9th District forum: candidates debate Medicare for All, Israel policy, ICE and education

Four candidates for Indiana's 9th Congressional District laid out differing visions for health care, foreign policy, immigration enforcement and education at a Bloomington forum moderated by Scott Aaron Rodgers.

Floyd Taylor, an independent, emphasized direct constituent control of his votes through a "Congress app" that would bind his votes to user input. Taylor said he had drafted legislation to provide universal coverage and repeatedly referred attendees to his website and app.

Republican Kyle Rourke emphasized affordability, congressional oversight and practical measures: he supported supplementing private insurance with targeted public assistance for low-income families, reinstating ACA-like subsidies and loan-forgiveness incentives for critical professions. He framed his pitch around crossover appeal and said higher pay and streamlined licensing could help stem teacher shortages.

Dr. Tim Peck, an emergency physician, and Brad Meyer, an activist candidate, both supported more ambitious public-health measures. Peck described immediate fixes such as public-option expansion, cost reduction and practical steps to stabilize hospital pay and rural access; Meyer urged universal nonprofit single-payer health care and a longer-term constitutional approach to guarantee public-health rights. On foreign policy, Peck said the U.S. should use its leverage over weapons transfers and acknowledged that some have met the legal definition of genocide, saying international legal processes should decide; Meyer pushed for a two-state solution and conditional support for Israel.

Candidates disagreed on ICE and immigration: several favored major reforms (body cameras, warrants for arrests, tighter vetting of recruits), while Rourke opposed abolition but supported oversight. On campus and public-health guidance, candidates diverged on congressional tools — from firings of officials accused of spreading false information (Taylor) to strengthened subject-matter oversight (Rourke) and clinician-led guidelines (Peck).

The forum closed with short rebuttals and 90-second closing remarks; no votes or formal endorsements were taken.