candidate's next stopi si is in sacramento. she will be and saturday at a republican national committee meeting in orange county. john boseman says that he is $1.3 billion in the bank. friday is the deadline for federal candidates to file their quarterly fund raising s reports. now, we are going live to spokane, -- to spokane washington -- to spokane, washington. >> good evening and welcome to

the first of only two scheduled debates for the candidates running for the u.s. senate. we are coming to you live from spokane, washington. the debate is seen locally. we are also being heard on news radio 920. i want to begin by introducing the candidates to you. senator patty murray is the incumbent candidate. she is johnston this race by republican dean rossi. welcome to you both. -- she is challenged in this race by republican dino rossi. welcome to you both. we're joined tonight by a studio office. thank you to all of you for coming. we want to get to as many questions as we can to the next hour. the audience has agreed to hold

the applause until the end of the debate will start with opening statements and mr. rossi will go first. >> america is in trouble. that is why i am running for the u.s. senate. if we do not have a course correction in this election, we will wake up in 24 hours -- 24 months from now with a country we do not recognize. the problem with washington, d.c. is that many people believe that they cannot admit when they are wrong. they cannot change course. unfortunately, i think that is what we're seeing. i hope we will have a spirited debate. i have a lot of respect for senator murray. this is not personal. this is about -- i believe she is heading in the wrong direction. i think the extreme pressure in washington, d.c. has taken us down the wrong path.

i want to say thank you to klxy and kspx for reporting on this debate tonight. before putting on this debate tonight. >> thank you to all of you for joining us this evening for a very important discussion about who will be your voice and your advocate in the united states senate. how many families are shriveling today? it is not through anything they did, but the mistakes and greed on wall street. this state is my family. i family is hurting. that is why i am working so hard to work with your community leaders to get you jobs and get this country back on track again. i will take on even the most powerful to make sure that you have a voice at the table when these decisions are made. and i grew up in a small town with a big family. my dad ran a store on main street. i learned the mainstream values

of hard work and fighting for what you believe in. those are the values i take back to be your voice in the united states senate. i believe that, by working together, we can solve the problems that come before us if we have the courage and take the responsibility. >> our first question comes from jim camden. mr. rossi, you will be first. he will get a minute 30 seconds for your answer. >> the war in afghanistan is becoming one of the longest wars this country has ever waged. the casualty count is rising as the search strategy is employed there. -- as the surge strategy is employed there. could you tell us how long we should be willing to stay in afghanistan and under what conditions should we be willing to leave? >> first off, thank you to the military families and especially in our state and to the men and women who serve in uniform right now.

let's take a step back pre-9/11 and what happened in afghanistan. you had terrorist training camps. you had people there who hate americans. they want to kill you, your children, and your grandchildren. we cannot let that happen again. we cannot let them come back into power. you see what has happened with the surge. a lot of people do not know that it has taken six months for the 30,000 troops to show up and they have only been there for a couple of months. i believe in full force. i also agree with president obama and his chores with general petraeus. let's see how this works. -- and his choice with general petraeus. let's see how this works. i think -- i do not agree with the deadline to leave. they will just retreat and a train people who want to kill us. we have to give our military

every tool possible so they can achieve their objectives and come home as soon as possible. but i want to give general petraeus a chance to move forward and make this work. >> senator murray. >> i will not forget september 11. i was in the nation's capital. i happened to be looking out the window and saw the smoke rising from the pentagon. i am very proud of us. even though it was a very divisive time, we came together, republicans and democrats, and voted together to go to war on terrorist wherever they exist. we have a number of military families now who sacrificed so much for our nation. they have gone to iraq and afghanistan and they've been there three times, four times, even five times. we owe it to them to know where and how long it will be there and how much more sacrifice they have to give. we have been there for nine years to the tune of billions of dollars.

i am one of the few senators who voted to tell this president that he does need to tell the american people how we can show that we are women -- we are winning a war on terror. at this time in our nation's history, when we are struggling with our economy and our precious resources, i think we'll it to the men and women who have been fighting for us and to all of us as americans to ask those tough questions about whether or not a war on terrorist, wherever they exist, and make sure that we take care of our military and ask whether having the boots on the ground in afghanistan is the right thing. >> you have 30 seconds to rebut. >> we just read yesterday that president karzai was meeting with the afghani taliban.

