no roads and no connectivity outside of a plane and in some communities about.

The reality is, when you're when you're shipping groceries in from a community like Anchorage, it can cost over a dollar a pound just to deliver to a hub community.

Not to mention how much it costs to deliver that food to an outlying community from a hub community.

And that's why protecting subsistence, particularly in times of scarcity, is so important.

I've been a long time supporter of protecting that rural priority for subsistence users in those communities, because it is a lifeline and it is a cultural component of their lifestyles, and it needs to be protected.

And so I do support that.

I support aligning these systems.

And I think that's in the best long term interest of all Alaskans.

Thank you.

Many Alaskans are demanding that the troll fleet catch fewer salmon and other species as they target pollock.

Some want a ban on trawling altogether.

Do you support a ban on trawling, or what specific measures would you impose to reduce bycatch?

You have one minute.

We begin with Mr.

Begich.

Well, I'm taking measures right now in Congress.

I'm glad to lead on the House side, the Bycatch Reduction Act.

It's something that we have not seen before.

It's a series of measures to make sure that we're investing in appropriate gear.

Research, yes, but also putting hard caps on bycatch.

You know, there's other there's other things we can do too.

I've got another bill in Congress right now that that we have authored, and it's a representation bill to make sure that every major user group in Alaska has representation that they can count on on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

That means rural subsistence users, urban subsistence users, sports fishermen, and small commercial operators.

We want to make sure that the council is not dominated by big trawl.

They don't operate in Alaska.

They have their own governors.

They have their own representation in Congress.

We need to sure to be sure that our seats represent Alaskans.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Mr.

Hill, you have one minute.

Very, very clearly, Alaskans, by and large, want a complete ban on trawling.

Over 74% of Alaskans are in favor of that.

I think we need to start with some very clear actions immediately.

And this is the work I'll do in Congress.

The very first thing that needs to happen is there needs to be a tribal seat on the North Pacific Marine Fisheries Council.

The people of the Yukon and the Kuskokwim have been going without their fish for years.

Their voices are not being heard.

They need to have a seat at the tables of power.

We need to make that happen.

Yes.

We need to have very strict low limits on trawlers.

We need to make sure that bad actors are not allowed to fish in our state.

We need to make sure that things like midwater trawling have the have the classification that no longer allows them to spend 80% of the time impacting the sea floor.

There's a lot of work to do there.

That's the work I do day one.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

All right.

Now the candidates have a chance to ask each other a question.

Your question needs to be succinct.

No more than 20 seconds.

Answers will be one minute, and there will be opportunity for a 30 second response.

Mr.

Hill, you will ask a question.

Question first.

Nick.

You know, I talked to a young mom down in southeast.

She was paying just over $400 a month for health care.

She had a growing family.

Bunch of young kids.

She lost the ACA tax credits.

She was faced with over a $3,000 a month bill.

What do you say to her?

Look, we are working very hard to lower the cost of care.

And unfortunately, as part of those subsidies, which about 3% of Alaskans receive, that we saw at least 20%, if not higher levels of fraud within that program.

And I have stated on the record many times that I am supportive of extending support for people who need it, recognizing that at the end of the day, we've got to make sure that people have access to care.

That's why we invested over $1 billion over the next five years in Alaskan health care in our rural communities.

So important to make sure that people have access to effective, efficient care.

We want to make sure that everyone has access to the health care that they need.

You know, there have been so many great ideas put forward.

Most favored nations status for prescription drugs being one of many and something that I strongly support.

All right.

Thank you.

Would you like 30s to respond?

I would, I think it's unconscionable to cut people off from health care while you're coming up with a solution.

That's not the way we should work.

We should ensure that Alaskans, every Alaskan has good health care in this state.

And if there's problems with the system, let's fix the system before we cut people off.

And let's be clear.

We may have a transformative investment in Alaska's health care, which I'm all for, but be wary of the amount of Medicaid funds that are going to be lost.

Mr.

Begich, you have 20s to ask your question of Mr.

Hill.

Bill.

Alaska needs a strong relationship with the White House to deliver on issues critical to our state.

You call yourself independent, but you've donated to socialists like Bernie Sanders and supported Democrats like Kamala Harris and AOC.

Who do you want to see elected as president in 2028?

Do you have one minute, Mr.

