create jobs now, not pie in the sky ideology about tax cuts for super wealthy or special interests or people that ship jobs overseas, but tax cuts for middle class to make sure we create a high speed rail system here if florida that will create jobs and real opportunities for people to be able to reach those jobs. the reason why i'm endorsed by veterans because they know i understand. it's not just about war and salute those that allow us to salute one flag and offer them assistance. i'm glad to be endorsed by public school teachers in this state. i will stand up on behalf of quality education in this state. i want you to vote, vote early and make sure if you don't vote early. vote on election day. i'm kendrick meek. i look forward to be your next united states senator. >> thank you for being here and thank you to my colleagues for these debates. they have been interesting and entertaining. my fellow floridians, this is

an important election. florida and america are at a crossroads. one view that you hear from my friend, mr. rubio, is really kind of about pessimism. it's about despair. it's about fear. i don't see that view as the fuft our state and country. i'm an optimist. i believe that our best days are ahead of us and we have a much brighter future ahead for our fellow floridians and our fellow americans. it's very important that you understand that in this race, you have a choice. i'm running as an independent. i know that it's hard for many of you who maybe most of your life have either voted for the democrat or voted for the republican, but in this election, you have a choice. you have a fundamental choice that you can make and realize this and appreciate this fact as i do. your vote is pressure. it is to be cherished. it is a time-honored tradition in our country. when you go into that voting booth. it is only your vote. it is private. and no republican boss or democratic boss can tell you how to vote. i appeal to you for your vote. i humbly ask for it.

if you do so, you will be grateful for it and we'll have a brighter future together. >> that's all the time we have. good night. >> with just days until election day, all the key races and candidates on c-span with debates every night and go on line to see archived debates. this weekend, see the jon stewart/stephen colbert rally. follow election coverage right through election day. we will have live coverage of the debate between the candidates for senate in the

louisiana. david vitter is being challenged by charlie melancon. that is live on c-span at 7:00 p.m. eastern. the american constitution party candidate is former congressman tom tancredo. >> c-span, bringing politics and public affairs. every morning it is "washington journal." connecting with journalists, elected officials, and policy makers. what's live coverage of the house of representatives. weeknights, policy forms. but for our signature interview programs on the weekends.

also, the popular prime minister's questions from the british house of commons. through november, c coverage of campaign 2010 as political parties battle for control of college -- of congress. are content is searchable at the c-span in video lottery. c-span, created by cable, provided as a public service. >> every weekend on c-span3, experienced american history t be starting saturday at 8:00 a.m. eastern. here historic speeches by national leaders and eyewitness accounts of the events that shaped our nation. visit museums, historical sites, and college campuses as taught history professors and leading historians delve into america's past. all we can't erase the "-- all weekend every weekend on c- span3. >> in a few moments, our

coverage of the upcoming elections continue with a debate from a new venture for the candidates in the second house district. in an hour, the candidates from west virginia's third house district. after that, from central texas the candidates for the 17th house district. later, we will hear from the house candidates in the 14th house district of illinois in the north central part of the state. >> now, a debate between new hampshire's second house district candidates. the second congressional district covers the western and northern parts of new hampshire including the capital of concord. the cook political report rates this race a tossup. this is one hour.

>> now, the granite state debate. [applause] >> good evening and welcome to the second debate. tonight we are covering the second congressional district. but how bludgeons will focus on the major issues affecting the country as well as those that have come up had in the campaign.

candidates will get one minute to respond to each question. most questions will come from our analysts. there will be in two rounds of questions from the candidates to one another. their position was determined by a drop earlier today. they are republican charlie bass and democrat annie custer. there are others that are on the ballot but they did not meet the requirements to be part of this debate.

we have three panelists. with all that out of the way, let's get to our first round of questions. >> good evening. unemployment has hovered around 10% and the white house is taking credit for the rate not going higher. has anything been done right by the obama administration as far as the economy? >> i would like to thank all of you for being here. i will like to thank my opponent. the record of the obama administration is abysmal.

unemployment was 7.7% and now it is 9.7%. unfortunately, the president and nancy pelosi and harry reid embark telecourse of spending to get us out of the recession. spending almost a trillion dollars which has gone basically know where. the average cost to the citizen was $300,000. today save jobs, maybe it did. we need change in washington now, we cannot afford to wait another two years. >> thank you. good evening, great to be here.

congressman bass has been in washington for 12 years and he voted for all of the economic policies in the bush administration that caused this economic crisis in the first place. the bottom line is that we were losing $800,000 -- 800,000 jobs a month and doing nothing was not an option. i think they could have done a much better job on creating good jobs here at home. the congressman cannot have it both ways. he says that the stimulus doesn't create jobs but the company of the board on which she sits is applying for millions of dollars dollars for his company. this is double talk and we need

an approach. >> what is the best evidence that democratic economic policies are actually working? >> i am not saying that we're working, we need a new approach. we need to cut taxes for small businesses. new hampshire lost 16,000 jobs alone. i have a jobs plan on our website and i start with helping small businesses here at home. i am looking to get some of this money off the sidelines and invest in small businesses. i would care more about main street and my opponent's -- than

my opponent. >> you heard her say that the policies are not working. what a sad situation we are in today. if there ever was a reason for a change in washington, it is now. and the democrats will want to double the size of stimulus and see if they can make the economy turnaround over the last 20 months. >> the home buyer tax credit has expired. what more should the federal government do? >> we have to sort out the

foreclosure crisis. there has been many hearings where they have asked the person who pretends to represent the bank holding the mortgage, let me see the paper. with all the changes that went on, they have no idea who even holds the mortgage. they have bundled the mortgages. congressman bass voted for the deregulation of wall street and that it voted for reregulation -- the regulation. >> this is certainly a priority. if there is fraud or negligence, they will be prosecuted. this is not time to talk about blame, this is the time to work

on solutions. those will involve turning the country around. if these banks have been committing fraud or negligence, they should be prosecuted. i support getting this economy turned around so that we can have real economic growth. >> you support the creation of a government committee of where to make hats, white do you believe that this could be more effective than previous efforts? >> this is a committee that would be a full standing committee and the house and senate.

this is modeled after a committee that did work and work very effectively between world war ii and 1994. i believe that the establishment of such a committee will would pull spending reduction ideas out of any other committees jurisdiction and bring those resolutions directly to the floor. >> a moment ago, you said that the stimulus was not handled correctly on the campaign trail. can you explain how much money

you think must be spent? >> there was no provision that the jobs be created right here. we need to go beyond the roads, bridges, and highways. i have seen some of that can make a difference right here in new hampshire. they cannot be outsourced. also the modernization of our infrastructure. people want access to broadband communication. they are trying to run a small business or get their children off to college. we are starting to see a digital divide where people are falling behind. we need more accountability. congressman bass and his

company are trying to get a stimulus funding right now. >> [inaudible] >> i don't think that we need more stimulus. what we need to do is to focus on accountability. >> this is all about creating wealth. there is a stimulus remaining. it should return to the treasury. it will not get spent seven because president obama is owned agency says that the stimulus will not create for a single shot. >> 3 have received a lot of comments and questions, commercials that have been on

the air. >> since the day he became president, the deficit has $4.8 billion every single day. the plan has pushed unemployment to nearly 10%. annie kuster would like more of the same. >> i don't understand any of the advertisements. this is another one of these ads where they put my picture into an ad that could be used anywhere in the country. i am not in the congress. i have been working here in the community helping to bring our community together and solve

challenging problems. congressman bass is the one who needs to answer for his years that got us into this mess that we are in. he voted for deficits, earmarks, spending that was wildly out of control. the debt went from 4 trillion dollars to 8 trillion dollars while he was in washington. the voters of new hampshire do not want to give the keys back to the person that drove this economy right into the ditch. >> i want to stay focused on the advertisement. why do think that this is fair? >> this is factual and accurate. the debt is going up by $4.8 billion a day. the person who my opponent will vote for the is a third of the reason why we have the problems we have today. the democrats have had 20 months to make a difference in this economic crisis. the results are zero.

my opponent said that she works for a small business. make no mistake, she lobbies for a large farm in concord. i have signed to the front of paychecks as much as i have signed the backs. >> next up is an advertisement that comes from your opponent's campaign where she uses your own words to frame the advertisement against you. >> for every single job that comes to america, $2 million comes back. and he voted for tax breaks that encourage shipping jobs overseas. >> and give us the context in which he meant that outsourcing jobs create jobs. >> first of all, no outsourcing is any good.

i don't want to see a single job be outsourced under any circumstances. this is not always possible to avoid because the alternative is protectionism. trade isolationism. i would suggest that cutting off trade in this state would be very serious for the economy. barack obama's phone trade representative, $3.1 billion in exports originated in this state and almost a quarter of all the jobs either directly or indirectly related to exports. outsourcing is a bad idea. >> why do you think that the advertisement is fair?

>> he voted for the tax breaks that actually reward companies that ship jobs overseas. as i said, 16,000 jobs in the hampshire -- i have met people all across this district who have lost their jobs. one of them was a third- generation papermaker. the last of the paper mills closed last week. i have met the real people whose lives are hurting and they know that it is congressman bass who voted. he does not care. he cares more about these companies and their lives. >> thank you very much. we will move to our first-round of candidate to candidate questions.

mr. bass, you have the first question. >> minmy question is very simpl, will you vote for nancy pelosi? >> the answer is that i don't know. congressman bass seems to be fixated on the inner workings of congress. he talks a lot about the committees and the leadership. i know that you will vote for the republican leader, you voted for newt gingrich. i note -- i might vote for her but that is not what i am focusing on. i focused on creating jobs for people in new hampshire. i am not going thinking about the leadership or the committee, i am thinking about solving problems. i know about bipartisanship and bringing people together to get things done. that is the kind of work i've done here in new hampshire and

that is what i will do to help families right here. >> now your opportunity to ask a question. >> the night before the election, monday, november 1st, sarah palin will be here in new hampshire. the day you announced your campaign, he said god bless the tea party, i love every one of them. their agenda is exactly the same as mine. that includes abolishing the department of energy and ending social security. are you going to be at that rally and do you stand by those words? >> i will be at that rally if i can make it and i think i will. i believe that for once in america there is actually a grass-roots movement of people that want change now. the tea party movements supports lower taxes, less government, less spending, reducing debt, saving america for my children

and your children. at the rate we're going, this will not happen. we know what will happen on january 4th, there will be a new direction and there will be real change. to the extent that the tea party movement for the first time in my political career has been a movement about reducing taxes, spending, deficits, getting the government under control. i support it and i think it is a good idea. when i entered congress in 1994, i got a plate that said "seeing the national debt, stupid." >> would you and the social security? >> of course not. >> in the current attack style

-- >> thank you. that is the most important question of this entire campaign season. as i mentioned, i was raised as a republican. my mother serve 22 years in the hampshire legislature -- in the new hampshire legislation. i care about bringing people together to solve problems. we want to bring together the business community and our nonprofit colleges and university system to help families say if for their children to go to college. thousands of families across new hampshire have benefited and we have even been able to create scholarships for low income students to attend college right here in new hampshire.

those are the things that i have learned working across party lines and that is what i will do in congress. we need a new approach, not the 12 years that congressman bass served with newt gingrich, president bush, and dick cheney. >> before the primary, my opponent characterized her mission as "i want to go to congress to further the obama agenda." it is my understanding that there was not a single meeting on health care reform until after the massachusetts election. my opponent will be supporting nancy pelosi and barack obama and harry reid. they are perfect descriptions of partisanship of.

interest of our country and i will continue to do something in the next congress. going to congress to further the agenda is not a definition of working with the other side. >> it is it time to let gays serve in the military? >> that decision is to be made by the commanders. this is by the people in the field, by the people who are in charge of their troops. it is regrettable that this administration forced the commanders to the conclusion.

