>> in the final weeks of campaign 2010, the c-span library is a great resource. yhuri from the cannons -- here from the candidates, all free online, anytime. >> now the debate for west virginia senate seat with the manchin,s manchigovernor joe john raese, and mountain candidate jeff becker and the constitution party jesse johnson. >> i prepared a tax deduction for for you to follow. of course we have a problem. only a governor can get this

state in the control we need it, checks and balances and learn how to keep this calm while i take care of this over here. the distinguished gentleman like myself is the only one of period can do that. i know how to do it. but tax credits. anything over $75 that you pay in travel fees, you will get it back. >> one minute. >> the mta is a poster child for waster, fraud, patronage, no- show contracts, absolute mismanagement. we have conductors making two times their base pay and overtime. that is not management. we have no-show jobs. onehave, without question, no big beast that keeps sucking up

money. >> that is a debate we will try to bring you later and our schedule. now, the race for the west virginia senate seat got under way a moment ago. the moderator is barry reaed with west virginia university. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> thank you. i want to understand you just heard from to politicians. what they said, give me control of the mta. >> per question, which i will direct. the open question is directed to all candidates and each person will have one minute to respond. each candidate will be asked to give a closing statement at the end of the program. my role as moderator is to make sure that the candidates a

dhere to this time limits and to keep the discussion moving. we are going to ask the first question in the order in which the candidates are seated, beginning with governor manchin, and we will reverse this order for closing statements. the candidates have not been given the questions in advance. to our first question, addressed by michael myelanie hoffman. >> this is ben and negative campaign. if you are elected, what positive changes we make to not only improve the lives of americans, but especially the citizens of west virginia. >> six years i became governor and i asked for the support of the people of west virginia because i knew we could do better. and we did. we put our party aside. we left our special interests at the door and we started looking at the challenges we head. six years later, we are

recognized as one of the best states and nations, as far as our financies. right now in washington, people are upset. they are putting party first. democrats and republicans are both wrong with this. . special interest second and the country third. we need to do the same in washington. that is what i intend to do it, as we did in west virginia. you must put the countries first, the same as we did west virginia. >> thank you. mr. becker. >> we need to get back to our founding principles. the declaration of independence was the promise, and the constitution was a full settlement of that promise. i think we need a renewed interest in american civics. and studying history. we need to pay attention to the

wisdom of our founders. the constitution was a compact among the states so that the -- and the senate was intended to represent the state's in federal congress. i think we need to get back to the issue of federalism, the state-federal relationship, were rather having -- rather than having senators being fourth and fifth representatives for west virginia and being responsive to the people, i think the senators could be working more with the state legislature and hoping the state legislature get their needs met in congress. >> thank you. mr. johnson? >> i believe the negativity that all the people across the nation, as well as people in west virginia are experiencing is the result of our real lack

of fairness in our electoral process today. we are faced with a great need for media reform, and taking money out of that. we are faced with a tremendous need for the public financing of our elections so that we have a level playing field and everyone has the same amount of money to proffer their points of view to the american public. i think this is crucial for our national security, frank. ly. facing what we experienced with the citizens united acctt, it hs put us in a very precarious position with intervention from multinational corporations abroad. one of the key things i want to focus on in the senate is the passage of the disclosure act as a jumping off point, that there really needs to be the public financing of elections.

we see it working very well in arizona and maine. >> thank you para >> thank you. i do not know how we cannot be- in this country, because when you look of the unemployment situation -- i do not know how we cannot be negative in this country, when you look at the unemployment rate. this is unacceptable. a lot of people are noangry. what i want to do in the united states senate is to bring back the of americanism, capitalism. my forte is creating jobs. when you have laws like obama- care that will destroy our health care system, when i see a situation like cats and trade which is so bad for west virginia, -- cap and trade, which is so bad for west virginia, when you look at the stimulus program that has sailed

to america. these are programs we need to change in this country. spirit of capitalism to make a positive change in status following the line -- instead of following the line that has brought failure. >> mr. raese, senator byrd was known for bringing federal jobs to west virginia. you oppose the government's current role in the economy and would seek to abolish earmarks as well as the minimum wage. what is your consensus? would you pursue public dollars for west virginia is selected? >> i think you bring up a good point, when you say let's of dollars earmarked. since 1994, there have been 90,000 earmarks. what it does is that it creates

career politicians. i think that is one of the problems. you mentioned senator byrd, and his ability, bearing back a lot of federal money. my question, is that the best answer for the problems of west virginia? i do not think so. i believe that when you teach a man to fish that he eats for a lifetime, but if you give it a man a fish he eats for a day. i want to bring back the spirit of capitalism. it requires the limitation of government powers and puts a limit on them to create the freedom of the individual. i think it is very important that we do create those freedoms. let's start looking at programs that make sense for america, that makes sense for west virginia. i would like to start cutting taxes. i would like to quit printing money. i think we need to have a regulatory reform bill that puts was written and america first again. >> -- puts west virginia and

america first again. >> time for a bottle? >> on the earmarks, infrastructure is it -- is where aneisenhower had gone. water, infrastructure as far as roads, broadband, those are things that the free enterprise system will not go there. they will only go with the market is. for all of us to have an opportunity, there has to be a partnership. the federal and state governor should -- governoment should be your partner. there has to be the partnership. i recall that they said that senator byrd brought the fbi. 10 years fast forward, it is one of the most progressive, one

of the most efficient uses of the federal government they have ever had. it is done so well that the department of defense is expanding. a committed work force. you have to look at what the returns on the money invested. it should be transparent. the thing i think people are upset about, no one knows where and who is making the earmarked. if it is transparent, we will build a road or water line or supply, we will give people the opportunity for quality of life. that is something that we should look into. >> it this country is an amalgam. it is a melting pot of face and religion and ethnic background. we are an amalgam when it comes to who we are, and off senator byrd stood up for the constitution, and the constitution dictates and spreads the the promise of this

country that is not just capitalists. we have socialistic constructs that are intrinsic to our identity, our success in the 20th-century is born of the fact that we have firemen, police officers, we have a military, a tremendous infrastructure. cash if we work shirley based on capitalism -- if we were sorely based on capitalism, we would not have that. we are a country of great promise. that is what we have to preserve against all of these different imbalances. >> ok. mr. becker, do you have a comment? >> my only concern is with earmarks, you have senate candidates using those as part of a way of a vote-getting. part of the 17th amendment, senators are chosen by the state legislature. imagine if we went back to that

situation, and democrate dell advocated this, repealing the 17th amendment, where the earmarks would not be used for votes. >> thank you. we need to move on to the next question. our next question comes from michael myer. >> governor joe manchin, what would you do as senator to help rein in the federal deficit which is now running at about $1.30 trillion? >> the same as i did as governor. coming into the state, i knew we were in trouble. i said we could do better, we started looking at the on managed dead and the underfunded liabilities and started bringing those under control -- we started looking at the on managed -- unmanaged debt and

the underfunded liabilities as started bringing those under control. we as governors lived with the balanced budget amendment. it is worked well for west virginia. the debt we are amassing right now is unconscionable, and it is something that your grandchildren and children will not be able to live with. the cato institute is saying that west virginia is the third best run state in the nation, fiscally responsible. we have been disciplined. we have to live within our means. people in west virginia every day have to make decisions. we should be held to the same and this government has to be held to the same. runaway spending will stop with a balanced budget amendment. >> would you like to respond? >> i would concur with a balanced budget amendment, but i would remind governor manchin that he is for stimulus. when you look at stimulus, we

billion ofg at $780 o suppose it progress by barack obama. if this is his idea of the way of save and cut spending, it is odd oto me. >> i would like to respond. the country is in freefall. i am not you're blaming president bush or president obama. we need to fix it. the bottom line is that we have all the states that are falling through except west virginia. system of this package was passed. we have been -- i have been criticized for not spending stimulus quick enough. we shored up because we knew it would come to an end. we did not support the second round of stimulus and did not. people have become so dependent, and it means everyone is waiting for someone to take care of it. in west virginia and we do not do that. we take care of ourselves. >> something neither of

taxaddress is the issue of cuts regarding the deficit. in particular, were due stand on the repeal of the bush administration's tax cut for families that make $250,000 or more? >> i am for the tax cut across the board, at and i am for making them permanent, not just extending them but making them permanent. the democrats left washington without the opportunity for people to vote on those extensions. i find that concerning because we are going into a lame duck session. what it really is is the largest tax increase in the history of united states. i find that concerning. so i want to make the bush tax cut permanent. i certainly have felt that way from the beginning, and when you

looked add mr. manchin's record, he did not comment about the tax cuts until prior to quit a month ago. my record is clear -- i supported the tax cuts all along. i would like to make them permanent. >> mr. manchin, where do you stand on repealing the tax for families to make $250,000 ore more? >> i do not think that during a recession you mess with any taxes. when i became governor, i have a record that speaks for itself because we have cut taxes and west virginia. $235 million worth of cuts. this is for all of our citizens and businesses. this is when i first came in, they said, we have to raise taxes. i said, i cannot ask the people to pay more until i know we are

running this government efficiently. within one year, we were able to reduce taxes. we have a proven record and it works. >> mr. johnson, would you like to respond? >> i am adamantly against the bush tax cut for the wealthy. i see different options, and that is why i am here. there are different options to look at in regards to wiggling downour debt -- whittling our debt. first is our bloated level of spending -- when $1 out of $3 goes to the department of defense, which is one of the two agencies that are not accountable. this is a serious issue. when we have no conventional enemies that we are dealing with. we are not at war and have not declared a war since the second world war. however, when we look at this,

one of the ideas i would suggest that look and very closely is what has happened in the last 20 years with the derivative market? we have gone from no derivative market to a debt that is nearly $700 trillion. nell, this is greater than the entire global gdp. -- now, this is greater than the entire global gdp. we could provide universal health care for all citizens in this nation, which in my interpretation of the constitution, is a right. >> mr. becker, could you respond? >> company yes. article i gives limited powers to the federal government. most of these departments are not authorized by the constitution. we need to look at these and face amount. i know people are employed by the government, but we need to phase out as many of these

programs as we can carry the republicans campaigned on this in 1994 with the contract of america. they did not do it they said they would do. now the republicans have the pledge for america. and it has -- well, it begins with on page 33 with a request, or a demand to have each piece of legislation began with a statement of constitutional authority. we already have that in congress. the house of representatives has their own role, ruulle 8, sectin "d." republicans have not fall this, and the democrats do not do it, either. >> thank you very much. we need to go on to the next

question. >> mr. johnson, coal mining is the most important industry in west virginia, but it is blamed for a lot of environmental problems. what is your opinion of the camp and trade legislation? >> i am in favor of the restriction of carbon emissions. we should not be dealing with carbon emissions on the level. what worries me about the cap and trade bill is the trade element. as i was describing with the the derivatives market that wrecked our economy, the trade element of that bill creates a whole new unregulated market for giant corporations, and that is a future drain to the american coffers and worldwide. coal mining is essential to west

virginia, but i have prospered since 2004 a change, a way to stop mountaintop removal immediately. and then transition away from burning coal. we are wasting a non renewable resources that west virginia university itself identified more than 5000 products more than 20 years ago that we can manufacture in that sense. i have proffered a new coal economy based on carbon. carbon manufacturing, to rebuild manufacturing in the state of west virginia and rebuild the middle class in america and started from the hills and hollows of west virginia. it this can be done now. -- if we have the political will and someone who would stand up on the floor of the united states senate and fight for it, and i will do that. >> john raese, you oppose cap and trade.