they were actually meeting to discuss some sort of reconciliation. i am not sure how that will work. you can be cautiously optimistic. but when karzai fired their interior ministers, people were worried about that. they hired a new interior minister who brought in 27 new police chiefs. we need to have boots on the ground if we expect to have any lasting efforts in afghanistan. >> one important question was not answered, how will we pay for this. one of the reasons our country is in trouble today is because we went to two wars without paying for it. mr. rossi and supports extending tax cuts to the wealthiest americans to the tune of $1 trillion. how you tell our troops, the men and women who have fought so hard for us and come home with mental and physical wounds of war, that we will pay and be responsible for the decisions we

make? we have to fight the war on terrorist wherever they may be, but we have to know how to pay for it. >> our next question is for a viewer -- from a viewer. >> my name is robert from spokane, washington. what will you do to create more jobs for washington state? thank you. >> senator murray, the question is to you. >> thank you so much for that question. it is very important. it is one that i talk about all the time because so many families today are hurting in our state because they have lost their jobs and their homes and their mortgages. we need to make sure that they do get back to their jobs. i come home every weekend and talk with community leaders all over the state about their needs in their communities. then i go back to washington, d.c. and fight for those investments so we can get people back on the job. here, in spokane, i talked with your community leaders about the

university district and creating the river point campus so we can start creating jobs and help the very important sector here in spokane. i got an investment to help them get that off the ground and we have students and theiwith thei. mr. rossi will not even fight for the targeted investments. i say it is my job to fight for investments to help you in your community and to get to back to work again. it is why i went to talk to some in the main street businesses who told me they could not get the capital they needed to keep their doors open or to put goods on their shelves or to hire new employees. we passed the main street lending bill. law so we can have capital flowing to those businesses, so they can keep their doors open and you at work. mr. rossi said he does not support that. my job is to make sure your job is secure. >> mr. rossi, one minute 30

seconds. >> we have an unemployment rate of 17.4%. you're talking about almost two out of every people you know -- every 10 people you know who cannot feed their families and keep a roof over their heads. i have been talking to a lot of small-business owners. i am a small businessman myself. on the -- i am on the dean's advisor board for the state of washington. after talking to people in the business community, whether they have two people and gift shop or a couple of hundred people in a factory facility, they say they will not expand their businesses. why? because they do not know what the government will do to the next week. uncertainty is leading them in limbo. they will not expand their businesses. since senator murray decided to adjourn before reauthorized in the 2001-2003 tax cuts, we will

have the biggest tax increases in american history. business owners will be deciding who they will lay off to do this. senator murray's answer to jobs was more spending, borrowing money from the chinese and others. the stimulus failed. they said the unemployment rate would not go above 8%. clearly, that did not happen. now we have a very large deficit. it did not work. the federal government can create the perjury government jobs. we need entrepreneurs to create jobs. -- the federal government can create temporary government jobs. we need and our entrepreneurs to create jobs. >> we need community leaders to ask where jobs will be in your committee and work with them to get investments to get those jobs and get you back at work. we need to make sure businesses have the credit they need to expand. it is why i fought so hard to

make sure those tankers have a contract that is made by american workers at the boeing and we make them right here at fairchild, which created many civilian jobs. that is one of my party and one that i keep working on. >> mr. rossi. >> what they need is stability and certainty so they can invest in their business. right now, they do not have any certainty. they have -- when they are successful, you do not punish them for their success with high tax rates. you want to do it again and again and again. her government's solution has failed. it is clear. people know has -- people in the state know it has failed. but she was to do more it. i do not think we can afford that. >> if you were to vote to increase spending for nuclear to meeteanup in hanford

targets in a five-year plan, would you cut other parts of the federal budget to avoid increasing overall federal spending? if so, what would you cut? >> we will have to cut -- make reductions in this budget. as a state senator, i was chairman of the senate ways and means committee during the largest dollar deficit in the state history. i worked across party lines to balance the biggest deficit in history without raising taxes. we went line by line by line to the budget. that is exactly what we will have to do. i have done it here in the state of washington. i have done it in a bipartisan fashion it does not look like there is a lot of bipartisan effort going on in washington d.c.. there are a lot of things you can do sitting here that can be done. and the stimulus. there are two minutes and $5 billion that are available. watching federal employees have a better deal than those footing