this kind of the decision is about the troops making the decision about whether this is in the best interests of our national security. if their decision is to eliminate the policy of don't ask, don't tell. i will support it. if not, i will oppose it. >> it is fair to say that he plans to rejoin the party of no. i've taken a pledge, this is a pledge that we take every single day and that is liberty and justice for all. i will stand for an apology. i am proud of the quality that we have in new hampshire and this is a very important principle. the joint chiefs of staff have already urged the congress to move forward on this issue and it was the republicans and the party of no who stood in the way of moving forward. how can we ask someone to give

their life for this country and not recognize their personal values and beliefs? yes, i support equality for all americans. >> the war in afghanistan is in its 10th year, do you stand by their marching made when he said it is time to defund this war? >> i did not say that, i said we should not keep finding it in the increasing amounts. congressman bass would like to build up the war in afghanistan and get abstract and deeper. this adds trillions of dollars to the national debt and we have lost almost 10,000 lives between the two wars. this is not making us safer. i have sought counsel for many leaders and members of congress who have been very helpful in helping me understand this but we need a much more narrowly

defined mission of counter- terrorism not of the open-ended counter insurgency. but we need to do is focusing on -- focus on keeping america safe. al qaeda has moved from pakistan, yemen, somalia. we need to coordinate our intelligence and be much more focused on attacking the terrorists wherever they may be and getting out in front of the threat, not getting dragon deeper. >> when will we know time to lea? >> we will now when the mission named by the commander in chief is fulfilled. i would hate to think that any kuster -- annie kuster with both against the sec urged.

i don't think it is practical to expect that a representative democracy in this country. we should build our intelligence. as soon as we can detect, deter, and eliminate terrorist threats, then i think we should leave. >> let's move to china. china currently holds true as of dollars in u.s. bonds. they seem to be manipulating their currency. is it time to rethink our relationship? >> the reason they have so many treasury bills is that we are purchasing many of their products. secondly, we are running up such

massive debts. china is a perfect place before buying them. and china has some of the rare earth for builds -- for raw materials. i don't like currency manipulation. >> and the congressman has not been representing the people here in new hampshire.

let me give you the example of the industry. it is important in the hampshire. they have subsidized the paper industry. the truth is that it was the policies that congressman bass photophore. the most favored nation status, the outsourcing, shipping jobs overseas. >> them you have said that the

arizona law is not only wrong but unconstitutional. >> i don't know if you had the opportunity to see the footage but they try to make a film for the police to enforce this law. this cannot be done without arbitrary decisions. how to you know if this is an immigrant or the governor of new mexico? i have had the opportunity meet many people across this state. i think we need legal immigration and we need to enforce the laws at our borders and support the president. many to focus for the employers to stop illegal immigrants

wanting to come into this country i believe this is unconstitutional because of our equal protection laws. >> basically, the same question, where do you stand on this lot? >> my opponent avoided talking about amnesty. that is what she's talking about. i know a lot of good constituents. as far as arizona is concerned, i don't blame the governor for doing what she did. this is about drugs, murder, people and law abiding citizens

having their lives threatened on a day-to-day basis. i believe it is perfectly legal to ask a foreigner for his or her passport. >> i have not talked about amnesty. at that is what he is talking about. this is about a legal path to citizenship. how do you tell congressman bass one congress -- 1 immigrant from another? we want to stand for equality. do you want to carry your

passport all the time? how do you know? this is not just arizona, there are dozens of states around this country that are considering this legislation and i know that i did not want to be stopped and pulled over -- get pulled over arbitrarily. >> legal path to sufficient means allowing illegal citizenie to become citizens -- illegal immigrants to become citizens. i don't support the idea that people of done illegal things should be given legal status. we can work the immigration issue out.

>> we don't have to do it by pulling people over based on the color of their skin. >> we will move to our second round. each questiocorrect missis kuste deregulation of wall street. you voted to allow the big banks that traded the risky derivatives and credit-default swaps that led directly to the crash and then afterwards you represented a group of republicans who cheered on and in fact advocated for the wall street bailout that i opposed. when it came to reforming wall street, you called the bipartisan reform law "extremist."

why do you keep standing up for what street banks over new hampshire families? >> that is a ridiculous charge. in the course of the campaign, you have accused me for voting to raise a veteran's benefits which i never did. for bernie madoff, for the bp oil spill, for the loss of 4000 jobs in nashua that apparently never existed and now you have this complicated train were at some point i cast a vote or did something that caused the entire ruling of the u.s. economy. this is the campaign about where we need to be a year ago. this is between someone who has spent the last three months u.s. been picking up my record and

trying to ignore the real issue which is white unemployment is at 9.7%? honwe need to change in washingn and we needed now. >> for years, you have supported a state income tax. do you think that that is a good idea? >> what this campaign is all about is federal taxation. i do not support the state income tax. congressman bass voted for taxes and to encourage companies to ship jobs overseas. i think we need to close those tax loopholes. i will focus on tax relief for middle-class families, families that i have met across the

district. that is where we need to focus tax relief 65% of new hampshire people work in small business. i propose tax relief for repealing the capital gains tax. congressman bass has opposed that idea. i want to stay focused on tax of the for middle-class families so we can create jobs and get everyone back to work. that is what people want and need a new approach in washington. >> we have some hot topics that are for you individually. >> you are praised for helping the company through your advocacy of renewable energy and also for setting up a meeting between their president and the cabinet member. three days after you left congress, you bought half a million dollars a privately traded stock. can you explain how that was proper?

>> this has to be the most ridiculous issue i have ever run into. i did not own a single share of that company until 2007 and i submitted the stock significant -- certificates to prove it. there was no secret meeting, no special legislation. there was a photo opportunity and an amendment which i think is important and my successor carried on which applies to all the nobles -- all renewables. this is a very good company in this state. i put my own resources on the line because i believe that alternative energy will create real jobs. >> another question, this is directed at mrs. kuster.

>> how do voters know that you will get an honest deal for legislation that affects the pharmaceutical industry because you have lobbied for them? >> congressman bass has been working for a lobbying firm in washington and has made half a million dollars over four years. i will work hard for the people of hampshire. i work on a project that was to create a program for free medicine for lower income people and senior is in need. those are the kinds of projects that i will be working on in congress and i will be representing the people here in new hampshire. >> let's move on to health care and try to get a little bit more of a discussion going.

>> and health care debate, you made -- you have been a strong supporter and one of the holdouts when it comes to the single payer system. >> i don't support the single pair system. >> how would government control lower overall health-care costs without watering down the quality of health care? >> i am all for the quality of health care and access to affordable health care. the congressman said that he would try to repeal the entire health care reform. i don't want to repeal reform that keeps an insurance companies from denying coverage when it you need it. i met a woman in claremont and

we were having a discussion and she let me know that she had not had health care since she was 20 years old. she was excited because the coverage with up to 26, she could go on her father's coverage for one year. she planned to get a root canal. that is what people need. what i wanted to its focus in on the needs of people with affordable health care. when i get to washington, i think that we need a new approach of this whole problem and we need to tackle the cost problem because congress was in gridlock and they did not take up the issue.

>> you were in congress for a decade and health care reform was not a top priority. >> first of all, there is only one registered lobbyist on the stage to day and it is not me. i never lobbied for everyone. she supports the public option for health care. the public option if implemented would result in single payer health care. >> she said "i don't believe that the health care goes far enough." medicare cuts, $570 million. 115 billion just to implement the bill.

87 million americans who have health care today will lose their current coverage and have to go into some other kind of coverage. that is from the department of labour. a 10--- 10%-15% coverage. >> your time is up. i will give you a minute to respond. >> congressman bass talks about repealing this entire bill. the reality is that new hampshire families need help. i never once talked about the single payer. what i'm talking about is an option like a public university where you have that option. we have private colleges all over the state. i am talking about an option for people who cannot afford the skyrocketing increase in

premiums and are being left by the wayside with no insurance coverage. congressman basswood repeal the whole bill and we would be right back where we started. he spent 12 years in washington and did not do anything of providing access. >> when was the last time that tuition and went down? this is a great example because it indicates that the cost of health care will go up. i would only point out that this bill started out with a public option and ed public option is eventually single payer. this was dropped because there was not enough support even amongst democrats. now we have this great expansion of government bureaucracy and coverage without the public option. the effort has got to be to change this legislation so that this is more competitive.

there is more availability, health care is universally deductible. that we have associated health plans. meaningful tort reform. this is not a great conglomeration of power in washington. >> thank you for a very controversial topic >> let's move to social security. what is your approach to fixing the finances so this is still around for young workers who are paying in the system. >> i know that congressman bass wants privatization. i met a woman in a bakery last week and i suggested to her that he supported privatization and

she looked at me with tears in her eyes and she said, what would have happened to me? she knew about what happened on wall street. social security is secure right now until 2037. we need to insist on stopping the rating of the trust fund and get people back to work. when people work, social security will be more secure. we don't need to cut benefits and we don't need to do privatization. >> you have a 1.6 trillion dollar deficit. personal accounts are not about the stock market. but this is not about current recipients or anyone near the age of 90 or 65 or even 55.

this is about preserving and protecting social security and one of the biggest issues that this -- will face. she is attending that there's no problem. social security is not about democrats, liberals, conservatives. this is about the american retirement plan and the american people should be involved in its resolution. we should have a resolution consisting of those who understand the system and that should be put to the congress after an election. >> people talk about the options on the table. you can look at raising the

retirement age from modifying benefits. >> the commission is usually his answer. >> i said you don't need to increase the age and you don't need to modify the benefits, you need to stop the rating of the trust fund and getting people back to work so that they are investing in seoul's security and their benefits will be there. frankly, this has been a big scare campaign by wall street companies and it is the surprise me that congressman bass is a big proponent of it. he is a big proponent of bailing out the banks. we need to put the people first. >> rating the trust fund, i've not heard anyone propose that as a real solution.

i don't think that i will be collected to congress. i believe need to attack them and not avoid preserving and protecting these problems. >> let's go to the high-speed rail. >> just over $2 million in federal money was awarded to the planning grant as commuter rail service. the the project could end up costing two added $50 million or more. is this a good investment? >> i never thought that they would come that getting passenger rail into new hampshire would cost as much as it did.

it involves some ingenuity and flexibility. what they are talking about now is doing something similar which is going to cost a lot of money. i support passenger rail and i made it a priority. there was funds in the transportation reauthorization bill. the management has not been good. there is no discussion going on between the various parties involved. >> i support passenger rail but i am concerned about the high cost.

he would like to spend and spend and then act like he is frugal. i would like to see passenger rail, to new hampshire. we would like to help families get to work. there are some people who spend time commuting from the southern tier. we want to use the most frugal approach and not just throwing money at the program. >> thank you. >> many question whether the government is doing enough when it comes to regulating the internet and social networking. >> i do have concerns having raised two sons.

we always kept the computer right in the kitchen. i have concerns for families with the bullying that is going on in our schools. we need to take an approach that is protective and will root out criminals and people that want to pray on others. i don't support transaction such transaction. i think that we need to promote new technologies to provide the kind of protections that are needed. >> we will ask a closing question.

candidates will have 90 seconds to answer the question. >> i think you will like this. today, one of you is a progressive democrat and the other embraces the policies of the tear party. why have you moved away from your family's moderate political lineage? >> thank you for that tough question. i believe that the hampshire people want change. nancy pelosi said unemployment insurance is one of the biggest stimuluses to our economy. this creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative.

this is the person that my opponent will be voting for. we have a clear choice between an independent voice, someone who is committed to to real change and to get our economy moving again. on november 2nd, we will decide the direction of our nation. i running for congress because i care about america. i care about where this country will be. this is so important. this will result in lower taxes and lower deficits. this administration has been going up at the bottom and

"there's no reason to believe that this will change. for me, my children, you can vote for change. from the beginning i had been for less government, lower taxes and living within our means. i consider that to be a moderate or conservative position. >> the party was a originally known as the progressive republican party and my mother said that the tent moved away from her.

my opponent supports the tea party and is looking to do away with social security as we know it. i am running to help families and to help families get back to work. the truth is that the old broken ways that congressman bass followed in his 12 years in washington simply will not help us solve these challenging issue is. from the jobs crisis to the fiscal crisis and from afghanistan to the gulf, we need a new approach. instead of tax loopholes that reward companies for shipping jobs to china, i want to shut those loopholes down and wrote companies right here at home with tax benefits which will eliminate the capital gains tax on small businesses and help them grow. instead of using our tax dollars to bail out of the big banks, we should make them pay this back in full. that is your money.

we need smart reforms. instead of exploding the national debt by voting for bailouts and subsidies, i want to vote to end those subsidies and freeze congressional pay until we have balanced budgets again. congressman bass loaded for the old ways. on november 2nd, i ask for your vote. we need to put people first. >> thank you very much. thank you to the panelists. that wraps up the debate. have a great night tonight. we will see you back here again tomorrow night. tomorrow night.