>> yes, i do. it would be disastrous for this country and for west virginia. it is not about the environment. it is about controlling manufacturing in this country. when you look at the essence of co2 release in this country, if you take all of the oceans in the world, they emit 125 billion -- of co2. it does not make any sense. when you look at the scenario in the state of west virginia and the myth that there is global warming, and the other myth than man causes global warming. i did not believe in that myth. i think what we need to find is more accessible coal.

we need to start growing this country with our natural resources. >> i respectfully disagree with president obama. that being said, coal has built this country, because it is been dependable, reliable, and affordable, and domestic. if you want this nation to be strong and secure, you have to quit buying the oil and products that other countries are using the money against as. if you want to stop the run from a nuclear armament, then quit buying a product -- if you want to stop iran from a nuclear armament. we needed to develop our renewable stirred we do everything we can in west virginia to be energy independent. that is how we will have a secure, free, and strong a secured card would you like to go, mr. johnson? >> we keep going back to this

coal for energy model. more energy shines on this planet in one day than all of mankind consumes in a year. geothermal has a greater potential for this state and then coal mining and all other sources combined. we have options and no political will in washington or the state of west virginia to explore them. question for you. what solutions to do you offer for the state and for the country for when the coal runs out. ? >> that is an interesting question. when the coa.l runs out, you are looking at almost 200 years. the myth is that the co2

emission is all about burning coal. governor joe manchin stated that he does believe that global warming is caused by man. and that is where he and i have a different. >> what is your position on what the state should do when the coal runs out? >> the coal is in a transition period, which could be 30 or 50 years. until there is a reliable fuel of the future, coal is our base load. the rest of the world is using more coal than ever. china. we cannot compete with the higher price of energy into we are able to transition. you did not leave your base field, and there is nothing to

replace it with. there will be a few of the future, i am sure. i think it should be done right here and west virginia. i know and west virginia we have the ability, the technology, and the research to help develop different ways of using coal and the fuels of the future. coal will be a mainstay for many years to come. >> we need to move on to the next question. >> despite the recent federal mine safety legislation, six months ago, 29 miners were killed in the upper big branch disaster. if you were elected, what more would you have congress do to protect coal miners against these kinds of disasters? >> as you know, the safety of our miners is the most paramount thing in my mind.

i have sat through too many tragedies and i never want to do that again. the bottom line we speak of is how do we have a safe workplace, not just minding but any workplace in america? what we have right now with the upper big branch investigation still going on -- the federal, state, the independent that they are doing. we have been coordinating our office, our legal staff has been preparing legislation with ventilation and how that should be controlled. what we have done and west virginia, we have challenged every miner to take control, to make sure you are in a safe workplace. if not, stop. make sure you are not in harm's way or any of your fellow workers. we empowered them to do that. we have a hot line. we cannot continue to have people in an unsafe situation and nothing is done to control it. until this investigation is completed, and we will have

legislation on the state level. on the federal level, we will be prepared to coordinate that with the state. that is what we did after the coal mine disaster. we did that with safety. we will do that after the upper big branch investigation is completed. >> mr. johnson, would you like to respond? >> i would like to respond to the 200 years. we are consuming coal at it accelerated rate. the future starts tomorrow, and that is the moment we walk out of here. governor manchin is talking about mine health and safety. what we need to look at is proper application of regulations. that is not being offered at the state or federal level, or would

not have the situation with looking to the epa to enforce our laws. a former congressman wrote the mine health and safety act. had it been followed, ventilating that mine, then this acts of god would never have happened. deep mining is safe as long as it is done properly. we have perfected that in west virginia and around the world for years. there are many possibilities with carbon to utilize safety ls areand many walss being shipped abroad. this is an opportunity for us, and the future starts tomorrow record >> would you like to address the issue of legislation

for mine safety? >> i agree with governor manchin that we have to wait until all studies are in before we can formulate a plan of attack, but i am concerned about the obama administration and his direction that he is going against coal. i am concerned right now for the safety of our miners. when you see washington, they do not have the best concern of all the things that we do in the mining business. i am in the coal mining business and the limestone mining business. i have never been asked by any bureaucrat ever about my input into safety, my input into what we can do. my family has been in the mining business for over 97 years. i'd like to see more of the private sector and fall. people that are experienced at what we do, instead of a lot of washington bureaucrats like we are seeing today.

>> on to our next question. melanie hoffman, your next question is to mr. becker. >> as a member of the constitution party, what is your position on the continued buildup of american troops in afghanistan? >> i think we need to first take a look at happened on september 11. there were three buildings that collapsed on september 11 -- world trade center seven was two blocks away from the twin towers. it was not rained on by any debris. at 5:00 p.m. on 9/11, james stanley, a reporter for the bbc, was standing at ground zero reported that building seven collapsed, when you can see it over their shoulder. then it did collapse.

needs to be investigated. the altar of building seven before 9/11 had taken out -- the older of the building 74 9/11 had taken up an insurance policy. he said he gave the order to pull it. it is a controlled demolition term. more evidence of foreknowledge. you can look at the bbc footage. how did the british know 20 minutes ahead of time that this would happen. this needs to be investigated. there is a preponderant of anomalies surrounding the events on 9/11. architects and engineers, over 1000 agreed and licensed architects and engineers have looked at the information, and

there is so much information -- it does not make sense. the only way the official story could have been is if the laws of physics changed. >> what is your position on the buildup of troops in afghanistan? >> i support the commanders decision for the buildup and the president followed that recommendation. with that, we must support our troops and must give them the needed support they have in order to complete their mission. you have to listen to your front field commanders. we can all sit here and surmise what could have or should have, but that is not the case. we have too many of our national guard. i see too many of them off. and i am there when they come back. sometimes they do not always

return. that is the most devastating loss, when a person loses our luck -- their life for us. i have to look at that family and thank them for the sacrifice they made. with that being said, we must support and make sure they are safe. we must make sure they have all the support they need and return home sifford >> i will like to ask mr. raese or mr. johnson if they would like to respond. >> when general mcchrystal he onlyed troops, got 70% of the troops. once again, president obama did not listen to his generals. i know when you have a war you have to listen to your general. when they request the troops, you have to do it 100%. win, yousophy is -- we in

lose. >> mr. johnson, go ahead. >> i think what we need to keep in mind is that this is all the result the pursuit of empire. being the policeman of the world. that is a dangerous folly. when at $1 of $3 of our money is going to a defense model, and we have a crumbling infrastructure and public transportation, that we need to consider that we perhaps should not be in these excursions notoad and that it's truly making us any safer, and in the process, we are giving up our civil liberties. when we consider that deaths of 9/11, and i'm not making light of that, but sheer fact, in our health care model, sloppy

penmanship kills 7000 people per year per . se, you said you wanted to repeal the health care legislation congress passed. what is it about this new law that you do not like? >> i do not like socialism, to tell you the truth. when you have a doctor-patient relationship, that is the way it is supposed to be and that is it the way we have the greatest health care system in the world, and that is the way it is right now. that will change, because from here on out, under obama-care, something that governor manchin company supported, you will have a patient-bureaucrat relationship, because the first person that patient has to go to is a bureaucrat. that is called a panel. i disagree with it. i disagree with the fact that it

as 20 new taxes in it. i disagree with the fact that you have over 189 new federal agencies that will go with it. you will see insurance companies and doctors come under the penmanship of the federal government. i disagree with all of that. i would like to repeal every part of it, because it is pure unadulterated socialism. it is the worst bill that has ever come out of the united states senate and house. right now when you look at the gross domestic product in this country with obama-care, you are looking at the fact that we are over 51% of the gdp in the country would be controlled by the federal government -- unacceptable. >> mr. manchin, i do want to address what john raese said, in that you came out in support of health care legislation in the spring, and now you have seemed to distance yourself from it. why the change? is there anything good in this legislation for west virginia?

>>. i am not prepared to scrap the entire bill. we have never passed a piece of perfect legislation. there is a lot of work to be done. i am not prepared to tell your child with a pre-existing condition, that he or she cannot be covered. i am not prepared to sit tell someone who had cancer, i am sorry, you cannot have insurance. i am not prepared to someone who might have a cap on their insurance, we cannot pay any more. there is a lot built into the bill that democrats and republicans agree with. that is a pretty good start. that is why we do things in west virginia. we need to fix what we have. you do not go up there with basically starting and repealing everything. it just does not work that way. there are people -- there are things that people depend on. there are things that people have been denied. there are people that cannot afford basic health care.

working people are the ones left in the cold. if you're old enough, you have medicare. medicaid.poor enough, if you are incarcerated, you are covered. if you are getting up and going to work every day, you are the most vulnerable. that has to change occurred there are three parts that i will change. 1099 has to be repealed. that is onerous to small businesses. also, the firewall, to where it is not protecting abortion. that is what states need to respond to. >> our health care problems in this country are largely the result of skyrocketing health- insurance costs and those are the result as the mccaren-

ferguson act, public law 15, this is amazing, it exempted the insurance companies from the sherman antitrust act. there was a bad supreme court ruling that ruled that insurance was not commerce. of course insurance is commerce. the corporations are a for- profit business. now there have been attempts to try to repeal the mccarren it- ferguson act. it failed in the senate. just this past february, the house passed a repeal bill, over 400 votes for repealing it. now there is a companion bill in the senate, and i will support

that vigorously. it is ridiculous that any company or corporation should be exempted from antitrust. the ama did a study i read, in the past 14 years, some 400 health insurers havae merged. they can fix prices. >> i am consistently stunned at this health care act is characterized as socialism. it is not socialism at all. it is capitalism on steroids. you have to pay to a private corporation and you are under penalty of law for not doing so. this is not socialism by any stretch of the imagination. i am disturbed by the fact that it was drawn behind closed doors and, with great giveaways to the

prescription drug industry as well as the insurance industry. when you consider, in 2001, pfizer was the most profitable company in the fortune 503 $7.80 billion that your -- $7.8 billion that year. this is extremely dangerous. as i mentioned before, 7,000 people die from sloppy penmanship and health care. >> thank you. we need to go to our next question. we go to john hingsbergen for his question. >> we invited the public to submit questions it for this debate. mr. jim kirk offer this question. in your campaign, you have embraced many issues that are

associated with the republican party. your position to climate change legislation and the health care bill are a couple of examples. can you identify any issues you support that would be cause for democrats to support you? >> social security. i am not for privatizing it social security, because there are so many west virginians that support it -- that depend on it. if that would have been privatized, with the downturn of the financial markets, 40% of the values would have been lost. we would have had 55% of our seniors thrown into poverty. minimum wage. i believe in the minimum wage. i fought for that and i believe in it. it is basically helping people have a balanced, or have a floor, if you will, so that there is some dignity and some reward.