the bill, how about reducing the federal work force and only hiring one person for every two to leave. federalnot written the budge budget, my free market: the winner of the budget, i was not going to raise taxes, but protect the most vulnerable people in society. that is why i receive the first annual defender of liberty award from. we received six different awards from the differentldisabled com. you can be fiscally conservative and have a social conscience. they are not mutually exclusive. you can create room in the budget for the things you are talking about. including the clean-up in

hanford. >> what i did not hear and all that was a answer to your question. my grandfather came here in 1916. my father was in the tri-cities when hanford nuclear reservation was built. i know we have a moral and a legal obligation in this country to clean up the nuclear waste that is seeping in the brown water towards libya today. i have fought republican presidents and a democratic president and numerous secretaries of energy to make sure we meet that obligation. today, we do have tremendous challenges with our budget. the president has told us he will reduce our budget overall by 5% next year and we have to hold it to that. but i have told them that the hanford nuclear reservation is part of our defense. he has told us we will not be cutting defense and i want to make sure that, if that is the

case, hanford nuclear reservation will not get cut. we cannot afford to have that waste seeping toward the river. i heard in mr. rossi's answer that he would reappear the stimulus money. maybe it does not know this, but there are almost 3000 people employed by that stimulus money, cleaning up the that waste and hanford nuclear -- that waste at nuclear hanford -- at hanford nuclear reservation. >> which she is not telling you is that, when president obama was a candidate, he said he would shut down yet the mountain in nevada where the nuclear waste is supposed to go. we're building a vitrification plant in tri-cities. it needs to go to yucca mountain. she remained silent when that happened. three regulatory commissioners say they would not stop the president from moving into yucca.

she remained silent again. quite frankly, we have to get nuclear waste out of washington state. but senator harry reid has meant that platform in his campaign and it seems like senator murray is more concerned about senator reid's reelection. >> i did not hear an answer to the question. it is of a party of making sure that we clean up hanford. it is one of the most important things i do. i take it on with every democratic and republican presidents alike. and they know it. mr. rossi is wrong. i fight to make sure that yucca mountain stays on the waste sites so we can find have a place -- so it can have a place to send nuclear waste in the future. >> our next question comes to us from dan. given that it seems that social

security and other income of programs are underfunded, how would you recommend these issues be resolved for those already retired and for those eligible to retire in the next 20 years? >> social security and medicare are two of the most important programs we have four seniors and many of the disabled in this country. from the mill town on the market, we know that -- from the meltdown on the market, we need to make sure that social security's never privatized. i have fought hard against a previous administration that did want to privatize it. medicare is an extremely important program. within the health care reform that mr. rossi wants to repeal, we made important provisions in that that will now extend the life of medicare, making sure that we cut fraud and abuse, making sure that senior citizens' donut hole is filled.

we need to make sure that those programs are there for the future. we need to do it within the budget and the challenges we have today. the president has a commission that will make recommendations to us by the end of this year. everything is on the table and we have to be responsible and look at every area of our budget. i know. my own parents lived through medicare because my father had multiple sclerosis and my mother had heart problems. i know heart -- i know how important it was that medicare was there when they turned 65. i want to make sure it is therefore you, too. to do that, we need to make tough decisions in the future. you can count on me that it will be there to make sure we make those decisions good for you. >> we have to make sure that we come through with what we promised to seniors. unfortunately, senator murray and others in d.c. have abused -- have used social security as

a piggy bank. there is no trust fund, just i owe you's. the biggest threat will be the debt under senator murray's massed for this nation. we are borrowing money rather cheaply. when interest rates go up, we will talk about 80 cents on every dollar that you send back to d.c. in the form of taxes will be gone. we will not be able to pay back those iow's. when she was elected, she voted to raise taxes on social security. i do not think that is the way to go either. you have a senator that says one thing in washington state and does another thing in washington, d.c. on medicare, senator murray voted to cut it by $500 billion with the health care bill. half the seniors -- half the bill involved in the medicare advantage will lose it.

