Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Oct. 7, 2024 – Candidates for Congressional District 1 of the House of Representatives met Thursday to debate rural population decline, student loans, cost of living and more.
Democratic candidate Rodney Govens and Libertarian candidate Dr. Steve Parsons met in the ASU-TV studio on the A-State campus. Republican incumbent Rick Crawford was absent as the studio “did not receive a response in a timely manner.”
KLEK 102.5 General Manager LaGanzie Kale, KASU News Director Brandon Tabor and The Herald Editor-in-Chief Jerry Don Burton moderated the debate.
Both candidates were asked what they would do to combat rural population decline.
Parsons said the key to increasing rural populations is bringing in more immigrant workers, so he would work to change the work visa and green card rules so workers can “enter the country legally.”
In response, Govens said he would work to improve rural healthcare and reduce maternal deaths.
“The maternal death rate in the state of Arkansas is vastly too high,” Govens said. “It is far time that we start expanding rural healthcare into those areas that need them. We have 27 counties among the 31 in this district that don’t have a single OBGYN.”
Both candidates were asked how they would improve broadband access to rural communities.
“What I want to do is for every dollar that goes into a corporate subsidy to the AT&T’s and to the Comcasts of the world, I require that you take $0.25 of that dollar and go into a town of less than 5,000 people and build adequate broadband,” Govens said.
Parsons said increasing broadband access should be like starting a company, and that the state already had two of three necessary things to expand this access: power and telephone lines.
“You need broadband and that can be scarce, especially when going through the delta. So, let’s go ahead and expand and do exactly what I’ve been doing. We know how to implement these processes correctly so that we can go ahead and enjoy the fruits of the very labor that we’ve been putting in for decades.”
After a break, the candidates were asked what they would do to protect Arkansas’s growing steel industry.
Parsons said he would not implement tariffs on imported steel from Mexico, as it is “bad policy.”
“Mexico is the most important country on the planet to us because it is our biggest customer. If we’re going to deal with immigration, we have to have help from Mexico. If you want to try and control fentanyl, we need help from Mexico. So, the last thing that you should be doing is trying to protect Arkansas steel by having a tariff on Mexican steel. They lead to inflation.”
Govens said he would work to implement federal subsidy dollars into steel.
The candidates were asked what they would do to combat increasing student loan debt.
“I would not forgive the student debt,” Parsons said. “It’s not fair to somebody who went to school, took out a loan, repaid the loan or someone who went to school and never took out a loan. More importantly, it’s not fair to the people who never went to school.”
Instead, Parsons said he would work to phase out subsidized loans and ensure younger people are fully aware of career options, including college, trade school or entrepreneurship.
Govens responded by saying he believed in student debt relief for all, as this would allow for more money to be invested in communities.
Candidates responded to a question about how they would ensure families, veterans and seniors have access to affordable housing.
Govens said he would implement penalties for landlords who overcharge rent.
Parsons responded by saying that such a move would decrease the number of renters and instead, he would change tax laws to be more favorable toward long-term capital investments such as land and housing.
The full debate can be viewed here.
All three candidates will debate Oct. 8 at 11 a.m. on PBS.