if you put that out to the market, it will fluctuate to wear, how low is low enough? you have medicare. i believe in medicare. basically every time this country got in trouble, every time that we hit bottom, it is the democrats that helped the people struggling and trying to take care of their families. i believe strongly in that. i am more of a centrist in its fiscal matters. i think it is important we bring people together to make sure that we do not put burdens on people for things they cannot afford. when it is time to help people, we are always there. but i believe people should help themselves, too, if they are capable. the expansion of entitlements, i am not a big proponent of that. i believe in giving a helping hand. i've always done that. i cannot take care of the people who truly need it if i do not. >> this is a two-part question. this is part two. >> this is for mr. raese.

in light of your opposition to setting a minimum wage, how would your policies to prevent a further slide in middle-class income? >> my opposition to minimum-wage is that i did not -- i do not agree that. it is something nobody can live on. i think it is too low. i do not like government setting price or wage controls. i want a better wage for everybody. in order to get a better wage for everybody, we have in this country, we have to start lifting jobs and manufacturing where they should be carrot not like -- not like manchin and obama. they enjoy people working for $7.25. they like this. i do not. demand is a very important word. demand in this country, with the obama policies, is running a large unemployment line right

now. minimum-wage is one of the worst things possible for unemployment. so i would like to raise level of the playing field, because we need to set an environment that creates jobs in this country by cutting taxes and spending and putting american manufacturing first again. unless we do that, we will always be mired in how low can we go. i am opposite of that. i am positive in at how high we can go. i've treated a lot of jobs in my lifetime. jobs i've created a lot of in my lifetime. >> i will ask another question. this election has become a referendum on president obama and his administration. my question is, why has president obama become a focal point in this election in west virginia and should he be? mr. manchin, you can go for.

>> i hate to inform my opponent, will notobama's name be on the ballot for u.s. senate in west virginia. well be me. my record has been very clear. and working in to bring everyone together, democrats republic -- democrats, republicans, mountain, constitutional party. when this much money has been spent to try to scare people that i will do things i have never done, that i will let somebody control leave or be a rubber-stamp for somebody, but i have never been. we would not have all of these people to endorse me. when you talk about the endorsements. after six years, we have all the working people, all the labor. we have the u.s. chamber of commerce. we have the coal association, the national rifle association, a health care providers, the

doctors and nurses and hospitals. these people do not endorse me because we agree on every issue. they are too diverse. they endorsed me because we put a plan in place. they endorsed the process of bringing people together. i am not rubber-stamp for anybody. never have been in my life. in the of senator byrd, he did not care -- in the spirit of senator byrd, he did not care what political party. >> it certainly sounds like a career politician fto me. i am not after special interests. the reason we are concerned about what president obama has done is that if you are in business today, i defy anybody to supply a business plan moving forward. it is virtually impossible. when you look at obama-care, when you look at the stimulus, taxation, the fact that we have not made any decision whatsoever on the bush tax cuts.

when you look at cap and trade. when you look at governor manchin's support for carbon tax, you have to wonder about obama and manchin and which direction they are going. there are choices in this election and they are very clear. when you look at business today, sector, we are the people that supply and motivate and bring this country together and make this country move. when you have people like obama and manchin, you have to be concerned about the future of this country because they are together on all five of those issues and have been. i think west virginia realizes where these people have been and where the country is going. i am a businessman. once again, i think i know a little bit about making jobs in this country. >> i think we have to let mr. manchin respond. >> there is no cap and trade in west virginia. the bill the referred to is house bill 103. caooalwould i have the

miners, the state chamber of commerce supporting a if anything we have done would harm their livelihood? if you have enough money and can spend that much money to scare people and make them believe that is absolutely false, that is what you get. the bottom line we have here to do with is president obama, or president bush. i am an american. i wanted president bush to be the best he could possibly be. i want my country to succeed. i will help you ever i can. i am going up there to help. i am bringing the successes we have had in west virginia to make this country better. >> we need to actually go to closing statements, to allow everyone to have their last say. we will be going in reverse order from our first question,

which means that john raese, you have one minutre. >> i want to thank west virginia public radio and west virginia for watching today. whoever is elected today will go into the lame duck session, a two-month session. we have the bush tax cuts. we need to make them permanent. we have a cap and trade which is a detriment to west virginia. most of all, we have a country that i think is going in the wrong direction. i would like an opportunity to go to the united states senate and put this country and the right direction, a country based on free enterprise, capitalism and what has made this country great for a long time and that is the freedom of america. i want to see the united states rise again. >> one minute, mr. johnson. >> considering the fact that i did not get to answer the last

three, with outrageous statements made on both sides of that. i ask the public as i am campaigning, are you sick enough yet t? it not now, when? everyone that i know that i come in contact with, every citizen has a sick feeling. they know there is something wrong the problem is -- the problem is that two-party system. you will find no reference to party in the constitution. can tivo that. the privatisation with workers comp, the i.t. of the state of west virginia, we have serious privatization going on. quote minimum wage? we need a living wage for the

citizens. we have answers. there are possibilities that have no political will being exercised. >> mr. becker, one minute. >> thank you, west virginia university, and the associated press for sponsoring this debate. the u.s. senate is regarded as the world's greatest delivered deliberative body. i wish i had more time. i like to direct the audience to utionparty.com. one of our great patriots said that people could be easily misled by men. those who did not remember history, are doomed to repeat it. if you've heard anything that you like tonight, please visit my website -- jeffbecker.us.

i ask for your vote on election day. thank you for your consideration. >> six years ago, when i asked to be governor, i asked to work with you to build a west virginia again. we brought all sides together. we did not put our political parties first. we put our state first. in washington, with the loss of senator byrd, there is a great many challenges that we have. i want to go there to take a common-sense approach that we brought to west virginia, i want to take it to washington. this can be fixed. this is a great country. and i will be independent. i have always been independent. i believe in west virginia and we have worked so well together. when you see what is happening in this country, i am as mad as you are, when they put their parties first, before they put this country, that has got to change. that is not how you fix things in west virginia. i believe in you and i am asking

you to believe in me. >> i want to thank our candidates and our panelists for a lively and informative discussion. i am sorry we were not able to get to everyone with every question. and i want to thank you, our audience, for watching and listening to tonight's debate. good night. ♪

>> more debate coverage tonight on c-span. a democrat julie lassa and republican sean duffy are vying for the seat of david obey in the 7th district. after that, debates in illinois's 11th district and arizona's fifth district. tomorrow on a "washington journal", we will talk about african-american voters in the midterm elections. after that, the national retail association on the value-added tax. then fawn johson will discuss how they are taking on immigration issues. later in the day, a conversation on the implications of elections. we will hear from a democratic

adviser and karen hughes, who served in the bush and administration. that is live from george washington university at 6:00 p.m. eastern. >> saturdays, landmark supreme court cases on c-span radial. >> the conduct of the student in 1965 was that at christmas time that they would wear black arm bands to express certain views that they had with regards to the war in vietnam. >> the principal suspended them appearm. hear the argument saturday at 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span radio. in washington, d.c., and 90.1 and online at cspanradio.org. >> a couple of stories out of wisconsin and on what the campaigns are like in the seventh district. in the milwaukee journal

sentinel, for the first time in the memories of many residents, congressman david obey will not be on the ballot. a lot of advertising has been spent. the green bay press gazette reports that outside groups have spent more than $1.1 million to influence voters. most of the money is being spent on advertising by groups other than political action committees. as of friday, outside groups have spent more than $629,000 on ads opposing julie lassa and $475,000 on ads against sean duffy. go to c-span.org/politics for more campaign covered. >> now here are the candidates. it is hosted by

live from the news channel 7 studios in wausau. watch as the candidates for congressional district, democratic senator julia lassa and republican challenger sean duffy face-off in a live debate. here is news channel 7 news director susan ramsett. >> good evening everyone. thank you so much for joining us. on behalf of wsaw-tv news channel 7, wsaw.com and gray television, we are proud to host tonight's live debate between candidates for wisconsin's seventh congressional district. the race for the seventh is one of the most significant that voters will decide this election day. whoever wins will take over a seat held by retiring congressman dave obey for 41 years. this is not just an important race, it's an important job. once in washington, he or she will represent more than 260,000 voters across 20 wisconsin counties. so, which one of these

candidates will best represent your views and beliefs? well, we are hoping in the next hour, this live debate will help you decide. so, without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce our moderator for this evening, president and ceo of the wisconsin broadcasters association foundation, john laabs. >> thank you and good evening. this evening, we will all have the opportunity to participate in an historic event. the most widely broadcast political debate ever in wisconsin's seventh congressional district. it will be seen live on wsaw-tv and wsaw.com in wausau, and kbjr-tv in superior, and will be delayed broadcast tonight at 10:00p.m. on kdlh in duluth, and later this week on weau-tv oclair, wdio-tv superior as well as nationally on c-span. wisconsin's seventh district has been represented for the past 57 years by two wisconsin

political giants. melvin laird and david obey. this evening's debate will engage the two leading candidates to succeed to the seventh district seat. the republican candidate, former ashland county district sean duffy and the democratic candidate, state senator julia lassa. the format for tonight's debate will allow for the candidates to make opening statements, to respond to questions from a panel of reporters and, finally, for each candidate to make a closing statement. the order of responses has been previously decided by a coin flip. our panelists this evening include judy clarke, news anchor weau-tv, mike lauber, news anchor wsaw wausau, and barbara reyelts, news director of kbjr-tv and kdlh-tv superior/duluth. we will now begin with 1.5 minute opening statements. senator lassa?

>> well, thank you very much for the opportunity to be here tonight. i just want to thank wsaw, weau and kdlh for the opportunity to speak to you tonight as well as you viewers who are watching this historic debate. i grew up not too far from here. on my parents' small farm. i went to school here. my husband and i are very proud to be raising our two young daughters here. the fact is, growing up on my parents' farm, i learned the value and the importance of hard work. making sure that we made every dollar stretch. and the importance of having a strong middle class. that is really why i am running for congress, because i believe that people here, we work hard, we play by the rules. all we expect is to be treated fairly.

but that is not what we are seeing coming from washington. there, we have seen where special interests have been given special favors because they have deep pockets and loud voices. that needs to change. we need to make sure that we're putting middle class workers and their families at the top of the priorities list out in washington d.c.. that's why i really called on members of congress to take a 10% pay cut until we bring unemployment down and that members of congress do not receive a pay raise until we have a balanced budget. >> thank you. mr. duffy, your opening statement. >> thank you, i want to thank channel 7 for posting tonight's event. senator lassa, thank you for participating. i think it is great that we have a live debate in the seventh congressional district and i appreciate everyone to being interviewed -- everyone to me in.

