We begin our final week of candidate conversations with Rep. Joe Morelle, who is seeking a fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives for New York's 25th Congressional District. We discuss his record, his goals, and he answers our questions and yours.
Our guest:
- Joe Morelle, candidate for NY's 25th Congressional District
Key issues raised by candidate during "Connections" appearance:
- Asked where he stands on Medicare for All, Morelle said he thinks it's "problematic" for New York. He thinks we need to continue to build on the Affordable Care Act, saying, "We have millions of Americans who didn't have health insurance who now do." He acknowledged there's a lot more to do to improve health care, "but I don't think a single-payer system the way it's designed actually gets to where people want it to go."
- To make the ACA better, he said, we must continue looking for subsidies for people who can't afford the policies.
- Broader health care issues: Morelle said we need to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices to bring them down for everyone; less fragmentation between primary care providers and specialists; and improve overall health with more telehealth usage and wearable devices to track and improve health care.
- On immigration and the threat of mass deportation, he said, "You took all those workers; Donald Trump's going to pay a whole lot more for groceries and for goods that are produced in America."
- Morelle also said Trump doesn't want to solve the immigration problem: "He knows it's a great political issue, and so if he just keeps it alive and makes sure that no one ever really addresses it, we'll never have a reasonable path to citizenship, and we're never going to get to a point where we address the problems."
- He acknowledged there are problems at the border: "We don't have enough people, we don't have enough technology. Most of the contraband comes through, actually, not over the wall. It comes through the ports of entry. So we could address this. ... I would support a bipartisan solution. I thought we were heading that direction, until Donald Trump pulled the plug on it."
- Morelle talked about his support of Israel and its right to exist and defend itself while acknowledging the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. He disagreed with using the word "genocide" in relation to Israel's actions in Gaza, saying Israelis are not trying to eliminate an entire people. Ultimately, he said, "There cannot be stability in the region unless there's a two-state solution, until Palestine has a home, and the Palestinians have a home."
- Morelle said he continues to be "a strong supporter of Ukraine," saying the Russian "incursion into Ukraine was obviously a violation of everything we believe in, in terms of self-determination, the right of the Ukrainians to live as they choose to live."
- He also said, "When America decides that we're going to retrench from our leadership role ... and we are no longer going to support democracies, and we are no longer going to stand in and help allies, I think that's the end of, you know, the civilized world as we know it."
*Notes: Morelle was only available until 12:45 p.m. The final segment of this hour features Jeremy Moule and David Streever discussing WXXI's election coverage, including the WXXI Local Elections Guide, where you can read more about the 25th Congressional District race and others you'll see on your ballot.
You can listen to Morelle's opponent, Gregg Sadwick, on "Connections" in October here. Sadwick was also a guest on the program in March. That conversation is available here. Morelle was not available to participate at that time.
