Tsongas, Wofford spar in Devens debate

DEVENS – Squaring off in their second debate, U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas faced a challenge against the status quo from Republican candidate Ann Wofford Tuesday.

Wofford, a stay-at-home mother from Haverhill with a chemical engineering degree from Cornell University, argued against a government that she said is not able to do anything comprehensive.

She said constituents in the district are not better off than they were two years ago.

“We have wage stagnation and underemployment,” she said. “I see it in my own neighborhood, we have the kids coming out of college that are not able to find good-paying jobs based on their degree.”

Budgets are tighter, food is more expensive and everything is going up, she said.

But Tsongas, a four-term representative in the 3rd Congressional District, cited the addition of 240,000 jobs a month, and a drop in unemployment from 10 percent to 5.9 percent.

“These last years have not been easy, and I don’t think we should deny that, but I think there’s no doubt that we’re better off,” she said.

Tsongas said the focus now needs to be on the middle class, which raises many issues that affect women.

“If you consider two-thirds of women are minimum-wage earners, failure to raise the minimum wage has a direct impact on the economic well being of women,” she said.

Questioned on the federal deficit, Tsongas argued that it has dropped from 10 percent of gross domestic product to 3 percent. But she said there is obviously more work to do, calling for a balanced approach to cutting the budget.

“I am hearing over and over again, as I’ve served on the Armed Services Committee, from our chief of staff that they’re worried they’re going to start to cut into the readiness of our soldiers,” she said.

But Wofford said the deficit has almost doubled to $17.8 trillion since Tsongas has been in Congress, and argued that Tsongas keeps voting to increase the debt ceiling.

“At this point we need to cut,” she said. “The federal government needs to balance their budget like everybody else in the room does.”

The debate, sponsored by The Sun and Sentinel & Enterprise, also included a question on the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline. Both candidates said they had issues with the plan. About 50 people attended the 10 a.m event at the Devens Commons Center.

Wofford said Kinder Morgan’s methodology has been terrible, causing hard feelings and distrust.

“Not a single city or town was contacted, they knocked on people’s doors and said ‘Hey, can we survey your property,’ threatened eminent domain,” she said.

But she cited the region’s need for energy, touting her experience with regulatory agencies during her 17 years as a chemical engineer.

“I believe we can work with Kinder Morgan to get this done without tampering on individual property rights,” she said.

Tsongas said she is firmly opposed to the route of the pipeline, proposed to run from Wright, New York, to Dracut. She said she registered her opposition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission – the board that must ultimately approve the pipeline – and Kinder Morgan itself.

“We need to seriously look at what the need is, we need to ask the hard questions, we need to have good answers that reassure us that the size of the pipeline is adequate to the task,” she said.

The candidates also addressed the Affordable Care Act and whether it is living up to expectations.

Wofford said the ACA has a few positives, such as keeping children on parental health care until a later age and no denial for those with pre-existing conditions.

But she said the act has hurt more people than it has helped.

Tsongas said parts of ACA need to be fixed, such as the medical device tax that hurts small companies.

“I don’t think we need to have another 53rd, 54th, 55th vote on repealing it,” she said. “Let’s fix what’s wrong.”

Wofford countered that if the ACA is so wonderful, every single member of Congress should be on Obamacare.

“My opponent has chosen not to, she has more options than we do right now,” she said. “We are not the serfs to the folks in Congress, they work for us. If this is great, put everyone on Congress first, then roll it out to the rest of the country.”

Tsongas said that as a member of Congress, she was requested to go into the exchange and purchase health insurance just as those Americans do who don’t receive coverage through their employer.

The two candidates face each other in the Nov. 4 elections, fighting for a district that stretches from Fitchburg to Lawrence and Lowell, including towns in the Nashoba Valley.

Follow Amelia on Twitter and Tout @AmeliaPakHarvey.