>> order,. >> right shoulder. [snare drum] >> halt. forward.

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["yankee doodle" playing by fife and drum] ♪ [applause]

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[snare drum] >> ladies and gentlemen, this

concludes today's ceremony. general mcchrystal will receive desk in front of the review stand. to watch your attendance and enjoy your evening. -- thank you for your attendance and enjoy your evening. -- general mcchrystal will receive guests in front of the review stand. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

a free-lance journalist recently traveled to afghanistan to observe troops training and afghan security force. many of the afghan troops are receiving training from the u.s. military. >> this is my third trip to afghanistan since the summer of 2007, and on this trip i focus my attention on the capital area around kabul, and also the remote eastern portions of afghanistan near the pakistan border. i spent some time with the army

unit that trains the afghan commandos. the u.s. army as an aviation unit that is working these commandos to train them up in air assault missing. you cannot in any whereby road -- anywhere by road. even where roads exist, it can take two hours to get miles. preferably, you move by air. most of the afghan military is static because of the absence of roads and the cultural expectation is that they fit in -- they sit in one place and guarded. their military cannot move around very well, which limits their ability to respond to taliban attacks. the u.s. army and nato are training up the commandos to fly air assault missions.

there is an afghan national army corps, and these are soviet- trained pilots to have russian- made helicopters, and they are getting training. they tend to be skilled, because they have been flying for 20 years. the commandos had been trained in how to secure a landing zone and do it safely and quickly even under enemy fire. i got to observe a graduation exercise, which turned out to be all real-life mission at the same time these afghan commandos and air crew working with flew out to a village.llag the idea is that they would practice their skills but do some humanitarian work in the village as well. they need to prove that they can plan and operate their own aircraft and plan their own

emissions. bring all these moving parts together, ground troops, landing zones, aircraft, they can bring these parts together and do it safely and execute a mission. they did it. they secured a landing zone. they flew in. they went into the village. they had boxes of cheap radios and school supplies. and they invited the villagers to come in and get some of the stuff. that is where it broke down. the military side of the operation was well planned and executed but nobody had bothered to check with the village authorities. so from the perspective of the village, especially the folks in charge, the village elders, they

got invaded by this afghan commando force. one of the points of giving out humanitarian aid, was for the commanders to build relations with the community. they undermined that by not coordinating their arrival with the village. so helicopters landed. they got permission to land on the field so they did not ruin anybody's crops. the sweeping, show up with this free stuff. hundreds of people swarm them up. the commandos are having to do of violent crowd control to keep these people at bay. the cops show up and they are just irritated -- it is an understatement. nobody had bothered to ask them. >> we were trying to go with a friend -- one of the reasons we are in this area is because it is one

of the safest areas so the commandos can practice their techniques. foreignaking for language] [helicopter blades whirring] >> in future, we will make sure that we know -- you know what we are doing before redoinwe do it. >> so and embarrassed nato

officer promised in future they would do better and they loaded up the helicopters and went home. the afghan military is a mixed bag, or afghan security forces are a mixed bag. there are national army and police, border guards, and airport. the quality of these forces various. the police are considered very corrupt if not actual taliban themselves, but the national army is not bad. the afghan national army is the old northern alliance that stopped the taliban before. they have been subsumed into the afghan government and dressed in uniform and given additional training, but they're mostly

from the north. they are not bad as far as afghan security forces go. the best of the best are the afghan commandos. at one of the major forward operating basis, the army is training afghan security forces and part of that means trying to give them a sense of physical fitness standards. these guys are fairly tough. they spend the time climbing up and down mountains. there is nothing systematic. so the army is trying to get them to do a army-style physical training. and at one base one morning there was a physical fitness test for the afghan army and border police. >> 5, 4,3, 2, 1. >> good job.

>> what is the hardest part of this job? >> as far as an instructor, probably the language barrier, because a lot of the things we want to put emphasis on, a lot of times it is hard because it might not get translated except the right or they may not understand something we are saying. >> you take a bunch of guys who , they dot to jim classgymn, not know what pushups and situps are, you have to teach them how to do those things and make them believe those things are important. to afghans, they just seem embarrassed. what?lol make me do all their bodies are standing in the background laughing. they warned the afghans they were going to do some writing, but nobody had their running clothes on.

they had their uniforms, their boots. nobody stretched. they say go, and they take off sprinting for a mile and a half. then they realize that they have more than another mile to go and a slowdown. by the first lap, they had to do three or four laps, by the first lap, one of them dropped out. the rest of them were drenched in sweat. they were run a few yards and walk and then run. -- they would run a few yards, then walk, and then run. i say the biggest challenge is cultural differences. they work six hours a day. we are trying to get through -- make them understand that this is a w i r and they have to take it to the next level -- this is a wawrr, and increase the hours of training to accomplish that mission.

unless they ramp it up, the war -- they will never learn as fast. they need to overcome that difference and have the discipline to be here more hours per day. >> they have basic soldier skills but we are trying to teach them to be so comfortable with their skills that they could lead others. we want to empower their leadership at the lowest level. right now it is an officer- driven military and we want to make sure it is an nco-driven corps. they are empowered and enabled to make decisions. it is a big difference then when i was here two years ago. there were smaller numbers, not as disciplined. they have a long way to go.

>> tonight, a kentucky senate debates between candidates, republican rand paul, and a democratic state attorney general jack conway. following that, a news conference on the senate campaigns and farm subsidies. also, a pentagon retirement ceremony for former afghanistan commander general stanley mcchrystal. tomorrow, and oklahoma governor's debate. we will hear remarks from six democratic and republican candidates looking to replace the democratic governor. that is at 6:30 p.m. eastern on c-span. c-span, our public affairs content is available on television, radio, and online, and you can connect with us on twitter, facebook, and youtube.

sign up for our scheduled alert e-mails @ c-span.org c-span.o. >> now a kentucky senate debate between republican rand paul and democratic state attorney general jack conway. they answer questions regarding agriculture, health care, immigration, and the economy. hostedntucky farm bureau the candidates at its headquarters. this is an hour and 50 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. i am president of kentucky farm bureau and i will be the moderator today for this forum. we are so glad that everyone is here today. on behalf of the 483,000 farm families that are farm bureau members in kentucky, we certainly want to thank each of you for the dissipating. -- for participating.

this really is an indication of the strong commitment we have had for many decades here in kentucky, having of for a lot like this. we began thin the 1940's. we have a forum for u.s. senate and open seats and gubernatorial races, and representatives in congress. with that, we also have county farm bureau's the hold forums similar to that across the state for many offices. kentucky farm bureau is the largest general farm organization in kentucky and is dedicated to serving as the voice of agriculture. kentucky farm bureau has over 20 advisory committees made up of farmers and other experts in each advisory, commodity-

specific committee that we have in kentucky. so it is really important that we are able to develop our policies from the ground level, from the grassroots level. we are made up and organized in all 120 counties in kentucky with a mission to identify problems, develop solutions, and take actions that will improve net farm income, achieve better economic opportunities, enhance the quality of life for all of kentucky and that is what our mission here is. we are nonpartisan organization which means we do not endorse candidates. however, we feel that candidates -- we would like to see them in involved ind really be embrace our policies here at kentucky farm bureau. kentucky farm bureau policy

actively depicts the mood of agriculture across kentucky, because we do the grass-roots effort. our policy is -- it really begins at the county level, all across kentucky, all 120 counties, and goes through a process that culminates at our annual meeting and is voted on by our delegate body. so, truly, we are a grassroots organization, and our policy is developed in the small communities, and we think it reflects the mood of our folks. we want to make sure that our views are well understood. we want to make sure that you understand what our policy is. and then we want to hear your comments about those policies.

we have all lot of housekeeping rules that have been agreed upon here today. i will read those to make sure we do not throw and anything that has not been discussed previously today's program will begin with each candidate making it a two minute statement. the candidates will then hear from selected members of our board of directors who have agreed to present topics to you. the topics for this year's meeting are -- national farm policy, international trade and marketing, health care, energy, environmental issues, physical policy and immigration and farm label. -- and farm labor. we appreciate the members of the media here today. members of the media and audience will have an opportunity to pose questions to each candidate immediately

following this forum outside in the lobby in a press conference- type setting. as the members of our board% the topics, you might want it right down -- and the members of our board present their topics, you might want to write them down. former board presentations, or the presentations from our members, to be made from the podium, please. after the prepared presentations, we will open the floor for questions from board members and provide each of you two minutes to respond. i would ask board members, when you are recognized, to ask a question, that you state the name and the county you are from when you began. you may remain seated to ask your question. please remember to turn on your green light microphone that is in front of you when you do that. once we conclude the questions and answering, candidates will

give a five-minute closing remark. you might notice that ed is right here. he has a yellow and red card. when he raises the yellow card, you have 30 seconds. when you see the red card, we would ask you to please wind up. our candidates may choose to remain seated for their comments, or you may use the podium, whichever you prefer. the order by which are candidates will make for mark is determined by a coin toss a little bit earlier, just a few minutes ago. dr. paul won the coin toss and decided to make his opening statement -- he will be making the opening statement first. you will be making the closing statement last.