>> at this time we will introduce the candidates seeking your vote. we will do this by alphabetical order. we will start with mr. elliott "spike" maynard. he earned his degree in what in 1974. he practiced from 1974-1981 and was twice elected prosecuting attorney of maine kokanee. it was appointed a trial judge of the 13th circuit and twice elected judge in that circuit.

in 1996, he was elected to a 12- year term on the state supreme court. he served as chief justice of the west virginia supreme court in 2000 and 2004. he is the republican party candidate to represent west virginia's third congressional district. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome mr. elliott "spike" maynard. [applause] >> mr. ray hall was born and west virginia and graduated from duke university in 1971. he went to graduate school of george washington university. he once served as a staff member for the late robert t. byrd. he is currently serving his 17th term in that office. heerves as the chairman of

that natural committee of natural resources. is the democratic incumbent for west virginia's third congssional district. please welcome mr. nexrad call -- nick rail -- rahall. [applause] >> the order of tonight's debate will be as follows. each candidate will be given two minutes for opening statements. after the opening statement, we will begin our questions. the a moderator's well as it a question period -- the moderator will ask candidate a a question. the next question will be asked of a candidate b.

>> our timekeeper will give time cues of 30 seconds, 15 seconds, and stop. once the candidate is given the stop sign, they will be aow a few seconds to complete of thought. neither candidate shall be allowed to interrupt one another. >> prior to the start of tonight's event, we have the candidates participate in a coin flip to see who would start with. to-minute opening statement. leading off tonight will b mr. maynard. >> thank you to the sponsors for hosting this evt. this is an important event. it will educate the voters about the differences in the candidates. and there are clear differences between the candidates in this election if, and the voters deserve to know the difference. i want to know aut the government take over our of our health care system.

we call it obama care. it cuts medical care for our elderly which will was alton rationing for our seniors medical care and it will result in wide differences in in the light treatment for our seniors. our district has a senior population in this is devastating to them. one of the worst things obamacare does is allow for federal tax dollars to be used to pay for abortions. there is $160 million in federal been being used in pennsylvania toda to pay for abortions as we speak. it also law allows for free medical care for illegal immigrants. these are some of theeasons that i have been endorsed by west virginians for life. he voted for obamacare. i would repeal obamacare and replace it for other medical careor everyone. let's talk about the war on

cold. -- coal. the generals in the war on coal today are barack obama, nancy pelosi, and the people at the epa. my opponent voted with the nancy pelosi 90% of the time. -- 98% of the sign -- 98% of the time. the last thing i want to talk about is the so-called stimulus packe, which is wasted $1 trillion and brought nothing to west virginia. no money for that cold feel expressways'. bikeway -- and thank you. >> you have two minutes for your opening statement. >> thank you. thank you for sponsoring these debates. west virginia likes to exercise

our american right to question our elected leaders. it is a great thing. it is great for our democracy. unfortunately some is used this healthy skepticism to stoke the fear factor during tough economic times. television ads running against me are disappointing, disingenuous, disgusting, disturbing, despicable, and you know what? downright desperate. even my granddad father who came to this country and west virginia with $0 in their pocket and watch the american dream come true with hard work. they had adopted american as the land that they love. cliches and sound bites we of heard during this campaign comes straight from the peckerwood's of washington d.c., and you know

who turn to than that? robert c. byrd. his mentor, john blankenship. my friends, you know who my mentor is. robert byrd. our people deserve better than what they have seen on the television screen. i hope that my pundit has gotten ov the name calling and they will call no more cstituents of mine degenerate's as he did the other day. i've always placed our coal miners and cold js is number one. our hardworking men and women, those are my top priorities. i will continue to work across pay lines as i have done even when my party did not control the congress, more vital today than ever. i will still maintain my seniority to work for west virginia to put our values to work in washington. >> faq, mr. rahall -- thank you,

mr. rahall. [applause] we also have a coin toss to see who uld take the first question. mr. maynard, you won that honor. let's go right to it. infrastructure is the foundation for economic growth. in southern west virginia we continue to suffer from lack of highways, both paid and technological, along with the need for basicater and sewer systems. how do you plan is a member of congress to obtain federal financing for these types of projects? >> the first thing we need to do is for congress to stop spending money we do not have been stopped spending money on things like the so-called stimulus package, which has wasted and squandered a trillion dollars of taxpayer money. it is eated jobs in four of places like china. it has created jobs in south

korea. it is a statute that my opponent vod for. it also gave big bailouts to the banks, to the insurance companies, and it is a huge waste of taxpayer money in. instd of spending money to create jobs in china. we need to build plants throughout southern west virginia. we have a lot of people could dump their sewage stight into the streams. at that has to change and we need federal crisis projects to fund those types of improvements. we need to build a four-lane highways. i mentioned earlier that we had the stimulus package and we got no money -- no money for the king cole expressway, we got no money for the bypass in abruptly. the money that we're now using to build schools and sewage projects in place like iraq, and we're doing that what taxpayer

dollars, that money needs to be spent in southern west virginia. and that would be my prime project in congress. stop spending money there and spend it in southern west virginia on infrastructure projects. >> infrastructure is vital to the future economy of west virginia. you've heard me often during not just this campaign but often in the years i've been in congress talk about transportation, technology, and tourism. improving our infrastructure to get water and sewage, i'd agree with my opponent in that regard. it is vital for southerwe of the big cities take it for granted. we do not have those basic services in many areas. we have used the stimulus program that he's s viciously attacked -- first of all, 33% of stimulus spending went to a tax cut for 95% of working americans

making $150,000 or below. one went for in structure -- 33% went for infrastructure funded. please correct yourself there. the final third went to the programs like cobra extensions and unemployment benefits. >> mr. maynard, you have 30 more seconds. >> providing more government handouts is not the answer to creating jobs in southern west virginia or correcting the problems and our economy. but congress needs to stop spending money we do not have. win -- they need to stop talking about tax increases. we need to focus on the very basis of government. we need to give incentives to private enterprise to create jobs and not any more government giveaways, no more bank bailout, and no more -- no more government takeovers.

[applause] >> staying with this topic, mr. rahall, how do we address the deficit that increases by more than $400 billion a day? let's remember that our federal budget has always been in debt and except for a five- year period going back in 1961, we've always had federal budget deficits. except for a five-year period in which we had surpluses. we know when this error plus period was. it was during the clinton administration. the previous administration came in and spurn -- spent all the surplus on two wars. it provided tax cuts for the not freelthy in this countr expenditures. no president has been able to

fight two force and provide tax cuts for the super wealthy at the same time. deficit spending, i want to get it under control. there are -- there are ctain services that our federal government needs to provide to help our people. not a handout -- words from my opponent right now, but i hand it up. many programs that partner with our private sector, seed money such as the gateway project, the intermodal center, what we did with poland sque in huntington -- this was seed money that has been used very well by the private sector to partner and to provide private jobs. that is number one, i a minute. private sector job is where it is that. we have to realize that by putting people were providing payroll tax cuts as we did in the stimulus package, we're providing tax cuts to people who needed, who put that money back

into the economy, they do not afford the money in some cd or a hedge fund in wall street. th put it into rairs, go out and buy a new home, with interest rates as low as they are today. but when people work, they pay taxes and that helps to reduce our deficit. for every $1 million we invest in infrastructure spending, we create 40,000 jobs, good paying jobs, long-term jobs. that is what we need more of. [applause]>> mr. maynard, you he minute. >> defit spending and the debt we face is a dger aimed at the heart of the american economy. my opponent and his friends in d.c.ontinue to talk about tax increases and tax increases and spending more just to solve our economic problems. if you cannot spend yourself

into prosperity, ladies and gentleman. my opponent this to a vote in congress. it was the deciding vote that he ssed the would he extended the tax cuts that would add just started this economy. it is going to result in a tax increase for all of us all $1 trillion, the largest tax increase in the history of america. and we're having that tax increase because my opponent missed the deciding vote to keep congress in session to extend those cuts. you do not raise people's taxes in the middle of a recession. no economist will tell you that it anyone's taxes in a recession. if you want to create jobs and into recession, y have to cut taxes. you have to give people an incentive to create jobs. [applause] >> 30 seconds response, mr. rahall.

>> action has not been taken on extending the bush tax cuts. i happen to favor very strongly making permanent the tax cuts for middle-class americans, except for those -- for those making $250,000 or below. i recognize the need to reach across the aisle and if necessary extenmay be temporarily the tax cuts for the super wealthy but it extended permanently, it would cost our years. talk about that it's a spending, where we going to get that from? we need to give it to lower income groups. [applause] >> mr. maynard, the cost of the wars in iraq, afghanistan, and pakistan have been staggering. and it has contributed to our fiscal woes.

do we keep pushing our role as the world' police force, and if so, how do we justify that trillions our government continues to spend on overseas military action? >> first of all, let me say that i'm a veteran of the u.s. air force. we must what every cost spend whatever it takes to get the very best available medical care and benefits to all our veterans, no matter when they served their where. i strongly support that. notwithstanding that, we have troops -- america has troops in over 125 different nations around the world today. we are engaged in two wars at the same time, in afghanistan and in iraq. we cannot be the world's policeman any longer. we simply do not have the resources to be the world's policeman any longer. we need to carefully analyze

every place that we have troops on the ground in countries around the world, and we need to bring most of those troops home. i would suggest we put some of those troops on our border with mexico to control the border and stop the drugs and violence and crime coming into this country. [applause] that this administration, that mr. -- mr. rahall supports, refuses to do. we have two wars that are going on. we need to wind those wars down as quickly as we can. we need to bring those troops home from the war zone as quickly as we can. then we to take a hard look at military spending. i'm a strong supporter of the military. we need a strong military mainly at home. we need to make sure we give them the finest equipment, but by this material, the latest technology in all of our aircraft and large ships at sea, but we do not need to have troops housed in over 100

countries ound the world. we have to look at that and bring those troops home and reduce the costs and it will be a savings in the hundreds of billions of dollars if we do that. [applause] >> mr. rahall, if you have one minute to rebut. >> god bless our veterans. thank you for your service. and our american troops, those are truly american heroes. they are in harm's way so that we live in the greatest country in the world and enjoy the many freedoms that we enjoy. you're right. we cannot be the policemen of the world. we cannot be the 9114 the world and be expected to respond to every trouble spot. nor can we expect to be a nation builder of every nation in which we have our forces. more cost sharing is needed. if we're going to undertake a

war like we did in iraq -- which i opposed, but i supported the troops,, bless them again. i have voted to give them every ounce of equipment that they need to do their jobs. but that does not mean that i -- i disagree with the policy but it does not mean that i disagree with our troops. it's necessary that we have some cost sharing with our allies before we undertake such a fiasco as we did in iraq. [applause] >> mr. maynard, you have 30 seconds. >> we have some common views. the american military is still the strongest military in the world, the best equipped, and our soldiers and sailors and airmen are the finest in the world. we need to emphasize that we are not doing right by some of our

veterans. congress has not done right by some of our veterans. we still do not have the best medical care in the war. a veteran of to be able to go to any hospital in the country and get a complete and total medical care. that is not what we have. [applause] >> the next question is that category consisting o two questions. one specific question for each candidate. we will still follows same format -- two minutes, one minute, and in 30 seconds response. they attempted to use candidates associations as a means of swaying butter's in one direction of the other. we will start with mr. rahall. the maynard campaign has brought into question your association with groups associated with terrorism.