Hill.

Well, I haven't even seen the ballot yet.

Who's going to be who's going to be up for election in 2028?

If you think it's going to be Trump, that would be a third term.

I am I am pissed off that billionaires are taking over our country.

And yes, I have made made some donations to people that I don't fully agree with, but we need to do the work to make sure that our nation is responding to the needs of the American people, the working people of this state.

We have a we have a government, and we have politicians that have been bought and paid for tax breaks to billionaires based on the backs of health care loss for Alaskans.

That's wrong.

I will work with anybody to get a win for this state.

I work with Republicans.

I'll work with Democrats.

I'll work with any administration to get a win.

But when somebody is hurting Alaskans, I'm going to stand up for you.

All right.

Thank you.

30s.

Mr.

Begich.

Bill, you can call yourself an independent all you want, but the facts tell a different story.

You put your money where your mouth is.

AOC, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, who lost Alaska by more than 13 points.

Every person you've ever donated to is a Democrat.

And these aren't even Alaska Democrats.

Their New York and Vermont and California Democrats.

The truth of the matter is you're not independent.

You're aligned with socialist Democrats, and you're too progressive for Alaska.

All right.

Thank you.

Gentlemen.

If you are watching on TV or online, please scan the QR code on your screen to participate in our live poll about the issues that matter most to you.

If you are listening on statewide radio, go to alaskapublic.org/poll.

Here's another question from an Alaskan in Pedro Bay.

My name is Mark Robokoff, and I'm the owner of AK Bark, a pet supply store in Anchorage.

And at the beginning of this year, my health care premiums tripled, increasing by over $2,000 a month.

That is money that I was going to use to expand my business and create new jobs.

So my question is, if small businesses are the backbone of the community, what can you do to make health care more affordable for small business owners and their employees?

All right.

Well, we had a question about health care instead.

Mr.

Begich, you have one minute.

You know, we need to make sure that we are improving not just the cost of insurance, but the overall health of our population.

When you look at the percentage of GDP that is spent on health care year after year, it's rising and it's rising in an unsustainable fashion.

Part of that is making sure that we get healthier.

And I think we need to make sure that we're aligning our health care spending not simply to be insured, but to make sure that we're actually healthy.

You know, we have families that are out there spending thousands of dollars a month just like this gentleman Mark was talking about.

But is he is he any healthier because he's spending that money on insurance?

Obamacare and other programs like it have made insurance companies incredibly wealthy.

In fact, since the passage of Obamacare, many insurance companies market caps have gone up by 5 or 10 times.

That's not in the best interest of Alaskans or Americans, and it's not making us healthier.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Mr.

Hill, you have one minute.

Once again, let's not cut health care while we're developing a new plan.

Alaskans don't deserve to lose their health care.

As a school superintendent, I'll tell you, I'd sit down with the budget every year.

And one of those biggest expenditures was our health care.

$20,000 plus a year for a family plan.

And I thought at that time, if we just had a better system of health care in our government, I could give everybody in that school, from the custodian to the principal, a $15,000 a year raise.

And I want you to ask yourself, how would that stimulate the economy?

I think it would be amazing.

We need to make sure that people are cared for.

That not we're not pointing fingers at them.

There are a lot of health issues that we're born with that are genetic.

We need to make sure people are taken care of first and foremost.

And if our systems are broken, let's fix them, but not leave people by the wayside in the meantime.

Thank you.

Candidates.

We're going to ask you about your party affiliation, Mr.

Hill.

You're an independent, endorsed by the Democratic Party.

You haven't said who you'll caucus with.

How can Alaskans vote for you if they don't know who's which party's agenda you'll support?

You have a minute.

Well, my opponent will make a big deal about me being a socialist.

And it's more of the rhetoric that's brought out every election cycle.

I've been a lifelong independent since the day I registered.

60% of Alaskans do not identify with the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, but I think Alaska is a true example of how things should work.

We don't fit in this neat little political box that the rest of the world wants us to fit into.

We have a state legislature that operates on bipartisan and multi-partison coalitions.

They get stuff done for the Alaskan people.

That's the kind of work we need in our Congress.

We don't need party line voting.

Like my opponent, 100% party line vote.

That's not Alaskan.

We need somebody willing to work with anybody to ensure that Alaskans have health care, good school systems, and that we lower our cost of living.