we have some serious issues to deal with. that is one of them. we have to make sure we come through with what we promised our seniors. >> i did i hear an answer again. if he gets his way and we extend the bush tax cuts to the top 2% in this country to the tune of almost $1 trillion, there is no way that we can sustain the programs that are so important in front of us. cut our budget. i am a tough mom when it comes to our budget. i want to make sure we preserve those programs that provide stability for families in every community. i will make sure that medicare and social security are there for them. >> rebuttal? >> once again, senator murray voted to raise taxes on social security. with the health care vote, senator murray actually voted to

reduce spending on medicare by $500 billion. this will imperil the programs we have four seniors when it comes to health care. i do not think her spending will help us preserve social security for the future. these are things we promised seniors that we should come through with. >> our next question comes from 80 woodward. >> republicans say they want to repeal health care reform. what would you replace the current plan with? >> let's talk about the health care that senator murray voted for, first off. you'll get $695 fine if you do not buy health care. you talking -- you're talking about $500 billion cut to medicare. it is to partially pay for a new

entitlement when medicare is already in trouble. you talking about a $500 billion tax increase. it will cost boeing co. alone $100 million. with that, you're talking about tens of thousands of jobs that will be lost or not created because of this legislation. it is really a problem, this health care bill. you're losing your freedoms. you're losing your choice. there are solutions. there are things you could do. there are a number of things to do. you could allow individuals to buy health insurance across state lines. you could have lawsuit reform to reduce costs in some states. you could have health savings accounts. it is your money. you could allow individuals in small groups to band together to buy insurance what the big boys do. it will not bankrupt america. it will not add $2 trillion to

the deficit. it can all be done. there are answers. unfortunately, senator murray is marching down the wrong path. this potentially could bankrupt america. also, it could impair medicare as well. >> senator murray, how much of the 2600-page bill did you read? you're concerned about its cost, projected upward of $1 trillion. >> i did read it. the only group of people that health care in this country was working for was the health insurance companies. every family, every business, every community was struggling with double-digit increases. i believe that you should be able to pick the health care plan that works for you and your family and you should be able to choose your doctor if you care to. and i want to make sure that we do control costs and increase

access and put the decisions of your health care back into your hands and not into insurance companies hands. i talk to a woman here in spokane who came into me with a stack of papers this high. she told me this was the correspondence that she went back and forth with her insurance company for the last year. her husband was diagnosed with cancer and every single procedure and every single bill that she got, the insurance company refused to pay it. she had to fight back. the correspondence was that high. i believe that the health care bill will move it to a place where you have control once again in your insurance company and new cat in the denied coverage or be discriminated against -- and you cannot be denied coverage or be discriminated against. we were not competitive globally. this plan, although not perfect,

and we have to make sure that it works, is a step in the right direction. it will finally give you control for your health care instead of your insurance company. >> mr. rossi? >> we have some serious problems with this. we were sold plan that somehow would reduce cost and access. clearly, most businesses and individuals i talk to say that it is as much of an 80% increase. we are also told that we can keep our health care. clearly, that is not the case. senator murray just voted against in the amendment that would ensure you could keep your doctor. again, saying one thing in washington state and doing another in washington, d.c. >> what i just heard were talking points from the insurance company. mr. rossi was to repeal health care reform. me a few weeks ago that, for the

first time, she can sleep at night because her daughter with cystic fibrosis will not be denied coverage for her health care. tell that to the senior citizen who is now, because of health care reform, going to not fall into that donut hole and not have prescription drugs covered. tell that to thousands of people who are in bankruptcy today because their insurance denied them coverage after they paid their bills. >> our next question is from adam. he asks, "as a senator, what will you do to stop any dam removal on the columbia river and snake rivers? jobs rely on the low-cost hydropower and the shipping lanes they provide." >> this is a very important question for eastern washington. our river system is very important to the economy of this region and to our entire state. we need to make sure that our farmers can ship their goods to

market overseas. we need to make sure that barges can go up and down that river. we need to make sure that fish get passage through the columbia river out to the ocean. we need to make sure that those people who rely on the hydropower system have that securely in place. i have been very consistent in saying that we will not remove the dams in eastern washington. we need to make sure this region worse for everyone. we have to work hard to make sure that fish have passage. we have to make sure that farmers have irrigation. we have to make sure that everybody comes together to solve the tough problems in the future. as someone his dad grew up in the tri-cities, i know the importance of the columbia river. >> mr. rossi. >> i actually flew over when they have the save the dams rally. i was on that bridge that night, that very cold night. we had a number of elected officials in the city of