>> the alleged contribution that i received, i did receive a contribution in 1996 from whatever gentleman this is. so did many other politicians, including the national republican campaign committee. in 2003, at the first allegations of wrongdoing surfaced. i immediately gave the money to charity. most all the other politicians, including george bush, gave the money back. david did charity as i did. the only group that kept it was the national republican campaign committee. fact. another group was the american tax reform group. the same one running ads against the had it with the same man. they areow running ads against me as well. that is why i made my openi statement as i did about disingenus, the dishonesty,

the owl might despicable -- the outright despicableness of these crews. they spend money without having to account who is giving them money. which u.s. the american conservative foundation to reveal who their donors are, spike? i like to know. the people of west virginia need to know who is funding these outside groups when they can except on limited money and not have to tell the first individual, the first public filing of where their money comes from. we talk aboutvery money that we receive and every minute that we spend. not so with these new groups. it is all made possible by the supreme court ruling earlier this year. we passed a bill in the house called the disclose act which would ask these groups to identify who their main sponsors are. put a name on their ad like we have to put a name one hour at.

it died in the other body because the party of no says no to everything. it has not passed the congress. [applause] >> mr. maynard, you have one minute to respond. >> in fact he did not givthe money back. u.s. r.d. spend his money on your campaign. -- you have already spent your moneyn your campaign. the council of the american islamic relations, in congress you receive more money from that group than any other member of congress. since you have chosen to make his personal, i will point out that your sister is a registered foreign agent for a middle eastern government.

qatar is the government and has lobbied for them for years. she has a post office box in your congressional district. >> you have not answered my question. i am calling upon you publicly this evening to ask these outside groups waging a smear campaign on your behalf to reveal who they are and where the money is coming from. the people of southern west virginia deserve to know this. yes, i introduced a resolution praising qatar forheir security for our forces during the war in iraq. that is where our forces were stationed, and the only thing i did was introduce a resolution backed unanimously by republicans and democrats banking that country for their support of american troops. [applause]

>> sticking with television ads, mr. maynard, the other campaign has brought into question your association with mr. blankenship. >> i will respond briefly. mr. rahall will let knowledge that his sister is a registered foreign agents who is required to register with the u.s. department of justice as a registered agent of a foreign government, and i would be happy answer his question. in particular with mr. blankenship, if we're going to decide this election based on our supporters, then i would like to talk about his supporters as well. mr. blank in shop employs about 8000 people in southern west virginia. they are good jobs, paying good wages. they pay medical benefits for about 30,000 people in southern west virginia.

there many people in the coal industry, i have the endorsement of an association that represents all the coal industr in west virginia. we have the support of many other coal executives including -- there is no need to give you a long list of names. this election is about coal, coal miners, and coal miner jobs. mr. rahall and his associates are running a war against c oal. they are conducting a war on coal, where they intend lawless surface mining in west virginia. they wt to destroy for at every 10 mining jobs in west virginia. they want to do more than that. they're really do know like -- they really do not like coal and

want to abolish it completely. friends, mr. rahall's barack obama and ms. pelosi, and they want to destroy coal. [applause] >> youave one minute. >> spite, you of all people raising guilt by association. let me say is i have said many times, you want to association me -- associate me with the current administration. i work for no president. i work with the president. and i word with a number president says. i'll agree with some and disagree with some. i've agreed with this house and the speaker of the house on gay marriage, on prayer in the public schools, on immigration. i have supported the border fence, one of 63 in my party.

i agree we need to have a strongerorder enforcement. i have voted against my party on that debt tax six times. i voted to repeal it. i have voted against my party on cap and trade. have voted against my party on a number of other issues. [applause] >> if you disagree do itim, i do not understand how you have a 98.7 term voting record with nancy pelosi. when i do not know why you said you were an early supporter of barack obama and the ease supported him her for president fide.

there was a three-one margin against him in favor of hillary clinton. it is strange if you say you are against these people if you managed to vote with him nine out of 10 times. >> mr. rahall, this question syd when it comes to our students competing academically with those in china, india, and other asian countries what can we do to provide better education for our children? >> i supported barack obama for president because hillary clinton was the alternative. she supported cap and trade. she was a co-sponsor with the john mccain of climate change legislation. you were in the democratic

party. who did you support? [applause] >> i supported hillary clinton. >> let's stay on topic. >> and god bless our teachers. they affect the lives of our children for a eternity. they have not received the pay they deserve. for it placess at a competitive disadvantage with all the other developing countries. we have tried to restore pell grants to our students and staff for loans. we have tried to improve the loans to our students by elimining the middleman. teachers have a very important role. we have to give them the tools of reach to do it. the government cannot do it alone. we need partner, and poor in rd, partnership, with our

teachers, parents. let's not forget the role parents play. with o communities, we need programs to start our children off on the right foot and fund them such as a head start. whinnied after-school programs where we can put them into places where they have other alternatives. it takes partnering. we put into our schools the necessary chowan nutrition programs plus the partnership with our local enforcement of law enforcement officers to instill the dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse. >> that sounds a whole lot like

the typical rahall answer, let's raise taxes and throw more money at the problem. you will not solve the problems by three more money at it. that has been proven to not work. it has proven to be counterproductive. if you want to fix what's broken with american education, you have to go back to the basis. you cannot throw money at it. we have to teach more math and science. we have got to teach basic language arts. we need to look at grade education countries like england are doing. they do not have a 180 day school year. they have a 200 days school year. we need to look at extending the school year. when need to look at extending

school hours. those of some of the press will things he can do that and not cost money. >> once again, my, this seems to think that i believe the federal government is the solution to all our ills. i have said that such is not the case. the federal government has a role to play, yes but if this is an important difference between us. the federal government needs to partner with parents and teachers in our community leaders and with the private sector. where the number one employer is. it takes teamwork to pull together so the west virginia and our children can win. thank you. >> we have some reader jr.

waited questions -- generated questions. is health care reform legislation is to repeal, what do you say to families that may look forward to the benefit for children up to the age 26 or unemployed workers concerned insurance would not covered a pre-existing condition? >> i favored repealing obamacare and i favor some other form of health care that the congress needs to craft that does not cost two or three trillion dollars. one of the problems with obamacare is that it is a job killer. when we revisit health care, we need to make sure that people who have pre-existing conditions are covered. nobody should be excluded from health care because they have a pre-existing condition. we c afford to make sure everyone has health coverage.

all we needed to do was have coverage for 30 million people. that to be an easy thing to do. police could have added those 30 million people without destroying the finest medical care delivery system on the planet. why are we paying for medical care for illegal immigrants? what are we paying for viagra for prisoners in jail. these are all true. we need to adopt a healthcare program that will make sure that everyone is covered and people with pre-existing conditions are covered. this program that we have come extending coverage to 26 years of age, that is a costly

provision. there should be provision that says if your child is in college, and then he or she should be included on the program until they are out of college. this because someone is 26 and should not be required to be covered on the policy. companies have to pay for that. it is good to force employers out of business. >> is the bill perfect? and no. does it need tweaking the? yes. my opponent has said his favorite retail and that we cannot repeal the law. for the bill will not be repealed in the totality.

let's not talk about these pie in the sky schemes that will not happen. i believe those in favor of the repeal to not want to see children eliminated fm coverage on their parents' policy. i do not think they want to see children eliminated from being covered from pre-existing conditions. i think kids should be covered for health insurance if they have pre-existing conditions or not. we should eliminate the annual cap. we have health care rationing today by private insurers. the cost of doing nothing is much higher. >> if you want to cut costs,

all of the cost of madison that doctors face when they have to order thousands of unnecessary pense attests to ward off lawsuits. without meaningful tort reform, you'll never reduce the cost of medical care. you will have a bloated system like obamacare. >> this question is for a new from the public. many tax reductions put in place are scheduled to be eliminated or phased out beginning in january 2011. what is your position on this issue? >> i stated it earlier. i will resnd with more detail. what is scheduled to respire are

the bush tax cut seller sets in place using a pross known as reconciliation 10-years ago. they are not the 60 votes to pass the cuts for the super wealthy in the senate. they needed only 50 votes. that is what expires january 1. we put up action until a lame duck and i want to be put on the line without this that have been taken actionlso. i favor extending the bush tax cuts for the middle income. it will make it permanent of would have to compromise and extend it for the super wealthy, fine. i will vote for that as long as we make permanent a tax cut to gi. this is money that goes into

the home improvent. it put back into our economy and helds grow it. it goes to work for our economy. the worst-case scenario if we take no action, should we not take action, guess where we are? we are back to the clinton years and give there is even less tax on dividends than in those years hiding we did pretty well during the clinton years. we have budget surpluses. that scenario would not be as bad as it is painted as. it is not the largest tax increase. democrats have passed the largest tax cut i referenced earlier. we provided a payroll tax cut to 1/3 of the bill for 95% of working americans.

[applause] >> his failure to show up and vote to extend the session to take up the tax cut is a stunning failure. it is an unforgivable failure. this iwhat we are talking

about. we are talking about people who are your neighbors and run the local gas station but there these are the kind of people that congress things are sued for wealthy. they are not super wealthy. [applause] >> extending the tax cut for middle income america that is number one. we should not be holding the tax cut for the wealthy as hostage for a middle income tax cuts in this country it is unfair. it is a bic difference of philosophy. it is unfair to our working men and women we received a permanent tax.

>> thank you. >> would rublican control of congress mean by partisanship or a gridlock for americans? >> we certainly have not had a grid lock up until now. this present administration has said total control of all three branches of government. they ignored the opposite party when they passed ofcare. they jammed it down the third of americans. americans did not want obamacare. to 70% of our people do not want obamacare. republicans had no say in it. republicans had no power. it is a 2700 page bill and nobody in congress and read before they voted on it. i defy you to go to the internet and read it yourself.

it is unreadable. it is impossible to reach. it creates incredibl of 20 or so bored with awesome power. it is a bill people do not want. republicans will take control of the house. everyone thinks that is the case. they are very likely to take control of the senate. i hope the when it occurs there will be a spirit of cooperation and that the parties will be able to work together. our country is in really big trouble. we have people that are really hurting. this is not about democrats or republicans or independents or any political schemes. this is about doing the right thingor america. i hope that you ever goes to congress, no matter what their political stance, will know that our country is in big trouble

and they need help. we are on the verge of bankruptcy. we are facing economic collapse. if we not do something about the spending and a continuing push to raise everyone's taxes -- we are in the middle of the worst recession. you do not raise everyone's taxes. it creates a depression. we must not do that. [applause] 4 >> mr. rahall, you have one minute. >> the fact of the matter is that i will still maintain my experience and seniority if reelected to the congress regardless of who controls the congress. i've not always been in a ngress that has been controlled by my party. when my party was not in control, i worked quite well across party lines to continue to receive major funding for the

expressway, the highway, the bypass, water and sewage infrastructure projects. this is a type of the partisanship that works for our people. we need to continue that. gridlock is something that people like to point to when something does my kid down. for that often just least two more gloom and doom talk. what we need to do isit down outside the cameras and take the tough decisions that are needed to get this deficit under control. >> my plan and needs to go around the third district and talked to some people who are facing hard realities.

when people are losing their homes to foreclosure, i do not think they will able to survive. our coal mines cannot get permits to mine coal. your friends at the epa to shed down another permit for a mine that will cost 300 jobs. go talk to those 300 coal miners. ask them if that is live and doom. -- gloom and doom. >> for mr. rahall, there is a growing sense across the country that our best days as a nation are behind this and that our kids will not live as low as we have. how do you reverse that mentality? >> i do not by the assumption and that question. i believe that we do have a lot going for us.

mypponent said we ought to spend time with our families. i have spent that time. i know the 1a family has a mortge or a car loan or a student loan that are not always balancing their budget either as he seems to preach is set a bad thing when the government is a little out of skelter. sometimes you have to loolong term. you have to do what is in the best interests. i believe we are doing that. we have laid the foundation. cole is number one for our economy. we cannot put all our eggs in th basket. it should not be our ceiling. when need to diversify. i have been doing that since day one when i protected the national rebar and build upon that. it is drawing the boy scouts of

america to our area. it is a game changer for our area and the boy scouts. we opened a new line here in raleigh county. it is some of the best in the world. no one is trying to stop the permit from going forward. it will provide jobs for our people. those are big announcement. there is private money coming to our area. it'll be 300 million by the time it is said and done. these are good, positive things from our area. it is surely something we need to nurture. we need to be prepared. so must we be prepared with the necessary water and sewage lines. we have been necessary positive attitude among our people, welcoming them to our area we will continue to help them progress.