I believe Mr.

Begich had a rebuttal.

Did you have your follow up first?

Sorry.

I, I get to follow up first, and then you can ask a rebuttal.

Mr.

Hill, if you're not going to are you not saying which caucus you're going to be part of, or are you saying you won't be in either of the main caucuses?

What I'm saying, what I'm saying is that the greatest piece of leverage that I will have going into Congress is going to be my vote.

I'm going to be working with the people who are going to be bringing health care to Alaskans, to be helping work on good schools in Alaska, to be helping to lower the cost of living, to ensuring that our Congress is a separate but equal branch of government, and to holding people accountable to the law.

Those are the people I'm going to work with.

I'm sorry, I do have another follow up.

I'm not sure that I heard an answer about whether you would join a caucus or not.

What I would love to do is join a caucus of like minded individuals who are tired of this party line partizanship that we see in Congress.

I would love to work with people from across the political spectrum.

I'd love to caucus with people who are Republican.

People are Democrat people who are independent.

To build a coalition that truly represents what the American people need, what the Alaskan people need.

We need to make a change because it's broken and we need to fix it.

Did you want a rebuttal or did you want to go to your question?

I'll rebuttal.

All right.

30 seconds.

In Congress, you have a Republicans team and a Democrat team.

The Democrat team has tried to shut our state down.

Okay.

The Alaska Democrats and the National Democrat Party have have endorsed my opponent.

They are funding him to the tune of millions of dollars.

The head of the DCCC is coming to Alaska for a fundraiser for my opponent.

So while he's not willing to commit to you as to who he's going to caucus with, I think it's pretty clear.

Okay.

Are you following up?

Yes, I was going to follow up.

Mr.

Begich, you've.

I'm sorry.

This is the question to Mr.

Begich after the rebuttal.

Mr.

Begich, you've been a reliable vote for the Republican leadership in the House and the president's agenda.

Can you tell us about a time that you broke with your party and Congress and how you handled it?

You bet.

Here, just in Alaska last year, we saw Mount Redoubt rumbling off in the distance, concerns about an eruption.

And there was a move by the administration to close off the lease of the building that houses the volcano monitoring program.

We sprang into action and made sure that that lease was renewed, and they were able to continue in their core function, making sure that the administration and the rest of Washington knows just how important volcano monitoring is here in the state.

I've also broken with the party on votes related to FISA.

I'm a strong supporter of the Fourth Amendment, and I think it's very important for us to make sure that the government doesn't have undue access to our communications.

And so this is an area that the White House was whipping votes for, wanted to see Republicans supportive of, and I was not supportive of it.

I have a follow up, Mr.

Begich, with your position on FISA.

Did you persuade any other Republicans to join you in breaking ranks?

There were a number of Republicans who chose to break break ranks at various times.

That bill came up in multiple configurations.

But yes, I was successful in having those conversations.

And several Republicans in each of those votes did break ranks.

Another follow up.

Did you get pushback from leadership on that issue?

Absolutely, yes.

I mean, the White House has their own legislative affairs team.

They they work the members, too.

They're out there making sure that they've got the votes for the bills that they support.

But I was not about to compromise on that, that vote.

It was very important to me that we stood strong with the American people and on the on the Fourth Amendment.

And this is something that I feel very passionately about.

Mr.

Hill.

Were you looking for a rebuttal?

Yes.

Yes, please.

You have 30 seconds.

Voting the party line all of the time is not Alaskan.

Voting or working against your party to retain a lease is pretty small when you're talking about the health care of Alaskans.

When you're talking about another never ending war in the Middle East, when you're talking about tariffs that are impacting the lives of Alaskans daily, we need to change.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

Let's shift over the question.

We've entered an era in politics where the other side is labeled not only wrong, but evil.

And we see it in attack ads featuring both of your faces.

How do you personally perceive the other side?

And do you think that compromise is possible?

If so, how do you prove that to Alaskans?

You have one minute.

We begin with Mr.

Begich.

Look compromise is possible.

So is finding common ground.

And I've been particularly effective at doing exactly that in Congress.

Nearly every single one of the bills that I put forward has bipartisan support and broad bipartisan support.

