scheduling information for c-span's tv network and c-span radio app a variety of compelling podcasts. c-span now is available at the apple store and google play, download it for free today. c-span now, your front row seat to washington, anytime, anywhere. >> high school students, it's your time to shine. you're invited to participate in this year's studentcam documentary competition in light of the upcoming midterm election . feature yourself as a newly elected member of congress. we ask this year's competitors what is your top priority and why. make a five to six minute video that shows the importance of your issue from opposing and supporting perspective. don't be afraid to take risks with your documentary. be bold with 100,000 dollars in cash prizes is a $5,000 grand prize. videos must be submitted by january 20, 20 23.

visit our website at studentcamor competition rules, resources and a step-by-step guide. >> florida senator marco rubio and his democratic challenger in the states 2022 u.s. senate race , val demings, participated in a debate hosted at palm beach state college. >> live from the campus of palm beach state college in lake worth beach florida, this is a wp bf 25 special presentation. senator marco rubio, congresswoman val demings. decision 2022. before you vote, u.s. senate debate. made possible by the florida press association. and these proud funders. statewide sponsors. now, tonight's moderator, wpbf 25 news anchor, todd mcdermitt.

moderator: good evening and welcome to our audience from around the entire state live from television. streaming and listening from npr florida. this is decision 2022. before you vote, the u.s. senate debate good we are live from the campus of palm beach state college. welcome to our candidates, congresswoman val demings and senator marco rubio. we are so appreciative. of your participation tonight. joining me are panelists. the executive editor of for the trend, the executive editor of the palm beach post. all three of us will be asking questions of the candidates tonight. the debate rolls tonight, each candidate gets 60 seconds to answer a question. and 30 seconds to answer any follow-up questions. rebuttals are 30 seconds in length and by discussion as your monitor. when you see the yellow light you have 15 seconds to finish. the red light means exactly what you think it means. and i will remind you that it means stop.

congresswoman dennings, -- demings, you won the coin toss. the first question goes to you. three weeks ago tomorrow, hurricane unit hit florida as one of the five most powerful storms to make landfall in the u.s.. what have federal action is needed, starting now, to protect florida's sea levels, projected to rise a foot or more in less than 30 years, while more frequent storms threaten our lives and livelihoods? ms. demings: well, thank you so much for that question. let me say good evening to all of you. thank you two are panelists. thank you to palm beach state college. it is an honor for me to be here. as the daughter of a janitor who grew up in florida. had the honor of serving as police chief in the house and now standing on this stage. i grew up in florida, so i know all too well the devastating effects that hurricanes can

cause on our state. number one, we have got to get serious about climate change. climate change is real. if we do not do something about it, then we are going to pay a terrible price for it. more intense storms like we have seen as the waters in the ocean of warm up. more intense storms, more flooding. more devastation as we stayed with ian to i've toured the area and puerto rico to see what is beyond. the federal government has got to make sure that fema has the resources it needs to adequately respond. we've got to get serious about climate change. moderator: thank you very much. senator rubio, same question. i will repeat the question. it was really weeks ago tomorrow, hurricane ian hit one of the five most powerful hurricanes that made lynn fall in our country. federal action, starting now, to protect florida against sea level rise projected up to a foot in less than three years while these monster storms just continue to hit us. mr. rubio: i want to think the

college for hosting us here and everyone for being here in the audience. this is important and i'm glad we have the chance to do it. you ask about hurricanes. unfortunately, if you live in fort it will not be long until you're dealing with hurricanes and we have done so consistently throughout my time in public service and in 2017, 2018 as well. the devastation and destruction we are still cap living. i outlined last week a very specific detailed plan and things that were going to need help on. these communities need emergency relief. what is happening for a lot of these cities and counties as they have to spend a lot of money up front. money from their budgets that they have to spend now to pay for these things and then they get reimbursed. that is why i am proud that in 2017 and again 2018, i was able to get president trump and the federal government to fully reimburse our counties for the help they needed. but we will have to do more. the first is emergency response, meaning all the things you would need in an emergency to help these counties. and then there will be the

long-term recovery. i am very proud of the fact that i was involved deeply in all of the long-term recovery efforts for the last storm. moderator: that is your time. thank you. we will move on to question number two and senator, this question begins with you. democrats passed a $2 trillion american rescue plan with no republican support. now inflation rates not seen in 40 years show no clear sign of abating. prices for just about everything, housing, gasoline, groceries, they are way up. federal reserve bank of san francisco shows injecting trillions of dollars into this economy cost 3% of what is approaching a 9% u.s. inflation rate. and it is worse in florida. what can you do to help families now? mr. rubio: the first thing we have to stop doing is stop spending money. we've already done pandemic relief, this came on top of it.