-- tuning in did in my lassa master of law school, i knew i wanted to have a family. so, we moved back and at this point, my oldest child 11 and my youngest is 3 and victoria is 3 months old. the reason i got into the congressional race is when congress decided to pass the nearly trillion dollar stimulus bill. government borrowing and spending does not lead to growth, prosperity, wealth or jobs. at that comes from the private sector. i am running for congress because i believe wisconsin and america can prosper again. i am one to go to washington to fight to kickstart our economy

and bring jobs back to wisconsin and make sure we put hard- working families back to work. thank you. >> the key, mr. duffy. our first question will be from judy clarke directed to mr. duffy. >> the latest figures from the congressional budget office at one point was three trillion dollars for 2010. not many people say bay like or favored changing taxes, but do you plan on raising the money to pay the deficit without raising taxes? we have a $13.3 million national debt. if you break it down, that is $43,000 for every man, woman and child in this country for live to put it a different way, when my daughter victoria was born six months ago, on goals and handed her a bill for $43,000. we have to get our national

budget under control. we have to balance our budget. the bottom line is that we need to put americans back to work. more people are going to work on a daily basis. they pay more taxes. the bottom line is that if we increase taxes, we will see more job losses. there is a direct correlation. the congressional budget office said that if we increase taxes on january 1, 2011, we will experience a 1.2 million person job loss. it does not mean that we will bring more money into the federal coffers. a stimulated economy where people are working is one where taxes will flow into federal coffers and we can look at balancing the budget. >> center lassa? >> thank you for the question. i think is important that we

recognize what is happening at the federal level in terms of the spending that is going on. for years, our middle class families have been squeezed. have had to focus on how to make our family's budget balance. we had to make some difficult choices and prioritize where we wanted to see our money spent between our needs and wants. i think that is what the federal government has to do as well. we need to make sure that we are balancing the budget. prioritizing what we need to be spending on in terms of how to get this economy rolling again. also, we need to make sure that we are not spending money on just what our once our. we need to bring this budget back into balance. that is why i call on members of congress to not get a pay raise until we balance the budget,

that we close the tax loopholes that are encouraging our corporations to move good paying american jobs overseas that we do what we can at the federal level in order to make sure that taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck. we are making the process transparent and accountable. >> our next question will be from mike lauber. >> your marks, which are spending products put into a bill without voting, it is a poor way to legislate. year marks can -- earmarks can benefit. congressman obey the disparate have the feel about your marks?

would ever seek one that would benefit the district? >> the fact is, i believe that we should in the process. i think that every tax dollar that is being spent on a project should stand on its own merit and that it should be weighed against other spending. i really think that we need to be able to get a handle on our federal budget and deficit. this is one of the ways to do that. it also makes sure that the process is much more transparent for individuals as well as taxpayers because they know exactly where money is being spent instead of earmarks being put in the process where it is not so much out in the open. i think that is what is important. i appreciate all the work that congressman toby has done over the years, but the fact is that the earmarks process is

something that we really need to change. we really need to crack down on federal spending. >> mr. duffy? >> my concern with earmarks is that it is slip in under the cover of darkness. i want to bring transparency to this process. what i would like to see happen is that any project that we think is worth federal dollars, let's bring it to the house floor and let everyone see it and have a great conversation on what american spending is appropriate. just because i am not in favor of earmarks does not mean that i am not in favor of money being spent in the seventh district. not all government spending is bad. if it is good spending, i will advocate for those projects and make sure wisconsin projects get funded. if you look at a lot of our businesses, a lot of them get work for the federal government. i will advocate for our hard- working businesses in wisconsin because i think are great.

i will use my bullhorn as a congressman to make sure that those contracts come our way. but, senator lassa says she is not in favor of earmarks. as a state senator, she voted on 7 $1 million worth of earmarks. if you do that in madison, you will probably do the same thing in washington. >> our next question is from barbara reyelts for mr. duffy. >> during the campaign, you both have said that you have reservations about the obama administration and the health care reform plan. you had basically three options when you get to washington. you can vote to repeal the whole thing or you can work to reform certain elements of the health care plan or you can let things go on as they are for a while and see what the results are. what would you do with the health care plan? >> that is a wonderful question

third i think the primary goal of health care has to be with reform that will reform. we are not fundamentally addressing the root cause of one prices are going up your over year. the bottom line is, we need tort reform. we need competition across state lines we need to make sure that citizens can pool their resources and have better buying power against insurance companies. i want to make sure there is transparency to make sure that if we are shopping for a service provided by a health-care plan, we can look up the cost of the. i think that we should take off a lifetime cap and someone who has a pre-existing condition, i think they should be able to buy insurance. i look at senator loss of's ,roposal -- lassa's proposal

and she voted for a bill that gave more power to bureaucrats and took power away from families. i do not want to see that happen. that will cost the wisconsin taxpayer $15 billion and it will be paid for by way of a 12% payroll tax. that would make wisconsin far less competitive and it would ship far more jobs to other states. that is the wrong way, but reform is the right way. >> senator lassa? >> i remember when i was kicked off my parents' health insurance when i became too old. i had a cavity and had to go into the dentist to get it fixed. i did not have the money at that time to have pain medication and overcame when the doctor was drilling my cavity. it was one of the bus painful things i have ever had to go

through, but the fact is, we have people in this state and in this country who are making even more difficult health decisions than what i had to make in the dentist's office. that is why, with this health insurance law, is making sure that children who have diabetes can get health insurance. making sure that if you become sick or become pregnant at your health insurance cannot kick you off your health insurance plan. senior citizens life-saving medication better able to be afforded. i am concerned about the piece about mandates. it mandates individuals and families to have health insurance. the fact is, we need to make sure that the health insurance coverage is affordable for them, otherwise, i believe it is not fair. what my republican opponent is talking about is handing the keys back to health insurance executives.

>> our next question will be from judy clarke, directed to senator lassa. >> there are many proposals being offered calling for changes on how the dairy industry should get support from the government if at all. would you stand on a support program and the few are in favor, what alternative do you favor that would provide dairy farmers with a fair and low wage, price, and allow them to make money and make dairy prices affordable at the consumer level? >> thank you, so much for that question. been someone who grew up on a dairy farm, i am familiar with so many of the challenges. one of the reasons why my dad had a factory for 38 years is because we needed the extra income that the job brought and the health insurance benefits.

that is like so many families across this state. that is why i believe that when the new farm legislation comes to the table and needs to be drafted, we need to make sure that our small family farmers, dairy and others, are there to have a voice. we just saw where dairy farmers were getting low prices, prices that they were getting back in the 1970's. how can a small family farm get the fertilizer, the seed, buying new equipment that they need if they're getting prices that they were receiving back in the 1970's? it is just not realistic. what i believe that we need to be doing is crafting that legislation to allow farmers to

get ahead. but also do things like cracking down on the imports that are coming in. that will help our farmers as well. >> mr. duffy? >> as i traveled the district, i had a chance to deal with the farmers. i hear different comments from all of them about what they think should happen to turn this very situation around. going from $9 to $21. it is a feast or famine scenario that they go through. we want to make sure that our families can make a living carried -- make a living. one in 10 of our workers work in agriculture. i think it is a great industry to export these products. let's try to export our great dairy products to the rest of the world.

96% of all consumers live outside of america. i think that we can work on policies to help with that export. and we pass our forms from generation to generation, and when we pass that on, one of the impediments to doing that is the estate tax. when father passes away, they get slammed with a significant stake -- estate taxes and that makes it more debacle. i support policies that will support forms. >> our next question will be from mike lauber. >> the next negotiation the u.s. negotiates will probably deal with austria and other countries. since new zealand exports 95% of their dairy production, and they would love to have access to the u.s. market, what step would you

take to make sure they would not drive down costs? >> i am not in favor of free or fair trade. i think this would drive down our dairy prices. i think we have to look at how many consumers are outside of america. what i want to see us do is see how we can export american products but not jobs. that is why i want to see us have an effective tax rate that allows us to compete on this global stage. american products are taxed in america and when they are exported, they are taxed again. the products from japan has the tax laws of their products and it comes into america tax-free.

american products are at a disadvantage because of our rules and how we tax their exports and imports. we have to make american products far more competitive on the global stage. >> senator lassa? >> one of the main issues we will have to deal with in the next congress has to deal with fair trade. when we are talking about products coming in from new zealand and other areas that impact our dairy farmers, i think that we have to be very cautious about that. we need to make sure that our dairy farmers, as well as other american businesses are able to compete on a fair and level playing field. that is not what is happening right now. we are not doing what we need to do to enforce agreements, making

sure that wages are being paid like they are supposed to be paid the way that the situation is right now, american businesses and our workers cannot compete because they are all at different levels. the debt has been stacked against them. we need to make sure that we are enforcing what we have in place and enforcing that we need to. we need our american businesses to compete and out compete anyone in this world. the fact is, they cannot deal that when the deck is stacked against them. >> our next question is from barbara reyelts. >> the help of like superior is critical environmentally.

many parts of the state like northwestern wisconsin is very important to the economy. and invasive species is troubling to many. how would you work to protect the health of the great lakes? >> well, the great lakes is an important resource, not only for our state but for our country. it is the largest freshwater body that exists. we need to make sure that we protect that, not only for the health of our state's residents, but also for the environment and the workers who depend on the work that is related to the great lakes. that is why i believe that we need to make sure that we're doing what we can to be proactive in making sure that there is no pollution coming

into the great lakes which is deteriorating quality. there are so many communities across the state and in other states that draw water from the great lakes for drinking water. i believe we need to make sure that we preserve that national treasure that we have with the great lakes and that we worked as a community to be able to do that between the business community and also the environmental community. >> mr. duffy? >> this is a great asset and a great resource. i have the privilege of living in ashland. i get to see the beautiful lake every day. i know what it means for our wisconsin economy because i see what it does for tourism. it has people come to ashland and go up to cornucopia and use this great resource that we have. it is the largest freshwater

body. we need to protect it. if i am the next congressman, believe me, i understand the value and is important and i will go to washington to protect the body of water. >> a follow-up question? >> the reason that you both agree, but neither of you address how he would protect the great lakes. one of the great problems or invasive species. the problem is, the shipping industry is a multimillion- dollar industry if you start thinking of how to get rid of the ballast water, how would you handle that? you also have canada to deal with. how would you handle that? >> senator lassa, we have 30

seconds and your first. >> there are a number of different ways we can handle invasive species one is that any type of living creature that would be transported in the ship's hull would be killed. we into do this through a variety of different means, but we need to make sure that that is happening. we need to watch the asian car which is coming up from the rivers south of us from chicago. >> mr. duffy? >> we have to work with our shippers and other companies to make sure they have procedures and policies that will allow us to effectively handle invoices pcs. -- invasive species we need to make sure the we will address this problem effectively. >> our next question is from

judy clarke and directed to mr. duffy. >> unemployment is reaching 10%. job creation is a big issue in many campaigns. do you think that the federal government should play a role in creating jobs, and if you believe that there is a roll, please be specific about what that role should be. >> i just came out with my plan for stimulating the economy and getting job growth going. it is on my job site. the out-my website. -- my website. a constituent employs 131 people and invest $1 million and his business and if he does that, he would create 15 new jobs. but he says he is 62 and he will not make that investment because there is uncertainty coming from the government. what he means by that is that he

is uncertain because he does not know the cost of health care. we have bailouts in the stimulus. all that has caused him to walk down and not create jobs. the bottom line is that there are 15 families that do not have a good job and central wisconsin. those decisions are being made all over wisconsin and that is wrong. under senator losses leadership, she has expanded unemployment. we have seen businesses leave this state. on friday, we saw that health care is going to leave the district. that is what they have been doing in washington. what she has done in madison, she will also do in washington. >> senator lassa? >> thank you very much for the question.