In fact, I've set the all time record among first term members of the United States House for bills, passed out of the House, and ultimately passed into law 14 bills out of the House in just the last year and a half, and nine of those bills ultimately becoming law.

How do you do that?

How do you do that in a in a divided Senate?

Well, you got to make sure that you've got the support of the majority and the minority.

These are good bills.

They're deregulatory bills.

They give us our resources back, our land back, our rights back.

And you do that by communicating and building relationships across the aisle.

It's easy to talk about that.

It's not easy to do it.

I've been successful at doing exactly that.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Mr.

Hill, you have one minute.

Absolutely.

Hey, working with people across the political spectrum has been my entire life.

I live in a coastal fishing community.

It's very conservative.

A lot of my family are very conservative.

I've worked in spaces like education, which are very progressive in nature.

I brought things across the finish line by working with people across the political spectrum.

I've built great systems for students.

I built a great career and tech ed program in Bristol Bay.

We need to be working with other Alaskans and, you know, in Congress it's the same.

But I'll tell you what.

When you have a split party system that votes the party line all of the time, it's broken.

It's not working for the American people.

It's not working for the Alaskan people.

And yes, some bills may have been passed, but Alaskans feel the truth.

We feel what's happened in the past two years.

Are we better off than two years ago?

I don't think so.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

Mr.

Begich, I noticed you have a rebuttal.

You have 30s.

Well, we just heard my opponents say that he built great systems for schools.

So let's talk about those great systems for schools that he built.

He was an educator.

He was a teacher and later a superintendent.

Well, what's the record show?

Well, it shows that when he came in to his tenure as a superintendent, his schools were at 74% math proficiency, in 86% reading proficiency.

After ten years.

Those numbers dropped to 9% and 11%, respectively.

That's a poor record.

Mr.

Hill, I notice you also have a rebuttal.

Yeah, there's an old saying.

Lies, damn lies and statistics.

You know, we can cherry pick data, but the truth of the matter is, we do not have people in Congress who care about our school systems.

They all look at a piece of data, and they'll try to tell a whole story about a school.

They won't look at a school that went through a pandemic without good internet in their community.

Multiple children from foster homes in classrooms.

They will look at a school just through a single number.

And that's wrong.

And then candidates.

I do not have the rebuttal sheet in front of me.

So I'm going to ask Lori.

Mr.

Beckett's would like another rebuttal.

Is that okay, Lori?

It is.

You have two left.

This will be your third.

Well, this isn't cherry picking statistics.

These are the statistics that we use to measure performance in schools.

They're the ultimate indicator as to whether we're actually developing, delivering a quality education to our students.

That's the only metric that matters in our schools.

The only metric that matters, and on the only metric that mattered to kids, to parents, to future employers, to the future of our state.

Bill Hill failed objectively.

That's not a record that we should be sending to D.C.. Mr.

Hill 30s.

Well, I'd tell you, I'm proud of the work I did in Bristol Bay.

And so is the school board.

So are the teachers.

So is the community.

Yes.

You can pick your statistics.

Take a look at the graduation rates.

Take a look at a career and tech ed program that was built between four school districts a regional native corporation, a CDQ group to deliver career and tech ed opportunities that sent kids directly to union shops, to welding shops, to nursing great jobs for kids with a great success rate.

All right, let's check in on our live poll to see what issues Alaskans care about most.

If you're watching on TV or online, you can scan the QR code.

If you're listening on radio, please go to alaskapublic.org/poll.

We see that 46% of Alaskans cite cost of living as their biggest concern.

We also see that 19% climate change and 8% cite health care.

All right.

Now we're going to get to that question from Pedro Bay.

Have any actions by the Trump administration raised legal or constitutional concerns for you?

If so, name at least one and explain what you did about it.

This question is from Roz Goodman and Pedro Bay.

You have 90s to answer, Mr.

Begich.

We'll go to you first.

Well, I think that the executive branch has been asserting authority that Congress has ceded, in most cases, to that executive branch over many years.

One of the challenges that we have with Congress is that they've become a lazy legislative body.

The laws that ultimately often get past have too much ambiguity and too much leeway for the administration.

One of the things that we've done is to pass Congressional Review Act actions.

These are rarely achieved in Congress, but I'm proud to report that I've led three of them in the last year and a half.

Now, what did they do?