>> one minute. >> i firmly believe that our best days are still ahead of us in america. as ronald reagan says, it is moing in americ where surely the greatest nation on earth. our kids will have at least a good of life as we have. our grandkids will have even better still. we cannot get there by wishing and hoping. it will not make it happen. we really have to face hard realities. we have to do with our government when you and i do that home. we have to stop spending money we do not have. we have to stop going in debt. we have to stop deficit spending. we are in debt $13 trillion. almost $14 trillion. we are in debt $13.70 trillion.

it has to be paid. we have absolutely got to stop increasing people's taxes. we have got to step incurring debt that we cannot pay. we have to have a fair process for business regulation bell will let our businesses create jobs and compete in world markets. [applause] >> our economy in west virginia has held up pretty well when you consider the eire nation. that is thanks to our coal industry, and no question about it. we are one of three or states able to pay our bills. we know we have a strong work ethic here workwith patriotic

people compare. >> in the interest of time, wish to move to our final question. if elected to serve west virginia is third district, what will be on the top line of your agenda when you are sworn in? >> jobs. jobs. and more jobs for oureople. i believe that that is the numbers 1 in west virginia. at least one person that was to work is out there andannot find it. our unemployment is too high.

if they are unable to find that job, they should receive unemployment compensation benefits that is not a handout. i do not believe our senior should be scared that the social security would be cut. thank goodness we were able to beat back the bush proposal to privatize social security. look at what we need to do. it will provide our veterans in health care they deserve. we can never do enough for our veterans. we have to look at our education

system. let's work together lets provide a solid economic foundation. that is what our people need. it will help reduce our deficit. it'll help us get this thru whatever 10 times may await this in the future. >> am going to change the rules a little bit. >> my opponent said something about the russian education system. what i said was the great western democracies. they do have a wonderful education syste. they do particularly in england.

i'm surprised you'd mention russia. the coal company referred to is a ukrainian company. i am going to go back to the basics. we have a government today that is being run by people who do not know the basics and economics. you do not create incredible debt and a newborn child and west virginia those $40,000 the day it bourne's. that debt has to be paid. we must address this. we must stop spend money. we must stop talking raising everyone's taxes. we must turn this around. if you like the way the obama

adminiration is running things, you probably want to vote for my opponent. if you do not like the way they are running things, you have to change burda you have to change congress. new want to put on the bricks in washington d.c.. there is only way voters can do that. mr. obama is not on the ballot. the only thing you can do is vote to change ngress. you have to make sure that tax increases and not -- are not visited on the poorest of our people, working moms and peoples with families. [applause]

>> we have come to the endf our broadcast. we have to move on to a closing statement. this is a li broadcast. we have to limit it. sponsors predict it is disconcerting to hear my opponent continually attacked president obama and speaker pelosi as if my one boat determines the course for the entire congress. that is disconcerting. if that were the case, why not just vote for the speaker in

congress go home. what else is there for us to do? that is it. i do not think that is the proper role of a legislator award. i believe the proper role is once again to partner with all the stakeholders in the produc we need to follow the law of god, number one. [applause] >> my opponent wants to talk

about jobs. we have an administration that wants to abolish four out of 10 jobs right here in our district. it is not just one vote. when you go to make nancy pelosi speaker of the house, you get for the power to wage war on coal and take four out of 10 jobs away. when you spoke with her, it is 98% of the time, not one vote. when he bowed to some 98% of the time, you empower them to do atever they want. barack obama him my upon a strongly supports is the most anti coal entitle, pro- abortion, anti military presence in which it had in my lifetime. my opponent supports him. cpaigned with him. i will oppose him. i will oppose their policies.

it is simply anti-american. >> this concludes our debate tonight. we live like to think candidates for participating. would also like to thank our partners and those watching at some. >> thank you for serving as our timekeeper tonight. the night everyone. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] behalf>> the 17 congressional d.

>> good evening. welcome to the only live televised debates. i will b channel 25 is audience. let me be candidates. bill floras is on the republican side. they agree to state their case. we will be given an opening statement that is two minutes long. then we will have a series of questions. them will go back to the

candidates themselves. we will have a lightning round with quicker questions and answers. we will close it out with closing comments. the candates cannot interrupt each other. they will stay on topic. i will be enforcing it. here is the panel. on the far left of your screen, you have mark wiggins. in the middle, elizabeth o'neal. on the right, bill whitaker. th debate will be an entire hour long. we will not take any commercial breaks. is now time for opening credits. >> we have an important election. forreason i'm running congress is because i watched barack obama assumed the presidency and nancy pelosi become speaker of the house.

americ dream was in the process of being destroyed. i watched the job killing an agenda. it began to unravel. i watched unemployment go up. i was in number of people on food stamps go up. we took care of the primary issues. i decided to run at that point in time. you are going to hear lot of attacks. instead of focusing on the issues, my opponent is elected to attack me personally. you hear several things from me. usa he is independent. we have a new website of. you can see how things will turn

out. this decision is simple. if you like the direction the country is going, then you should vote for mr. edwards. on the other hand, if you want to restore the american dream, and i would be umbel to have your vote. thank you. >> good evening. i like to begin tonight by sharing with y two things, who i am and what i believe. on a personal note, i am an aggie methodist mi. i've been a cowboys got and little lead dad. central texas is 80 part of who i am and what i believe. my education gamy opportunities i could never imagine. here in waco, this is where her father married a special this is

where our sons were born. however is a deep part of central texas. i learned what i am and how to believe. for 2000 jobs, it is a much- needed new hospital. this is why i worked with n.m. and bather. it supports thousands of jobs to our district. i believe my job is to represent of the people of our district. that is why i voted on the cap and trade bill. it took too much. these are sacred programs.

the bonds should not be broken. i will be great for your support. the one now begin ouredia question each question will get 90 seconds. there'll be 30 seconds for rebuttal. they have not been briefed on what kind of questions are coming. >> thank you. my compliments to both candidates for showing a and having the. it is crusaded for the privatization of social security. you also campaign with a prominent congressmen who also supports privatization. you have made some complected statements during the campaign about that topic.

in detail, what is your position on these two matters. how does it tie in with entitlement reform? >> if you look at social security, they are programs they are really stand several generations. we need to protect them with today's recipients. the problem of social security and with medicare is said they are unsound. the unfunded liability of social security is $19 trillion. that is 100 -- 130% of o current gdp. the unbundle liability is $80 trillion. we cannot fulfill the promises of those to entitlement to current generations unless they fix it. in addition, the payroll taxes that been deposited in trust

funds. it has been replaced with an iou. my view is that it should not be done. i have never said the we should privatize social security. i still we still getut to better fix it. i do not believe we should raise the retirement age. i am not a politician. i misspoke a couple of times. i would look raising the retirement age or not. we should leave those alum. you will see raising it does not insure the long-term survivability. >> you have 90 seconds. >> i believe social security and medicare are social bonds that we should not break. that is why i have fought

actively against those would want to privatize social security and medicare, putting at risk the security of our finances and health of our seniors in their later years. mr. flores said he never came ouin favorf privatisation. he is on record saying he supports private accounts. private account according to experts is exactly that, privatization of social security. the problem with the social security plans that over the next decade it could take up to $2 trillion outer revenues needed for the trust fund to fund today's benefits for today's seniors. he should explain to our seniors whether he would cut benefits for our seniors, raise taxes, or increase the deficit or all three. i have consistently opposed raising the retirement age to

70. a week and a half ago, he said he is philosophically have no objection traising the retirement age. we found a reporter reported that mr. flores said a similar thing a few months ago. >> it is time for a rebuttal. >> mr. edwards has his facts wrong again. i said i was not philosophically opposed. i never . the age 70 never came into it. in terms of privatization, having private accounts is not necessarily include privatizing all of social security. we have got to fix social security. it has a $19 trillion unfunded liability. the best way we can fix it today is to put people to work. the reason it is running the deficit is bause we have to high unemployment. let's focus on jobs to improve the pay rate.

>> it is time for the rebuttal. >> i have been a strong and consistent opponent of privatizingocial security and medicare. privatizing social security would be a terribly harmful thing to do to our seniors. it to take trillions of dollars out of funds needed to provide benefits for today's seniors or it would raise taxes or it would increase the deficit or a combination of all three. he is not just once but on several occasions thahe is openo raising the retirement age to 70. and misspoke, he misspoke more than once. >> this is coming from elizabeth o'neal. >> what is the federal government need to do to pave the way for the creation of private sector jobs? >> what i would first suggested that we stop over regulating our community banks that provide

los to the small businesses. decrees to out of every three jobs. -- it create two out of every three jobs. wall street banks did that. would -- we could create a lot of new investment. i think we ought to repeal tax laws that encourage u.s. companieso shift their american jobs overseas. i think we need a credible bipartisan deficit-reduction plan in order to create the kind of confidence that can encourage businesses large and small to hire new people to invest in our future. if we could do those three things, i think we can make some great steps forward. a job begins at home per them i know how important they are to our family.

unemployment today is 20% below the national average. >> boat times nancy pelosi was paid to the speaker of the hous we have lost 7 million jobs in the united states. it is supposed to create jobs that were voted for by mr. edwards. the stimulus plan has not worked. the federal government does not create private sector jobs. the way we will creek private sector jobs is remove the uncertainty that crew closes the minds of people that run businesses. some of the will include repealing ofc obamaare. he is steering a 30,000 entries

in his medical premiums the next thing we need to do is extend today's tax rates permanently. me to stop cap and tra and spending. thank you. >> yet 30 seconds for rebuttal. >> he would have voted against the $1,600 tax cut. he said the bill created no new jobs. and local repairman said it help them save 3000 jobs in our dirict to give you would have voted no to 4000 new construction jobs. t would have supported 300 vital research jobs at texas a&m university. we areot where we need to be. anstill losing jobs, we have

gained more this year. >> mr. edwards has his facts wrong. you will see that they got out $350 million in federal stimulus. the only treated 1200 jobs. stimulus bill do not create jobs. the private sector does. we need to remove the uncertainty from the minds of people that run businesses so that they have the confidence. >> are there questions once remarked rare occurrence -- comes from mark wakens. >> some parts of the bill are likely to be popular with the public. some parts are likely to be unpopular. what part did the bill would you favor retaining? >> you cannot take a bill which

2700 pages and take the fibers six pieces out of it that you like andhen tried to put it back together. the best way to fix obamacare is to repeal and replace it. in need to be replaced with common-sense health care reform. we need to look at medical malpractice reform. this left out of obamacare. we also need to look a wellness care and ways to take care of pre-existing limitations. texas law fixed to issues that obamacare does fix. we did not have to have zeroca bombre here in texas to take care of this issue.

any problem we have means to have two goals, to increased accessibility and improve affordability. that is what it was supposed to do. instead, we are going to cut five and a billion dollars from medicare. that is not magic of what he said before. you are going to take five and 60,000 seniors of their programs. how is that taking care of seniors? >> thank you. >> i voted no twice to the health care reform bill. i believe it is been too much money. secondly, it cut too much of the dicare that was needed to be supported. the problem with your peeling the health care reform bill is that you raise taxes. it is providing health care. what you do is you get rid of

the protection against discrimination and families that have a loved one that might have had cancer or heart attack. i liked the factf the bill. we ought to retain that bill. i like the fact that there is a private exchange in that bill that will help provide more competitive prices using the private sector. their negotiations has buying power. i will suggest that we not repeal the entire bill unless it can help families and small businesses and then get rid of the bad provisions like the medicare programs for our seniors. >> you have 30 seconds ahead