mr. conway will be the reverse. he will go last in the opening comments and he will go first in the closing comments. first, mr. conway, kentucky's democratic nominee for the united states senate, is attorney general jack conway. mr. conway has fought against illegal drugs in kentucky communities. he received the soaring eagle award for operation unite for his efforts to fight for prescription drug abuse. mr. conway formed kentucky's first statewide prescription drug task force, working with state and federal law- enforcement officials, the attorney general's office worked in operation flamingo road. mr. conway's kentucky roots run deep. his father was raised on a farm in union county, put himself

through law school while teaching history during the day at a high school here in louisville. his mother is the daughter of a union blacksmith. mr. conway is the eldest of four children. he and his wife are raising their new daughter. because he was born and raised in the commonwealth, mr. conway understand the unique needs of our state. dr. rand paul and his family live in bowling green, where he has operated his ophthalmology practice practicing medicine and performing i surgery's for the pass 17 years. dr. paul grow up in lake jackson, texas, and is the third of five children born to carol and representative ron paul. he graduated from law school in 1988, completed an internship at georgia baptist medical center in atlanta, and completed his

residency in ophthalmology at duke university medical center. upon completion of this training in 1993, he and his wife moved to bowling green to start their family and began his practice. dr. paul founded the kentucky taxpayers united in 1993 to better inform residents have elected officials voted on key spending and taxation issues. in 1995, he founded the southern kentucky eye clinic, an organization providing exams and surgery's to needy families and the details. dr. paul also participates in the children of the americas program, where he has provided free surgery to many children from around the world. dr. paul and his wife of three sons. he regularly volunteers to coached teams for his son in little league baseball, soccer, and basketball. he and his family attend the presbyterian church.

please make both candidates welcome to farm bureau. [applause] now, with that, we will begin with opening statements. let's see. i have already forgotten what we did. dr. paul chooses to go last. he will go first. >> i think here will be fine. i am glad there will be no hooting and hollering, no noise- making. we will see how it goes. jefferson said in his first address to congress that agriculture and manufacturing, commerce, and navigation, the four pillars of prosperity, are most thriving when left most free to individual enterprise.

i think america is great for many reasons. we have more arable land than any other country. we have a great natural resources in land. it is important that we know it is not just land. it is the people farming the land and it is the system we have. the american system of private property at profit, and earning and being able to reap what you so. i think this cannot be stated enough. when i was a boy, i knew an old man who came from the ukraine. he fought in the army. it was not because he was enamored above czar, but he was a farmer. they did not like the padilla the bolsheviks were going to take their land and divide it up. we know that farmers were card. they can reap what they so. farmers can earn and take home the fruits of their labor. farmers work hard, and anyone

who works from the sweat of their brown knows that if they don't want an overzealous government that gets involved with throwing a region growing the crops or were they can dig a pond, i will fight to keep an overzealous government out of your way. yesterday, jim dement introduced a permanent repeal of the estate tax. i support him in this. it is a distinction between myself, president obama, and my opponent, who want to bring the state tax back. i will fight to get rid of that tax and i will not let that tax come back. i will fight for the kentucky farmer against an overzealous government. i will fight to keep your livelihood free of overzealous regulators. thank you very much. >> mr. conway? >> thank you. i appreciate that for much and i appreciate the references to thomas jefferson, who i admire very much, but this is about

putting kentucky first. my father grew up on a family farm in human county. i would go semite grandparent was a little kid. my granddad used to wear a big hat. he would be out picking corn down in union county. i was a little boy and i would always get lost. i have a memory of looking for his hat to figure out where i was. i got a sense of how important farms are to kentucky. i am always going to put kentucky first. i am always going to put kentucky cursed. we have 85,000 farms in the state. over $400 million, i believe.

ladies and gentlemen, let me be clear. i view this as a security issue, a food security issue. here in the united states, we spent 10% of our disposable income on food. china is 32%. other european countries are double what we spend. we are protecting food security. we need to have increasing net farm income. that is what is important. throughout my term as a public servant, i have reached across the aisle on a number of different issues, to our kentucky state senate, to work in a bipartisan fashion. when it comes time to reauthorize the farm bill, i will make sure kentucky is taken care of. i will stand up and do it in a bipartisan fashion. i will stand up for the kentucky farms we have. thank you very much. >> thank you.

again, are more direct questions, we recognize firsthand the importance of a strong -- strong farm economy to our nation's security. our second vice president will discuss that. mr. milton served as -- serves as chairman of our health care tax force. he has a grain and beef operation. i was just told that our microphones are not picking up for the cameras like they need to be. when you give your response, we will ask you to go to the podium, if you would. with that, mr. milton? >> thank you. attorney general, dr. paul, thank you for taking time to be here today. agriculture is such an important thing to the state of kentucky

and we are glad you devote to the time to come here and hear what is important. i want to talk about national farm policy. it is an important issue we have for agriculture in kentucky. we know a strong agricultural base is essential to any long term success and security. farmers in the united states produce the world's safest, most abundant, most economical supply of food and fiber. agriculture is planning a significant role in renewable energy. sound national farm policy is critical to making -- keeping a strong agriculture in the united states. the 2008 farm bill reflected many of the positive elements of the 2002 farm bill and maintains the three-legged safety net for agriculture while enhancing conservation programs and focusing new resources. one of the big things we are about is beginning farmers and ranchers. kentucky farm bureau policy

advocate maintaining that safety net. our policy also advocates usda maintain an efficient and effective way to deliver programs to local farmers. during your term in office, we will write a new farm bill and we will be working with you in that. i have two questions out like to pose to today. what measures would you take to ensure american agriculture has the support needed to continue producing the food and fiber that this country will need in the future? how would you further strengthen national farm policy to insure agriculture remains a viable industry? >> thank you. first response will be from mr. conway. >> thank you. i appreciate that for much. there could not be a strong distinction between my campaign and that of my opponent's.

my opponent has stated that he wants to do away with the united states department of agriculture and and a farm subsidies. this is greatly misunderstood. it is easy to say, let's do away with farmers. i'm a fiscally responsible democrat. i want democrat we can afford. we cannot afford a system that would be a drag on net farm income. the farm bills are a greatly misunderstood issue. 75% of the farm bill of 2008 goes to nutritional programs. over five and a thousand children in the commonwealth of kentucky or in the school lunch program. a quarter of a million kids here in a breakfast program. are we going to do away with that in these difficult economic times? farmers too often get caught in the cost-price squeeze. it is tough to figure out -- yet

to use the latest technology to get value for your products. what farm policy does is it gives the farmers assurance that they will be able to earn a decent living, and they will have sustainable net farm income going into the future. when you put these together, farmers have assurances there will be able to continue on with their business. i will work diligently with senator mcconnell and anyone, regardless of politics, to make sure it -- make certain that in 2012, when farm reauthorization comes up, that we put a program in place that continues are sustainable agriculture, the confrontation -- conservation programs that provide the loans that are so important for a lot of farmers who are just getting started or farmers that want to rehabilitate facilities they have, or the systems that many get through the important programs of the usda.

this is an issue that is greatly misunderstood. i support the farm bill as it stands. i support the fact that over 60,000 farmers here in kentucky got over $400 million in assistance over the last year. the farm economy is sustainable. i go back to my opening comments. this is a food security issue. this is a national security issue. we have a farm economy that allows us as a society to spend less of our disposable income on food than annie other economy in the world. that is a good thing. that is a good thing. when i am your next senator, i will be up there put in kentucky first. arkansas be working with you and i look forward to working with you to make certain people understand how important this issue is to kentucky. >> thank you.

next, dr. paul? >> i see we will probably have to qualify some misinterpretations of my position. i am not for getting rid of the department of agriculture. we can get that one out of the way. on farm production, we export 25%. we're feeding a buddy in the country and we export 25% of our production. if we want to grow as farmers, we can feed people more or export more. my question to jackets, will he defied his union bodies and vote for free trade? will the defy his union bodies and allow you to have more markets overseas or you can sell your goods? that is where your growth comes from. 65 percent of farmers in kentucky do not receive anything from the government. 2/3 of food production has nothing to do with subsidies. people make something and sell it. that is the way business has

historically been in this country. there was a discussion of the safety net. i think there can and should be a safety net. you know what? the top three recipients of subsidies last year got almost a billion dollars. we are spending $1 billion for people not to grow crops, ok? we cannot do that forever. if we could, maybe we could. we have a $2 trillion deficit. $400 billion in interest. jacks says he will give you whatever you want. that is the easy thing to do. i could say, what the what? i will give it to you. where does the money come from? it has to be borrowed from china right now, or we have to print the money. we are drowning in a sea of debt. it is not whether you are for or against farmers. if you want to be for farmers, open up markets. don't say, i will give you more money, when the money is gone. we're $2 trillion in debt every year.

where's the money going to come from? i would say there are other things that can help farmers. why don't we not let the bush tax cuts expire? why don't we not institute the estate tax? they want to bring back the estate tax. you think that will be good for farmers? the bush tax cut, lowering capital gains, lowering taxes on savings and dividends, those will expire. you help farmers the same way you help all businesses. keep taxes low. keep regulations low. you need to keep the government out of your hair. you need to keep the apa out of your business. you need to have more local control of farms. you need new products and you need new prey -- new places to sell your products. that is generally through trade. being in favor of trade is the best chance for farmers' income to grow and the best chance for your market to grow is to allow free trade. i will fight for that and i will fight to keep the government out of your way.

i cannot simply promise you that we will just keep passing out money. it is galling to people that three companies in the u.s. got over $1 billion. ok? three companies. there are 95 acres in texas that is the subdivision and they're still getting money not to grow crops. you have to get rid of those abuses. you can stand apparent candor and say, we will give you what you want, or you can acknowledge better country faces serious financial problems. of the country's destroyed by this, we will all be affected by it. thank you. >> our next issue will pertain to trade and marketing. mr. russell poole will discuss that. he is chair of our order cultural advisor committee and serves on the usda through tent act -- fruit and vegetable agriculture committee. he has a diversified farming

operation in logan county. >> thank you. i want to thank you all for coming out this evening -- morning. my question deals with international trade and marketing. there are tremendous updates for american farmers. in 2010, agricultural exports were $104 billion for american farmers. in kentucky, kentucky farmers exported $1.2 million worth of agricultural commodities. we commend trade negotiations [inaudible] farm bureau believes strongly in fair and open world trade.

national trade has great potential to expand the demand for u.s. commodities. we believe it is the kentucky delegations responsibility to promote kentucky products and the free-trade agreement. [inaudible] i have two questions. what are your views regarding the benefits of trade agreements? would you support congressional agreements that would be to benefit exports and trade? the second question is, as a u.s. senator, how would you work with congress to make sure that all commodities are considered fairly in trade agreements? thank you.