i come from a family that has a small dairy farm. the fact is that my dad also worked at a factory for 38 years. during that time, there were times when work at the factory slowed down. i know very well what is happening with so many families that have lost a job and been laid-off or are concerned about whether they will have a job next week, next month, or next year. i really believe that we need to close the tax loopholes that are encouraging corporations moved good paying american jobs overseas. we need to stop that. it is absolutely crazy for americans to work as hard as we do, we pay our taxes, and then turn around and give corporations their hard-earned

tax money just to move jobs overseas. that is what separates our republican opponent and i. he wants to keep those tax loopholes in place. we need to be rewarding businesses that invest in wisconsin and american workers first. talking about the job losses in the state and the country, the country has been brought to its knees. >> our next question, mr. lassa -- mr. lauber? >> we have seen jobs disappearing. we have paper mills in the seventh district and it is one of seven companies that are looking into whether chinese or indignation paper imports are unfairly priced and pushing u.s. companies out of the market.

what steps was to take to protect wisconsin paper companies? what i have already taken steps to do that. -- >> i have already taken steps to do that. i do believe that we are seen where china, indonesia and other countries are selling their paper products in this country for less than what they can even manufacturer for. the saddest meeting that i have ever had to attend was over in port edward where employees in the community were gathered. the reason why there plant closed is because of this unchartered -- on fair trade. we need to get tough on china. we need to make sure they are not selling their products here

for less than a 10 make it over there. we also need to look for a way for them to be priceless -- profitable. paper manufacturers take would waste and turn that into gasoline. this is a new promise for our paper industry treate. we really need to be making sure that we're focusing on that and being able to move forward because that is a real promise. >> mr. duffy? >> we see wisconsin jobs being outsourced, but they are not going to other countries, they are going to other states. they are not closing their doors and to shutting down, they are going to more competitive states. we cannot do business in wisconsin because of the policies and the taxes that

senatorial loss of voted for in madison -- senator lassa voted for it in madison. there was a 22.5%-$22.5 million tax last year. these policies killed jobs in wisconsin. >> the bottom line is that we have chinese paper being dumped here in america. we have policies in place to take care of that. the president has that ability and i think that he should impose it. i am not a big fan of tariffs, but when we have unfair trade practices, i think it is appropriate. to all of our loggers out there and those in the paper industry, i am a man that has made a living anticipated in their

sport that goes back 100 years for the >> our next question is from barbara while its and it goes to mr. duffy. >> with the federal no child left behind legislation, calls the -- schools have to compete for funding. teachers have to meet certain federal standards or face having their schools punished financially and a lot of other federal regulation. how do you feel about this level of federal involvement in schools? >> i have to tell you that i believe that our children are our greater resort -- greatest resource. i want to make sure that they get the best education possible. 20 years ago, they were competing against ohio and iowa. now they're competing against china and vietnam i want to make

sure that there is as much local control as possible. it is not necessarily good for cincinnati or minnesota or minneapolis for milwaukee, but i want to have as much local control as possible. that was president bush's program. that was a lot of mandate without a lot of funding. what obama is doing right now is positive. let's have all of these different schools try to implement procedures the will educate their children most effectively and in the best way possible. when they do that, there is competition. when you do it right and do it well, you get resources from the federal government. it is a great free market principles that will encourage competition among schools and i would support that. all the while, i want to make sure that we keep as much control as possible at our local level.

>> senator lassa? >> i want to go back to the last question. i cannot disagree with my republican opponent anymore. when a plan announced that they were closing, over 400 people are born to lose their jobs. they are not going to minnesota 400 -- minnesota. 400 jobs are going to mexico. they are binding the hands of american businesses and american workers. millions of dollars were spent in revenue last year and chose to move to mexico so they could make more. they left their employees in the dust. regarding education, i am a mom that has to young girls who, right now, the wanted the princesses, but the fact is that

when they grow up, i want to make sure that they and other kids like them all across the state have a good, sound, quality education so that they can grow up and be whatever they wanted the. -- they want to be. all the way up into higher education. they are our future work force. we are talking about our nation's future in economic development and job opportunities. that, to me, is important. >> our next question will be from judy clarke and will be directed to senator lassa. >> social security is the government's largest entitlement program. according to the social security administration, suspected long run costs cannot be sustained and by 2025, there will be twice as many older americans as there are today. what should be done with this program?

>> social security is a very important program that 1 million caesars -- 1 million seniors are relying on. my grandmother's all source of income was a security. there are many that rely on social security as a big portion of their income. that is what they have to live on every month. that is why i believe that it is vital that we protect social security for our current retirees, but also for our workers who are paying into social security as well as medicare. that is why i believe that we need to stop using the social security trust fund as a way for paying for other government programs. that has to stop. just by doing that, we can extend the life of social

security until 2040. take it seriously -- i do take it seriously. this is something that is really in contrast to my republican opponent who has supported paul ryan's budget in the past where it includes privatization of social security. >> mr. duffy? >> thank you. the bottom line is companies have left wisconsin to go to other states because other states are more competitive because of the policies that senator lassa advocated for. when people are not working in wisconsin, the on not paying social security tax. that is part of the problem.

we have to get this economy rolling again. senator lassa like to say that i want to privatize social security. the milwaukee journal sentinel called her a liar. i do not want to privatize social security. i want to shore it up. i want to make sure that our seniors did exactly what they bargained for which is their benefits. those that are about to retire me to get their benefits. what are we want to get from social security in my generation? i am talking about means testing. at the top earners may get a smaller return on their investment, maybe 3.1%. the rest of us would get the current rate of return which is 4.1%. that will go a long way into shoring up the system. as a senator, senator lassa

rated the state transportation trust fund, the family compensation fund and she has done it in madison and she will do it in washington. >> our next question is for mike lauber directed to mr. duffy. >> wisconsin -- nationwide polls have shown that washington is out of touch with the average american. comment-how would to insure that you would address these issues? >> i have been running for 18 months. i know how large the district is. i have crisscrossed all over. i actually have a callus on my hands from shaking so many hands of wisconsin voters. i will make sure that i will live in the district. i love wisconsin. i am going to raise my kids in

wisconsin. i will travel at the last moment on monday and come home on thursday. when you go to church here and your kids go to school here, you were in touch with people here. i am going to do something different than what congressman toby did. i will make sure that i have at least one town hall meeting in every county every year. people need to see their congressman and have a conversation with their congressman. i want to make sure i have open office hours so that they can find me. i think accessibility is important, especially when you talk about legislation that was recently passed from health care to capt. trade, it is -- to cap and trade. i want to have an open-door policy so that anyone who wants to have a conversation with me will have that opportunity. >> senator lassa? >> thank you. i look forward to addressing

your question in just a moment, but i do want to jump back and talk about social security. the fact is, back in may, my republican opponent, when he was asked about social security and medicare, he said that paul ryan, who is a very conservative republican congressman, has some very good ideas dealing with social security and medicare. when he was on this morning, he changed his tune and said how he was opposed to the privatization of social security and medicare. in terms of talking about staying in touch with the second congressional district -- the seventh congressional district, it is a large and a first district with many wonderful it.ple in tha

my oldest daughter goes to public school. my youngest daughter will be starting 4k next year. i think this is one of the best ways to really keep in touch with constituents. the fact is, when i am out a grocery shopping, checking over the clearance rack and one of the local department stores, i have people come up to me and i think that is a way to stay connected. >> our next question is from barbara reyelts, directed to senator lassa. >> senator obey was talking about money being poured into wisconsin. i asked if he was for or against both of your campaigns. yes the millions of dollars. how do you feel about outside

entities influencing this district, and if you are elected, how would you change that? >> thank you very much for that question. the fact is, a couple of weeks ago, my daughter was celebrating her sixth birthday. on the television appeared this u.s. chamber of commerce and that was an attack ad against me that listed my home telephone number for me to call. the fact is, i can understand if someone is or to attack and, but they should not be attacking my family. we have seen, in this race, where there have been nine outside groups that have been spending $1.2 million or more in attack ads against me to benefit my republican opponent. we need to know where that money is coming from. who is donating it?

we need disclosure in those ads so that voters know who is paying for it, and what did they to get by spending that kind of money to buy this congressional seat for their candid? i think it is important. i support the disclose that fact. it will make sure that donations for ads have to be disclosed to the federal elections commission. they would have to stand by their ad so that they have to take responsibility for what is being said. shareholders should be have a majority if they want to spend money. >> mr. duffy? >> to respond to senator lassa, in regard to social security, ever independent organization that has investigated this has called a misleading or alive. i do not want to privatize

social security. in regard to adds, i believe that families are off-limits. that someone would put a at up with senator lassa's home number on there, i think that is wrong. i cannot imagine the u.s. chamber intentionally putting up at home number. i do not have any control over what these party people put up. we see these as the same time the viewers do. i am on the receiving side of this. the national democratic party, the first at the rand, the whole country was against me. senator lassa did not condemn that ad. a lot of people have received literature pieces in the mail .org.women'svote

another group is called emily's list. she should call on those organizations to find what they stand for and who supports their organization. >> your final question is for mr. duffy. >> although they can be effective, most voters have claimed that they do not like negative ads. whether the message comes from your campaign for outside sources. without quoting your own strength for qualifications, say something nice about your opponent. >> that is a good question. i think that senator lassa is a very nice person and a wonderful mother. i disagree with the ads that she puts on television about me. my ads have been positive. we have a young child and a

construction what -- construction worker getting -- construction worker getting dumped in water. she had one very good at, but after a week, she turned to negative ads. i think senator lassa is a good mom and i think she is a good person, we just disagree on a lot of political issues. she has a wonderful husband and i think she puts her family flush -- family first. >> senator lassa? >> thank you. this race, i have been in it for five months. i know how grueling it can be. both sean and i have young

families. we have two young girls. that is why i really do appreciate, as a mom, the dedication that he has shown to his family and his wife. i think that is very important because that can be a lot of stress on the campaign trail. just making sure that you're able to juggle your daily schedule and make sure you are spending enough time with your kids. for me, it is laundry in doing .ooking and stuff like that in terms of negative ads, when my opponent talks about my farm and and the values that i have, he was running too negative attack ads at that time. i had to respond. i think that is very important

for voters to know. i think that the debate is wonderful because it allows individuals to hear were the candidates stand on the different issues. i really do appreciate the opportunity to be talking to you. >> that includes the question and answer portion of our debate. thank you senator lassa, thank you senator duffy barred -- mr. duffy. you now have 1.5 minutes for closing statements. senator lassa? >> thank you again for hosting this debate. as i said, it is important for voters to know where the candidates stand on the issue. that is why, throughout this campaign, i talked about washington putting middle class workers and their families first. they have forgotten about us.