>> we need to repeal it and start over. let's make sure we understand the facts. the first time a bomb care came to the floor, mr. edwards voted to bring it to -- obamacare came to the floor, mr. edwards voted to bring it. it is the best thing for the software company here in waco, texas that is looking for a premium increase. >> when it comes to providing tax cuts for small businesses to provide health care for employees and stopping discrimination by big insurance companies, this is not a jellybean story. it is a real story that affects the lives of our families. i think we ought to protect the

popular thing zapat. we should repeal the things and would hurt our seniors. >> time for question numbers 4. >> navy is because i'm the closest one to retirement age. congressman edwards proposed a cost-of-living adjustment for social security recipients. how can we believe you are serious about entitlement reform minear so willing to put aside the economic mechanism that is there to control social security costs? where do you stand on the issue that is currently in play right now as to whether source security increases should be raised? >> >> and do nothing we ought to

balance this on the back of our citizens. not only did today supposed to propose the privatization of social security, they also say that the utility bills have gone up. i think there is a real question to be raised. i want to raise it about the basket of goods being used by economists in washington, d.c. that say our seniors that have cost of living that have not gone up. i think we c have entitlement reform. in the meantime, i will not support privatizing social security or raising the retirement age to 70 of freezing cost-of-living increases for our seniors.

maybe costs have gone down for those still have new cell phones every year. i'mure those costs have me down. as i listen to seniors, their costs have gone up and not down. i think we should stem by the seniors who have made this country what it is today. >> he now had a minute and 30 seconds. >> i do not believe that it to be fiscally prudent at this increase that the in the current formula. is not fair for those that have to pay for the tax. also, the best way to fix social security is to grow our economy. we have an economy that has 9.6% unemployment. it has been the way for 14 months. we also have -- the rate is

17.1%. that ione out of every six of our neighbors in america that are out work. how are we dealing with that? if we would deal with those issu, we would he much more in the way a payroll tax. until we can find a long-term solution that protect the benefits said seniors are expecting today. we need to have a comprehensive program. let's do triage first >> 30 seconds of rebuttal time. >> i'd just do nothing what he is proposing is fair to our seniors. he wants to freeze and for our

seniors. a few moments ago, he said he would make permanent a temporary tax cuts including for families making over $1 million a year. that tax cut alone would add $250 billion to our national debt. we cannot afford the cost of living increase. it is not fair. quite to have 30 seconds. -- no one is trying to hurt seniors. the same benefit should be fine. we need to work on growing our economy. we need to maintain tax rates.

>> members of the texas legislature and other legislators are contemplating immigration enforcement laws and led to the one that was passed our congress and our adminiraon have not been serious about securing our country. we start by securing our borders. in the immigration discussions start with securing the border. it is a matter of national leadership to get it done. we liberated iraq in less than

two weeks. we have the means to secure our borders. what we also need to do once we secure the borders -- and it will take the states stepping in -- we need to also process illegal immigrants according to the laws we have on the books today. there is no illegal act that is ever giving someone a legal right -- we should not be talking about amnesty for illegal immigrants. >> mr. edwards? 90 seconds. >> we must secure our borders. while it is impossible to literally steal them given there are thousands of miles, we must do more. that is exactly why for the last six years i have helped to lead the fight to increase the number of border patrol agents by 70%.

we have expanded the p3 program, the airplane but will allow us to protect hundreds of miles along our borders. secondly, we need to make sure we have an employee verification system so an employer can find out if a person is illegal. once we have that in place, we hold employers accountable and to enforce the laws against hiring those who are here illegally. if people cannot find a job when they got here, they would not come here in the first place. detection devices along the border. we must protect our borders. we must ensure that our laws are enforced. we can do that. we can make progress. it is an important effort to stop the huge flow of illegal immigrants into the united states. >> mr. fluoresce? your 32nd rebuttal. >> it damages -- it endangers

our security. it displaces americans from some jobs. what mr. edwards says a minute ago does not jive with the facts. he has voted 17 times against measures that would have strengthened border security. at is reprehensible. if you elect bill flores to congress, they will vote every time for more border patrol agents. >> what is reprehensible is for mr. flores to misrepresent my votes on border protection we have dramatically increased funding for border securi. that is a fact. i think that is the kind of false charge that mr. flores has told the "dallas morning news." i have been a strong supporter

in increasing our commitment to protect our borders including increasing the number of border patrol agents for the last six years by 70%. >> thank you. we will go to question no. six. back to marc wiggins. >> there is a sentiment among some that the federal government has grown more interested over the years. nasa defense, border security, immigration, and entitlements -- what areas do you think should remain the domain of the state's and we should beat the federal government -- which should be the federal government's? >> i have been a national champion for a strong national defense. i am proud that the national commander of the vfw saidhat

our nation's defense has no better friend in congress than chet edwards. the government cannot -- those kind of values come from our faith and our families, not from the federal government. i do believe in programs that help people help themselves. that is why i believe in programs like head start and funding for our public schools as well as financial aid that helps college students try to achieve the american dream for their families' lives. i believe in limited government. in cases of medicare and social security, i believe those are important programs that we promised our seniocitizens. we should keep his promises. >> mr. flores, you hav90 seconds. >> thank you. the domain o the federal government is to protect us and our general welfare. unfortunately the federal government has expanded his duties. today it seems like it there is

a problem in the country that barack obama and nancyelosi have been out for that. that is not what the federal government was intended to do. i am reminded of the 10 amendments of our constitution. all powers not spefically enumerated to the federal government belong to the states. the federal government has gotten deeply involved in several parts of our state and local governments. they do it surreptitiously by saying they will give you money. then they add strength to the money. etty soon you see people in washingt pulling the strings. that is not what was intended. we need the federal government to shrink back to its original role. that will not hurt state and local governments because the governor and -- the government that governs best is the one closest to the people.

our federal government in washington, d.c., is about 1,000 miles from here. it does not govern as well. i would rather return tho usurped power is back to the state and local governments. >> mr. edwards, 30 seconds. >> i did not hear anything specificay mr. floras would support changing. i do-that he has proposed eliminating the department of education. it is a supporting partner of our local schools. it provides about 10% of funding needed for our schools. it provides the largest single source of college financial aid in our count. to eliminate the u.s. department of education would hurt our local public schools here in central texas and make college affordable for tens o thousands of our students. >> mr. lawrence, 30 seconds. >> the department of education

was created to improve student'' education. at that time, three out of every four educators was in the classroom. today, two out oevery four educators is in the classroom. it has cost hundreds of millions of dollars. students' scores have gone down. a huge bureaucracy has been created. we can do better in this country. >> and ideological divide seem to open up this summer when congressman edwards was attacked for helping baylor university try to keep the big 12 conference together. looking ahead, what criteria should dictate when a congressman should get involved in a local or regional battle and when should he simply bought out? >> i did not attach commerce grin edwards on this particular issue. -- i did not attack congressman edwards on this particular

issue. mr. edwards played a part in helping hold the big 12 together. it was a joint effort of local officials, baylor officials, other officials that wanted to see the conference hold together. it did not involve -- i do not think there was any one person that was more important than another. at the end of the day, i am glad that mr. edwards got involved. i am glad that local leaders got involved. i am glad at baylor and texas tech leaders got involved. i take that we need champions like that. but again, we need to pay attention to the primary fax the were not being addressed. the unemployment was close to 10%. we have deficits of $1.30 trillion this year. nobody is paying attention to e big issues while we are trying to take care of the big 12. it is great we took care of the big 12, b you is taking care

of the business at home that we also care about? we need to take care of those things wle we are taking care of baylor. >> mr. edwards, one and half minutes. >> to people here in central texas and the greater waco area, it was a big issue. for those that care about employment, this 1600 jobs that local economists said were at risk if baylor lost out in the big 12 fight was a big issue. it was important to families. it was important to baylor's future. it was imported to the future of central texans. i am glad that mr. flores and i agree that i was involved in that light. if you check the record, while i was working in partnership with baylor as part of a great team working together, mr. flores

said that the constitution does not allow congressman to get involv like that. i strongly disagree. the constitution talked-about the first amendment and my freedom of speech. if i cannot talk about issues that impact balers future, then what is the title of rep all about? i am glad that rather than sitting on the sidelines when baylor's future was at risk and so many jobs were at risk, that i joined hands with those at baylor to help win that fight. i did not do it alone. i was just part of the team. i was certainly proud to be part of that team. >> mr. flores, 32nd severable. >> i d not say he was constitutionally predicted from helping baylor i am glad baylor held together. but the my in-laws are baylor graduates. i cherished the intrastate

rivalry is that we have among texas tech and baylor and the university of texas. i am glad the big 12 held together. if you listen to my interview, i also said that i was particular concern -- i was particularly concerned about what would happen if the big 12 broke apart. i am glad we had the right outcome. >> i listened to what mr. flores said when baylor's future was at risk. he said the constitution does not allow congressmen to get involved in a fight like that. i disagreed with and then when he said it. i disagree with them today. it was a privilege for me. we save 1600 jobs and the future of baylor university. >> ti now for our final media panel question. >> everybody supposedly pace in

march, yet some better than others. -- ever by supposedly hates your marks, yet me better than others. how this one is sure future funding for these crucial projects? >> mr. edwards, you have 90 seconds. >> i believe we ought to reduce the number of earmarks. we have reduced that number by 40%. they a wasteful. we need to cut them when we possibly can. the constitution in article one gives congress the responsibility to write an appropriations bill to a lot -- to write an appropriations bill.

if we did what mr. edwards said, we would put all the power in the hands of the obama administration to decide where our tax dollars go. positionlores' prevailed, universities would have been denied money in vital research money that would have created hundreds of jobs. baylor university would have lost funding for a new research and innovation collaborative. we would have lost money -- vitally important money for roads and highways. i favor reforming the processes. mr. flores has said that he opposes all earmarks. but with stopped a program i suggest that would have addressed mental health programs. i want to reform earmarks.

i do not want to get the power to the obama administration when it comes to deciding where our tax dollars of debt. >> eric cantor recently read an op-ed. he said that earmarks were a symptom of a problem in washington, d.c. mr. edwards has voted for every appropriations bill that has come across the house floor since 2007. that is the reason we have grown the scope and size of government by over 40%. what we need to do, i think it is fine to use federal dollars for local projects as long as we meet a test. that test is that it is a critical national priority. examples of art research for baylor, a radio system for hood

county, where it could be food science research at texas a&m. those projects will survive. the next thing is th process needs to be transparent. it needs to have a name on it and it needs to say how much is going to cost, to whom it is going, and the return the taxpayer can expect to get at the end of the day. hidollars were either taken from him for this project or we borrowed 3 cents on the dollar. we need to treaties dollars as precious. >> mr. edwards, 30 seconds. >> nearly two years ago, i help to pass transparency reform for earmarks. mr. flores cannot be against all of them and for some of them. if you believe what he said throughout this campaign, he would get taken away $232 million from texas a&m on vital research.

in 2002, our largest private employer was at risk of shutting down. it was an earmark i fought for it to help save those jobs. >> mr. flores, 30 seconds. >> mr. edwards is confusing a broken process with a clear, transparent appropriations process that provides greater transparency and visibility to the taxpayer. right now, in order to get a food science research grants for texas a&m, mr. edwards is having to pay $2 million to the charlie rangel center in new york. i do not consider that a good use of taxpayer dollars. >> it is time for cross- questioning. one candidate will ask a question, then the other candidate will have 90 seconds to answer that question followed by the question are getting 60

seconds for rebuttal. we'll start with mr. flores asking mr. edwards a question. yvette 30 seconds for your question. >> mr. edwards, thank you for joining us today. he wrote a letter in february of this year, a fund-raising letter. you said this election was about securing our future and protecting our kids from a growing see a national debt. unfortunately, six days earlier, you approved the largest single increase in the history of the national debt. you voted for an $800 billion stimulus bill. he said during a fiscal conservative. can you explain the difference between what your lett says and how you are actually a fiscal conservative? >> let me first say that nothing could be more irresponsible for our nation's economy than to not extend the debt limits when our

nation is approaching those limits. that would put us in default for the first time in our nation by street history, creating an .vernight recession not to raise the debt ceiling where we are reaching tha ceiling would be absolutely irresponsible. i voted for the budget in the 1990's that left the balanced budgets. i voted against the effort to get rid of the pay-as-you-go rules. i voted against a tree and some of dollars in spending that has increased the debt that we ve seen in recent years. the stimulus bill that mr. clore as opposed was supported by the u.s. chamber of commerce in 2009. they said r economy was in a freefall. they said we needed a defibrillator to get our private sector back in place.