>> dr. paul will go first. >> i make you a believer in free trade. there are no valid economic argument for protectionism. it is your best chance for more markets. it dwarfs anything the government could give to you by giving you open markets. it will allow you to have greater trade and then come. with regard to the free trade agreements, panama, south korea, it is a good idea to open those markets. i will not be afraid to stand up to the unions, who will oppose these. this will be a distinction in this campaign. i think there will be -- it will be the old and to the unions, the other side, and will be afraid to open these markets because of union pressure. with regard to working with the trade representative, absolutely. this is something we need to do. we already export 25% of our farm products.

the rest of the world still needs food. we're doing pretty well feeding our people here. if we want to grow in agriculture, we grow through foreign markets. there is a humanitarian nature to that. there are those who do not have enough food. we can grow it and have great productivity. it is important we not forget where productivity comes from. it comes from the industry, the industriousness, the uniqueness of every individual farmer. that cannot be said enough. it is not coming from government. we are great as a country and as a farming community. we are great in business because of our system. our system is freedom and ingenuity. the freedom to make a profit on something. contrast that with my friend who grew up in the ukraine and the bolsheviks took his property. when they buy the property, when they say there will be no profit, there is no more desire to produce. we have to be proud of our

system. we have to understand that it is capitalism that has made as great. that is what we need to champion. it is what the farm bureau needs to champion. you need to champion capitalism and individual responsibility, and individuals working hard and reaping the rewards of what you sow. i think trade is important, probably the most important of the issues we will talk about today's trade with regard to the financial well-being of the american family farm. i will defend trade. i will open new markets. i think it is probably the most important thing we will talk about. thank you. >> mr. conway? >> again, i appreciate the comments about the bolsheviks, but this is about putting a kentucky farmers first and putting kentucky families first. i will address the issue of trade. i do have to go back because the backpedaling has already begun. dr. paul stated to "the courier-

journal" that he favors abolishing the usda. he stated on may 10 that farm subsidies are not a good idea. this is a fundamental difference between dr. paul it myself. it is how do we view the usda? how do we view what it does in the area of nutrition programs? how we view the fact that a small percentage of the -- the farm bill goes to programs that give farmers the assurance that they can have a good season? as you know, one really bad season, when drought, when devastating year -- won a devastating year -- one drought, one devastating year can be devastating for a farm. it is great to pull out an example of one company engaging in waste, fraud, and abused. we will always see that in the

system. i think i have done a good job trying to ferret out waste, fraud come and use. it is the tens of thousands of families that benefit from the programs administered by the usda. now to the issue of trade. i'm afraid of america that is afraid of [inaudible] i want to open up markets. there is not as much daylight between i s as you might think. i'm happy to examine agreements with south korea and panama and colombia. many of use who might be soybean producers are experiencing an increase because asia is using more soybeans. that is a good thing that has been done by the work of usda, to try to go abroad and open up additional market. i will work with you as your next senator to make certain that more of that happens. i do have a concern that kentucky lost 100,000 manufacturing jobs in the last

decade. whether we are working in the four plan nor not, we need to be concerned. we're still making stuff in this country. i am not opposed to free trade agreement. what i do know is that when we negotiate with one of these countries, we have to make certain that there are certain minimal environmental standards and certain minimal labor standards in place so that while we are doing all that we can to open up foreign markets for your commodities, we're not just reading a situation where a bunch of labor rushes away from this country, and where we exacerbate this loss of jobs. at the end of the day, that is what it is about. people want someone was focused on job development, job creation, fiscal responsibility, but first, doing what is right. >> thank you. another new topic is health care. healthcare has been a priority

issue for kentucky farm bureau and our members for many years. we will address this issuefr. itz serves as chairman of our beef advisory committee. he has a beef operation. >> thank you. good morning, gentlemen. thank you for taking time to be with us this morning. i will be talking about health care and how health care continues to be a high priority to our members. it is a direct out-of-pocket expense for farmers and other small-business owners. health care reform can be a reality when president obama signed into law the affordable care act earlier this year. among the many aspects of the act, most citizens are required to obtain health insurance or pay fines.

it prohibits denial of coverage due to pre-existing existent. it performs many aspects of medicare and medicaid. exchanges are created through which individuals and business can compare and purchase insurance products. however, it is not clear how the act will reduce health care costs or even make health care insurance more affordable. kentucky farm bureau policy supports comprehensive, affordable health care for u.s. a distance. we continue to believe health care is primarily the responsibility of the individual. we also support health plans that would allow small businesses such as farmers to join and purchase affordable health care coverage. i have three questions for you. the first one is, how do you see the act benefiting farmers? the second question, in what ways will this act bring down

the cost of health care? the last question, what additional steps would you take to bring additional health care relief to americans? thank you. >> mr. conway will be first. >> thank you very much for the question. i appreciate it very much. i am on record from the spring selling that had i been in the u.s. senate this spring, i would have voted for the health care reform bill. that is not to say i don't have some misgivings about a tour that i think it is a perfect bill. it is not. it is an access bill. i don't think the senate or congress did enough to control costs. that is what this is about. how do we control cost? it is also about what this bill potentially does for you working on kentucky farms. i support this bill because

after decades of trying to deal with the health care issue, here was an opportunity to do a number of things. provide health insurance coverage for 654,000 kentucky and -- kentuckians who are currently without. many of you have family members working on farms. you can have children covered through the age of 26. you cannot be denied coverage for pre-existing condition. a number of protections are brought forward to help people to combat some of the worst insurance industry abuses. that is the reason i voted for it and i think it can assist you. if you take a look at the bill, the bill is going to provide subsidies for health insurance, premium payments, for about 45,000 kentucky businesses. some of those may be your own farm operations. on balance, i think it was a

good thing. more needs to be done to control costs. i have stated for the record and i state again, the first bill i will introduce when i'm elected to the united states senate is a bill to allow the medicare program to engage in negotiations for lower drug prices. we allowed the va to negotiate in bulk for prescription drugs. we allowed the medicaid program to negotiate in book. i went after the pharmaceutical companies that used it. if we allow the medicare program to negotiate, it would be $200 billion in savings. that is left on the table because of a sweetheart deal with the pharmaceutical industry. that would be one of the first things i will try to change. secondly, we need to have medicare in each and every state. whether it is run by the attorney-general or someone else, running medicare fraud out of a big bureaucracy in washington will not work.

one thing i know as attorney general, after having saved taxpayers of hundred million dollars and increasing medicare, is that when you are close to the ground, but you are investigating, you do a better job. there is $100 billion in medicare fraud out there as well. those are two concrete steps where we can control the cost going forward. i would have voted for. on balance, it is a good thing. it increases competition and has the potential to lower premiums. i am willing to take a chance on this particular issue that is all-important to many people. >> dr. paul? >> this is another area where there will be a clear distinction. i think the government taking over health care is a disaster and would have voted against president obama's plan. there will be a lot of these distinctions where my opponent is in support of president obama's agenda and i'm opposed

to it. he mentioned medicare negotiating drug prices. guess who made the deal? president obama made a deal after he pledged in the campaign he would not deal with a big farm up. he did. it came up and they were going to have negotiant drug prices. they excluded that in a secret deal that president obama made with big fpharma. the health care plan, and $1.20 trillion, they tell us, it is not going to add anything to the deficit. $1.20 trillion, and it will not add to the deficit? it will be basically free. government is notoriously wrong in their estimates. when they passed the medicare prescription drug plan in 2004, 2005, they said it would cost $400 billion and it is over $1 trillion. when you make something free, people use more of it.

