>> moderator: congresswoman comstock the next questions for you. would you be willing to put everything on the table, discretionary spending, entitlement spending and taxes to achieve a sensible style long-term budget that provides greater stability to northern virginia businesses and reduces deficits in the broader more equitable manner than the discretionary spending caps we currently have under the budget control act or sequestration. 90 seconds. comstock: we have been doing that and i have demonstrated direct of that. i posed as one of my top produces the posting that it sequester cuts. i am willing to work on all of these things. we are already doing this. you talk about ideological things. my opponent has already said she

supports $1 trillion in taxes and she said congress needs to do whatever hillary clinton wants. i don't think you need congress as a rubber stamp. i have already demonstrated years of being a member who works with you. i'm willing to stand up against my own party as they did when they were going after federal employees. i said i'm not going to vote for a budget if you are going after federal employees. they knew they had to calm and negotiate with me. i worked with my colleagues on a bipartisan basis which i think is important. when we were in the statehouse we went to the state agency people to work with us and find savings in weekend look at a bonus. if you can find ways to save money over several years we were able to save all kinds of money and give our employees a bonus. i have already had a

demonstrated record working to get everybody together, get them to the table. that's why i've been part of the governing majority with whether 75 republicans are 100 to get a budget passed. >> moderator: ms. bennett, 90 seconds. bennett: subtwo i am for a simpson-bowles type plan to reduce our debt. we cannot pass on that level of national debt to our children and grandchildren. this is one of the reasons i'm running. my candidacy is about the future. this is about the world we leave our children and one of the main things we are doing is leaving them a lot of debt. we have to fix this. i am for simpson-bowles. when i'm not for his gimmicks like sequestration that only come about when you can't pass a budget and when you play zero-sum games. i'm also not her government shutdowns. it's bad or our economy. it's bad or business and it's

especially bad for northern virginia. business needs certainty about that needs this they need the government to set the rules so they know how they can invest in their companies. you and i understand that. unfortunately the congresswoman just doesn't. these games that we are playing in congress are the worst things for our businesses. we need certainty, we need to pass legislation like comprehensive immigration reform that will fix our broken immigration system. we need bills like major infrastructure funding source that will invest in our infrastructure, create jobs in the short-run and then fund infrastructure improvements and improve our economy. >> moderator: congresswoman comstock. comstock: we started on tax reform on may past the tax relief package that had that permanent tax credit.

when i was in this date of the last bill that i had was having an orangey tax credit in virginia. we also need to have that certainty. as we did in the bill last december. permanent expensing for small businesses and permanent child tax credit he does the cost is -- to introduce a bill to double the child tax credit and am cosponsoring a bill that will increase the childcare tax credit. we need to do that and a trillion dollars in tax increases is not the way you provide certainty to businesses. when i go-round to visit these businesses, what i hear is thank you for providing a certainty. you've got to give us more than what democrats are coming in and doing. we have some work on a bipartisan basis with us who

tried to add more tax increases. >> moderator: ms. bennett there an estimated 874,000 virginians, 874,000 virginians who are uninsured and health care premiums continued to increase faster than wages. question, what would you do in congress to address these issues? 90 seconds. bennett: one of the biggest things that would help immediately as for virginia to pass medicaid expansion. it would immediately address the 400,000 uninsured virginians and it would address this by taking back the money we are sending to washington. right now we have the worst of all worlds. the congressman voted against medicaid expansion. i think that's just misguided and it shows a breathtaking lack of understanding of budgets and economics. the other thing that we now have

is the affordable care act. the affordable care act has addressed the access issue. in 2005 we had 47 million uninsured americans. we now have 20 million more insured americans. we need to do more work. we need to fix this bill. it's not perfect and it does need to be fixed. this is the kind of bipartisan work we need. not voting to repeal it without any sensible replacement, 65 times, that is a total waste of time. not only are they working less than half the time, when they are there they are taking silly votes like repealing the major piece of legislation rather than finding ways to make it better. >> moderator: congresswoman comstock, 90 seconds. comstock: obamacare has made