thstimulus bill mr. flores opposed, gave a 1006 and a dollar tax cut to 95% of americans and helped to improve our economy. >> mr. floras, you have one minute for rebuttal. >> i did not hear mr. edwards say how he was a fiscal conservative. he voted for every appropriations and spending bill that has come across his desk since 2007. he has voted 114 times against amendments that would have reduced wasteful spending. also, injuring the time since the first voted for nancy pelosi to be spending -- to be speaker of the house, we have increased the debt. mr. edwards does not get it. if you want to have a fiscal

conservative, you have to work on balancing the budget. the budgets he mentioned have been balanced twice out of 20 years. >> mr. edwards, you now have 30 seconds to ask a question of mr. fluoresce. >> mr. flores, you talked about how important it is to reduce the deficit, yet your social security privatization plan would actually increase the national deficit by $2 trillion over the next decade. unless you agree to raise taxes or cut benefits that today's seniors need, you have proposed tax cuts that would a trillions of dollars to the national debt above the present projected deficit, including tax cuts for people making over $1 billion a year, including completely eliminating the estate taxven for people that are billionaires.

how would you pay f those increased deficits that your proposals would create? >> mr. flores, you have one minute there were two questions that i heard there. helena paper social secuty? i haveot proposed privatization of social security. that was off the table. in tms of paying for tax cuts, everybody says we have to pay for tax cuts. those taxes started out in the taxpayer's pocket. the tax rates for the highest two tax brackets thai am talking about freezing along with all the other tax brackets include 48% of small-business jobs and 60% of small-business employees. 51 to have a lower job growth, raise taxes on those people. when you have lower job growth, you have lowered economic activity. it has been proven for *. -- it has been proven for times.

-- it has been proven four times. it is not a zero sum game. when you lower tax rates, you get increased activity and you get higher revenues. it is good for the economy. its good for the federal government. >> mr. edwards, one minute rebuttal. >> one reason i was called a fiscal conservative is because i do not make promises on fiscal issues that lead to higher and higher deficits because they are good sound bites on the mpaign trail. if we are going to balance the budget, cutting taxes is not true. national economists would agree with that point that it is simply a false promise. the fact is, mr. flores can call it what he wants.

the eerts call it social security protestation. he was able to put their social security taxes in a private account rather than a social security trust fund. that would add two trillion dollars to the national debt over the next 10 years -- $2 treen to the national debt over the next 10 years. mr. flores is the one being fiscally irresponsible by posing easy answers to complex, important fiscal matters. >> mr. flores, you have 30 seconds to ask another question of mr. edwards. >> mr. edwards, you voted for the stimulus bill. in the stimulus bill, we had a much like a dollar billion for a railroad for nevada and $54 million for the napa valley red river. we also had millions of dollars to pay f aig executives.

did you read the stimulus bill? >> yes, i did. the chamber of commerce asked me to vote for thetimulus bill. did i support everything in it? no i did not. the chamber said our country was in a freefall in the private sector needed a jump-start. let me remind you what mr. flores would have voted no on. of americans. 3000 jobs saved or created here in our district according to local economists. a $700 tax credit for 92,000 college students at the eight colleges and universities in our district. was the stimulus bill everything i wanted it to be? nope. at lst it has helped to move us from losing 25,000 jobs every

single day to a situation where this year we are gaining 863,000 private-sector jobs. our economy is still struggling. we have to keep moving forward. but i did not vote with president obama on the stimulus bill, i voted with the u.s. chamber of commerce and other conservative business groups like the realtors and homebuilders who thought the stimulus was needed to prevent a deeper recession, which would have given our deficits much higher. >> mr. clore is, you have one minute rebuttal. >> first of all, the stimulus bill has not worked. even president obama and admitted early last week that there was no such thing as a shovel ready project. it took him a long time to realize that. 40% of the people who got the task that do not pay taxes. they basically got a welfare check. did it improve the economy? we have seen economic growth at

a 1.6 per sign annual rate of growth or less. this recession -- we are not coming out of this recession the way we have in the past because we have the federal government spending too much. we have too much regulation. we have obama care. we have an administration in progress that has caused substantial uncertainty for employers. we could have done a lot better with a payroll tax on the day than to waste the money on a stimulus bill. i think everyoneidely in this that it has failed. >> our final cross question is for mr. flores. >> let me go back to social security. it is so important to seniors in our district. you are on record as supporting private accounts. most all the privatization, you can call it what you want. it will take $2 trillion out of the social security trust fund for the next 10 years. that is money needed to pay monthly benefits to today's

seniors. you say you want to it decrease the deficit, but that would increase the debt by $2 trillion. would you cut senior's benefits, raising the deficit, or by increasing taxes on americans, or all three? >> i have not proposed privatizing social security. what i do want to do is to strengthen social security. it has a $19 trillion unfunded obligations. if you do not believe me, look at the statistics for yourself. the best way to improve the financial status of social security today is to p more people to work and have more protects is going into the trust fund. the other way to improve the sanctity of social security is to keep congress from reading these trust fund. over the past several years, $2.50 trillion of everybody's paoll tax is out there except for people in congress to or not under social security, have gone

into the trust fund. the federal government has spent the money and left and i.o.u. we need to either raise taxes or we will have to borrow money from people like the chinese. we need to do a long-term solution to fix social security. it will take a bipartisan fort, but the easy way to start right now i to grow the economy, put more people to work, and have more people paying payro taxes into it. >> mr. flores is denying that he does not support privatizing social security, but he is on record this year as supporting private accounts and letting people like me and others who do pay into social security's letting us put our money into 401k type of investments. the reality ishat his privatization plan would take $2 trillion in revenue away from

the social security trust fund in the next 10 years. i hope you noticed he did not answer the question. it will have to be paid for by cutting benefits for today's seniors or by raising taxes. i tnk that proposal is harmful to our seniors. it is harmful to our nation budget fiscal picture. it is harmful to our country's richard -- country's future. >> it has been a long and grueling campaign. what misperception about this entire campaign most troubles you? . .

i threw up poor. i worked hard. i'll is able to live the american dream. what i have done is quietly go about paying my taxes and

creating jobs. to have me labeled as a pariah is troubling that is the problem i had seen but th >> you asked the question by o'neal. >> each gebbia has different backgrounds. give us one accomplishment yet personally am as proud of burd. i would say that my 32 years of marriage is the first accomplishment i am proud of. >> and w are proud to have been

married above ourselves and we love our families deeply. one of the things that i am excited about this giving a holarship to those children of the fallen soldiers. we can never replace what those magnificent families have lost. this was an honor to the softness speak for a warhead >> time for closing statements. each will have two minutes. the time starts right now. >> i want to think the host for this debate and thank-you for listening. i consider this as a privilege to work for the people of texas.

i know what a job means to the family. hoch whether it is fighting for the 2000 new jobs or for working the for the six and a jump in the waco area. it has been ho cockfighting for -- it has been good fighting for the texans. many businesses including texas realtors and homebuilders, the leaders of our veterans

organizations have said that they have no better friend in congress than chet edwards. i've been proud to being independent minded person fighting for jobs, educational opportunity, respect that our seniors deserve. i am grateful for the support of republicans, independents, and democrats alike. >> our country has many challenges currently. the most difficult challenge we have is to restore the american, prosperity d security. today, only one in four of every american's thinks th this is still available.

for 234 years, every generation of americans astride to leave the country better off. we are not doing that today and that is why i am running for congress. i am not a politician. i am human. i make mistakes. i grew up in a small town and with a modest family. i put myself through texas a&m. i have been able to create jobs and balanced budgets and many payrolls. in a few months, we will have a granddaughter. we want her to save this -- have the same opportunities that we had but that granddaughter will not be to it with a crushing debt we have today. we will not be able to do this if we don't get the federal government off the back of the

private-sector. we have to focus on tse key issues. the route the campaign, focused on this. this election has it vy clear choice. if you like the policies of barack obama and nancy pelosi, vote for my opponent. if you want to rtore the american dream for our children and our grandchildren, i would be honored to have your support. please remember to pay for our country during these difficult times. also pray for our troops. thank you, god bless you, and god bless america. >> that closes our debate. thank you for taking time at your busy schedule to be with us and we would like to think our media panelists. -- thank our media panelists.

[captioning performed by national captioning [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> with the election in lesson a week coming he can go online ticket c-span.org/politics to see campaign ads in debate. we will brief you live coverage. tomorrow is the debates between candidates for louisiana. he is running for a second term. he is being challenged by charlie melancon.

friday, a debate among the three candidates for governor of colorado. he is the mayor of denver. dan is running for public office for the first time but did the american constitution party can is tom tancredo. >> what is ahead for the tea party movement? we talk about the potential to become a viable political party. we interviewed them saturday night. as part of this weekend's booktv. you can go to booktv.org. >> president do not manage crises. they use and exploit them. lincoln -- to think of church hill in the battle of britain. that is a test of leadership.

i am not sure we have seen that from the recent presidents. >> the obama presidency . the midterm elections of policy on americans. like every weekend, experience american history television starting saturday at 8:00 a.m. eastern brita 48 hours a of people in defense telling the story. eyewitness accounts that shape our nation. visit museums and historical sites. all we can, every weekend on c-span3. might it is time to get your camera rolling for this year's studentcam. it is open to middle and high

school students. yeara fight for aa video. you can win the grand prize of $5,000. the deadline is january 20, 2011. >> c-span's local content vehicles are traveling the country visiting districts of the that the most closely contested house races and this year's midterm election. >> this evening, voters in west virginia's first congressional district will have their first opportunity to see the candidates on the same state. >> i want to see washington take that during the. >> they can create jobs and reduce the size of government and it here to the constitution without apologies.

i am committed to fiscal responsibilities. it comes to dealing with this in normal federal government. right there are two candidates. there is a state senator and republican. this was held for many years by a democrat. . he is a native of morgantown. his roots go way back. here is the president. he got elected to the legislature. his run for secretary of state before. he is always been hovering. the allies have aspirations for higher office. david is from winning west virginia. his been involved in his run for

governor before. he was unsuccessful and is it him to run for governor. he has been there as well. when the mood of the country involved, they saw this as an opportunity to get in the rays. -- race. it governs the north portion of west virginia. in west virginia, it is a conservative state. there are many democrats in name only or the are conservative democrats. >> the big issues for me are obama health care. cap and trade is very unpopular.

the government is very unpopular. >> the economy is devaney fixing the out of control of debt. >> it is up. i think it is in there. they need to focus on it. i think it has gotten lost. >> i do not want a salesman. i do not want somebody with bumper stickers. i want somebody who can work with the others even if he does not necessarily have the same tune that i have. >> when you compare them, they may not like this. there probably closer on a lot of things. clearly he is a conservative republican.

he wears a private. he would be a conservative democrat. we are probably a little closer on some of these big issues in the. there is some difference on the health care bill. they both are up against cap and trade. it is a huge issue. you have agreement. they are both vote against cap and trade even though they are from different parties, philosophically, they actually have some similarities. >> you might think that nancy pelosi -- i am not going to support nancy pelosi. he is. the most important vote is to be speaker of the house. i'm voted for john boehner. na it vote for him is a bow for

popular. issue number one has been the obama administration. >> that has dominated the discussion. what i'm not running for congress. and tried to get in step with the people from west virginia. they are a tremendous amount of ads running. every commercial has an ad. the airways are just inundated the campaign has gotten fairly nasty. the polls indicate that this is a close race. i am sure they figure a percent or half a percent is vital. this is an interesting story. he said he gram-positive at about himself.