we have a plan in massachusetts now that is already running two and three times over budget. what will happen as businesses, farms, people who buy insurance to a been paying, will pay more. it will be guaranteed issue now. they cannot differentiate on individuals. everybody will pay the same and everybody will pay more. someone has to pay for those you are now ensuring. not only do we have a disproportionate amount of the taxes in our country being paid by farmers and business, now we will pay for the health care that way. it basically is redistribution of wealth. recently, president obama appointed in a recess appointment a radical who says his goal -- he will be had of medicare -- he says that basically the envy of his dreams is the british system. that is the system where the government completes the controls health care and it anyone point, 1 million people are waiting in line for health

care. nancy pelosi says, you will figure out what is in this bill after six months or years afterwards when the rules are written. i am concerned that my insurance will not be on one of these help exchanges. i venture to think a lot of farmers have health savings account. take care of themselves and like to be able to have a savings account. democrats hate those savings account. it's a good chance these will not be in health care exchanges when they come down. maybe your plan is not in there and yet to switch. i think it will be a disaster. at&t had a cost of $1 billion. some companies will opt out. in massachusetts, it costs too much money. you can get it anytime you want. why prepare when you are not sick? wait until you're sick to buy insurance. it will do nothing to control costs. everybody's insurance will go up. it will cost way more than they pledged to. the way you control costs are

very simply, what you need to do is expand deductibility for businesses on their insurance, make it easy to buy and deduct insurance for individual entrepreneurs, and there are the reforms we will get into. thank you. >> new topic. energy. mr. david campbell manages a farm implement dealership in stanford as well as operating his family farm. david is our energy and transportation advisory committee chair and will present the topic of energy savings. >> thank you. i want to thank you two candidates for coming and being with us this morning. energy is my topic. everybody in this room uses

energy in one way or another. agriculture is a very energy- intensive industry. we use gasoline and diesel to power farm equipment to harvest, transport, plant our products. natural gas as the main component of nitrogen fertilizer. increased transportation cost increases the cost of agriculture chemicals and seats. kentucky farm bureau policy supports reducing america's dependence on foreign oil through continued research and development to expand production of renewable fuels for agricultural commodities. support the 25/25 initiative that calls for the u.s. to give 25% -- get 25% of its energy from renewable resources by the year 2025. however, our policy opposes climate change legislation that

establishes mandatory cap and trade provisions, which lead to higher energy costs with negative impact on agriculture economies. change legislation was considered by the 111th congress will be to higher fuel and electrical costs for everyone. electricity costs going up will be detrimental to everybody. severely impact our domestic nitrogen production and greenhouse gas permitting requirements could create significant challenges for livestock producers. i have three questions for you. how would you propose we reduce our dependence on foreign oil? what role do you see agriculture playing in the production of renewable energy? what is your opinion as to how climate change legislation should be handled by congress? thank you.

>> this is also going to be another area of distinction. i'm opposed to cap and trade. always have been. my opponent was for it before he was against it. i don't think kentucky can really tolerate any kind of ambivalence on cap and trade. even to this day, even though he knows how unpopular it will be in kentucky, he is somewhat against cap and trade. he is still for a carbon tax, not this the way the one the house has talked about. we cannot have anybody representing kentucky that is for cap and trade. they say it will double electric rates. $1,600 per average kentucky family will be the cost in your rates if we get cap and trade. it will be a disaster for it. we have 90% of our electricity from coal. we will be disproportionately hurt and kentucky cannot elect a

u.s. senator who is an atoll for a carbon tax. as far as reducing our dependence on foreign oil, we need to drill for oil. president obama recently banned all deep sea drilling. we all know it is a problem. nobody likes what is going on down there and b whatp to pay for -- and want bp to pay for cleanup, but the government is reacting to a crisis. we have this disaster happened. let's have more regulation. shouldn't we ask whether or not the regulations were already in place and somebody's disobey the regulations? president obama is in charge of the regulatory apparatus now. in february, there were cracks found and president obama's mining investigation did nothing. there was a near-explosion in march and president obama pose a regulators did nothing again. maybe we do have the regulations in place. it is the same with climate

change. we react and go crazy over climate change, then it turns out we get a lot of e-mails from scientists who have made their conclusions before they start looking for facts. the cherry pick facts in order to support conclusions. this is a clear distinction between myself and my opponent. i will not vote on industry. i will not vote on from a community. i will not vote for any formal carbon tax. we don't need it. it is a disaster to raise taxes in a recession. we do not need the bush tax cuts to expire. business does not need to be having extra taxes during the recession. with regard to agricultural future with an energy, i think there is a role. some of that role is yet to be determined because some of it is decided on what the price of a barrel of gasoline is, when it is cheap, some mothers will not allow. as prices rise, they will.

use of the look of -- to go and going in that direction when gasoline was $4.50 per gallon. we will gradually transferred to other forms of alternative energy. i think the marketplace to decide that, not politicians corporate aircraft. the epa should not be given free rein and should be free -- should be reined in and make decisions on rules and regulations. thank you. >> i am quickly learning in this campaign that sometimes my opponent just kind of makes things up. famously, he sort of made up on the area that 234 dead farmers in miami got $9 million worth of payments. when an agent called amount to a national reporter, he said, i was being facetious. i guess he is being facetious with this notion that i support a carbon tax. i don't. let me state for you

unequivocally here, i am against cap and trade. i am against cap and trade. i am not the type of senator who will be risky or do something that is not in the best interest of kentucky. i am against cap and trade for a number of reasons. it does not put kentucky first. it does not acknowledge the fact that kentucky coal has to be an important generation source into the future. number two, we have the lowest electricity rates east of the rocky mountains. you know that. you look at your electric bills every month. you know why there are so many auto manufacturers here in the commonwealth of kentucky. we have low electricity rates. it is my job as the next senator to always stand up for that. we don't need to scheme, the way traders get rich off trading credits. we need a system where china and

india are playing by the same rules we are. i am against cap and trade. let's settle that once and for all for the record. second, i think this is a job for congress. many of you probably don't know that i stood up -- cap and trade will not pass. the epa is trying to say, you know what? we will take this on. we will take on carbon under an endangerment signing under the clean air act. there's a question whether they have the authority. i am the type of elected officials who will stand up for kentucky first. i said, is this the right thing to do? i think epa might be overreaching. if they overreach on this issue, or if they overreached on navigable waters issue, or other things that will limit the ability of kentucky farms to be sustainable and produce the food we need, i will stand up for kentucky time and time again. i support ethanol and the

funding in the current farm bill for increased research on how products that are based in cellulose can be used for fuels into the future. i support programs and i support the things that can take as to a new energy economy. we will have to get there tomorrow -- together. part of it will be retrofiting. windows will pay for themselves in five years and are 10 times more energy efficient. we need to be more efficient. we need to make sure kentucky coal as an important source into the future. we need to stand up for kentucky and what is important today. >> to environmental regulations claymore role in our regulations? our land is our livelihood and our future. our next question comes from

someone who has a diversified farms -- diversified farming operation. he will introduce the next topic. >> thank you. thank you, gentlemen, for coming out and sharing your time with us. environmental regulations are important for congress. congress wants to maintain a clean environment so farms remain profitable. many times, government regulators are not familiar with typical practice and what is feasible on the farm. at times, regulatory agencies have proposed regulations that would make it too expensive for farmers to continue to farm. we are also concerned with proposals that go beyond what congress intended when they enacted the clean water act, the clean air act, the superfund, and the endangered species act. congress continues to consider legislation that will change the clean water act by deleting the term "navigable." this would grant the epa and the

u.s. army corps of engineers for the first time jurisdiction over all interstate waters. essentially, all wet areas within the state, including ground water, ditches, streets, storm drains, gutters, farm ponds, and farmland. it would give these agencies' authority overall activities affecting these waters, private or public, regardless of whether the activity occurred in water or whether the activity actually adds a pollutant to the water. a 2009 decision but it circuit court said sprays are point sources of pollution and applications near waters of the u.s. must obtain no discharge permit. how this decision is ultimately implement it could have huge consequences on agriculture. the recent chesapeake bay settlement poses significant challenges for agriculture here. epa agreed to change the way future applications will be

addressed and to expand oversight on confined animal feeding operation to possibly require all animal feeding operations to have no discharge permits. only the large ones are currently permitted to go to the process. it is our opinion congress has a responsibility to keep the regulations in check and help prevent abuse of these laws. we do not oppose responsible and effective environmental protections, but we do want regulations to make sense and be based on sound science. farmers working in the environment they lived in. many times, the water they drink comes from beneath the soil as they attend. no one is more concerned about the in burma than those who live within it. i have three questions. what are your views on attempts to redefine the clean water act? what is your opinion on various agriculture practices being permitted under the clean water act?

how would you work with farm bureau to ensure that regulatory process does not mandate rules that will create undue burdens on farmers? thank you. >> thank you. mr. conway first. >> thank you for the questions. i appreciate it. let me start out by addressing something i was not able to get to in the last clinton. we do have to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. the state and other states are taking great strides to make sure cars are more energy efficient. we must reduce usage into the future. that is an important component. when it comes to environmental issues, you must strike a balance. this is about balance and clarity. clarity of the rules for those who have to live under the rules. it is about the right balance between job creation, food production, and having a clean environment. what the most appreciated about

that question that mr. thomas said, we have to live on the land reform. we want a clean environment as well. we want to conserve the soil in future generations. that is what they are all about. i think it is important to stand up when government does overreach. here's a perfect example when it comes to amending the clean water act. we will take "navigable" out. if you do that, we might be dealing with foreign policy -- farm policy. we do not need the epa or corps of engineers on your farm. everyone in this room can agree with me on that. it is important when a senator that stands up for that principle. i think the sixth circuit got it wrong. the idea that three rebels used on farms have to be permited as a point source, that is overreaching. i think that is overreaching.