we need to make sure that we are back on the top of the priorities list. that is not special interests giving special favors. we need to make sure that we're growing our economy again. we need to be able to come up with innovative ideas to help the state and our national economy be able to move forward. one of the big issues that we talked about during this debate is social security. i will jump back to social security if i can. i am not the only one talking about how my republican opponent shifts his position on social security, but it is also politico. having voters be able to hear from the candidates, where they stand on the issues, is so very important. if you are out there listening and you're looking for a candid that is -- a candidate, i ask

for your vote on november 2. >> mr. duffy, your closing statement. >> i want to thank channel 7 and senator loss of for encouraging a debate. as we have gone to this conversation, i think there are distinct differences that you will see. she believes in bigger government, more spending, and larger deficits. she has a 0% rating for small business organizations. which talks about business, she has a 0% rating. she has voted for small businesses 0% of the time. i think that we can kickstart our economy and bring jobs back to wisconsin and put our hard- working families back to work. i want to go to washington and make sure that happens. i think we have a great american tradition and it is a tradition

for each generation leads to the next generation. i think that this is the first time that the great tradition is in jeopardy. i will go to washington and i will fight to make sure my kids and your kids and grandkids have that great tradition alive and well what here in wisconsin and right here in america. i appreciate the debate. i appreciate you listening. have not. >> that concludes this debate between the seventh congressional district and a desperate we think the candidates, state senator julia lassa and mr. duffy and we think our panelists, or ryle says -- barbara roberts, in judy clarke. this evening's debate has been brought to you by gray television and broadcast through

wisconsin to insure that every citizen in wisconsin has had an opportunity to hear the two leading candidates. in the traditional spirit of service to their communities, the radio and television stations that have and will air this debate hope that bring the political event to you as a public service will contribute positively to this campaign as they approach their next member of congress. now, on behalf of these candidates, mr. john duffy, senator julia lassa, thank you for listening and watching. good night. ♪

♪ >> tomorrow night, the first

u.s. senate debate republican congressman mark kirk faces his opponent. this is president obama is a senate seat. live coverage from chicago begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern. then, pennsylvania's canada for governor. republican tom corbett and his opponent. after that, a debate between florida's u.s. senate candidates charlie crist, marked rubio and kendrick me. then a debate for wisconsin's race for governor. watch debates east on c-span. we continue our coverage tonight on c-span. in about an hour, a debate for

arizonas fifth congressional district which includes the suburbs of phoenix and the cities of scottsdale and tempe. coming up, a debate with the candidates running for illinoi'' 11th congressional district. the democratic incumbent faces a republican challenger. before this debate which is courtesy of the illinois channel, we take a closer look at the district and the race. >> >> c-span's content vehicles are looking at the house races leading up to the midterm election. >> is with a lot of hard work, but the message that you guys believe in witches limited government, get the government out of my way and let me blame-

let me brave my own trial. i think it is amazing. you guys are probably feeling on the ground what i am feeling all over the place, which is that we are one to take our country back. >> we are in this together. but if people don't vote, we are one to wake up and things are going to be really bad. we want to wake up knowing that we're going to continue moving forward. the first thing i learned, is if you are in a whole, quit digging. we are out of that hole. >> the candidates for the 11th congressional district are the incumbents that is from far south illinois and she is being challenged by adding teams in your who is an iraq war veteran.

>> she is a freshman and the district is represented by republicans for years. republicans want to try to get that seat back. she has also voted with the president on two of the most controversial votes introduced, the stimulus package and the health care reform bill. she is i do not think she will take too many hits over the health care bill carry its the stimulus bill is going to be some problems for her. i do not think she wants to be seen with president obama. i think she is having a hard time trying to separate herself from nancy pelosi. i think she is trying to present herself as an independent. i do not think she wants to be seen with president obama right now.

the makeup of the district is largely rural. there are a few urban pockets. it is largely white, mostly rural, and republican leaning. there has been a little pockets of tea party activity year. you are hearing from the tea party folks that they want smaller government and less spending. those are all issues that are coming up in this race. deborah halvorson is an interesting democrats. she came from a hunting and farming community. she does have some are moderate stance is. she is trying to remind voters that sheet is a homegrown gal. that is what she has for her. she rose from being a town ship cleric to being a member of the

u.s. congress. she works very hard and she is a known commodity around here. she is battling with the voters being very familiar with her. >> my district has always been a swing district. it can go either way. when i won the last time, we knew that it would be a tough race all along. i represented a swing district when i was a state senator for 12 years. it could have gone either way even then. the voters like the fact that i am an independent fighter. people want somebody who is going to fight for them. i brought the city to be vacated silver cross hospital, it is going to be a veteran center. we want to make short to fight for things that are in trouble -- that are important for the district. >> adam kinzinger ran for office at the age of 20.

he went and joined the air national guard and served several tours of duty in iraq and afghanistan. he is a very well spoken, and very comfortable with the media. he has been challenging on a lot of points. he's great at fundraising. he is running on a kind of a more pro-business, lower taxes platform. he also is not the most conservative person in this primary. he is getting some tea party support, but there were others that he ran against that were more conservative than he was. if the democrats have a plan that is good, i am willing to work with them. i have seen him pull back a little bit from that message, but he ran on a message of it is too partisan and washington. >> we know unemployment around the country is bad.

in my district, it is especially bad. we're talking more than 11%. one of the things that has stood out, in illinois, is corruption. there is been a culture of corruption for the last decade in illinois. people are tired of that. they're tired of arrogance in government. i think that is the reason we're seeing a lot of the problems we are seeing. that is why we are seeing out of control spending and out of control unemployment. washington d.c. -- you do not spend more than you take in. ultimately, that is what matters. >> his biggest challenge -- if she were a democrat that had served all this time, it would be much easier for him. but she is just a freshman. she cannot or the jacket for the deficit.

she has not been there. looks like they will both be -- raise and spend over $1 million. it is one of the most watched races in the country. both of the d.c. organizations are paying a lot of attention to this race. they're spending a lot of time working at this. we have snot seen that much money pouring in from those entities. they are both really focused on these two candidates. i think the republicans think they can win it. the democrats are. to hold onto it. they got this seat after 15 years of republican representation. >> local content vehicles are traveling the country, visiting committees and congressional districts as we look at some of the most closely contested house races.

for more information on what the local content vehicles are up to this election season, visit our website. >> there was a coin toss before the debate. in the end, deborah halvorson will be taking the first opening statement. >> thank you and good evening. it is great to be here. thank you to our panelists. i am running for congress because of my grand kids. i have one of them here in the audience. i want to work for a better future. we want to see that they will have the same opportunities that we had. we have achieved a lot of the past two years and we are saying the economy begins to recover. we have a lot more to do. we need to continue moving forward and we are seeing some

signs of progress. however, if there is one person without a job, there is still a crisis and we need to do everything we can to get things back on track. one of the things i have done to help is to hammer out a deal for the new -- there are a lot of jobs that are being created there. over 11,000 construction jobs and long term shipping positions. we need a level playing field for american workers create we need more tax credits for companies that are creating jobs in america. we need more american workers and american infrastructure. we need to end this unfair tax

breaks that lead to companies like caterpillar shipping jobs overseas. these are the things that we need to move our country forward. the fact is, our economy was driven into a ditch because of the policies of the bush years. one thing that i truly believe is that my opponent policies would move us back in that direction. his vision would have dire consequences for our business because of the main purpose of his position being more free trade. they are the same policies that put our economy into the ditch. they're the same trade policies that have shipped our jobs overseas. they are the same tax policies that give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires and to companies that continue to ship our jobs overseas. i believe we need to head in a better direction. one that puts american workers on a level playing field and the

middle class first. that is the choice this november. policies one has to go backwards to the bush years. we have to go forward. we're digging out of this whole. i am asking for two more years to be your voice so that we can continue to move forward. thank you for being here. [applause] >> now for the republican opponent in the race, adam kinzinger. >> how is everybody doing? thank you for coming out. this is inspiring to me to see people engage in democracy. i know there is a lot of back and forth, al a lot of talking about the issues, but we have great respect for each other. that is what made our country strong in the first place. it is bad -- it is great to be

back at illinois state university, where i graduated 10 years ago. let me quickly say, i am 32 years old. i know that takes some people by surprise. when i was 20, i was elected to a position on the county board. i ran against an incumbent that had been there for a while. i realize that he had lost touch with what representation truly is. i ran for the position. perhaps we worked hard and a door-to-door -- i went door-to- door and i looked 16. i 153-47. -- i won 53-47. then i was driving to work and i heard that and plane hit the world trade center. i knew my life would never be the same. i responded to that by joining the united states air force. i began the process of becoming

a pilot. i went off to train in the fall of 2003. it has taken me to iraq and afghanistan. i remember flying one day and thinking, if i am willing to fight for my country on the inside, i have to be -- if i am fighting on the outside, i have to fight for it on the inside. we are almost 14 trillion dollars in debt. every child that is born today is born with over $40,000 in responsibilities to the federal government. we are approaching 10% unemployment. we were promised that it would not go over 8%. we have got a lot of challenges. in 2009, will we should of been talking about how to get people back to work, and creating an environment that allows the free market to flourish and allows the entrepreneur doors to have competent and go out and invest, we spent all of 2009 talking about health care. we had to do something about

health care, but this was the wrong answer. what is most important is that all of these issues, you deserve representation. you deserve somebody that is going to be acceptable and is going to have town hall meetings and stand in front of you and not be afraid to take your questions. we will have a great debate tonight. i am looking forward to representing you, starting in january. thank you. [applause] >> we are ready for the question segment of the night. i want to remind our audience and a candidate, each candidate is going to be asked a question. the first person to enter will get one minute and 30 seconds to answer. the possible get two minutes in response to that. we will start with our first moderator for the evening.

our student body president has a question. >> thank you for showing up tonight. it is an incredible experience for all of us. many economists argue that social security will be in crisis situation by the time my fellow students and myself are at the age to collect benefits. what changes would you propose for social security? >> thank you, david. social security is a guarantee that our seniors have paid into. right now, it is solvent for another 33 years. can you a imagine if our seniors money was in the wall street debacle? 40% of our women singers rely solely on social security. 33% of men. we need to make sure that it is there for them. we need to put together a panel, like president reagan did.