seattle that thought it would be a good idea to breach the dames. it clearly would have been the worst thing you could have done for eastern washington, but also for the state of washington. hydroelectric power is quite a blessing. it is a blessing for the state. if is low-cost power and renewable energy. as far as i know, it will keep on reading. as long as it keep on reading, we will have more power. that is the good news. we have to make sure that we protect these dams. there are vital to our economy and to eastern washington and the entire state of washington. i have already been there in this battle. i was a western washington state senator at the time that i flew over there to stand on average. i am here with you today, too. >> senator murray, 30 seconds to rebut. >> there is more to this issue than just removal of dance.

there is making sure that we have the resources in place to fix all locks and dams and to work with communities up and down the river to make sure we maintain those. mr. rossi wants to give away a huge tax increase and we will not have the resources to do that if he gets his way. >> mr. rossi, 30 seconds. >> i already cover the damage to. demand as well talk about the tax increase. she is talk about -- you i-will talk about the tax increase. she is talking about the largest tax increase in our history. with the one she is talking about for the rich, we're talking about small business rumors that would take money and invest in their business to hire people. this is how we will get out of this business we have with unemployment. we have to sweat -- we have to help small businesses be successful. unfortunately, senator murray does not understand that. >> our next question is to jim.

>> last month, into a coma, the federal judge called for the reinstatement of a spokane nurse -- last month, in tacoma, the federal judge called for the reinstatement of a spokane nurse who was released from duty under don't ask/don't tell. if the white standard will be applied across the military, the military will show that an individual soldier's the discharge will be better for the unit, that's pacific unit, then the military -- that specific unit, then the entire military branch. should congress repealed don't ask/don't tell or of polled -- or of hold the judge's ruling? hold the and judge's

ruling? >> we need to it look at what they have to say and what this report as to say and thoroughly investigate this before we make a decision. the way i look at this thing -- my three r's of public service, is it a reasonable thing to do, a rational thing to do, a responsible thing to do? that is what i will do as senator. >> i am not only going to complete the respect major wheait. i have taught him some men who have returned from afghanistan who served so proudly. they know that everyone who wants to give back to this country by serving in the military ought to be able to do it. is their hero.

i hope that many of our men and women who are gays or lesbians can serve in our military. there is a young woman here in spokane who is a senior in high school who told me that her dream when she graduates in june is to serve our country in the military. she told me the honor code that she has to take will keep her right now from serving in the military because she is gay. i think that is wrong. she should be able to pursue her dream. i think we should repeal don't ask/don't tell. >> would you like to rebut? >> like i said, we will see what the report has to say. we need to make sure that it actually works and makes sense. i will look at the report and i will make a decision based upon that and further investigations, talking to men and women in the military. they're the ones who will be affected as well. all of this has to be done in a rational way. >> i want to know how you look

at somebody in the eye, after they serve 20 years for our country and done a remarkable and amazing work, but they are second-class citizens. >> we will hear another taped question. this is from a local college student. >> my name is ryan. i am a senior at eastern washington university. my question has to do with college tuition. i'm going to school full time and working part time. i'm in the process of getting a second job and i took out a new student loan to help to pay for my bills. unfortunately, my parents' combined income is just that would make it eligible for financial assistance from the government. -- is just over zero line that would make me eligible for financial assistance -- unfortunately, my parents' combined income is just over the line that would make me eligible

for financial assistance. >> my father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis right before i was when to go to school. all of a sudden, we did not know if we could all go to school. a family made the decision to work hard to make sure we could all go to college. because we have the country at our back, all seven of us were able to go to college, through pell grants and student loans. that is exactly why i just voted to make sure the banks got out of the business of providing student loans to the profit of the banks and putting that money back into students like you so you can go to college. we are increasing of the number of students who get federal help because of that decision. i think it is imperative that we work in every way we can to help the young people get through college. i know our state legislatures are struggling because of budget cuts. tuitions are rising. the fed rules -- it is the

federal government's responsibility to make sure that students have the ability to go to college. it is so important for our country and our future and our competitiveness and i will continue to do everything i can to make sure that you and anyone like you can go to college. >> mr. rossi. >> i am the youngest of seven kids raised on the seattle school teacher's salary. we did not have any money. i worked through different jobs to make my way through the university's business school. when i was writing the budget in olympia when we had the biggest deficit in state history, i made sure that the nea grant was available. they were just trying to funnel into different areas and i said to know. i was willing to lay down railroad tracks to make sure it was available for kids like me.