health care more affordable to receive the exchange is collapsing around the country. we see the premiums are skyrocketing. you have a 3000-dollar deductible and you are somebody who has of a modest income you don't have access to health care. i think we need to buy across state lines and we need to have health savings accounts so people can put their money site when they are young and have it there for later. we also need more community health centers. it provides one-stop shopping for low-income people. they are providing charitable care but it's a place where they can go and not just get health care but also had family planning. they also get -- packages and all kinds of primary services. we need to have -- obamacare was

totally partisan. not one republican voted for obamacare. what we need is to have bipartisan solutions where you sit down and work with people across the island get it done. we pleaded with the president at the time to do that. bennett: there's another help your issue that we feel acutely here in northern virginia and across the country and that is the opioid and heroin problem. congress has passed a bill but they have not funded it. the administration asked for $1.1 billion in funding to really address this crisis that we are seeing in the country and i believe they passed 37 million finally in a resolution. this is the kind of legislating we need to stop doing. we need, when we pass bills these crises are happening and

we need to address them quickly and we need to get them the adequate funding they need to really solve the problems. sea was another one. if i'm the guy funded but we have this eco-crises this summer and not only was it not addressed in this congress but they took off for five weeks and didn't address it. finally there was a bill passed this fall and funding was put into the continuing resolution. meantime people were suffering. children are being affected. our congress has to do better than that. thank you. >> moderator: congresswoman comstock the next question is for you. i'm sorry, your response. comstock: i would be delighted to talk about the harrowing issue because we work in the statehouse on it and my first hearing in winchester where we saw problems and now they have spread around the district. i've worked with numerous task forces to start them in lowden

county and fairfax. we have done right around with their drug task force. some of our other regions are not doing as well. certainly baltimore's main avenue for bringing heroin down here and that's why i was part of his caucus in congress to get this heroin legislation passed. we just got the winchester area designated as a haida area. i have worked on a bipartisan basis with everyone we can't have regular meetings with the commonwealth attorney and a recovery community. this is going to be an integrated way. we have the resources i'm going to fight for more money. we hope we will have built -- be able to get more money in the lame-duck. >> moderator: congresswoman comstock due to the presence of

of -- violence is traditionally received a substantial amount of research dollars while virginia has lagged mind in securing funding to conduct research. with the emergence of george mason as a top-tier research university and investment that novas making in the center for personalized health plus the work that's being done at george washington science and technology campus in lowden county. question, how can you help bring more research dollars to northern virginia, 90 seconds. comstock: as i mentioned earlier i have had been working on this as the chairwoman of the research subcommittee. these are the kinds of things we have hearings on all the time. we just had a woman locally where we were going to them and talking to all of them about what they need in research. my bill frist -- means that some of these key researchers in

places like george mason where i visited over the years. we got more money in the statehouse to july in disease research in cancer research and their leader in the area. we have a woman researching their who's been named one of the top 40 million people in the country will pray she's working on tech knowledge he which will will -- they are testing testinr lyme disease and breast cancer. imagine how exciting it will be to have those breakthroughs going on in our own region. that's why it works at george washington and we do have that infrastructure here. that's why it will be a great way to get more research and i voted to have more funding to get that into this region also. >> moderator: ms. bennett 90 seconds for you. bennett: on a big believer in research. we in the private sector who run this business know how important research and development is to

the growing of our businesses. equally important to the growth of our country. we need to vote to fund research dollars. this congress has not voted to do that and it has cut funding for nih and cut funding for all kinds of research facilities. we need to fund the research necessary. i also agree that we need to get our universities to walk -- were corporately and share information and work cooperatively that way. we need to prioritize this. something that i would certainly do and thank you. >> moderator: congresswoman comstock, 60 seconds. comstock: all of us deal with cancer and diabetes and alzheimer's and chronic disease. that's why i am so passionate and it's a top priority on what i overcome. sick of adding those calls when your friends tells you they have

been diagnosed with a chronic and deadly disease like cancer. i have visited and worked on these things as i mentioned. we have increased the funding of nih. we have had those increases. that's why we put mandated funding into 21st century cures. the bill is expected to be passed to the house and hopefully the sun will pick it up in the lame-duck to or the president has indicated he would sign it and the funding will be mandatory. i strongly supported that with my colleagues on my own side who didn't. when you get the cures for the diseases that are costing us so much in medicare. >> moderator: ms. bennett we will move to you. to what you think our nation's energy policy, what do you think should be our nation's energy policy and how does make a difference the tenth district and what will you do specifically to advance back?