the democrats were warned by larry summers, if you do this you are going to fire up inflation. that is number one. number two is we've got to produce american oil again. why are we begging saudi arabia for oil? why are we begging venezuela for oil? we are producing a billion barrels less than be use to a couple years ago. we are depleting our reserves. our oil reserves do not exist for the midterms. they exist to help this country in an emergency or the midst of a storm. what we cannot do is some of these crazy policies coming from the left that congresswoman demings is supporting. sheep supported a plan to put a $1.20 tax per barrel of oil which would've been $.35 per gallon more for everyone sitting here today. we cannot do that kind of crazy stuff. it only adds to inflation. i think we need to win this election and get people like that out of office. moderator: that is time. congress woman, the same question to you. you may answer but you have 60 seconds to answer this question.

ms. demings: thank you. of course a senator who has never run anything at all but his mouth would know nothing about helping people and being there for people when they are in trouble. no one planned the pandemic. but our response to it is everything. individuals were hurting, families were hurting. businesses were hurting. and the cares act, which the senator supported, there were some problems in the cares act with the paycheck protection program that you love to take credit for. some say it was poorly written, did not help the people that it was supposed to. did not save the jobs that it was supposed to. there was a way to fix the problem and the ppp through the american rescue plan and help people who were in trouble. you played politics, senator, and you did not do that. you're number one job as a united states senator is to protect the health, safety and well-being of the american people. you have been at it for 24 years. moderator: senator rubio?

mr. rubio: first of all we passed the paycheck protection plan while democrats were sitting at home. they were on zoom calls and we were in the capital. we were working in the capital to solve real problems. the paycheck protection program was a bipartisan victory. if we had not put that plan together, we had to do it very quickly in the capital had no staff. we had to put it together in three or four days bipartisan. they got unanimous support including the congressman who voted you -- remotely. if we would not of done that, we would've had a meltdown in this country. we save millions of small businesses. i am incredibly proud, it is a bipartisan achievement. if we had not done it would've had a depression in this country to the congress woman likes to talk about how she has never passed a bill. she has never passed a single bill. you have been in congress for almost half a decade. has never passed a bill, not ppp, not anything good not a single bill she has ever passed has become law. i am proud of the fact that we did it in a bipartisan way. ms. demings: that's not true. i know the senator and i am very

disappointed in you, mr. rubio. i thing there was a time when you did not lie in order to win. i do not know what happened to you. you know that is not true. my first term in the united states house, i passed legislation to help law enforcement officers and mental health programs. your first term in the senate, you voted to turn medicare into basically to abolish it and then turn it into an underfunded voucher program. then you gave the biggest tax break to the richest of the rich , said he would pay for it because of social security and medicare cuts. mr. rubio: this is an important topic. number one, i will fact-check appeared i will put it on my website. there is not a single federal law on the books that she has sponsored and got passed. not one. i think she named -- she has not passed a single federal law, that is number one. number two, in 2017, do you know

why today in florida and across the country working parents have a double child tax credit from what they used to have? i single-handedly got it passed because i took on my own party, even the editorial board had to recognize i took on my own party and we doubled the child tax credit. i took on my party, the wall street journal, even corporate interests. i am very proud of my record. moderator: senator, again -- congress -- ms. demings: the senator has resorted to lying, chewing and trying to steal. it is embarrassing that you think that honoring a person who is a hero by naming a federal building after them is nothing. i think honoring a police officer who was killed in the line of duty is everything, senator. it matters to the family, it matters to the community. it matters to his department. it matters to me. i think it is sad that it does not really matter. moderator: both of you, we need to move on.

mr. rubio: i did not say that it did not matter, i said that's all she's done. that's all she's done. moderator: we are going to move on. next topic and the question goes to you, senator. mr. rubio: all right, great. moderator: in an august interview, senator you said quote abortion is the killing of an unborn human being. and you did not believe in the dignity and the rights to human life are tied to circumstances of their conception. you now signed on to federal senator lindsey graham's bill for a federal abortion ban. my question to you specifically is if reelected, if your vote can make a federal abortion ban with no exceptions the law of the land, will you vote yes? mr. rubio: number one, i am 100 percent pro-life, not because i want to deny anyone the rights. i believe that innocent human right is worthy of protection under the law.

that said, every bill i have ever sponsored or voted for has exceptions. everyone of them does, because that is what can pass and what the majority of people support. now we can talk about lindsey graham's bill, that is a four-month band. that is more lenient than every country in europe, except for two countries. the extremis on abortion in their campaign, congress woman demings, she supports no restrictions, no limitations of any kind. she voted against a four-month band, she voted against a five-month band. she supports taxpayer-funded abortion on demand for any reason at any time, up until the moment of birth. that is what she supports, that is the extreme position. i am showing a willingness to work with people who are saying i'm for innocent human life. she opposes any limitation and no one ever asked them about that. ms. demings: how gullible do you really think floor the voters are? -- florida voters are? number one, you have been clear that you support no exceptions. even including rape and incest.