you have to live on the land you farm. we need balance and clarity. we keep reaching, reaching, reaching to the point where what we do does not make sense. in addressing the issue of confined animal feeding operations, this is an issue i know something about. chicken production is, other than horses, the largest industry we have in farming in terms of dollars. we have a lot of confined animal feeding operations, particularly in western kentucky. we have production facilities in kentucky as well. it is important that we don't lower -- we will blow 1000 chickens in terms of the sighting the confined animal feeding operation -- it is important that we have threshold. producers must live within the

rules and insure they are not a nuisance or not committing too much. for smaller operations, we need balance and clarity. we do not need to be changing the rules so those that rely smaller production are living under an onerous that of confined animal feeding operation rules. when i'm in the senate, i will seek to strike that balance. i will always look up to kentucky first, and that is a pledge i make to you today. thank you very much. >> when you get to washington, the first thing you get to do is decide who will be the leader. where do you think these bad ideas are coming from? harry reid and the liberal democrats. will jack a vote against harry reid? i don't think so. i will vote for mitch mcconnell to be leader. he is opposed to changing the navigable -- deleting that word, adding these new regulations. the regulations are coming from

the national democrat party. i know there are people here who are democrats. we have conservative democrats in kentucky, but the national party left you 20 years ago. jack may want to run as a moderate, but he will go up there and his first vote cast will be for harry reid. harry reid is not your friend on these issues. that is the problem. that is what this election will be about. you have to decide, who are the people wanting to change these regulations? who is talking about making the chesapeake bay agreement and nationalizing it? they're coming out of president obama's and administration. who are the people he is appointing? who are these 43 czars he is appointing? the person he has to head medicare, do these that is what this is going to be about. if he is truly for the epa, he

has to vote with the republicans because that is our position and our policy. the summer rakowski had a bill, a republican senator, she said that you should be under congressional authority, that congress should pass will, not regulatory agencies. these were 47 people and i think 42 or 43 of them were republicans. the democrats opposed him on this. the person he will have to vote for on leadership opposes everything he is trying to say that he is where to moderate and do. his of those -- his first vote will be for harry reid and my first vote will be for a republican leader that does not believe in these negotiations. >> our next issue is very important to the kentucky farm bureau, and that is the issue of fiscal policy.

i will ask charlie to present the policy. he is the co-owner . >> thank you all for time to be with us. unless changes are made in federal spending, the united states is headed for disaster. over the past 30 years, the u.s. government has gone on a spending spree. we have spent more than we have brought in. the budget for 2009 produced a deficit of $1.4 trillion, the largest in history. we are headed towards a deficit of roughly 85% of gdp.

that is over $46,000 per person in the united states. over 50% of that debt is held by foreign countries. that places us in a dangerous position. not only does it allow foreign countries to influence government decisions, but the debt could become a high risk. critical physical needs and high debt could also reinstates high interest rates for -- fiscal needs and high debt could also reinstates high interest rates for american citizens. we believe [unintelligible]

a balanced budget should be accomplished through extending restraint rather than increasing taxes. capital gains taxes threaten the transfer of lands to the next generation of farmers. today, the average farmer is 57 years old. they often have yet to set a price on the land because of higher prices. it is very difficult for young farmers to purchase land.

i have four questions. what is your level of concern about the size of our national debt? what measures would you support to reduce the deficiency? do you support the pay as you go rule for tax measures? what tax measures do support -- do you support to make it easier to transfer land from one in generation to the next? >> the number one concern i have and why i am running for office and why i left my home to travel around the state is that there is no greater question in our country, no greater threat to our country and the debt. -- than the debt.

it would be very easy to tell voters, what you need, i will give it to you. but we cannot have that kind of attitude. we of china $800 billion. we're japan -- we of china $800 billion. we know -- we owe china $800 billion ow. japan $700 billion. we can borrow more money from foreign countries, and i do not want that. you have to realize where the spending is coming from. politicians will not vote against spending because they do not have the courage. all of the leadership of the democratic party is for all of the spending. the national democrats are too liberal for the democrats in our

state or for the moderates and independents in our state, but he will vote to continue the spending spree. i think it is a great danger for our country. as far as pay as you go, jim bunning stood up. i complimented him on that. it was his party that stood up and said it was an emergency. everything is an emergency. how did the royals were give everything is an emergency? -- how do the rules work if everything is an emergency? i have been saying for over a year that we need new rules. we need a balanced budget amendment. in kentucky we have it. constitutionally, our legislature cannot run a budget that is not balanced. it works. it is not because the people here are any better than the people in washington, it is because we have rules and we have to obey those roleules.

i promise that i will make them talk about a balanced budget because i think the debt endangers our country. there is a clear distinction. people do not want to make it about party, but there is a clear distinction between the republicans and the national democrats. if someone wants to run in kentucky and say that they are moderate while they are here, they will support national, liberal democrats. nancy pelosi is off the deep end to the left. so is harry reid. they do not respect our values here in kentucky. there will be a clear distinction. no matter what he says about his concern about spending, you have to know that he will be sporting -- will be supporting the liberal democrats next year. >> dr. paul, thank you for mentioning that things were in frankfurt. i invite you to come up there some time. i will show you that things do

not always work in frankfurt. you talk a lot about me voting for the leadership in congress. i am glad to know you will not necessarily vote for mitch mcconnell. that has been in doubt for some time. it seems like you have waffled on that just as you have on other issues. if i'm elected to the state senate, i will go up there and put kentucky first. farmot good to talk about payments to people in miami. i'm going to put kentucky first. i have crossed the aisle to work with other republicans to pass legislation as your attorney general. we got it passed. we have taken 70,000 child pornography images of of the internet. i worked in a bipartisan fashion

on operation unite. we were cited as the easiest agency to work with. we had a terrible problem in kentucky, and i reached across the aisle, and we tackled the addictions to prescription pills. that is putting kentucky first, not party first. in the fiscal democrat. i can tell you that we cannot afford a rand paul. first of all, this medicare purchasing in bulk, medicare prescription pill negotiations is a big deal. it will save2 $00 wright of -- it will save $200 billion right off the bat. next, 83 of the 100 countries that the bailout money have offshore tax havens.

they also get a tax cut to create jobs overseas. if you shut down those to do the polls, right off the bat, is $130 billion in -- if you shut down those two loopholes, right off the bat, is $130 billion in savings. i support pay-as-you-go rules. those were put in place during the clinton administration, and the clinton administration left as the eyeas byfar can see. this is an issue where democrats and republicans will have to work together. i believe in extending tax cuts. this is not a time to be raising taxes, in a recession like we're in right now. extend them. extend them. but let's begin a process, a long-term process of supporting the debt commission that was proposed to come back to congress with some long-term

solutions. rand paul wants to say the next year he will propose a balanced budget, but he will not show you what is in it. we have to get back to fiscal responsibility. i challenge him right here and right now to put forward a balanced budget proposal he says he will submit next year in the united states senate. >> the next topic is immigration and foreign labor. agriculture is a labour intensive industry. lately, a finding workers has been quite a challenge. the chair of the farm labor advisory committee knows firsthand how difficult it is to find farmworkers. he has a tobacco, beef and a farm -- tobacco, beef and hay farmer. >> for years, farmers have

faced a continuing shortage of workers who are willing and able to work on our farms. comprehensive immigration reform must insure that, going forward, ky agriculture has a legal supply of workers. this includes attracting a number of competent and willing employees. we would like to hire nonresidential agricultural workers when the need is demonstrated. we would like to allow those nonresidential workers to apply for legal status. this has been a significant increase in immigration reform and immigrant labor. this issue can be very polarizing. many americans do not realize the impact of foreign workers on the agriculture economy. there has been an increase in the number of kentucky employers

using temporary worker programs. the adverse wage rate is effectively threatening the viability of the programs use. farmers want a legal, stable work force. kentucky farm bureau supports a meaningful temporary worker program and encourages a streamlined system to receive workers, and the change from the adverse affect wage rate. i have three questions for you. what type of farm labor initiative would you sponsor or support? do you see a need for comprehensive immigration reform in the upcoming session of congress? third, how would you work toward

ensuring kentucky a legal, a stable supply of workers? >> thank you very much for that question. i appreciated very much. this is obviously a tremendously important issue, not only for the commonwealth of kentucky, but for the nation as a whole. as attorney general, i have worked with immigration and customs enforcement on a number of investigations, on a number of immigration issues, and i have a sense, after having gone thatugh this a little deptbit, the federal government has completely abdicated its response ability in this area. we were ic quicke in the camp --

we work with ice in an office the covers many states. they have to deal with nine states. it is not enough. the federal government has to stand up and do its job. but it agreed immigration reform. i think we have to secure our borders. i do not think we have to do it in a way that will hurt others or put dog collars on people coming up from latin america, but i do support protecting our borders. national guard troops have been sent to key areas to ensure that we deal with that. i think if someone with a criminal record comes to this country they need to be deported immediately. we need to make sure that we're able to ascertain the status of people who are picked up. i do not think anyone who is here illegally needs to jump the process and get ahead of people who are going through the legal immigration process in this country, but we have a problem

here. we have 12 million people in this country illegally. many of them have children here. under the united states constitution, which i am sworn to uphold in the senate, those children are american citizens. so we have to figure out whether we are going to be divided by fear or work together to try to figure out a better way. i am not going to appeal to your fear. i am not going to appeal to the worst in the nature of some americans. i'm going to sit astride a figure the way through this. let's take these people who -- i am going to try to figure out a way through this. let's take some of these people who are in the shadows and take them out of the shadows. as the united states senator, those would be my guiding principles. i do want to work with you and making sure that you have an

adequate source of labor under the h2a program. if you cannot find local labor, you should be able to import the labor. that process needs to be extreme land. i know that many of you rely on foreign labour coming -- the process needs to be streamlined. i know that many of you rely on foreign labour coming in on a temporary basis. i think it is a critical issue, and i will work on it with you as your united states senator. thank you very much. >> a think we should increase the workers permits. i think that would be a good idea. i think we should keep the government out of negotiating with the federal wage is. i think having the government involved is a problem for farmers trying to get their labor and determining what the wage should be. i think we should allow farmers to give h2a permit.