bennett: we are in a major energy transition in this country and in the world frankly. i have the knowledge and experience to navigate this transition. i served on then governor tim kaine's climate change commission here in virginia, bipartisan commission looking for commonsense energy solutions our own military considers climate change one of our greatest national security crises and gats the congresswoman recently voted not to affirm the climate change even exists. if we are going to move forward first we have to recognize that there is a problem and we definitely have a problem. climate change not only exists but presents a tremendous opportunity for our country. we should embrace the alternative energy economy. we should be a leader in the world in combating climate change.

i think we do need be manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels right here. we shouldn't be buying them from china and india as we are now. i fully support the energy transition. it is a transition and it will happen over time. we need to retrain those workers in the 20th century in an energy economy to provide work in the 21st century. >> moderator: congresswoman i think we have a taste of water for you. congresswoman comstock we are going to give you 90 seconds on the same question about america's energy policy. comstock: this is another area where i've worked closely with the chamber but also the all of the above energy community and that's why it been supported by the chamber and the business organizations. i understand you can do and all

of the above solution piranhas in the statehouse a draft of the bill that was incorporated into the offshore drilling bill we have passed in virginia which another chamber supported. the exciting thing about it is not only would provide a dedicated stream of money for transportation and we know we need it also would provide 25% for research for alternative energy. you have a universal premium going to our own university. you have our university getting the stream of funding coming in to research and develop next generation of alternative energy. we support green tax credits and some amount party is attacked a on that. i'm part of a coalition in congress that is working on alternative research. we can't have carbon taxes like my opponent supports who admits she would not want to have carbon taxes. we need to work with innovation.

we have a great technology community here. we can take our technology and our know-how to the offshore drilling and get the resources into alternative energy but that's a great way to create good high-paying jobs. >> moderator: ms. bennett, 60 seconds for you. bennett: we need leadership in this area. we are in this transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. we need to recognize the opportunity to get innovation and manufacturing only to manage the challenges that a new tradition presents. i have done it in my business several times and we need to do this in government as well. my three sons that i mentioned earlier, all three of them have started their own businesses. in my family we are pro-business family. one of the businesses is the energy welding technology and addresses conservation in

commercial office buildings. i'm very proud of him as i am all of my sons but we do work in this area. this won't happen overnight but make no mistake it have to happen. let's stop fighting climate change and pretending that it doesn't exist and let's embrace this opportunity to grow our economy by being a leader in green technology. >> moderator: congresswoman comstock. she has the last word. most federal contractors believe that the government's process for acquiring goods and services is in need of dramatic overhaul. for companies in northern virginia cyber security and other high-tech fields that the time it takes in identifying a neat to awarding a final

contract often doesn't keep up with the evolving threats and challenges much less the private sector innovation needed to meet them. question, what committees do you wish to serve on in the next congress that will position you overhaul the federal acquisition process and recognizing that this might take more than a year or two? would you commit to remaining on those committees long enough to see the job through to completion? comstock: even though i'm not on the committee we have worked in groups some of these issues so oftentimes as i was told years ago you do not need to be on a particular committee to work for your constituents. i've had roundtables where part of the leadership on various committees to talk about acquisition reform. we need to be working not at the

speed up government that the speed up technology. we have experts in our region to help us do that. i was sitting down with john with several years ago and going through on cyber and how we need to work through this more quickly. we also need to create that ecosystem where we have our companies but we need to have our startups to make sure on what i hear the most complaints on acquisition reform the medium-size businesses who have gotten gotten help of a startup but when they get into the midrange that's when the regulations really hit them. we are asking them how can we help? we are trying to work in a lot of different ways but i can tell you having the relationships that i have with the contracting community and the experts on that has been a great avenue for me to go to my colleagues and get these changes turn into action.