as a police detective who investigated cases of rape, no, senator, i do not think it is ok for a 10-year-old girl to be raped and have to carry the seed of her rapist. no, i do not think it is ok for you to make decisions for women and girls as a senator. i think those decisions are made between the woman, her family, her doctor, and her face. and to stand over there and say that i support -- do not support abortion up to the time of birth is just a lie. to help protect the life of the mother, which you looked at that like it was just, well, kind of a side issue. senator, you know that you have said you do not support any exceptions. mr. rubio: number one the bill that she is attacking me on has

exceptions. that is the bill right now. number two, you want to talk about extreme. this extreme, a child is born alive after a failed abortion. it happens 11 times in florida in 2017, it happened eight times in 2020. a child in a failed abortion was alive. we have doctors in america that refused to treat or provide medical care to a child born alive. we try to pass a law that says that should be a crime, that is infanticide. the abortion failed, the child was born alive and you refused to treat it. she voted against that is how extreme she is. and she will not tell you -- you should ask her, what limits on abortion will you support? moderator: congresswoman? ms. demings: what we know is that the senator supports no exceptions. he did make his mouth say anything today, he is good at that, by the way. what day is it and what is marco rubio saying? i've said it time and time again and he knows this, that i support a woman's right to choose up to the time of viability. moderator: before we go, i want to get back to the original question, because i understand

that you said you have supported legislation that adds exceptions. and in this particular bill, that lindsey graham is drafting and you signed onto it, it does have doctored up to four-month good i'll ask your specific question. if you get the chance and another six year term and to vote for a federal abortion ban with no exceptions, would you vote yes if it would make it a lot? mr. rubio: i do not believe that the value of a human life is determined by the circumstances. but the law that can pass in this country, i'm interested in saving human lives. and that is why every lot of there has exceptions, including the ones that she is attacking me on, it has sections. every law that ever passes has exceptions. we'll never get a vote on a lot that does not have exceptions. that is where the majority of the american people are and i respect and understand that. you have not asked her, no one here has asked her and she will not answer what specific limits? she'd never voted for a limit. five months? by the way on the issue of exceptions i'm being attacked on a bill that has exceptions. my name is on that bill. there is a reason why no bills

are passed without exceptions. that cannot pass without that in there and i understand and recognize it and that is why i have continued to support bills that have exceptions. but she supports no limits of any kind, that is out of the mainstream. that is radical. she supports letting a doctor let an unborn baby -- a baby born alive and the doctor does not have to treat it. moderator: that's time. another woman -- another moment to you ms. demings. ms. demings: marco rubio supports no exceptions, even in the cases of rape and incest. he said it time and time and time again. but what i can say to him and i can say to florida, we are not going back, senator, no matter how obsessed you are with a woman's body and her right to choose. we are not going back to a time when women are treated like second-class citizens or like property. and i will say it again, because obviously, he did not hear or he does not want to. i support a woman's right to an abortion up to the time of ability. mr. rubio: can you ask if she

would support a 24 week man? you did not support a 20 week ban? ms. demings: viable, that is the language we all give. you talk about the doctor and the family. the government is in that room because they want them in there, they want the taxpayer to pay for that abortion. moderator: i'm going to ask that you both allow me to move on. mr. rubio: i want to hear the limits that she supports. moderator: this next question comes from christie, executive editor of the palm beach post. >> good evening, congresswoman demings. just today in the new york times siena college poll shows voters overwhelmingly believe american democracy is under threat. a washington post analysis shows election designs are running election deniers are running for

office in 48 of 50 states. the new york times polls shows more than two and five registered voters, including 87% of independent voters are somewhat comfortable in voting for a candidate who says they do not accept the results of the 2020 election. will you accept the results of the 2022 election? ms. demings: let me start here, if i may. my mother was a maid and a janitor, worked long, hard days. but i can never remember a time they did not vote. they would pay somebody a couple of dollars to take them to the polls. why on earth would we try to stop them from voting? they were able to vote because of our democracy, the wonderful system of government that we have. no, it is not perfect. but our system of government is what allows us to be here tonight. we have to do everything within our power to uphold the