They took the set of regulatory actions meant to shut our state down in the National Petroleum Reserve in ANWR, in Cook Inlet, and we repealed those bodies of regulations because we recognized as a Congress that the administration had gone too far.

The CRAs are a fantastic way for us to push back against an administration.

But what we really need to do is write more precise, tighter laws that give less leeway to administrators both now and in the future.

And that is exactly what I've endeavored to do on the legislation that I have been moving in the Congress.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Mr.

Hill, constitutional concerns.

What would you do?

You have 90s.

Absolutely.

I have constitutional concerns.

Of course.

I'm not in a position currently to affect them, but I am concerned that my opponent seems to be talking as if he's if he's working for the administration instead of the Alaskan people.

I am concerned that the Supreme Court is using the shadow docket five times as much as any time in the past, and for very different uses.

I am concerned that Congress is not acting like a separate, but equal branch of government that holds the others accountable.

There are plenty of laws on the books that need to be addressed.

And yes, we have a problem.

We need to fix Congress.

And what's happening right now with the party line is not going to change a thing.

We need people who are going to go to Congress and stand up to power, to stand up for Alaskans and to to ensure that they will work with any party in any administration on one day, but stand up to them the next.

I do have concerns.

The constitutional concern is that Congress is not acting like a separate but equal branch of our government.

Thank you.

All right.

Candidates, when we took a look at that poll, we saw that climate change was the second issue that we saw.

So this question will hit on that.

Do you think it's important for our country to limit carbon emissions to keep global climate change in check?

And if so, what measures do you think are warranted?

You have one minute.

We're going to start with Mr.

Hill.

Well, I'll tell you, anybody who's lived out in Alaska for decades and decades has seen the impact of changes to our environment.

You know, Iliamna Lake used to be a highway in the winter.

Three wheelers, four wheelers, snow machines, trucks, even a loader one winter across that ice.

It is no longer stable.

There was one winter when it didn't freeze over at all.

But more to the point, we have communities that are at risk, whether it's interior wildfires, southeast landslides, or our northwest coast, which has been impacted by typhoon Halong.

How long we need to be planning for changes.

We need to be doing the science and the studies ahead of time.

We need to be talking to communities, to what the right solutions are for those communities.

And we need to start planning ahead to how to fund those issues.

And let's be clear.

Many of the communities in this state are there because of our government.

They were told they had to live in that place.

And our government has a responsibility to those communities.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

Mr.

Begich, you have one minute.

Look, my opponent recently said that Alaska should get off the sauce.

Well, let me tell you, when you get off the source, in this case, meaning oil and gas, you do great damage to state revenue for one thing.

More than half of of the budget that comes in outside of a permanent fund flows to the state of Alaska comes from the oil and gas sector.

If that goes away, how do we fill the gap?

Well, it would have to be taxes, income taxes, sales taxes and no PFD.

So look, do I believe that climate change is real?

Of course it's real.

Climate change has been with us for thousands of years.

We know that that's true, and the climate will continue to change now and into the future.

What we need to do is invest in adaptability, because at the end of the day, our ability to adapt to climate change is what gives us the resilience and the confidence that we need in order to remain in the communities we grew up in.

And that's my priority.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Lori, I saw Mr.

Hill had a rebuttal.

Okay.

This is your final one, sir.

Got it.

Okay.

Once again, taken out of context, I'll tell you.

I talked to a group of hardworking Fairbanksians who lost a lot of work that was clawed back with the OBBBA.

They were going to install wind and battery systems in their community.

They'd already trained people to do it.

Installing geothermal, wind, hydro is important for our state.

It doesn't mean we're going to get off of oil and gas.

We need to continue developing those as well.

But we need an all of the above approach.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

What do you think is the best way to develop Alaska's resources while also protecting the environment?

You have one minute, Mr.

Begich.

Alaska has the strongest record in the world when it comes to responsible resource development.

Whether that's oil and gas, whether that's our mineral potential, whether that's timber, whether that's fishing.

We're a resource state and we do it right.

In fact, many people from around the world come to Alaska to see what the Alaska standard is so that they can bring that back home with them.

Look, we know how to do it.

We know how to do it well, but we're competing against nations that don't do it well.

And when we raise our standards but fail to force others to meet the same standard, we're simply exporting pollution, unclean water, unclean air to other jurisdictions.

