Heller, Berkley complain of lies in first debate

“I think it’s my opponent’s motto that it’s not a lie if she can convince people to believe it,” Heller said at one point when they fought over whether defense cuts would come to pass under a bill she backed.

The so-called sequestration measure, which Heller voted against, would trigger automatic budget cuts. But Berkley said they would never happen because lawmakers would reach a budget deal this year to ensure U.S. military facilities in Nevada, such as Nellis Air Force Base, would not face any cuts.

Berkley then turned the tables on Heller, who has accused her of repeating the “lie of the year” by saying he wants to kills Medicare by changing it for future retirees into a voucherlike program. She said Heller is the one using the “lie of the year” by accusing her of cutting $1 trillion from Medicare, including $700 billion in spending reductions as part of President Barack Obama’s health care law.

“I did not cut money out of Medicare guaranteed benefits,” Berkley said, explaining she voted to stop overpaying insurance companies and slowed Medicare spending to extend its life by nine years.

Looking angry, Berkley noted that Heller voted for similar Medicare savings as part of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan’s GOP budget, which would have reformed Medicare for those under the age of 55.

“It takes an awful lot of brass” to accuse her of cutting Medicare when he has backed the same thing, Berkley said, saying she was quoting former President Bill Clinton.

Heller shook his head and smiled, saying Berkley had just contradicted herself by denying cutting Medicare and then accusing him of doing the same thing.

“It’s still the lie of the year,” Heller said.

Heller and Berkley, who both wore black suits and U.S. flag pins on their lapels and who both appeared nervous and halting at the start, will debate two more times in October. But interest in their first one-hour, face-to-face encounter was intense, coming three weeks before early voting starts on Oct. 20 in Nevada and less than six weeks before the Nov. 6 election.

The live, televised debate was held inside the KNPB-TV, Channel 15, studios on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, with about 20 invited guests and media allowed inside. The debate aired on VegasPBS, Channel 10, KNPB-TV, Channel 5, in Reno and C-Span.

Mitch Fox of VegasPBS moderated the debate, and several journalists asked the questions. About halfway through, the Reno Gazette-Journal’s Ray Hagar brought up Berkley’s ethics problems.

Berkley is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee related to her advocacy on kidney health matters that may have benefited her husband, Dr. Larry Lehrner. She lobbied to save a kidney transplant center at University Medical Center in Las Vegas but didn’t disclose her husband’s financial interest in the facility. She also pushed to maintain Medicare rates for kidney treatment, writing a letter to U.S. Rep. Pete Stark of California, a leader on the matter.

Asked about the letter, Berkley gave her stock answer, saying she never thought of herself or her husband. She added that Stark knew her well and knew what her husband did for a living.

“My one and only concern was to protect the health and well-being of the people of the state of Nevada,” Berkley said, stopping short of a fuller accounting of her actions.

“I can take these attacks, but what I can’t take are the attacks on the people of the state of Nevada,” Berkley added, changing the subject and saying Heller’s for big oil and not for the middle class. “I know who I am fighting for in this state.”

Heller was well-prepared for the topic.

“Character matters. Let me repeat that. Character matters,” Heller said, speaking deliberately.

He said it was highly unusual for the House Ethics Committee to open an investigation into a member of Congress. And he said that Berkley has a history of ethical issues, although he wasn’t specific.

“This is a pattern,” Heller said. “This isn’t a problem she’s had since she came to Congress.”

Berkley, allowed to respond, didn’t address the ethics issue, but repeated that she would fight for Nevadans and their futures, including the development of clean energy in the state.

“I think character does matter,” Berkley said, adding she will stand up for Nevadans. “Who’s going to protect them? Who’s going to fight for middle-income Nevadans?”

Heller appeared incredulous at Berkley’s attempts to sidestep ethics and change the subject.

The next question focused on Heller’s opposition to the DREAM Act, which would provide a path to U.S. citizenship for certain young immigrants brought to the United States illegally by their parents when they were young. To qualify, the youth would have to attend college or join the U.S. military.

Heller said he is for immigration reform but could not accept a bill that Democrats refused to modify.

“It will take Republicans and Democrats coming together to make this happen,” Heller said, adding he agrees with 80 percent of what Democrats and Hispanics want on immigration. “Let’s put together an immigration policy that actually works for America.”

Heller said he has discussed the matter with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who is working on a GOP version of the DREAM Act that would allow undocumented youth to stay in the United States, but without the guarantee of citizenship. “They still have to go through the process” to become legal, he said.

Berkley jumped on Heller, attacking him for backing harsh immigration measures, including an Arizona law that would let police ask people for their papers if stopped for other reasons.

“While my opponent talks a very good game, his votes don’t track his rhetoric,” Berkley said. “My opponent thought the Arizona law was so good he wanted to bring it here to Nevada.”

Heller fired back, “My opponent is for blanket amnesty.”

The two fought over jobs with Nevada’s unemployment rate at 12.1 percent.

Berkley noted Heller has voted against every jobs act the Democrats have offered. Heller shot back that every time a jobs act passes, the unemployment rate has gone up.

They were asked what to do about the nation’s record $16 trillion debt, too.

Berkley said the best way to get the debt under control is to end wasteful spending and “stop giving tax breaks to corporations that are shipping jobs overseas,” something she said Heller voted for five times. She also said creating clean energy jobs in Nevada would help solve the problem.

“You want to get down our debt. Let’s get people back to work so they’re paying taxes,” she said, criticizing Heller once again for voting for the Ryan budget. “Let’s make sure we’re not balancing the budget on the backs of our seniors, on the backs of our veterans.”

Heller mocked Berkley, saying he had never heard her talk about fiscal responsibility before.

“My opponent doesn’t care about balancing the budget,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve ever heard her say she doesn’t like the $16 trillion debt we have.”

Heller said he would not harm seniors in cutting the budget. He said that his father turns 79 years old on Saturday and that both his parents rely on Medicare, Social Security and veterans benefits for his father.

“He wouldn’t be celebrating his 79th birthday on Saturday without Medicare and Social Security,” Heller said, adding he would hold to his promise to protect the programs.

Then he got one last lick in at Berkley on the Medicare matter.

“She needs to quit stealing. She took
$1 trillion out of Medicare, ” he said.

Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@review
journal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow her on Twitter @lmyerslvrj.