constitution, protect the rule of law, and protect our democracy. and protect each person, republican, democrat, and independents. their right to vote. that is what i did as a police officer. i took an oath that i would protect and serve, defend the constitution. not just for people who look like me -- but for all people. moderator: that's time, congress been treated the same question -- congresswoman treated the next question goes to marco rubio. mr. rubio: my mom was a janitor, so we have in common. i will tell you this much, i have never denied an election ever. i'm not like stacey abrams in georgia who has denied an election. i think in florida, we have great election laws. but elections have rules and congresswoman demings supported the effort to have a federal takeover of elections. you cannot ask for id. you have to ask for id to get into her neighborhood where she lives and i give her the right

to have that. but you cannot ask for it when they vote? a lot of people who drive around with a trunk full of absentee ballots. a lot of people register an hour before the same day of the election, show up and vote. we have to have rules and laws. the laws have to be followed in florida. we have good election laws. we have record turnout like they had record turnout in georgia. but they were following some segregationist jim crow bill, not rules. these are rules that allow people to have confidence that their votes matter. they're not suppressing anyone's vote, the art rules designed to make sure that the system works. moderator: let me get you on record that you will support the results of the 2022 election. mr. rubio: we have great laws in florida. absolutely. sure. no matter what the outcome is i will support it because laura has good laws. -- florida has good laws. moderator: vicki from -- magazine. >> i don't think we give congresswoman demings -- moderator: we're going to move

onto the next question that is vicki's question. >> homeowners insurance companies have failed florida in 2022, putting more pressure on taxpayers for property insurance. they are now ensuring more than one million properties in the state and counting. as the insurer of last resort, the collapse would be a catastrophe. what should be done on a federal level to avoid this? >> who is the question for? >> senator rubio. mr. rubio: first is the flood insurance program, which is creek appeared a lot of people who were hurt in the storm did not have flood insurance. and we will go back and reauthorize it every year. we should not have to keep going back. we should reform the system. florida plays -- pays more than it takes out. talk about property insurance. it's a state issue. you do not want the federal government involved, believe me. but i will say this to you. we are, i believe the number is

eight or 9% of the claims in america. we are 83% of the lawsuits in america. so what is happening to these insurers is the cost of litigations, they are saying i'm out in florida. and i worry about it. my property insurance is up at the end of this year and other people should be worried about it, because when your property insurance goes up, if you cannot afford it or do not have it, the mortgage company will force you and your mortgage could double. we are facing a crisis, the state has to get around it that i am in favor of not just reauthorizing the flood program and reforming it. moderator: congresswoman, you have 60 seconds to answer the same question trade would you like it repeated? ms. demings: no, i don't, but thank you so much. the senator works very hard to say it is a state issue. that does not mean at the federal level we should not care about what citizens in florida are going through and try to do something about it.

marco rubio has spent more time at the state level then it certainly any person on this stage. so it is interesting to hear him say how it is a state issue. what in the heck did he do about it when he was the speaker of the house? he has been in elected office since 1998. insurance import has tripled and people are suffering. i sent a letter to governor desantis saying yes, i know -- how can we work together to lower the cost of property insurance for floridians? people are suffering. we've got to prepare for the next hurricane. rb going to wait and do nothing? i asked him to call a special legislative session to talk solely about this issue. we've got to get in front of it. moderator: rubio, i want to give you 30 seconds to rebut. mr. rubio: ask for a special session and got a reform. you know who the governor was,

charlie crist, your gubernatorial candidate who you endorsed, so you should ask him. we supported it and we made it happen. that's number one. number two, trust me when i tell you guys, a federal government that struggles to deliver the mail in parts of this country, you do not want them in charge of property insurance. we would be the only state in the country that is asking the federal government to take over property insurance. do i care about the issue? yeah, i'm about to pay $9,000 more a year. moderator: 30 seconds. thank you. were going to move on to the next question. this question goes to you, senator. five days ago, the masked shooter killed people at marjory stoneman douglas high school avoided the death penalty. that shooter at an indiana fedex facility were both 19 years old. when it they killed. the killers in this years mass shootings in buffalo and texas were both 18 years old. all used legally purchased ar style.

in a nationally televised cnn town halls three days after the massacre you said quote if you are 18 years of age you should not be able to buy a rifle. i will support a politics that right away. do you still support that federal law? mr. rubio: let me tell you why that law does not work and why the proposal does not work. we had a shooter last thursday, tragic. 15. where did he get the gun? he did not get it from a gun show. he cannot buy it. he was 15 years of age. we call it a terrorist attack. a licensed security guard with a licensed security guard with the permit to carry firearms, the guy in parkland is a killer. everyone knew it was. everybody in the community that this guy had a lot of problems. he had been acting out for a long time. it is happened. the sheriff did nothing, the school district did nothing because they did not want to arrest the kid. and the fbi fell through. so one of the first incited in washington is i sponsored a bipartisan red flag law, not the