When we are on a level playing field, when the rest of the world can learn to do it right, they'll understand.

Not only do we do it better, but we're more productive, more efficient, more effective at delivering people the raw materials that they need.

We're restoring that here in Alaska, and I'm excited for it.

Mr.

Hill, one minute please.

Absolutely.

You take a look at Alaska's oil and gas industry.

They've developed systems that are much more efficient, much less destructive than past practice, and they are an exemplar for our world.

We do need to continue developing our will and gas.

We need to build the gas pipeline.

We need to make sure Alaskans, at the end of the day, start seeing a lower cost of living due to the resources we built that we develop in this state.

But let's be serious about some of the conversations that haven't happened well.

We have not made a habit of talking to the people on the ground and ensuring that they had a real voice in the process, and now those processes are being sped up.

We need to ensure that we have good mitigation efforts for any development.

We need to ensure that every project that comes to Alaska benefits Alaskans the most, and we need to ensure at the end of the day, when a project is done, Alaska's land is kept clean.

And then, Mr.

Begich, I saw you had a rebuttal.

Lori, how are we doing on.

Yes.

This is your final one, sir.

30s.

Look, what we just heard was simply not true.

This idea that that people have not been consulted is false.

In fact, when we go back to the Biden-Harris administration, an administration that my opponent donated to, they issued 70 executive orders and actions to shut our state down and refused to meet with the people that impacted the most on the North Slope, our indigenous communities up there, multiple requests for meetings, all denied.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Mr.

Hill, I heard you mentioned Typhoon Halong just a moment ago.

We are going to talk about that now.

Kipnuk and Kwigillingok have voted to relocate their villages, which were impacted by that typhoon.

However, state and federal funds only support rebuilding in place.

The state legislature has asked Alaska's congressional delegation to support the decision made by villages.

How does Congress need to act?

We begin with Mr.

Hill.

Look, let's start with the reason why many of our communities are placed where they are.

The communities used to be traveling.

They used to move over the course of a year.

They didn't ever stay in one spot.

Some of our communities are in that place because the US government came in and said, hey, you need to find a spot and you need to settle down.

We're going to put a school in place, but there's going to be a post office, and if you don't send your kids to school, then you're going to be in violation of the law.

The outcome of that is we have communities located in areas which are right at sea level.

And yes, they're being impacted by things like Typhoon Halong.

The United States government needs to step up and make people whole.

And yes, Congress needs to assert its authority and ensure that the funds being spent can abide by the wishes of a people who've been through a devastating storm, had their lives disrupted, many of them have not been able to get home.

Most of them haven't been able to get home.

Our government, both at the federal level and the state level, have got a coordinate and make sure that when we're making fixes for people, due to the changes in weather, whether it's the glacial flood outflow, out out flood lakes in Juneau, the landslides, the wildfires or the devastation from things like Typhoon Halong we need to work together and ensure people are held whole, and we need to start doing that work now before things happen.

Mr.

Hill, a follow up question for you.

Relocating a village is not only costly, but also time consuming as well.

How are you going to make sure that these needs are addressed in two years?

The work has to start on day one, and you need to put your head down and you need to start gathering the gathering everyone that can help impact that change.

You need to build coalitions.

You need to build coalitions with Republicans and Democrats and independents.

You need to work with the state government.

You need to make sure that on your on the ground day one, doing that work, it's going to be expensive, but people deserve to be held whole.

All right.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

Mr.

Begich, how does Congress need to act on relocation?

Look, this is something that I've been working on since we saw this last typhoon.

I actually spent a considerable time talking with the community, hearing their stories of survival and the conversations that have been happening around whether they rebuild, whether they relocate.

And now that we've made a determination that relocation is in the best interest of these communities, and they've made that determination on their own.

I fully believe the federal government has to act and has to act quickly.

You're 100% correct.

It takes time to move a village.

There's a lot of infrastructure that's been built over many years, not just the homes, but what those homes connect to sewer systems, power systems, internet access.

These core utilities take time to build as well.

And we absolutely want to make sure that wherever these communities are recited, that they will not face the same risks that they faced previously.

That takes planning, that takes time.

But we need to move with a level of expeditiousness for these communities because people can't wait forever.

Many folks from these communities have started to resettle in other locations around the state.