he picked the smartest and brightest and those changes are only now taking place. that is what i am hoping that president obama will do. he needs to put together that panel. we need to create more jobs. this is all about jobs. instead, we have policies that are shipping our jobs overseas. as caterpillar builds this manufacturing plant, and those people but are working at this plant, i do not know their jobs and people who worked in beijing, they are not paying into our system. we need to create jobs here is that the people working here are paying into our system. >> thank you for that. i find it very interesting. they call social security the third rail of politics for a reason. the cause of islam and was interviewed in front of the editorial board and she said, we

have to be politicized this situation. both sides have to put their arms and about it. three days later, she launched an attack had a number of senior citizens talking about the fact and saying that i want to raise the retirement age and i want to privatize social security. let me be very clear. i do not want to raise the retirement age. i did not want to privatize social security. promises made need to be promises kept. i believe the congressmen said in words but not in deeds. we have to put our arms down and talk about how we make it solvent and a long run. for 33 years, it will be solvent. that would be the case if we did not rob the social security fund for the very beginning. the money is not there. we need to come to resolution. to even discuss options. i do not want to raise the retirement age. we need to make sure that it is

solvent in the long run. we need to understand that we have to come with real solutions. not just words. >> would like to rabat's? >> i sure would. -- rebut? >> we have to entertain the idea of raising the retirement age. we cannot afford such largess. these are his words. >> do you believe that the bush tax cuts should be continued? do you think they should be continued permanently? >> yes, i believe we have to extend the tax cut and make them permanent. a democrat senator from indiana and jolie a believer -- joe

lieberman and 40 or 50 house democrats the said in a bad economy, which cannot raise taxes. we are sitting on -- it is a second double-dip recession. i hope we do not touch that. we talked about coming back. i do not think we are recovering. to raise taxes in this environment and to take money out of under premier words, these are small business owners that employ a lot of you in the audience, it is an absolute wrong decision. many individuals filed their business income. now they are saying, the rich are those with overt to under $50,000. many of them are small business owners. they are trying to figure out how they will make payable. the congresswoman said that the

people that make over to under $50,000 our athletes and movie stars. a lot of them are small business owners. >> how would you feel about that? should the bush tax cuts be continued? >> we need to put the middle class first as well as small businesses. in the last congress, we passed a bill that i was a co-sponsor of. anything under $250,000, you can write off immediately. we passed the small-business lending act, giving businesses access to capital. we could dig -- 50% of everything you spend invest in your business, a ride off on your taxes. this is not the time to give paris hilton tax cuts. that is what we are doing. we really need to think about that. i am serious.

if your business really wants to invest in its business, we have given them the tax cuts to do so. that is what we want to continue to do and not extend them all. we need to make sure we're helping the middle-class. >[laughter] >> part of the problem that we face in this economy right now, the problem that the economy is facing is uncertainty. we passed a health care bill that does not take effect until 2014. but we're seeing continued spikes in health-care costs. small business owners are saying, i want to expand my business and invest in capital and i want to hire somebody to come my neck, but i think i will be charged more in taxes at the end of the year. what you have is that uncertainty.

they have capital, but they said unbent. they say, let me just wait until january. these are real solutions. we have to eliminate that uncertainty. we do not need -- we need real plants. -- plans. i have so much uncertainty, i do not know what to do. when we talk about raising taxes, and a huge group of democrats and said that is the wrong answer. we need to take that into account and looked at it. what do we have to do to foster an environment so that people are hired back? >> you are listening to live coverage of the 11th district congressional debate. bob bradley has the next question. >> this question goes to deborah halvorson. do you favor the elimination of

most earmarks in regards to federal funding projects? it's not, what types of projects do you believe are appropriate targets for earmarks? >> i do not believe in the elimination of the remarks. i do believe in the way it -- i believe that they should not go to private companies, that they should only for not-for-profit or municipalities. they go directly onto my website for full vetting. i work with the one ablaze. it is a wonderful group. they get together, it is business, education, labor all coming together to talk about what is and where and for their town. they come to see me in washington d.c. and we talk about the things that are important. we are able to work with them on getting some earmarks. it's very difficult to get projects, especially now, but the republicans have decided that they are going to use the

rhetoric and say, no earmarks. that just hurts the community. what i also believe is that you do not take your marks, some bureaucrats in washington d.c. is going to sit there in office and decide who should get the water, the sewer, the infrastructure projects. my district is made up of a lot of little talent that the washington d.c. doesn't even know about. i am the only one that knows what is best for my district. as long as we have the proper reform and people who do it right, they are good for our district. we need to continue them and make sure they are down right. >> adam kinzinger, what are your feelings? >> i do not believe with a broad brush we should say, absolutely no earmarks. we know this all too well here. a lot of growth projects and

funding goes north because they have the political clout. i do not think there is anything wrong with every year mark. -- pierre marc. we need to have aggressive earmarked reform. i do not think that has happened. a lot of earmarking still gets into bills that and are related to the bill at all. it is important to understand that infrastructure as well as a transparent environment for the free market to flourish and national defence, infrastructure is a very important job of the federal government. i am not against that. we need to have your market reform. we need to make sure that it is not an airport named after me or a statue in my honor or anything like that. it has to be for committee benefits. education is very important as well. sometimes there are in infrastructure projects on the campus of university of illinois.

we have got to make sure that we are able to compete. infrastructure and education are very important. but we cannot have expanded bulls. -- we cannot have pork spending. we need to have earmark reform. we cannot sit around and talk about it anymore and just assumed that it is going to get done. we need to really do something about it. >> do you have a bottle? >> i am going to clarify the fact that i am so happy that in the past two years, we've been able to do so much for the different towns. if it was not for earmarks and stimulus spending, we would not have had a $22 million for the center here. we would not of that $1.2 billion for high-speed rail. we would not have been able to

do the things that we've done here. i took it upon myself to make sure that the reform was done at my way, on the internet, and batted in front of everybody. we have already instilled that nothing can be named after anybody. those are good things that need to be continued across the board. >> the next question goes to adam kinzinger. diaz supports or -- the is support or oppose the health care reform? >> i oppose it. i believe -- when the republicans were in congress, we should have realized the fact that people were hurting and health care was getting out of control. we did not do anything about it. we stuck our head in the sand.

into a dozen 9, we talked about health care. -- in 2009, we talked about health care. this bill was wrong. what this came down to was the government said, health care costs to much money. we're going to write a big fat check to cover the cost of health care. the truth is, we need to talk about what we can do to bring the cost of health care down. been talk about where the government can step in. it is unconscionable that we could have health care reform without -- we need to allow small groups to band together. have the buying power across state lines. we need truth in billing. we need to put the consumer back into control of health care and make sure we're taking care of folks who cannot afford it.

>> interesting. wow. [laughter] i support the health care. i know some people say we should repeal and restart. i do not know anybody wants to go through that again. i believe in employment and improve. we have brought to bear a plan that every member of congress had. we have also done things that brings cost of doing business down. every once to say there is no tort reform, but what is in its is the fact that the cost of bringing a case to court is so expensive. but we have done is we have put in there that every state needs to put together a panel, a peer review group, a certificate of

merit, whatever it takes to make sure that these frivolous lawsuits are not even brought to court. that is where you bring down the cost. not let these entire things come up to hundreds of thousands of dollars and then go before the jury and tax them. i voted for caps in 2005. that is not where you bring down the cost. the cost is when you leave it out of court and a frivolous lawsuits to not the court. i had a mother called me and she said, i could cry. my little two-year-old was born without a kidney. only now, on september 23, will be stopped denying kids because of a pre-existing condition, is now going to get health care. those are the kinds of things that we need to be talking about. this is something that is going to be worked on for a long time. is going to be improved.

what works, let's build on. what does not work, let's fix. >> i understand the stories of people that are hurt and i am very concerned about them. that is why we need health care reform that can drive the cost of health care down. this did not and we are seeing it every day. i talked to small business owners probably every day that tell me the day just got a new health insurance bill and it is not looking too good. it is not looking good in the future either. i believe we need to fully repealed this health care bill and replace it with something that makes caps. the day after it passed, i thought in my mind, when legislation passes, it gets more popular. i am going to do town hall meetings to talk about what is in this bill and what we need to do to rectify it. i thought it was going to be --

become unpopular. but the cries of appeal have just grown. i know that if we would have had town hall meetings in his district, you would have heard people screaming and crying and asking for just some clarification. there was a lot of confusion out there. we just wanted clarification. i did close to 15 town hall meetings and had 3000 people at the men gave people the opportunity to talk about what was in the bill. >> we have reached the halfway point in tonight's debate. i look forward to the second half. it is hard to miss any of the campaign ads from either side in this congressional race. deborah halvorson, some of your opponent's campaign ads contend that you follow speaker nancy of your lead on all bills. can you provide as examples where you have not agreed with her?

>> i just want to say it is my opponent wants to run against nancy pelosi, he should move to california. [applause] i have endorsed by the nra and that does not maker to happy. i have not agree but to many of the regulation bills. i represent all of the waterways in my district. there are a lot of chemical companies along the waterways. there was a chemical bill that came up and i was against that. there was the first wall street reform bill that i voted against because it really want my small bank into the same bill with wall street reform. i was opposed to that. i wanted to make sure that we truly went off after wall street. the second one did. there been a lot of bills -- if you -- most people have in their

package, that i was banned by the national journal the a most moderate member of congress. if you take out -- the place where they give be a 92% is if you take into consideration the journal, the internment, let's go to lunch, and the kinds of those. but if you take the sensitive about that we have, that is where you get the eighth most moderate member of congress. >> i do not need to move to california. i think nancy pelosi represents the liberal values of for a liberal california district just fine. ifs the 93% voting record -- that is one thing. she has voted with nancy pelosi wonder% and all of the big issues. -- 100%.

cap-and-trade is a competent destroyer. that is a terrible idea -- a terrible bill for manufacturing. we had a stimulus bill that the congressman voted for that had $800 billion in the responsibility of our children and grandchildren. the money we're spending is not ours. if it is generations to come. she voted for the stimulus, the cap-and-trade, we can go on and on. the fact is, 93% of nancy pelosi and her voting record is not representative of the values of the 11th congressional district. [applause] >> congressman, you have a minute and a half. >> when he talks about the stimulus bill, that included

infrastructure. that included $22 million for multi modal. that included money for high- speed rail. it is about the same amount of money that my opponent wants to add to the deficit for tax breaks. they did not live in my district. also, when you talk about energy, let's talk about the fact that we are right here in illinois state university, where we have a new renewable energy program degree. i think the students that go to school here want jobs. they want to go to school. we want to continue investing in clean energy. we want jobs here in america. i have more nuclear plants than anybody in the country. i s six nuclear plants.

i of six nuclear reactors, three nuclear plants. i am on the nuclear working group in washington d.c. and the co-chair of the energy task force. we want jobs here in clean energy and that is what the people who went to get a degree here at ellen yet -- illinois state university want, too. [applause] >> i would like to remind our audience, please be respectful of the candidates. after canada only has so much time to speak tonight. -- your candidate has only so much time to speak tonight. >> the next question is to adam kinzinger. in regard to concern about unemployment rates and the fact that many people said they have lost their jobs, what would be your specific proposals for creating more jobs in the 11th congressional district, recognizing that this district has lost its economic diversity

within its boundaries? >> here is the first thing. there is a fundamental disagreement between the two of us up here. i believe that the president and congress did not create jobs. jobs are created in the private sector. unless we will open some kind of a facility that randomly hires everybody and puts them on a government payroll, the government does not create jobs. the private sector does. why are jobs being hurt? what are we losing jobs? why our business is not expanding? part of it is the lack of confidence. when you sit there and u.s. capitol and you are looking at future operations and you're looking at 20 or 30 years down the road. you look over in europe and you see writing on the streets because their government is out of money. -- writing -- rioting on the streets. the cbo is constantly revising how much this will actually cost. when you look at the cap-and-

trade bill, you look back and say, my goodness, you are going to tax the company that produces jobs and produces goods. you are going to tax them in a greater rate. they will leave. we have to get rid of the uncertainty and get back to that believe that it is the american spirit that is why to make this economy recover. it is not constant pages of legislation out of washington d.c. >> what would be your specific plan for creating jobs? >> i took office almost two years ago, we will losing 700,000 jobs a month. after 22 months of job losses, we have created 863,000 private- sector jobs. people want to talk about how many jobs will lose.