for that, i received the stephen altman mountain award for doing exactly what i said i would do and protect that funding. as the father of four, our oldest is a sophomore in college. i know exactly how expensive this is. i know how it is to fill out the facts of form and then they tell you that you make too much. that is a problem. we need to make sure there are loans available. we need to make sure that, for kids who cannot afford, that need grants are available. education is really the key to their future. it certainly helped me. i am well aware that. >> what i did not hear in that answer is whether or not mr. rossi would agree with me that we should not be given the bank's the responsibility to do student loans to a process to all of them -- to a profit to all of them and make sure that the money goes to the student. we voted to make sure those

moneys go to students and our banks do not get a profit. >> mr. rossi? >> the part of the takeover of government has been part of the student loans. now you have to go to government. having many banks and many other options to go to makes more sense. i would like to see every student have options in front of them. i had options. students should have options. parents need to have options. unfortunately, the options are getting limited because of government control. >> our next question comes from the show from the tri-city herald. >> what do you support providing amnesty for workers in the united states? how would you address seasonal agricultural workers decline if you do not to? >> i do not support amnesty,

number one. but we have to get control of our borders. we have had people come across who have been deported and come across and commit violent crimes in our state. we need a tall fence with a high gate. it needs a physical barrier so people can just come across. we have to know who is coming to america. the high gate, why do i say that? it has been a complete failure on the government's part as well to allow people to come to chase the american dream. my grandparents came to ellis island from italy. they wanted a better place for themselves and their children and their grandchildren. we want people to have that. we need to know who they are. we have to know who they are and

we have to know so they can come here legally. we have a serious challenge ahead of us. unfortunately, the federal government has failed us. we have to do something about this. this is to be done because our agricultural community needs help, high-tech needs of, and we need people to come here -- high-tech needs help, and we need people to come here. >> this is something that affects our economy. it affects our way of life. and it affects our competitiveness. i talked with some farmers recently who told me that, because we do not have clear laws in this country, they do not know if they can get their crops picked on the trees right now. they say their businesses are in jeopardy. that is why i do support agricultural jobs being part of a comprehensive immigration reform. we need to protect our borders. many to make sure that people

come here come here legally. but that includes our northern border. administration after administration, i have fought tooth and nail to make sure that our northern border is as protected as our southern border. those young people who came here at an early age and go through our schools and get good grades need to have a place to go when they graduate. i talked with a young woman who said that she lives in the showers today because she came here when she was 3. now she has no place in our country. we have to have a clear, concise pathway to the citizenship that includes english and -- i did not hear what mr. rossi said he would include in a package. >> senator murray approves of

amnesty. the first elected to is secure the border. the problems we're talking about our academic if it cannot secure that border. we have to know who is coming. we have to know their background. we need a system employs, may be a virtual ellis island, and bring people here temporarily if they want to work here temporarily or if they want to come to america to chase the american dream. >> when he was in the state senate, he did vote for a form of amnesty. what i believe is that we need a comprehensive immigration reform system that includes agricultural jobs, making sure that high-tech companies can bring workers' year, make sure there is a clear path to citizenship, and make sure that those farmers and employers have a secure work force, and that we secure our borders.

that is the kind of program i voted for. i will work with anybody to try to come for -- come to eric campbell -- to come to a reasonable solution. >> clearly frustrated with all the mudslinging in this race, our next writer says, each review has depicted your opponents as someone who has made bad decisions in the past. is there anything that your opponent has done in the state of washington that you approve of? >> that is a great question. i really do admire mr. rossi for getting into this race. i know how difficult it is and how much it demands on your family. it is a huge sacrifice. i appreciate that. i do know that he comes to with heart and passion and i respect

that. but i will tell your of your who asked about negative ads that one of the things i am deeply concerned about is the supreme court ruling on a 5-4 decision, by one vote, now allowing these -- allowing debads coming into our state. >> we are saying something nice. mr. ross to come in one minute 30 seconds. [laughter] >> i think that senator rossi has a mean senator -- that senator kerrey has and a great job with veterans. you talk about the as as if there is some sort of equivalency. we are running ads, but mine have the benefit of being the truth. which is why her ads have been