one that they just passed, a real red flag law that would allow the police department to go before a judge and remove your guns if they can prove that you are dangerous. this one allows a coworker who does not like you to take away your second amendment rights. i think the solution is to identify these people that are acting this way and stop them. moderator: before i go to congresswoman demings, i want to make sure that i understand that what you said in 2018 is not what you believe as a solution today. mr. rubio: a 15-year-old just got a gun, got a shotgun. moderator: that's just one case. mr. rubio: there is more than one case. moderator: we could do this all night, but i want to know if you support this. mr. rubio: denying the right to buy it is not going to keep us. here's the fundamental issue. why are these kids, why are these people massacring people? a lot of people own ar-15's are not telling anyone. moderator: i want to go to congresswoman demings for a few seconds. ms. demings: people who are families of victims of gun

violence just heard that and they are asking themselves what did he just say? senator, you used the pulse nightclub shooting as your inspiration to run again for the senate in 2016. that's in my district. and yet, but you have done nothing. nothing. nothing to help address gun violence and get dangerous weapons out of the hands of dangerous people. florida after parkland, after you make promises you had no intentions of keeping to the parents of parkland, florida past legislation raising the age to have an assault weapon. that is a red flag law that we've seen 7000 plus instances where they have been used now. our primary responsibility is the safety of floridians. and senator, 24 years in elected

office and you have not yet risen to that occasion. and then when asked about it, you say something that makes no sense. moderator: what makes no sense as we will pass laws that law-abiding people will follow and criminals will violate. americans have the second amendment right to protect themselves. these killers, if they are as intent on killing as they are, they have found multiple ways to cause mass destruction. i have a bipartisan red flag law, sponsored with senator jack green, but the problem is the leftists in the house and senate, like congresswoman demings, are against it because they want the california flag law that allows your coworker who has a grudge against you to go to a judge. host: congresswoman demings.

rep. demings: every time we talk about responsible gun ownership and legislation to protect life, you pull the second amendment. my father was a gun owner. it has nothing to do with the second amendment. this is about taking dangerous guns out of the hands of dangerous people. the overwhelming majority of people in our nation want us to do just that. how long will you watch people being gunned down in first grade, fourth grade, high school, college, church, a movie theater mall, a nightclub, and , a do nothing. todd: that's time. 30 more seconds, senator. mr. rubio: everything she has done would not have prevented any of these shootings. every one of the shooters would have passed the background check that you insisted on. she says we did nothing. that's not accurate.

today if you go to the department of homeland security website, there is the clearinghouse that tells schools this is what works for safety and this is what doesn't. do you know who's trying to take that down, the biden administration. they say to have a school safety clearinghouse is discriminatory toward minority students. rep. demings: senator rubio thought that he could reduce critical issue to supporting a this very critical issue to supporting a clearinghouse on the homeland security website. he thought he would get a pass for the mass shootings that we have had in our state and doing nothing significant, to do anything about it. your primary responsibility is to protect the safety of the people that you represent. mr. rubio: we passed a bill and washington and there was a shooting the week after that. host: in this half of this

debate, we have reached it is halftime. and it is brief. everybody stay tuned. we have many issues to get to. you are watching decision 2022 the u.s. senate debate for florida. welcome back to our debate for the u.s. senate in florida, we touched on a lot of very important emotional issues and there are many more in this half-hour .>> top graduates are this week, the biden administration change policy, immigrants from venezuela will be sent back to mexico to reside. there is more to it. [applause] mr. rubio: congresswoman demings has what is happening at the border is nothing unusual. do you know how many people have entered our country illegally

since joe biden took over, 5 million. in the last 12 months, 2 million. 80 of them on the terror watch list. according to these generous numbers, at least 1% in 20,000 with serious criminal violations in the record. no one has done more on the issue of venezuela, and cuba, and nicaragua. i set deeply with anything these people are facing. there is more country that can tolerate or permit or afford 5000 people arriving a day at the border. she said that is not a problem, nothing unusual about it. this cannot continue, it has to be safe. or we are going to have 10,000 people a day coming, and no country in the world can tolerate that. host: that's time. this is not a rebuttal, the entire 60 seconds, i am going to ask you about solutions.

