Michael Baumgartner and Carmela Conroy trade barbs on economy in Congressional debate

Economic woes were front and center as Michael Baumgartner and Carmela Conroy debated Tuesday night in their bid to represent Eastern Washington in Congress.

Washington’s 5th Congressional District, which includes Spokane, will seat a new member for the first time since Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers was first elected 20 years ago.

Republican Spokane County Treasurer Michael Baumgartner served in Iraq and Afghanistan as an officer in the State Department. Democrat Carmela Conroy also served overseas – working as a diplomat for nearly 30 years.

The debate did tackle some foreign policy issues, but domestic issues remained the focus as candidates sought to convince voters they could keep inflation down and return grocery prices to what they were in years past.

Baumgartner said Congress needs to “rein in reckless spending” that’s driving down the worth of dollars already in circulation.

“There can be steps right now to reduce regulations that are causing price increases,” he said.

Asked for an example of what he would cut, Baumgartner pointed to the Transportation Security Administration.

“Airport security does not need to be a federal agency. After 9/11, we were very concerned. What we need to do is put steel doors on airports and better intelligence on terrorists trying to harm us. But a new federal bureaucracy is not a great step,” he said, adding the agency should be privatized.

Conroy said Republicans like Baumgartner claim inflation is caused by government regulation or reckless spending but “never have an idea of what they’re actually going to cut.” The Democrat proposed offsetting rising prices by making government loans available at lower interest rates for homebuyers. Such a policy would give Americans “access to the cheap credit” needed to “get the economy booming.”

The federal government should also stop federal money and loans going to nonaccredited higher education, she added – pointing to “diploma mills” like Trump University.

While the cost of college for future students should be lowered, Baumgartner was not in favor of forgiving existing college debt.

“I do not approve of wiping out federal student debt. Those are loans that were taken by folks in faith,” he said. “They need to be paid back now.”

Adding to the national debt is a bipartisan pastime America cannot afford, he added.

“Right now, we have two presidential candidates, and quite frankly, neither of them are running on debt responsibility,” Baumgartner said.

When running for U.S. Senate in 2012, Baumgartner supported means testing Medicare – limiting benefits to those who make too much. Asked whether the still supports such a policy, Baumgartner admitted he had “walked away from that position” but did not rule out returning to it.

“I remember the Democrats putting TV commercials shoving Granny in a wheelchair off a cliff. And that sort of made it unpalatable,” he said.

Baumgartner said entitlement reform was an issue “that’s going to have to be addressed,” and he’s ready to address it in a bipartisan fashion.

Conroy said benefits like Medicare and Social Security were not “entitlements” but the right of every American who qualifies for them. The Democrat also said the national debt could be addressed by funding the IRS to “go after the richest tax cheats.”

In the debate, the former diplomat accused Baumgartner of attempting to “strip workers’ rights away” while in the state Legislature. In Olympia, Baumgartner had introduced a “right-to-work” law that would have allowed workers to opt out of paying union dues even if their contract was negotiated by a union.

The Republican agreed “unions are great” but said they should be optional.

“It’s just un-American to force folks to join any organization to get a job,” he said.

The county treasurer also opposes the PRO Act, a federal bill that would prevent states from enacting right-to-work legislation. According to Baumgartner, the proposal would hurt the economy by increasing the cost of infrastructure.

Conroy supports the PRO Act and said strong unions are needed to improve the economy.

“I’ve been a worker all my life. I came from a working family, and I will do everything I can do to make sure that workers are protected,” she said.

The hour long debate at Gonzaga’s Myrtle Woldson Center was sponsored by The Spokesman-Review’s Northwest Passages in partnership with Gonzaga University, KSPS, The Black Lens and the Washington State Debate Coalition. It was moderated by the newspaper’s Spokane city hall reporter Emry Dinman.