with regard to immigration, i think we have to secure the borders. jack's president, president obama;, is suing arizona over their loss. are you going to support the arizona lot -- ? president, obama -- jack's president, president obama, is eir law.izona over ther are you going to support arizona or the president. it is clear that jack is going to vote with the president that

most americans believe is too liberal. in the 1980's, there was amnesty but no control of the borders. 15 years later, the borders are getting worse. there are unsafe places to go in arizona. i fear the drug war will spill over into our country if we do not do something about it. we have to secure the border per se. i do not agree with amnesty. i do agree with a workers' program, but i do not want people overwhelming our resources and having an easy path to citizen. they want to make it sound like in aruba from the country who does not know any -- i am just a rube from out in the country who

does not know any better, but there has never been a court case that says that if you come here illegally and have a child, your child is a citizen. i think that is an open question. it could be decided in the courts. i do not want it decided by the law. i say we have the supreme court decide. there is some question about if people came here illegally and their legal domicile is still in mexico weather a child born here is a legal citizen. what i would vote for first is to secure the borders. >> that includes the portion of prepared presentations and questions. now we will open it up for questions from the board.

we will ask you to use a two minute response. please remember to state your name and county. i will begin with scott travis. >> i have a farm in spencer county. my question concerns the farm service agency officers. we have an office we can go to if we have issues or problems. it is a good place for us to go and sign up and do things that are important to keeping our farms in operation. they have begun to be consolidated and moved to other areas. we support keeping the offices open. my question to you is, in the

future, do you see that the fsa offices will still be there to support the farmers? >> i am not opposed to closing the offices. i think the decisions should be made as locally as possible. people in kentucky should make the decisions on which offices should be. >> thank you for that question. obviously, having access to a nearby office is important. it is an important issue to try to figure out. you have payment issues. you need some proximity. you're just try to get the information you need. obviously, efficiency is important, but i think farmers

do need proximity to an office. the technology of fortis and some opportunities here that i would like to mention. i want you to know -- affords us some opportunities here that i would like to mention. i would like you to know that i would devote to invest in broadband. -- i would vote to invest in broadband. that with the modern farmer, from a remote location, can have access to information that helps you in this day and age. yes, you need your office, but you also need a broad band assistance. i am not talking about a government program. i'm talking about incentives for private companies to come in and laid the broad band that you need. i know how important the tobacco

programs have been to the commonwealth of kentucky. i went down to north carolina to negotiate the phase ii payments that were negotiated. that dialogue was very important. i thought to see the kentucky interests were protected. my office is one of the only ones in the entire country that did not take an administrative cut for our payment. i support half of that money going to agricultural diversification. i think that is the key to moving forward as we distributed the fsa payments. i mention that because i think it is important for you have access to these offices, but also to the information that will help you as a farmer. >> my question to you is quite

simple. when you become our u.s. senator, how will you utilize kentucky farm bureau and individual members of this board in the future? >> as someone who is a public servant and running for the tremendous honor of having henry clay's united states senate seat, if i am going to be working as a united states senator, i am always going to put kentucky first.

you cannot afford a senator who does not put kentucky first. you cannot afford a senator who would forget that kentucky is the -- has the fourth highest number of farms in the country. you cannot afford a senator who does not understand that the farm bill represents a system where farmers have assurances that they can make it to next year. you need to elect an official who understands that we have a system that works and provides food security. it has served this country well. people were clamoring for the 2002 farm bill because without the market did not work. you need a kentucky-first united states senator who understands that. i will put someone on my staff who specializes in agricultural issues. they will call you if you have a specific concern.

if you cannot get me, you'll get the designated staffer. i have a friend it is a former -- who is a former football player, and he will tackle me if i do not pay attention to the farmers. it is an integral part of kentucky's economy, and what you need is someone who puts kentucky first. that goes to the character of the individual running for office. it is not about me, it is about the people i serve, and i serve the agricultural community here in kentucky. i will have a staff member dedicated to just that. >> as a physician and someone with a science background, i had to go through a lot of education and we learned by learning about the facts, going places,

learning about issues, learning about how things work. i have learned a lot as i have travelled around kentucky. i have learned a lot about eastern kentucky that i did not know. i have made many trips up there. i made many trips to western kentucky. i've had the experience of not only meeting farmers individually, but meeting coal miners, coal operators, people at pizza hut. i have also met with two representatives of the kentucky farm bureau. i have read through your pamphlet. i have learned that not only are you interested in farm quality, your socially conservative. you're pro-life. so i. that is another distinction in this race. i am for a traditional marriage as many farmers are. we have a lot of similarities end there are a lot of things i can learn from the farm bureau. i will continue to do so if i'm privileged to be elected. i think the same process goes

on. you will admit you don't know anything -- you admit that you don't know everything, and i am the first to admit that i don't know everything. >> is there another question? >> at one time, drugs used to be a big problem in big cities. drugs have come to the rural communities and continue to affect farmers and farm families. what do you deal is the federal government's role to help dispel the problem on a local level. -- to help us battle the problem on a local level? >> drugs are a big problem. they're a big health problem in our country, you know, and it is not just illegal drugs coming but it is legal drugs as well. we have a prescription drug problem, an alcohol problem, a

cigarette problems. a lot of that is for education, and we are getting better on that front. we have less people smoking each year because we're getting better awareness of the health risks. a think we need to make education a big part of it. i would like to see the adjudication, the meeting out of justice be done more locally then in washington. i understand that drugs are a skirt, but i also understand that teenagers, people you may be related to, people i may be related to -- i do not want to put them in jail for 10 or 20 years at a time. what we do when we see a problem, everyone in washington goes crazy and says, throw them away and lock away the key. you get a kid who does drugs and they have a mandatory sentence of 10 years. that is the problem of going through washington.

i have several friends to sit on the bench in kentucky, and i think the way justice. i think of one of our kids or grandkids got involved in something bad, we want somebody local in our community who sees both the good and the bad in the kit and say, hey, can we not just give them a chance to reform themselves before we lock them apart in a prison, because god knows what will happen to them in prison. i think that community problems are better addressed in our local communities by local judges and local civic organizations. >> thank you for your question. i appreciate that very much. this is an issue that has concerned me for quite some time.

i saw this working in public service before i was elected. in kentucky, we have a particular problem with prescription drugs. i have travelled in eastern kentucky, and my heart breaks every time i talk to local elected official who says, can you help us here? can you help us here, because three-quarters of our crime is fueled by prescription pill addiction. there is hopelessness. there is hopelessness. while it may be convenient to say that you want to handle this at a local level, across the state i have seen how it has affected every kentucky family. there are not many families i talk to have not been affected by it directly in some way. i bet each of you has the story that has -- i would bet each of you has a story of a family member who has been affected.

we are in an era of declining resources. i am a fiscally irresponsible to o-- in a fiscally responsible democrat. i cut my office's budget in half. but despite that, i created a cyber crime division which cut the crime rate. we collaborated on investigations. we cooperated with the dea. we took an all hands on deck approach to this particular issue. you just cannot say, let it handle exit -- let them handle it at the local level. the problem is too big. operation united is a good thing, and we're going to keep doing that. we're going to cap -- we're going to tackle prescription

pills, meth, and all of these issues. this is a problem that keeps kentucky and from being all that they can be. i will focus on this issue when i am in the united states senate as well. >> my name is kurt lucas. i am from liberty kentucky. i have had a career in technical education and agricultural education. we recognize that education is largely the responsibility of the state, and obviously of the local community, however, there are some federal educational aspects as well. one that is of importance to kentucky is agricultural education.

there is an act name to for a congressman from this state that supports and helps to fund education in and about agriculture and also other career technical education programs. i would like to ask you, first of all, duke u. s support the carl perkins education -- do you support the proper bins education fund -- carl perkins education fund? what can we do in general to educate our public about the importance of agriculture? >> thank you very much for that

question. i appreciate it very much. educational achievement is one of the most important goals for the commonwealth of kentucky. we have to make sure that as a state, over the next 25 years, we become a more educated state. that is the only way we can compete for the jobs of the future. that is the only way we can compete with indiana, tennessee and virginia. that is the only way we can compete with china and india. we have to become more educated. this is an issue i am passionate about. when i worked in the patent administration, i worked out the education reform act of 1997. they were not all of my ideas. do not take up the wrong way. but i testified about all of them. education reform a proposed secondary level is critically important. elementary reform is critically

important. we also need early childhood programs in the state because we know that kids who cannot read by seven likely drop out by 16. we have to become a more educated state. we need a united states senator who understands how important this is going to be for future generations in kentucky. part of becoming more educated is making sure that we have a community based in education. one of the goals in the act i submitted it was to make sure that community technical colleges or more in touch with community leaders. we have had community leaders asking us to make it easier to transfer credits.

to answer your question, yes, i will stand up for government funding of those programs, because i know how important it is. i know how important it is for educating our commonwealth in the long term, and keeping people who want to live and work right here in the commonwealth of kentucky close to home. >> i am a fan and defender of technical education. i think we have had a 20-30 year trend away from technical education and we are not turning out enough electricians, plumbers and technically adept folk, and now we think everyone needs to the college and have a business degree. there are plenty of people with business degrees you are unemployed right now. i think technical education is a

very important aspect of education. i would definitely be in favor of having the trend in education go back, swing the pendulum back towards technical education. i have not read the act, so i cannot make a specific comment on it, but i would say that in general, i do believe that education should be funded at the state level and not the federal level. that does not mean i am against technical education. it just means that i believe it should be funded locally, because the local people can decide where their needs are greatest. so often, once we send these decisionmaking processes to washington, money is wasted in the bureaucracy and the decision making process gets farther and farther away from us. i would keep the question closer to home and in kentucky.