what solutions do you have for solving the crisis on our southern border? ms. demings: we are a nation of laws, i divorced them for 27 years. the senator is living in fantasy land, i have enforce them. we need to make sure the men and women at the borders have the resources they need. in a fan of boots on the ground, let's put more breeds on the ground but let's also hire more processes so we can separate those who need to be arrested from those seeking asylum. we are a nation of laws, but we also obey the law that says people who are in trouble can seek asylum in this country. more boots on the ground, more technology, let's secure our borders. the senator likes to talk about open borders, it is an insult to the women and men who are there securing the border but let's

get more agents at the border. mr. rubio: the only people insulting the border are joe biden and democrats who accuse them of whipping haitian migrants and that turned out not to be true. she supported what i call the crazy peoples budget, even charlie crist voted against it and that is to ban border funding. she talks about more processes, what that means is when someone turns themselves in and claims asylum, they are usually held in two to three days. she is arguing, let's get them through faster so we can push people in one day instead of three days. we can't continue, we have to stop this. host: let's ask for congresswoman to respond, 30 seconds. ms. demings: yes, we need to secure our border more. we can do that with analogy,

boots, and more people to process those who need to be turned back, those who are breaking the law from those who are asylum-seekers. mr. rubio: which boots does she want on the ground, she was against national guard deployment. they demonized border patrol. your party, you have in your party has. ms. demings: who has? mr. rubio: they talk about more processes. the biden administration -- host: i want to move onto the next issue. senator, congresswoman, i am forced to move on because of time. the next question is from vicky from florida trends magazine. >> you backed deflation that would wire reporters to pay more

-- mr. rubio: ms. demings: we have to think about what the promise of social security was. it was to keep our seniors out of poverty. being in elected office and the critical position of being a united states senator is not about making choices to protect people. i believe we've got to do everything within our power protect those who have had to go to work every day, and deserve to retire with dignity and respect. governing is about priority, and social security is a priority for me. i'm not going to sacrifice it, and we need to do what we need to do, whatever that is to protect it. we can do that. >> question for senator rubio, florida's junior senator rick scott proposed an 11 point plan

to rescue america that requires all federal legislation to sunset in five years. if a law is worth keeping, congress can pass again, that includes medicare, social security and v.a. benefits. do you support putting these federal entitlements on the chopping block every five years? mr. rubio: no, that is not my plan, that is senator scott, he is more than happy to talk about her plan. if you want to talk about radical plans, i mentioned the peoples budget. it raised $9 trillion in taxes, i already told you about the $10.25 tax on oil which would have meant 35% increase on gas prices you are already paying. it zeroed out the war on terror, it took a billion dollars out of the pentagon, and that is not a plan, she voted for it. she voted for the crazy peoples

budget, a socialist budget. will you voted for the peoples budget and it is a socialist budget. that zeros out the war on terror, takes a trillion dollars out of the pentagon, raises taxes $8 trillion in working americans, it is a socialist budget. host: congresswoman demings, 30 seconds. ms. demings: you are repeating yourself. we have seen this show before. socialist, socialist, crazy, marxist, silly, must be on your list for your talking points. you said that rick scott's plan, it's good to have good ideas, you did not say that you did not support it. when you were first asked about his plan, you said i think it is good to have good ideas. mr. rubio: that is rick scott's

plan, he can defend it. her name was on that peoples budget, she was actually the cosponsor two years in a row, she voted for it. she voted for this thing, eight trillion dollars in tax. left with is skyrocketing property insurance, a lack of affordable housing, health care

gone through the roof, we have not expanded medicaid. people are hurting and when i talk to you are voters around the state, they say they don't know what you stand for. host: i will move onto the next. i think you both, you have a lot to discuss but let's move on. congresswoman, this is first to you. president biden says the world is closer to nuclear armageddon than at any time during the cuban missile crisis 60 years ago this month. if russian expires a limited range tactical your device at ukraine, or strikes a nato ally like poland with a conventional weapon, what is the correct

response by the biting white house and nato? ms. demings: we have to hold those who are not our friends accountable. senator, that includes russia, not just china. they thought ukraine was going to be over in a few days, it has gone on for almost a year. we have to continue to support ukraine and our nato allies. of course, we have to hold russia accountable. we always use diplomacy around the nato table. we cannot afford to have a nuclear attack. the united states has to do everything in its power to prevent that from happening. todd: same question to you. mr. rubio: on the first point about vladimir putin, i was against vladimir putin before being against vladimir putin was cool. i remember that well because the obama administration and hilly -- hillary clinton tried to reset relations with him.

i'm not sure if i would use the words cuban missile crisis but there is no doubt vladimir putin , is losing this war, if he loses the work he will lose his position and i don't think that the retirement plan for former russian dictator presidents is a very good one. i think he is concerned about that. we should be worried about what he might do to escalate. the use of a tactical weapon. one isthe use of a tactical weapon. we are not talking about lunching a weapon against chicago or new york, we are talking about artillery shells and short range missiles in the battlefield. i think the response has to be a unified response, and perhaps takes out what it is where those were launched from. the more likely scenario is that he would attack poland. at that point, nato would have to come together and decide whether they invoke article five, and the united states would need to live up to its native commitments. host: congresswoman, to that point, we know what the nato