called false and dishonest and grossly malicious. those are not just casual words. they take half a sentence and throw it into a whole commercial. that is the problem with what is going on right now with politics. you are seeing things taken out of context and put on tv. you see an 18-year incumbent who is desperate to having six more years. that is what this is about. she does not want to talk about things such as the stimulus for the bailout that she voted for for the banks and others. she's trying to change the subject. that is really what is going on here. you see it in after ad after ad that newspapers are calling false, grossly malicious, dishonest, does not pass the smell test. that is what the newspapers have been saying, not me, the newspapers. this is a problem. we have come a long way from

the good intentions that senator murray had 18 years ago. i think she went back there for the right reasons and i really believe that. >> you have time to rebut. >> i do appreciate the endorsements of the newspapers that mr. rossi cited. and i do a creation -- i do appreciate the technologist my work with veterans. i want to go back to fight for them to make sure they have what they need in this tough economy, make sure that they do protect everyone here, and that they feel strong again. that is what i do. again, i think it is important that we do talk about the disclosure act, and say who provides those ads. i do that on my ads. i do not understand why mr. ross does not want those hedge fund managers to identify themselves. >> if we have full disclosure,

we can talk about the fact that come after the big bailout of the banks, senator mary had $1 million contribution from these big banks. i think that is part of the disclosure, too. you have a senator who says one thing in washington and another thing in washington, d.c. it the question is which washington do you represent? >> we have another question from our of your. >> by name as sean. i am from spokane valley. with politics becoming more and more partisan, what are your plans for bridging that gap, even if it means going against party leadership? are you willing to risk alienating your party leadership to help people and not your career? >> that is actually the hallmark of what i did as a state senator.

when i was the chairman of the senate ways and means committee, we had these most deficit in our state history. i put together a bipartisan budget that balance the biggest deficit in history without raising taxes. when i put together a budget, it is not just the budget. i had 51 different bills that was necessary to implement the budget. that means different laws to make it work. not a single one of those 51 bills were the budget passed on a party-line partisan vote. the problem was too big for one party to solve. that is exactly the way i see washington, d.c. i'm fortunate, our u.s. senator has been working with a majority. she is no. 4 on leadership. she has been working with the majority that is ramming through pieces of legislation. the health care bill is a

highly partisan bill. she has been at the epicenter of partisanship in d.c. this has to end. in washington, d.c., the problems that we have are too big for one party to solve. you have to open yourself up to do it. i met with democrat moderate senators. i could not do this by myself and they can afford to help me. it worked out for the state. without that budget, two years later, we ended up with the biggest surplus the state had ever seen. >> i always start with a promise that my state and my communities and the families i represent come first and i will take on anyone to make sure that we take care of our state. when president bush tried to close three veterans hospitals here in the state of washington, i went after him to send mail with veterans at my side and we kept those hospitals open. when president obama made a proposal to cut veterans' health care, i went after him and we

got it reinstated so our veterans were taking care of. when it comes to hanford nuclear reservation, i have taken on republican and democratic president and will continue to do that because my stick comes first. i will work with anyone who will sit down with us to solve tough problems. it is exactly what i did with republicans from maine to pass the important port security act to make sure that those containers coming in and out of our ports after september 11 did not have any kind of terrorist attacks that could hurt us and our jobs and our families and our communities. it is why i worked with john mccain when three young kids lost their jobs in a pipeline accident nine years or 10 years ago, to pass the pipeline safety laws. when it comes to immigration laws or health care for the challenge of creating jobs, i will work with our communities and our community leaders and

anyone to try to solve the problems that come before this nation. >> mr. rossi, rebuttal. >> you didn't hear anything about how the health care bill was a bipartisan effort, because it clearly was not. it was a very partisan piece of legislation. senator murray, being no. 4 leadership in washington, d.c., she clearly did not reach across the aisle to bring any republicans on. she did not even bring them in the room. we have a very serious problem with a very partisan u.s. senator. one issue after another, financial reform was another one. you go through all the issues and it has been highly partisan. wants to work in good faith to turn this country around. we need to do this. >> senator? >> what i did not hear and all that is how mr. rossi will work with the the real challenges in front of us, our debt, making sure that people get jobs, making sure that our veterans are taking care of -- these are