>> to stay on schedule, we are now going to move into the portion of closing comments before we transition into the hallway. jack conway will go first with closing remarks. >> thank you very much. thank you to the board of the farm bureau. i appreciate you holding this forum this morning. it has been my distinct honor and pleasure to be here with you this morning, and i appreciate the work that you do on behalf of your constituents, nearly half a million members in year over 85,000 farms. this race is about collecting the united states senator who is going to put kentucky first. putting kentucky first means that you understand that we have the fourth largest number of farms in any state in the union,

and that is important to our local economy. i understand this issue on the family level. my dad grew up on a family farm. he moved to denver synkaryon the 1960's and put himself through law school at night by teaching history and coaching football. i am the person my family to go to college. -- the first in my family to go to college. the notion that hard work pays off and that you can better yourself in the commonwealth of kentucky is something that is ingrained in me. apps i have travelled the commonwealth -- as i have travelled the commonwealth over the last 16 months, something has really come home to me, and that is what this race is about. it is not about rand paul. is not about some national movement. it is that you, you the people

of the commonwealth of kentucky. you are hurting right now. you're hurting right now. we have 10% unemployment. families are being ripped apart. parents are losing their jobs. kids cannot afford to educate themselves. i think there is as much anxiety and fear in this moment in kentucky's history than any i have seen in my lifetime. the question that we have this most critical time is how we address this anxiety that is out there. how do we address this passion that is out there? i feel it. i am anxious and passionate too. it is one of the reasons i am running. but there are you going to do -- are you going to select a campaign the place to your fears or the campaign the place to your hopes? -- that plays to your fears, or that plays to your hopes? are you going to select the

campaign the wants to the constructive -- wants to be constructive, or the one the wants to be destructive, but wants to remove that the programs that help farmers continue from season to season. that is what is at stake here. do you want to elect someone who said unequivocally that he would do away with the department of agriculture? that he would do away with farm subsidies? 75% of the farm bill deals with nutritional programs. we are talking about school lunches. schoolalking about breakfasts. it is a tiny fraction of money we are talking about that actually goes to the conservation programs and the

farm subsidy programs and the farm equipment loan programs. but what it does is allow for the sustainability of agriculture. allows for food security going forward and the sustainability of our small and medium-sized corporate farms so that they continue to provide food in the future. it is a security issue. it is a security issue, and you need in your next united states senator, someone who understands that. you need someone who is willing to put labels aside, put politics aside, the will reach across the aisle to get done what is right for kentucky. that is the type of united states senator that i want to be and that i will be. when it comes time to reauthorize the farm bill in 2012, i will do just redid as attorney general. i will pick up the telephone,

call mitch mcconnell, and save what is best for kentucky? i will seek the farmer's input on that all important question. in a kentucky democrat. i put kentucky first. i support the second amendment. i'm against caps and trade. i have stood up for kentucky rate players to keep the rates low -- ratepayers to keep the rates low. do you want to return to bush economic policies, or do you want to move forward? do you want a fiscally responsible democrat who can help create the jobs of the future? if you want someone who believes that our best days are ahead of us, i asked for your vote. we are all in this together. to the people of the farm bureau and the farmers of this great commonwealth, i am jack conway,

i am running for state senate -- in running for the united states senate, and i hope you'll stand with me. >> thank you for having me. i have enjoyed it year. i am not coming back tomorrow. one day is enough for this. i am the third son of the third son of howard and peggy paul. i am named after my grandfather. my memories of him are after him -- are of him farming and of his dairy. it from a young age, we would go to their house, and there was always a pretty significant garden. he actually used a hand tiller until he was 90 years old. they brought the first pasteurization machine into pittsburgh. they brought it into their garage. my dad's first memory is cleaning bottles for the dairy.

one of my dad's first jobs was driving a milk truck. my memories of my family on the farm still run deep. we are lucky that there is a division of labor, because most of my farming efforts and growing vegetables have failed to do deer and other republics. -- due to deer and other wildlife. you're specialized in it. i am specialized in doing eye surgery. we can both do something well and we get great productivity. our country has great productivity because of the ingenuity of farming. we have made great advancements in fertilizers end pesticide.

to me, the biggest issue facing our country is not specifically a farm issue. it is the debt. i fear that the debt has grown so large that there is a reckoning coming. i think that if we do not act, we can destroy what has been a great country. then it will not be about farm subsidies or this or that. it will be about how we survive as a nation with the debt that is dragging us down. it is going to take somebody with a vision. it will not take a rubber stamp for president obama and harry reid. that is what you get. we're going to see a canada sea where my opponent is going to run as a moderate -- see a candidacy where my opponent is going to run as a moderate, but the national democratic party of left the democrats oppose

kentucky. he is going to have to vote for harry reid. that means cap and trade is still in play. who is the one emboldening the epa? his party. he will vote for harry reid who will vote for an expansive epa. when he votes for president obama, he will vote for an expansive government. i have a friend who owns a farm in northern kentucky who was out with a bulldozer moving some of dirt around. i do not know if there was a snoopy neighbor or a snippy government official, but they said the epa out. they said they would find him $20,000 per day. he called senator mcconnell and got the original piece of legislation. he went out there and met with an attorney, and there were 13

attorneys and officials and agents from the epa. he said he got the bill and he had read it and that arms were exempt. not one of them had read it. -- farms were exempt. not one of them had read it. they went away, but he went on to find over 500 farms that had been attacked. if you want to champion someone who will say to an overzealous government, stay out of the if you wantir, someone who says that the epa should not be writing their own rules, you have to realize that the national democrat party has left conservative democrats in kentucky. that is the problem. all of the leadership -- harry reid will be the leader, and he will vote for it.

is he going to vote for mitch mcconnell? that would be a big news story. he is running as a democrat, but washington is chock full of leadership -- nancy pelosi is from one of the most district -- one of the most liberal districts in the country. our election will be about him running from his president, running from harry reid, but he cannot run fast enough. i run to say the government is too large. it interferes with business. it interferes with farms. government needs to be restrained. thank you very much. >> let's show our appreciation to the candidate today. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> i want to take this opportunity to present you with our current policy but, but more importantly, we also want to give you a questionnaire. we would ask you to return that. this will be included in our election guide that will be sent to more than 185,000 farming families in our state. i would like to give each of you one of these two to hang onto. again, i just want to tell you how much we appreciate this. we're going to transition into the next room there. we will give you time to get set

up, and then we will be there. it canada wanted time to address your questions. -- each candidate wanted time to address your questions. again, thank you very much. [applause] >> following the kentucky >> following the debate, the candidates spoke about their feelings on farm subsidies. >> i have to collect my thoughts here. i thought was done speaking. no, go ahead. >> [inaudible] >> my understanding of the

disaster relief is that it is an insurance program and it is paid for. i am not opposed to that. >> [inaudible] >> i do not know why that is always a tough question because it is a hypothetical. in a big fan of the senator mcconnell. i think he has been a great minority leader. i cannot see any reason i would not vote for him. people ask me why i am hedging. i want people to know that i am a distinct person and will be an independent voice for kentucky and the u.s. senate. i will not be a rubber-stamp for anyone. i think people who have heard me over the last year know that when i think the republicans have done a bad job with the deficit, i am more than happy to stand up and say so. >> he made a statement about

getting rid of the u.s. department of agriculture. if you do not believe that, what programs should we get rid of? >> i have never been afraid to speak my mind. people ask, did you say this? i have been popping off for 20 years, but i do not think i ever said that i was for getting rid of the department of agriculture. that is not my position and i do not think i ever said that. >> what parts of the department and what programs do you support? >> this is why it is a little more complicated than saying, where is your blueprint for what you're going to do. i say that nothing is off the table. that alone should make people

sit up and pay attention that i balancing theut budget. i am not opposed to every program in the department of agriculture. you ask first-come the kennedy downsized? can be eliminated? -- you ask first, can it be downsized? can it be eliminated? can it be privatized? we spend $1 billion on a three agribusinesses. we cannot do that when we have a deficit this size. we are borrowing money from china to support three businesses. i believe that is wrong.