charter says, perhaps the airport, what is the response from the united states as well as nato? rep. demings: we need to do everything within our power to protect our nato allies. everything within our power. if poland is attacked. then there has to be an immediate response. between our military and the department of defense and our experts and intelligence community based on the intelligence on the ground, i believe that that response will be sufficient and swift. but we have got to leave it in the hands of the people who are there, and the people who are involved in this every day. with the ultimate goal of keeping america and our allies, or nato friends, safe. mr. rubio: i think the response needs to be proportional. what i mean, the nato alliance,

it can't be unilateral, they would have to decide the proportionate response and that would depend on the nature and level of the attack, it would have to be an ally response, not just a u.s. one, that is what critical. it's not anything at her disposal because we are not talking about the use of strategic weapons and starting world war iii. i would argue they have already attacked nato because the nord stream pipeline on water that supplies germany has been bombed. everyone is wondering, they're saying russia may have done it who else would have done it belgium? , todd: we need to move on. i want to move back to rick christie from the palm beach post. >> congresswoman daily, senator rubio has called the efforts to pass a new voting law an effort to make sure that you never lose power to make it easier for democrats to win. why are new federal protections and voting rights needed? rep. demings: let me say this, i am not the person standing on the stage who supports

suppressing the right to vote. i can think about the words of my friend and former colleague, john lewis, who said the right to vote is precious and it's almost sacred. the senator believes we should leave that up to the states. we tried that with voting rights. we know the bad actors who did some ungodly things to stop people from voting. we should not just protect the right for a few people, or the privileged few, we should protect voting rights for everyone. and we need a federal law to keep everybody accountable. the john lewis voting rights advancement act is sitting in the senate right now waiting for a vote. the freedom to vote act, will protect the right to vote from all people. it is sitting in the senate right now waiting for a vote. that is our duty and responsibility, to allow the people to vote.

>> this question is for you, senator rubio, in you wrote in january, the federalist that the democrats push for voting rights is about quote exaggerated problems and fears. can you give us specifics about what you mean by that? sen. rubio: it's never been easier to vote. in florida you can vote by mail for any reason. you can vote 10 days before the election, you can vote on on election day. in georgia, you had record african-american voter turnout. to compare what is happening now to the jim crow era where people were literally murdered and had to pay poll taxes and literacy tests. what are we talking about here? number one, when you go vote and show an id, i have been a hispanic man my entire life, i've never felt like producing my id hurts my right to vote. you can't buy sudafed without an

id. number two, you can't collect a bunch of ballots, cars showing up with tons of ballots showing up in the trunk of a car, they want to force down the throat of every state in the country. we don't need that federal law, florida has very good election laws other states have very good , election loss, and other state that don't have good election laws have gone the other direction of weakening security for the ballot. todd: i want to go back to you, congresswoman demings? ms. demings: florida has an election law police force and if the laws are so wonderful, what is the need for that? florida also eliminated number of drop boxes from 2020. why do that particularly in certain areas, senator? your job is to make sure that every person votes. the ones that may vote for you and the ones who may not vote for you. that is your responsibility.

if it's so perfect, why the adjustments? we need to hold states accountable to make sure that every person, although that scares the senator to death, has the right, the precious right, to cast their vote. sen. rubio: if i'm trying to suppress the vote, i'm wasting a a lot of money telling people to go out to vote. that's what my campaign has been all about. i've never supported a suppression effort. how come all of a sudden a dropbox is the standard by which we judge if people are allowed to vote or not? we did have drop boxes 10 years ago, or in 2016 when the congresswoman was first elected to office. or 2012, when president obama won the state of florida. people need to think about it. imagine if someone decides there's a dropbox, i'm going to put an explosive in, and burn all those ballots and now those votes don't count at all.

with elections two things are important, the count has to be accurate, but the other is there has to be public confidence. the public has to believe that the elections were fair and balanced. that's what i've always been in favor of. what they want is a federal takeover of the elections. i do not want a federal takeover of our elections is in. -- system. i oppose it. ms. demings: that's nonsense. that we want a federal takeover? we past the voting rights advancement back in the house of representatives because of the unbelievable voter suppression efforts that were going on by the senator and his party. let people vote that's nonsense, , what he just said. we want every person to vote. we have been busy too encouraging people to vote, it doesn't threaten me or scare me. host: that's time.