And as we all know, once you start to grow roots in a new location, you tend to stay in that location.

We don't want to see these communities die.

We want to see them succeed and flourish out into the future.

And we want to make sure that these people have their lands back.

Very important priority for me, and I'm doing everything I can do in Congress to make sure that they are prioritized.

Quick follow up question for you as well.

The governor says storms like these may be common in the future for Alaska.

So how should the federal government, federal government, begin preparing potentially to relocate further villages over in western Alaska?

Well, I think preparing to relocate as part of the solution.

I think it's also important for us to work on climate resiliency.

Now, when you look at a community, a larger community like Kotzebue, for example, they are right next to the coast.

They are only a couple of feet off of sea level.

And yes, there's a partial seawall there.

But should they experience something similar to what we've seen in the past, it would devastate that community.

And it's a critical hub community.

So I think we need to invest right now in climate resiliency.

Thank you sir.

All right.

We've got time for another question from a young Alaskan.

Hello.

My name is David Pack.

I'm a student at Polaris K-12, and I'm also a member of Anchorage Youth Vote.

My question today is current administration has made changes to environmental policies and international participation.

How do you think these policy changes will affect the environmental, economic and career opportunities available to today's youth in the future?

You have one minute to answer.

We'll start with Mr.

Hill.

Look, every decision that's made, every policy decision that comes down the pike needs to look towards the future.

And I think that we very clearly have not done a good job of thinking about the young people.

Take a look at what Congress is comprised of.

You know, we don't have enough representation for young people.

So when environmental considerations, when work considerations, considerations come up, we need to ensure that you're the focus.

Take a look at the AI data centers, AI itself, the possibility that that will displace millions of workers without any guardrails.

That's not what we should be doing.

We need to be planning ahead.

And young people of our nation are our hope.

We need to make sure that we take care of you with every single decision.

And that's the work I would do.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

One minute.

Well, it's such an important question.

And it's a question that informs the work that I do in Congress every single day.

I'm always thinking about what does the work that we're doing today build for the future of our state.

And the young people are the future of our state.

Look, we're trying to unlock Alaska.

This has been my objective since going to Congress, unlocking and unleashing the full potential of our great state.

Our state motto is North to the future.

It's a motto of inspiration and potential and promise.

But we've been locked up by Washington, D.C.

for so long, we forgot just how much potential we have as Alaskans.

Well, 30 million acres have been unlocked because of my work in Congress.

70% of those revenues are coming to the state of Alaska because of my work in Congress.

What does that mean?

That means new jobs, new opportunities, not just today, but for that next generation of Alaskans.

Thank you.

It's been more than 50 years since Congress passed the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

Do you think it's working for Alaska and what changes, if any, would you propose?

You have one minute.

Mr.

Begich.

I think the act has worked, but it's not perfect.

It needs improvement.

One of those areas that I've been working to improve upon the act is to clean up some of the longstanding issues with respect to land transfers that have been missed or were denied.

For example, we're working right now with NANA to make sure that they get 20,000 acres of cultural, culturally significant land made available to them.

That's one of my bills for Geese House.

The the five so-called landless tribes down in Southeast Alaska have been working for 50 years for recognition and to receive the land that they should have been entitled to under ANCSA.

I passed that bill for the first time.

It's been introduced over 20 years in different forms.

I'm the first person to ever get that bill out of the house.

ANCSA is not perfect.

It can be improved and I'm working every day to improve it.

All right.

I believe we are going to begin going into.

Oh, Mr.. Oh, Mr.

Hill.

Thanks.

Look, ANCSA is not perfect, but it's done a good job in many respects.

We have a lot of work to do in this state.

Native communities are asking for self-determination.

They're asking for a government to government relationship with not just the feds, but the state.

They're asking for co-management opportunities when it comes to our natural resources, specifically around fish and game.

No law is perfect, and we do need to look into ANCSA.

We do need to make sure that not only are we abiding by the things that have been implemented, but that we're changing them for the future as well.

Times have changed.

People have changed.

Opportunities have changed.

But the Alaska people need a law that serves them well.

And as an Alaska Native, I was a I was a president of my village corporation for 13 years.

I understand some of the challenges we face around land ownership, and I'd be working towards that every single day.

Thanks.

All right.

Thank you for that.