>> [inaudible] >> i do not think of anything in the federal government as a net plus. it is still all of our money. is it right to say, you live in west virginia so you get $5 for every dollar you spend up their? i think that is wrong because the deficit is enormous and it threatens our country. there is the private sector and there is government. we are going to keep feeding the monster of government, but as a consequence, the money is being taken from somewhere. fromoney is being takien the private sector which is threatening jobs. >> do you think tax increases

are ever justified? >> i think the government has grown too large by a spending too much, so i think we should cut spending. the constitution talked about what government should spend. what were the enumerated powers. our government has grown way too large. at this point in history, in our fiscal nightmare, it has to be about cutting spending. >> are tax increases ever justified? >> we pay 50% of our income in taxes and i do not think it is a good idea to increase taxes. i am for lowering tax burdens, but only if you lower the spending burden to >. >> what is your strategy for the rest of the race? >> we are ahead, but we run like we are behind.

i were a full-time job. i did seven surgeries on tuesday. i did see 50 patients on tuesday. then i travelled across the state to give a speech in frankfurt. i am travelling every day and working full time. like a lot of americans, have mortgages and bills to pay so i continue to work. but i will continue to travel and give speeches. most of the polls show is ahead. >> it was a rather difficult message you're giving to the farm bureau. did you consider this a hostile environment? >> not at all. if they are not on my side, they have gone to great lengths to be the most cordial people i have met in a long while. . .

there are a lot of farmers like me who are pro-life. there are a lot of him who are our original, traditional christian conservatives. i do not think they will accept some of what the other side believes in. i think that affects how they vote and how they make their decision making process. i think they are good american people like you. they are worried about the debt. but think it to talk to them and ask them, "should companies get a billion dollars in farm subsidies," that sounds like habeus. i think there is much commonality. i think farming is important. i always have been a great defender of farming as a business. but capitalism, which i am a great believer in, supports business of all stripes and forms. i want to be a defender of the farming community. -- believer and defender of, supports

capitalisms. >> could it be overstretching its reach? >> that are talking about the navigable waters. they can call them what lands. there was a developer that was put in jail in michigan for digging a pawn on his land. the epa is out of control. -- a pond on his land. the epa is out of control and should not write their own rules. it is a breach of traditional constitutional thinking that begins power to an agency to write its own bills. in a bill, the epa should not be allowed to write its own greenhouse gas emissions testing without congressional authority. that sounds very simple. i cannot imagine anyone voting against it.

jack and the leaders of his party all voted against that proposition. >> the biggest hurdle about going against jack, will that be the big hurdle? what's i think it is a hurdle for him. we will see how fast he can run away from president obama to read he has to -- obama. while jack says that he is not for that, he has already come out in favor of the estate tax. let's pin him down on everyone of these. let's ask him the question. if you are going to vote for the republicans, why not vote -- why not run with the republicans. it is not a question of who will be the leader. harry reid will be the leader of the democrats.

is he going to vote for president obama's policy ? key is for health care. -- he is for health care. i have it easy. they are on my side on that issue. told the farmers and ask them how many want the estate tax to come back. they will be close to zero. there is a danger. there is a danger to bringing a tax back that you have gotten rid of. all of a sudden, the of dimensions -- the exemptions are gone. i think there is great danger to that. i think that the problem will be for him running away from president obama policy's then it will be for me because the people of kentucky are conservative. they are socially conservative. he is not. there are fiscally conservative and he may or may not be, but the national party is not.

thank you very much. >> good afternoon did it was a pleasure to be at the farm bureau today. i think we were able to delineate some differences. obviously, dr. paul is going to have to live with some of the comments that he made. he wants to rail against every single government program and he is on the record saying he would do away with the department of agriculture and farm subsidies. the farm bill of 2008, 75% of it goes to nutrition programs such as school lunches we have helped stabilize the agricultural industry in kentucky in 2009 to over $400 million in total payments under the farm bill. we have over 85,000 forms in this state. we are talking about food security. we are talking about an issue

that is important for our nation's food supply. our farm communities want to know that they will be able to be around next year and a year after that. what was telling in that room today is that every time i challenge him on the issue of why we are here today, talking about what kentucky is going to look like, he failed to answer the question. i am happy to talk about any number of issues that you want to talk about. the fact of the matter is that we are in front of the kentucky farm bureau today. these are the chief spokespeople for the farm community in the commonwealth of kentucky and he fell to address the fundamental issue that was on the table -- a failed to address the fundamental issue that is on the table. the kentucky agricultural community needs to be protected and needs a senator that will stand up for them when the farm bill needs to be reauthorize and when agricultural programs are put at risk.

this is no time for a risky senator. it is no time for rhetoric. it is time for a united states senator that will always puts kentucky first. it was great being here today and i will be happy to take questions. >> are you worried about voters associating with president obama? >> i think that it is apparent that he is going to try to change my last name from conway and make either obama, reid or pelosi. when it goes to the voters, it will be jack ramsay against rand paul. that is what is one to be about when we hit community after community after community. it is going to be about who will be the best representative of the people of kentucky in the

united states senate. who will uphold the tradition. who will reach across the aisle. who will always puts kentucky first? on behalf of kentucky and, they understand what the farm bill means. i have heard enough preaching about bolsheviks and england. the people of kentucky are hurting. it is not about rand paul and about the national media chasing him around. it is about the fact that the people of kentucky deserve more than they have been getting. >> would you allow the bush tax cuts to remain through i think you said that you want all of the bush tax cuts to continue. >> this is no time to be raising taxes. we should just extend them for some period of time. >>they should be a student it fr

some period of time -- extended for some period of time. >> how has your position modified from cap and trade. >> it has not been modified. the gentleman to your right asked me for my position. does it protect kentucky coal? are their investments in making certain that kentucky coal is burned more cleanly? does it protect kentucky's historic advantage with low electricity rates? as i said, there is a reason we have all of a manufacturing plant and a reason that we have a steel industry. it is because of our low electricity rates. we have to protect those resources going forward. capt. trade would cost every family in the country about $1,700. we do not need a system where

traders benefit. we need to make sure that china and india are playing by the same rules that we do. i think that joe reflected that accurately in his story. the headline came out that we differed on the issue. that has been the genesis of a couple of headlines. let me state, clearly, for the record. i will continue to state this from now until election day and when i get into the united states senate. i can't against cap and trade. i am not a global warming tonight. -- denier. i think that we need to invest in the next generation of automobile technology. we have incentives for all retrofitting. we have incentives for private investment and by a diesel and biomass -- and bio-diesel and biomass.

i am against cap and trade. >> you were talking about the bush tax cuts. does that include the states? >> i think we should go ahead and extend doing away with the estate tax as well. >> if you are anti cap and trade, and opposed to immigration, why do you not vote for republicans? how do you posture where you are different? >> i think that the united states senate needs more common sense. we need more democrats from the heartland so that people in washington understand that people on the main streets of

kentucky do not think that washington is working for them. i do not think that we need to raise taxes in a recession. it is a bad deal for kentucky coal. i will always stand up for kentucky's interest. i said that we need to take a chance on health care to i would have voted for health care. i am a democrat because i believe in job security and health security. i believe that we provide opportunities to those who truly need it and i think we are the more inclusive party. i take issue with the premise of your question. there are so many differences between me and rand paul. on how we would treat foreign policy and the farmers in the state. on so many issues, i could go through the litany of all the

things that he said that i disagree with, but i disagree with the premise of your question there are a lot of differences between rand paul and our campaign. >> the white house offered to campaign with you? >> i have not asked. if the president of the united states wants to come to the commonwealth of kentucky, you welcome the president of united states with open arms. i am going to win this race because jack conway earns the votes of the voters of kentucky. not because i am running with someone. i have not had specific discussions with the white house about what they want to do. obviously, he is going to try to turn it into something that i am not. i think that his comments are fairly reflective of that. >> we have time for just one more question. >> in terms of agriculture are

you in favor of him farming? >> am i in favor of him farming? -- hemp farming? this is an issue in kentucky. i know how difficult it could be for law enforcement to make the distinction. i think that we need to leave that issue to those in law enforcement that are advising us on that. if there is a difficulty between distinguishing between hemp and marijuana, then we should not have hemp farming in kentucky. >> do you intend to help him pay off his campaign debt? >> let me say this. i appreciate the e-mail that dan larson sent out last week. he said that the democratic party would be helpful with

issues relating to his debt. i understand that it is an important issue to him. i am willing to be helpful in that exercise. it is not about getting as in an uncomfortable situation, it is about bringing the party together. i respect him. he would be an asset in the fall and i want him to be an asset in the fall. i am confident we will bring the party together. >> tomorrow on "washington journal" the discussion about the secretary of state's trip to south asia. also a look at race and politics in the u.s.. will talk with the former president of the naacp, the political commentator and author. later, how social networks and

media sites are used to promote the progressive agenda. that is live at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> tomorrow, and oklahoma's governor's debate. you will hear from six democrat and republican candidates looking to replace the democratic governor. that is 6:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> this weekend, former new york times public editor clark hoyt on the changing world of the newspaper industry. >> i worry about the standards and maintaining journalistic integrity as we move from one media world to another. >> sunday night on "q and a." >> our public affairs content is available on television, radio, and online. connect with us on twitter,

facebook, and youtube. and sign up for our scheduled alert e-mails at c-span.org. >> the pentagon retirement ceremony for former afghan commander stanley mcchrystal. he was moved from his position in june after "rolling stone magazine" published an article on him which included negative remarks about the president and others. remarks came from defense secretary robert gates and general mcchrystal. >> taking the stand is general stanley mcchrystal, the honorable robert gates, general

george casey jr.. >> present. ♪ ♪ [rifles firing] [band playing]

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>> dating back to the revolutionary war, will join in with the continental army, the general conducted a review on may 6, 1778. the formation of the group presentation and authors -- and offers you are seeing now, the focus is on the position in difficulty learned through many hours of drill.

but we realize today this focus is essential in order to win on any battlefield. in 99 -- later, general john g. pershing decided to provide courses for ceremonies and special events in our nation's capital. 246 years ago. some things have changed like our uniform. in the war of 1812 and the war of 1846, they were recognized by president abraham lincoln.

in assembling in the american west, the protected frontier folks. the old guard saw active service before general pershing's expedition in mexico. it was the first army unit deployed overseas in world war two. two battalions served in vietnam. the regiment conduct official army ceremonies, special events, and represents the united states army here and abroad. it serves as the escort to the united states. it has protected the president during his inauguration since dwight d. eisenhower.

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