bennett: i know in a personal way how difficult the acquisition process is in the federal government. in my business we competed for lease is over period of 10 to 15 years. it requires that you hire people up front that you expend an awful lot of capital and it's a tremendous risk. we need to streamline this process. we need to make it more predictable and easier and i'm committed to doing that. i understand it well enough having been through the process many times exactly how to do that. one of the reasons the federal government is not able to be nimble and move quickly is this continuing resolution process that fails to adjust the amount of spending that is allocated to each agency.

when you have to fund the government at the same levels in the same proportion that he did the previous year you are not able to fund the new that are so critical so you end up following. we basically have the same budget. that has got to change. we need a better process for running our government. >> moderator: congresswoman comstock, 60 seconds. comstock: again i've worked in this area and worked with so many of you leaders dealing with those problems. i have an open door. that not only invite everyone to come and i go out and visit. what do we need to change? what regulations are in place that are causing you problems and advancing the technology and getting into the field is quick as possible. this is something that's important for our military. we need the military with the highest tech in the field.

i've are record of doing that. terms of the budget i have only been there two years that i've been working to get those budgets through. that's why i have always been one of those folks that is going to compromise and work together. i understand the federal government is work for you. we are not using all the talents and that's a detriment for the country. >> moderator: we move onto her closing question this will go first to ms. bennett. let's look to january 2017. imagine you have been invited to dinner with a new president who is a member of your opposing party, president trump. what one issue would you bring to discuss during your dinner meeting that would benefit the tenth district and that you could garner bipartisan support rob?

bennett: investment in our aim, me, something that a president should understand. a case in funding and infrastructure funding. those are two of the critical things that we need to do not only in this district but in the country. i would certainly reach across the isle work with the president to support this kind of thing. we need to rebalance our economy. we need an economy that works for everyone. we need and we are seeing in this presidential election cycle there is a growing number of american citizens who believe they have been left behind and there is a truth to that. both parties are at fault. we need to start to address the inequities in the growth since the recession. we don't need it to be dramatic and if we address it now it

won't snap back and overshoot. i would work on rebalancing the economy and really work on investment in this country. >> moderator: congresswoman comstock you would be going to dinner with president clinton. comstock: i would like to see continuation of the moonshot that the president announces hear. that's the one of the things i'm most passionate about. it's an area where we can really change the lives of people throughout our community and we have the technology. early in this area in health care and technology research to be able to change things over the next 10 years. the idea is to shorten the time that we are going to have cures. recently went to a meeting we had for childhood cancer families. we have several of them in our districts who are working to make sure we get resources put

in. you are going to find out so many other things in that area. that's an area where we have great eye parts and support but i think we need to have more resources and investment that will end up saving us billions on the health care side of taking it right and good high-paying jobs. our region we have a center for cancer research. talk about relationships his wife is -- and they have a nursing school. i will be thrilled to be part of that. >> moderator: ms. bennett, 60 seconds. bennet: i have told you what i would work with him on. here is what i would fight a president trump on and these are things that unfortunately my opponent agreed with him on.

i would fight for women's health and for paycheck fairness. the congressman has voted against paycheck fairness twice. the tenth district has the highest pay gaps between men and women of all 11 congressional districts in virginia. that has to change. i would fight for comprehensive immigration reform and not to build some wall and pretend someone else is going to pay for it. we need to pass comprehensive immigration reform and get past this broken immigration system. i would fight him to invest in an energy economy and to acknowledge climate change does exist. he has called it a hoax and my opponent has called it a myth. we have to move forward area to. >> moderator: thank you. we don't have time for audience questions that we are going to move right into closing statements.

now we will have congresswoman comstock go first then you have two minutes. comstock: thank you. it's joyful to get together with so many friends and people at work for for so many years. i think on this stage there's only one here that has a bipartisan record of working across the aisle to get numerous results for jobs come energy, education and that in a lifetime experience working on health care. there's also only one person on the stage who deals with equal pay. ..

i have already had the relationships working with the state, local, community and all areas of the economy and education we haven't talked about the nonprofit sector, but the nonprofit sector is so vibrant and so many of the companies come and get back and that's why we have a great ecosystem of getting things done. i've worked with leaders in every single area and my opponent hasn't had that involvement and went down to washington, d.c. where she's been doing her entire career. so i will be able to continue my work as chairwoman, as a leader on transportation and science technology, the economy, research development and the whole innovation economy. i'm the only one ie