the state and local governments are doing exactly what they have asked -- but the bass and to do. -- what we have asked them to do. my whole mission has been making things in america again. creating jobs in america. making sure there are manufacturing plants and they are energy-efficient so that we can compete. not allowed the american. of my opponents -- spirit -- instead of right here in illinois where we could be employing people with good paying jobs, not watching the unemployment rate go all out so that a few people and shareholders can be read. i want to make sure that we invest in clean energy, research and development. americans can out compete and out innovate anybody in this country. i want to tell a little story.

somebody called me and said, i went to an estate sale. they held up this little tent thing. i do not even know what it was. the auctioneers said, here is a real antique correct it says, made in america. everybody in the whole audience clapped and the thing which for hundreds of dollars. this is ridiculous. we need to get back to making things in america at and not giving tax breaks, your money, to people who can build jobs overseas. invest in america. >> when the stimulus past, we were promised that unemployment would not over 8%. the cumbersome and herself said, we need to pass this bill because this bill will at 8600

jobs in the 11th congressional district. she is thousands and thousands of jobs in the hole. the congressman also said that the stimulus is allowing america to recover. america is in the recovery process right now, i just wish people would see that. i do not think there is many people of -- many of you out there that feels like the economy is roaring back right now. what do we get for it? but we have an opportunity to at high-paying jobs that are good and getting america energy independence. take spent nuclear fuel, reprocesses down and allowed to be used again. we have an opportunity with nuclear reprocessing to hire a lot of people. we have the opportunity to play the role of a leading congressional district in

getting america to energy security. we need energy security and energy independence. >> this next question is for deborah halvorson. with the significant federal deficit that we're facing, what specific programs would you target to make spending cuts to reduce the federal deficit? what would you propose to generate additional federal revenue in dealing with the deficit? >> first thing, we need earmark reform. no big contracts. i signed onto a pay cut, 5% pay cut. those are all drops in the bucket. the only way we will get a true handle on our deficit is by getting control of our health

care costs. we have a huge disagreement here. i took that tough a vote because i know the only way to get a true handle all our costs is through bringing down the cost of healthcare. you and diane and anybody u.s. health care is already paying a tax of about -- you and i and anybody who has helped care is already paying a tax. they end up in the emergency room. and that is cost shifting because the hospital has uncompensated care. the cbo, that is our referee on cost to the government. anywhere from 100 to 130 billion

dollars. after that, even more. >> thank you for that question. we absolutely have to freeze the government right now. 18 months ago, the size of the federal government and expenditures have grown in double digits. at has grown at of control. at a time when you and your hallmark tightening the belt, you have to make some -- you and your whole are tightening the belt, the federal government is just writing checks. we have to stop that. when you have bureaucracy, nobody knows bureaucracy as much as the head of that specific organization. the republican majority in congress needs to hold a bureaucratic headcount to boil. that includes all levels of government and all areas of government. we need to cancel the unspent portion of the stimulus spending

that is still obviously just sitting there. it is the hundreds of billions of dollars. [applause] i believe the health care bill is actually going to be a burden on the future of our country and we need to repeal this health- care bill that has passed and replace it was something that has made sense. those are some tough choices we have to make. we have to grow the economy. you do not -- getting people back to work so they can pay taxes. getting business is coming again so they can give revenues to the federal government. if you can freeze the cost of federal government right here and you can grow the economy and give tax revenue is increasing, we will eventually have a balanced budget again. that is absolutely essential. we have to grow our way out of. we have to get people back to work.

we cannot sit around and talk about it anymore. [applause] >> the thing that bothers me most is what everybody seems to have and that is a amnesia. [laughter] the a years of the bush administration that got us into two wars, and medicare part deprogrammed cost almost $1 trillion great none of that was paid for. if you have a tax increase or a tax -- you have to find a way to pay for it. that is what we are working on. i am looking forward to seeing what our deficit commission is going to come up with. we have to get this under control. [applause]

there isant to add that t a story that -- someone told me great a farmer. when you serve as a member of congress and the lesson to people, you have stories. somebody called me and said, i haven't come of to under $50,000 for my farm and still been a $40,000 check from the government. there is something wrong with that. we need to do something about subsidies. they're really only need to go to the family farmers who truly are struggling, not some big corporate farmer. >> thank you. >> that is another place we need to cut. >> again, audience, i do understand the new promotional response.

-- the emotional response. >> do you believe that age and governmental experience should be important criteria for voters to consider? >> when we talk about the ads, a lot of you have not had the pleasure of seeing the ads. i think is very important to say, the congresswoman is the only u.s. not run a positive ad on herself yet. her first ad included -- i am a young man. i am not ashamed of that at all. the latest one, the social security one, which is misleading on my record and completely false. it also says, adam, you are a young man and you have a lot to learn. i do not want to learn the

habits of washington d.c. of spending and avoiding and getting away. do i think that you could come into play in this campaign? i think she has tried to do that. you are trying -- she is trying to say, you are a young guy. we are talking about bringing a fresh perspective to washington d.c. we are talking about a generation of people who were idealistic, the believe that sides can work together and achieve big things. we see a vision and a feature of a country that we believe in. that is the great thing about my generation. am i going to bring a new perspective to washington d.c.? you bet that i will. because [applause] >> i am sorry you have such a thin skin. and does nothing to do with his

age. it is his vision. int we have are very different. we disagree that the fact of his goals are more free trade trade i disagree. we would not have a problem with our economy if people would stop sending jobs overseas. i am sorry that we disagree on the fact that he -- i am just using his words. it is is a vision. we have a disagreement and our vision. i am here to protect our seniors. i endorsed -- i endorsed by the alliance for retired americans. they have endorsed me because they know i am the one that will protect their social security and medicare. that has nothing to do with its age. it is his vision. i will represent the people of this district.

>> i appreciate that. her vision for the future, those commercials do not provide any kind of a snapshot for the vision of the future. they provide a vision of fear. it is politics of fear. it is trying to scare people for not voting for you, but voting for somebody else. to say it -- i have a thick skin. i've been through lots. -- that have been through all lots. what we see is the politics of saying, look, i am when answering your citizens. they're voting for me by a seat -- by double digits. what do we have to do by peeling away that support? let's tell them that he wants to ship their jobs overseas.

i do not want to ship jobs overseas. we want to create here -- jobs here in the united states. we want to get people back to work. we have to figure out what is wrong with the environment that we have in the united states that is forcing jobs to go overseas. it is the extreme taxation and the cost of doing business and regulation. it it makes us -- in excess impossible for us to sell our products on the open markets. we have to figure out that environment and get back to the competitive nature that america is so good at. >> i do want to follow up with that. i will give each of you one minute to do so. you made a specific allegation in a campaign at a new address it. -- and you address it. the cap on social security. he does not support bats.

-- he does not support that. i would like for you to address that. >> i have his words right here in the paper. it said, social security will need to be capped at the rate of inflation. you cannot raise the retirement age right now, but some point, you'll have to. if we were to cap at the growth -- cap the growth above inflation for the upper income households, we could fix over half of the current adjusted shortfall. if we also think about indexing the normal retirement age to take into account increases and longevity, we could eliminate most of the rest of the shortfall. as it currently stands, the initial social security benefits of new retirees after adjusting for inflation increase at a rate of 1% a year.

we cannot afford such largess. >> thank you. the congresswomen just said, she said that i said that we cannot raise the retirement age right now. why do you have senior citizens on tv claiming that i will raise the retirement age? but to don't match. -- the two don't match. the first thing they said, congressman, i have seen the commercials on television. i am telling you comment he doesn't say that right here. what i was talking about our potential ways to fix gelber generations. -- vix young third-generation. we ought are paralyzing ourselves that we cannot even talk about the potential of how to solve these problems.

it is politics of fear. we need politics of solution. >> thank you for clarifying that. [applause] >> this next question is for adam kinzinger. do you believe that the current federal minimum wage should be kept at the same level? >> i believe the federal minimum wage, at this point, i would say continue 8 where it is. as we get into more studies, and i've not releasing studies either way, the federal minimum wage is inadequate right now, then we should look and raising it. >> i was in the state legislature when it was increased. i know the candidate on the republican side want to

decrease it too. they feel it is not in line. the people that are earning less, and minimum wage does not add up to much, those are the ones they're putting their money directed back into the economy. there is not been any talk of changing the minimum wage. i do not deal with hypothetical. >> do you have a response? >> i do not. >> it is almost time for us to wrap things up. this will end the question and answer portion. we need to get onto our closing statements. closing statements will begin. we will begin are closing statement with adam kinzinger. >> thank you. when you look at what is going

on and you look around and watch the news, and you talk about things that are happening, and everybody is concerned, we have to ask ourselves, do we find ourselves at a crossroads? i think that we do. america finds itself with a decision to make. we can continue on the path of more government, more government spending, looking to the government for solutions for joblessness despite the fact that for years, we'll look to the government and it does not solve jobless problems. or do we get back to what we believe? it is the individual. is the free-market rate -- it is the free market. it is the america that our moms and dads taught us about. to look at that and say that is where we need to go? you see to fundamental differences on stage. we treat each other with respect and we have had a very friendly

relationship on the campaign trail. we see the world through fundamentally different lenses. i personally believe that we cannot continue to tax billions and billions of debt on to our children. i believe that we cannot continue to look to the government to solve our problems. we have to look to the individual and respect that. we have to continue the war on terror and make sure that the horror that was visited on our shores on an 9/11 is not revisited again in the future. there are some major, major difference is spread when you talk about his sides, -- major major differences. i will go to washington d.c. and i believe i will. i want to represent you well. i want to be your representative. does that mean we will always agree on everything? canal. -- no.

there are going to be times like that. that is democracy. i am gone to make a commitment to you, a solid promise to you. i will always be accessible. i will always stand in front of you. if you do not like my view, tell me about it. that is what you deserve. the constitution talks about a representative government. i want to be your representative. i believe that america as the best days are truly ahead of it. i really do. just as we came out of tough times in the 1970's and saw a huge economic growth, we can come out of these times now and see even better. we can come back stronger. i believe there are areas we can all work together for the betterment and the future of our country. ask yourself, what vision do i believe? we will see what the polls of members second. thank you. -- we will see you at the polls

november 2. [applause] > that was adam kinzinger's closing statements. we close tonight with deborah halvorson. >> it has been a privilege to represent all of you in congress for the past two years. americans have gone to some very difficult times. i believe we are on the right path. our economy has come a long way in two years, the whistle of a very steep hill to climb. we all want to see our country moving forward. i honestly believe that our policies between adam and i are just different. we cannot continue to give companies tax breaks to send our jobs overseas. the need to make sure that we are investing in american workers, american business, making things in america of can read -- comerica again. we need