Let's get to some lightning round questions now before closing comments.

Candidates.

You'll have up to 15 seconds to answer.

Let's get started.

What is your view of President Trump?

And we start with Mr.

Hill.

My view doesn't necessarily matter in many respects.

As a congressman, I need to work with any administration that's in place.

I need to stand up to them when they're hurting the Alaskan people.

I need to work with them when they're bringing wins for Alaska.

And Mr.

Begich, same question.

Another non-answer from my opponent, President Trump.

We don't agree on everything, but I'm going to tell you he has done more to move the ball forward for Alaskan independence, our ability for self-determination in this state than any president has in recent memory.

Should the US live stream the execution of Major Nidal Hasan?

Mr.

Begich, youre first.

Look, I don't think that's necessary.

You know, that's outside my purview.

It sits with the Department of War.

It's not a matter of congressional review, but in my view, I'm not sure that it serves the net good.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Mr.

Hill?

No.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

How are you voting on Ballot Measure 2, which would end ranked choice voting and nonpartisan primaries?

Starting with Mr.

Hill.

I will be voting to ensure we retain Alaska's election system.

Open primaries.

Ranked choice voting have changed Alaska's legislature.

We now have multi-partisan and bipartisan coalitions.

It's strengthened what they do in Juneau.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

The ranked choice voting system has been ripe for manipulation.

We saw the Democrats drop several candidates out of our race.

They're running another candidate in the Senate race named Dan Sullivan.

Look, these things don't happen under traditional voting.

I'm going to be voting yes.

What's one change to federal law or policy that would make Alaskans safer, Mr.

Begich?

Look, this is a change that I've made from day one.

We went in and we passed the Halt Fentanyl Act.

It increases penalties for fentanyl dealers and broadens the definition of what a fentanyl like substance is, because we've got to protect Alaskan kids from this deadly substance.

Thank you, Mr.

Begich.

Mr.

Hill.

We need to bring more mental health resources to the state.

We need to build more mental health facilities in this state.

We need to define a define a way to provide those resources to Alaskans.

We have a suicide epidemic.

We have a health epidemic when it comes to mental illness.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

Thank you.

Candidates.

It's time now for closing comments.

You will have one minute.

We determined the order earlier.

Mr.

Begich, your closing comments, please.

Alaskans.

I think you can see there's quite a contrast between these two candidates.

And let me tell you something.

I like Bill Hill.

I like Bill Hill, but this election is not about who we like.

It's about what we like.

Do we like jobs?

Do we like opportunities?

Do we like a future for our state that our kids are so confident in, that they want to stay here, if they want to build their lives here and their families here?

That's the Alaska I'm working to build every single day.

We've made generational progress, accomplishments that have been pursued for decades in just the last two years.

I'm the most productive legislative member of the House in their first term in U.S.

history.

My opponent, ten years as a superintendent, took a school that was one of the best in the state and turned it into one of the worst.

That's a record we can't afford in Washington.

I humbly ask you for your vote, and I appreciate your support.

Thank you, Mr.

Hill.

Your closing comments, please.

Well, I like Nick as well, and I look forward to having him as a constituent.

We very clearly feel the outcomes of the decisions that have been made in Congress by my opponent.

Take a look at your grocery bill.

Take a look at what it costs to fuel up your truck.

Take a look at what's happened to health care in this state.

You know, we've talked about a lot of bills tonight.

We've talked about a future.

But the reality is we are feeling the pain of those decisions in Alaska today.

We are feeling the pain every single day.

And at the end of all this, you can point fingers at me, you can cast aspersions.

But what I really want Alaskans to know is I will serve you first and foremost.

I'm not going to serve a party line.

I'm not going to serve a party boss.

You are the most important thing for me in Congress.

And you need to ask yourself one last question tonight.

Are you better off than you were two years ago?

Thank you.

To our candidates and to reporters, Liz Ruskin and Wil Courtney.

Let's take a look at the results of our poll tonight.

49% cited cost of living, 15 climate change, 10% cited health care.

That concludes debate for the state for Alaska's lone U.S.

House seat.

We'll be back tomorrow evening for the U.S.

Senate debate.

Election day is November 3rd.

For Alaska's News Source, KTOO and Alaska Public Media, thanks for joining us this evening.

Good night.