issues that are bipartisan. i have a strong history with working with senator and be. i have worked with centers across the aisle many times. i do find that the partisan rhetoric right now is troubling and i am hoping that, after the elections, the tax cuts he keeps referring to, we will come to agreement on that. it is important that our middle- class families have tax cuts and i will work to make that happen. >> we're down to the last question of the debate. drop your answers to 30 seconds. you have a chance to rebut. >> there has been talk about the forces tanker. you say that you support boeing building that tanker. you also say that illegal subsidies for airbus should be taken into account, but not for

boeing. if airbus has demonstrated they can build a better plan for less money in the u.s., one should not the pentagon give them the bid and let work began and start replacing those tankers? >> that is exactly what i have been fighting for for a very long time. if we have a level playing field and illegal subsidies are taken into account so airbus cannot have a lower price and have a level playing field, i believe we will thawe in that contract. it is -- we will win a contract. it is important to remember this is a security issue for our country. i believe that those tankers should be made by americans and paid for by american dollars. >> it has cost the aerospace industries in america 50,000 jobs so far. we need to take all of that into account. i believe that the boeing

employees will be able to out work and put a better product out there. have it at fairchild. that is great. i have a family member who has worked for the boeing company since world war ii. senator murray likes to be referred to as the senator from boeing. are you from chicago or south carolina? under her watch, they moved their headquarters to chicago and the airlines moved to south carolina. >> i take a backseat to no one in making sure that people in our communities have jobs and boeing is a very important employer. here in spokane, boeing is extremely important. we have a lot of the aerospace industry here. i have a bipartisan effort to make sure that we do for our aerospace industry what we did not do for our auto industry and make sure that we start talking today about getting a work force for them, making sure that

defense contracts are there, making sure that we have the right kind of trade policies so we have a strong aerospace sector in the future. i take a backseat to no one on that. >> mr. rossi, 30 seconds. >> we need to make sure that boeing is healthy, but we also need to make sure that all businesses in the state of washington are healthy. we need to go in a different direction than what we are doing right now. the boeing company does not like a $150 million tax health care increase with the health care bill that was passed. there are a lot of things the senator murray is doing right now that the boeing company finds detrimental. >> it is time for closing statements. each candidate will have one minute. >> i want to say thank you very much for watching and thank you for putting this on today. thank you senator murray. i truly appreciate the debate.

we have some serious issues ahead of us in this country. we will have to make a decision. which direction do you really want to go? you have an 18-year incumbent that has voted for bailing out banks and the stimulus, which has added $1 trillion to the deficit. we have an 18-year incumbent that has killed in jos in the state of washington on vote after vote after vote on health care and financial reform and others. you can go with senator murray or you can come with me. i am looking at a very different direction. i will allow entrepreneurs to be successful. i want washington state to get back to work again. come with me because we can do this. as americans, we do not sit when we see something wrong. we want to fix it. that is what i plan on doing as your next united states senator. i would be happy to have your support. >> there is a very clear choice

in this election. i want to thank mr. rosset for participating as well. but what mr. rossi did not tell you tonight is that he wants to repeal wall street reform. i believe we have to keep those protections in place so that your mortgage and your finances are never in the hands of the wall street bankers again. mr. rossi has told to throw this election he will fight for you for locally targeted investments. he will leave that to a d.c. bureaucrat. i will fight for you every time. he did not tell you tonight that he wants to go back to the bush economic policies that got us into this mess, going to two wars without paying for it, passing tax cuts that are not paid for, and leaving past decisions today that hurt all this. i want to make sure that we pay for what we responsibly u.s. leaders. those are the decisions we need to make. when my dad got sick and my family had to be frugal, i knew that you made tough choices, but

you invested in the future. those are the kinds of decisions i will make as your senator. >> thank you to the candidates and to you, the panel. [applause] >> in a few moments, we will be live in nevada for our debate between the candidates running in the nevada third congressional district. at midnight eastern, tennessee's candid is for gov. will need. later, there will be more from nevada with the debate for senate. now, a debate for nevada's congressional third district. congressional third district.