i want to move on to another issue. i want to make sure that you both have all your time for closing statements. this is going to you first, congresswoman. the biden national security plan identifies russia as a imminent danger and china is the greatest long-term threat. even president xi's comments included threats to taiwan, -- mondaywhat should u.s. policy be for china from here? ms. demings: we have got to hold china accountable. we need to hold them accountable for stealing intellectual property. the bottom line is, the united states is the world power. we are the most powerful nation in the world. we know that china has not been the best player or actor. we have to hold them accountable. what president xi said about possibly taking taiwan by force? that is totally against our

principles and values. we have to take action. if there is any serious effort to do that, i served on the intelligence committee as well as the senator does. that is something that we have been monitoring just about every day. if china makes any aggressive actions, deliberate actions to take taiwan, then there has to be a response from the united states. mr. rubio: every major anti-china proposal that has been voted on in the last five years has been my bill. so much so that china has sanctioned and banned me which upset me because i had to cancel my vacation in wuhan. [laughter] the 21st century will be defined by the relationship between the united states and china. we wasted 20 years thinking when china became rich and prosperous they would become like us, and

we have woken up in a world where they don't want to become like us they want to replace us. today, they own the manufacturing capacity, 88% of pharmaceuticals come from there. that's why i've worked on things like bringing the pharmaceutical industry back to united states particularly and -- in puerto rico. we have to invest in our military, particularly the indo-pacific region to defeat the weapons systems that they are innovating. we don't need the pentagon using -- producing videos about the proper use of pronouns. todd: congresswoman, not to you. audience, please respect the candidates. rep. demings: we need to hold china accountable. the question involves their takeover of taiwan. we need to make sure that that does not happen. as a member of the intelligence committee that is an issue that , we study every day to make sure that that does not happen.

look, the senator can play national security expert all he wants, i know he needs that for his next presidential run -- host: i want to stop you there, another 30 seconds to the senator. mr. rubio: i am the vice chairman of the national intelligence committee and i was the previous chairman of it. it is my job. [applause] holding china accountable, that's a talking point. i have supported the concept. it's a great banner and i'm sure it's a good bumper sticker. it's not a plan. i actually have a detailed plan how to address it. if you want to hold china accountable, make things in america again. if you think things are bad now, imagine the day you wake up and realize you can't get medicine because the chinese have cut us off. we can't get gas -- todd: 15 more seconds to the congresswoman. rep. demings: the senator voted against the chips act. he goes around talking about

our dependency on china because of semi conductors. and then he voted against the chips act that would help further america's independence. todd: that's time for both of you, because you're going to get your full time for closing statements. senator rubio, the floor's yours. sen. rubio: thank you for hosting this debate tonight, i'm glad people got a chance to see that elections are about a choice. i have been in washington two terms in the senate, the two times i have been there no u.s. , senator has gotten more done that i have. today, children who have pediatric cancer will have options because i took on pharmaceutical companies and past the bill that did that. the child tax credit doubled. veterans that were exposed to toxic burn pits will now get treatment at the v.a. and not have to fight with the v.a. because we passed a bill that i sponsored, bipartisan. and millions of american small businesses and small business

jobs were saved because of a bill that we passed. so i'm asking to continue that , work because i have a record of not just identified the proms -- problems but fixing it. my opponent has been in congress staff a decade and has never passed a single piece of legislation into law. the only thing she does is vote 100% with policy. the vote is clear and i'm asking voters for their support. host: right, senator. congresswoman demings? ms. demings: i want to say, the last couple of things the senator said are not true. i stand on this dais tonight as the daughter of a maid and a janitor, and i am the first in my family to graduate college, served at the police department worked my way up the ranks to become the chief of police, serving in the house and now running in the senate, only in america is my story possible. i just happen to believe that every person regardless of who they are deserves the opportunity to succeed, deserves the opportunity to make it.

the senator will pick and choose winners and losers based on their ability to pay to play. he talked about pharmaceuticals. he voted against legislation that would help reduce the cost of prescription drugs and cap the cost of insulin. todd: that is time. senator, congresswoman, thank you so much for participating in this. we want to thank our audience across the state of florida and on the internet right now. this will also be rebroadcast on c-span. early voting begins next week. thanks for watching. good night. [applause] ♪ >> c-span's washington journal, everyday we take your calls live on the air on the news of the day and we discussed policy issues that impact you.

coming up wednesday, concerned women for america, discussed issues important to women in the upcoming midterm elections. david becker of the center for election innovation and research discuss their book, the big truth, upholding democracy in the age of the big lie. watch washington journal live at seven eastern wednesday morning on c-span or on c-span now our free mobile video app. coin with phone calls, -- join with phone calls, facebook ssages, texts and tweets. >> the conventional wisdom about felix frankfurter, former supreme court justice is that he struggled to fill the seat once held by all of her window homes. his biography notes that -- a

liberal loyal -- liberal lawyer tued conservative. >> his book democratic justice on this episode of boo plus. available in the c-spanree mobile app or wherever you get your podcast. >> wednesday evening we begin with live coverage of e oklahoma governor's debate. at 630- at 6:32 p.m. eastern. at 7:30 the race for the states seven congressionadirict hosted by new jersey globe.