he said he was done with it. both candidates have been extremely aggressive. the charges have been flying back and forth. this has really been historic. we tend not to tear out incumbents. fisher, the longtime incumbent was defeated in the primary. she died in june. releasing all this pent-up opportunity over republicans and democrats. the trend has a republican inspired. we have a very close senate race the man not had in years. we are very close races. we are not had that for a while. >> leading up to the november 7 midterm elections, where traveling the country and visiting congressional district.

for more reformation on what the local content the bulls are up 2, visit our web site, c- span.org/lcv. c-span, bring new politics and public affairs. every morning it is "washington journal." weeknight, congressional hearings and policy forms. but for our signature interview programs for them newsmakers is on sundays. also, the populist prime minister questions. see coverage of campaign 2010 against the political parties battle for converts. it is also available any time at c-span.org c-span, created by cable and provided as a public

service. ourin a few moments, i ai coverage of the elections continue. and half an hour, and u.s. chamber of commerce forum on the elections with the former head of the republican committees. this year's candidates our representative of bill foster -- the debate is coming up after a profile of the candidates and their districts. >> c-span local content vehicles are traveling the country as to

leave it at some the most closely contested house races leading to the midterm elections. >> how are you doing? it is good to meet you. thank you. how're you doing? it is good to see you. >> it is good to me. >> is the overall level of payments that you get very different than the private levels? do you see a big difference? >> if it is direct billing, they get the therapies. it probably kind of balances. >> he is the incumbent. he is a scientist. he is running against randy who is from winfield. usually trying to hammer into voters that he is voted the

party line and a regulation bill. his voted for health care reform. the 14th district is big. it looks like a bow tie, essentially. it stretches as far west as i let and as far wheat as easton. it has a mix. we have some farms. it is an interesting district. he really established a legacy there. >> it is a major county out there. unemployment is very high. jobs, jobs, jobs prepared >> in mainly tells people that i am not your typical democrat. i think everyone appreciates by independent voting record.

i'm voting against cap and trade. these are fundamental statement. being a scientist and a businessman makes me very often come at odds with leadership on either side of the i/o. it means often i do not vote with leadership on the right or left. a thing that and named as the second most centrist member of congress. >> foster cost himself a centrist democrat. while the has supported some major democratic votes like health care reform and the financial regulation bill, he is also more moderate on other issues. he is more of a fiscal moderate. >> hawthorne on the other hand is much more conservative. he would knock -- he would not

be in support of abortion rights. he bills himself more as a tax watchdog. he would accused foster of overspending. >> many parts of this are covered. illinois has a higher and employment rate than the nation does. we have built this crunched than most people have. people really are hurting. they want something better. money is really coming into play. it has a much bigger war chest. i think it is a tossup. i think people are concerned. he is a lot more conservative

the local vehicles are traveling the country visiting committees and congressional districts as it affects some of the most closely contested house races export more and affirmation, visit our web site, c- span.org/lcv. >> the district is located in the northern and central portion of the state, and convincing many chicago suburbs. it stretches from dupage county all the way to the iowa border. the 14th congressional district was held for 20 years until he retired in 2007 predicted he was

speaker of the house for eight of those years. journey to that of the two candidates vying for the 14th congressional district seat. there is seated in the order they appear on the ballot. he has been a member of the illinois legislature since 1998 he worked as a physicist.

>> covers is broken. we need change. our seat is not being well represented right now. we need people who are listening to us. it dishes from happening. people continue to struggle. we need to make sure we turn that around. congressman foster. why do you feel you should be reelected? >> this is the district where i lived and raised my family for 25 years. and not only scientist but also a businessman who started a company that manufactures most of the theater equipment. i understand the stress that businesses are going through. i understand how to improve business conditions a jobs are created. >> but thought about what you believe are your greatest accomplishment in politics.

and the state legislature for 11 years, what you believe has been your best accomplishment? >> i worked very diligently and hours in the house. we dealt with lawsuit abuse reform. many doctors left the state of illinois because of the high cost of malpractice. we are able to craft legislation that really did keep good doctors here and address the real problem of the high cost of medicine. on a graduatedng drivers license program. we saw high teenage death rates cause because a traffic accident but the out as part of that legislation. we were to get it past them makes you talking about tort reform that was passed and then struck down. with that a big feet for you?

>> i was frustrated and disappointed. we saw some good and positive steps happening. there a couple of people who struck it down. legislation has been upheld in other states. it is a significant problem. i met a doctor and belgian this week to pay $40,000 a year for insurance and now face two and a thousand dollars a year. >> in your two years as a public servant, what you believe cuts in your greatest achievement? >> it is what i have been working on. id was largely the reform bill. when our economy crash, it was an inconceivable cataclysm of families that lost more than $17.50 trillion of that fourth. it was completely avoidable.

when it the most important things is to put in place the common sense rules of the road to avoid the practices that destroyed our financial system. >> have some say it is not gone far enough. 6.5 of those survive in the final compromise. my party was listed as the number one priority in. the first party was better contention capital. >> your current has been endorsed by the major newspapers in the area they usually leans

someone to the right. among the things they said was that he breaks from his party when hedid you fail to convincem that you were a better candidate? >> i do not think we did. the voters were getting endorsements from local papers. all the matters is november 2. that is how the voters decide. i give congressman foster credit. we agree cap and trade. it has to have bipartisan support if i will pass it. i am encouraged with the great support we are a ticket to prepare we would love to have as many endorsements as you can get. the only one that really matters is the voters. we feel confidently predict?

it says the noted that the word "democrat." is absent for your television ads. are you running away from your affiliation with the democratic. i always felt this is an independent district. i personally like him prepare i think the people in my district really appreciate the voting record that i happen thd. >> why not have the word "jim there.at" on >> i do not think of myself primarily of the democrats. i will look can and vote in the of the citizens. >> vote did you are and legislative bodies but not have had public opinion at this moment. you seem to have the perception

that there is a lack of bipartisanship and stability. how have you worked to counter that? >> it is one of my real disappointments but if i can have a wonderful discussions individually with members of congress. everyone files down on to the floor of the house of representatives. they tried to do anything to cut down a record of accomplishment. normally, the starting part is what is correct and what will work in the long term. the first question for the lawyers and career politicians that dominate is not what sister and best of what they can get away with so it to a given short-term political advantage. when we have the short point of view the what does clinton get

the expanded in the next couple of years, used to asko will be the best the country 10 or 30 years from now. it has a huge payoff. the state legislator has shirked their responsibilities. they are not, by response to budget time and time again. we see said controlled by people down in springfield. they controlled the agenda. so often the but it is private discussed until the last session. i've been pushing about that every opportunity i get. i have voted against spending bills.

it has been so irresponsible. we have to regain the trusted the people. there are three proposals. every single one of those has fallen by the wayside. we need to reform spring failed. >> give me an example of how. >> we have to change how we redraw our districts. ours is the worst anywhere. there is some and the things we can be looking at. we need some change there. there is so much power. that is hurting the rest of legislators working. >> your web site has a running tally of the national debt. is approaching 13.7 trillion dollars.

you also have a banner on your web site doesn't know wasteful spending. tell me what you think is wasteful. >> one thing that is so frustrating, congress adjourned without having a budget this year. they continue to spend it. they voted for every bill that comes along. we have to have this framework that we can hold them accountable to. we can look at earmarked. there are thousands of pork products that have been placed into these bills. over $36 billion is part of that. we have to look at areas where we can cut. one of the republic to take a book of programs and see what could be cut. >> what do you favor? >> citizens against government

waste have about this. i've already signed a pledge that would i would vote to do away with earmarks. this is a significant state means. >> have you voted for every spending bill that came? but the fundamental instrument is the budget. action voted against the thing that senator hultgren referred to. we should have a serious discussion on what did does. didnot one of those people this through a wrenching blow of the government. if we decided we were not going to fund the military operations, then it would be a disaster i think you have a very serious

discussion. it should be a plan for how we spend money this year. it should be 10-year plan for how we are going to bring down the debt. >> give me an example of what your thoughts are on cutting. >> you have to look at the size of the cut as well. there are roughly $1 trillion of cuts that are identified by a bipartisan group for them. they came up with roughly $1 trillion of cuts over 10 years that could be applied to the military with little or no compromise to the mission of the military. >> you back that? >> i cannot vouch for every single piece, but that is it. a lot of these groups if not, seriously. >> you voted for both the troubled assets reprogram which came under the bush

administration and then the stimulus package. do you still stand by your vote. >> absolutely. i voted for these. it is very painful. it did not have to happen. it is the risky practices on wall street. it is the dangerous products that clogged up our system. >> would you have voted for it tarp in the stimulus? >> i have been opposed to them all along. the promise was made. $787 billion pass. it is almost a guarantee that unemployment will not go above eight is term.

adding it was president obama and the leadership. >> we have been above 9% as a nation prepare 14 months we have been above this. people are still hurting. they are out of jobs. they want attention. >> let's take a look at a couple of ads. this refers to you. >> i approve this message. >> his company set up a cayman islands hedge funds that use taxpayer bailout money and make a profit buying talked mortgages. they sold risky mortgage investment for the summer and no income verification. >> you may have profited. i did not.

>> tell. >> you are referring to projects this was look that's -- will make, we document the fact. there is testimony. their filings with regulators. it is looked at by the chicago tribune. it is a step by the sun-times. it is looked at by the daily herald. this is a viable role for them to understand what is correct the bill. >> did they use some of the tarp backed funds for securities? >> it is not my firm. by men employed. the company started in 2008.

alice hired in 2008. because the housing crash. the problem and -- >> you insist they did not use any backed funds? >> absolutely now. they went to firms. we received no benefit. i've received absolutely no benefit. craigslist take a look at your ad which references your point. >> i ran hultgren day and i approve this message. >> foster supported the radical agenda. look what they have they failed stimulus and a government takeover. what do we have to show for it? fewer jobs.

it devastated small businesses. >>-a $25 billion in the killing tax hikes. would you say? >> are all of the taxes kick in. but suddenly uprooted a trillion dollars. >> howl of the killing jobs? >> accosting them to pay more. there is so much uncertainty it shall determine them unelected and making decisions it is paralyzing small businesses. >> your response? >> at the very start of that? i to assume the farmers. it is a not endorse me.

that is a said the begin statement. >> in turn did your support, it will kill jobs? >> i think it is incorrect. it is interested that they are worrying about spending over years. it is being promoted as something that will destroy the economy by a group that was responsible for destroying $17.50 trillion. >> we need to move forward. you referenced the trillion dollar a government takeover. do you believe the government has taken over the health care? >> i think it is in the process for them i think there was a failure there. we are seeing that. it is going to raise the cost of healthcare. that is the problem.

we are making sure -- there are good things in there. faking it coverage. there are things he can do in a bipartisan way. >> i say repeal and replaced. we do have to pull back. we have to repeal. but the need to be repealed or tweaked? >> i've voted for it which is 8 week at most. things like people becoming uninsurable is a fundamental problem. nothing he proposed was a workable solution. unless you are willing to propose a detailed plan that will deal with things like rescissions and lifetime limits, it is not a serious proposal. craigslist talkin but

immigration reform. they say the thing we need today is fix our borders. what else needs to happen for immigration reform. >> we have to provide a reliable method about who is able to work here. we have to crack down on employers of violate the rules. >> do think the act -- >> i think the people that are identified are on everyone's list for people who will be in line for citizenship as part of as comprehensive reform. if you are trying to do just the team and its coming you are not going to be able to get it through congress. >> the site securing our borders, what needs to happen? >> we can not minimize this.

it is huge. we have to make sure the we are enforcing the laws letter on the books. right now there is an unfair advantage that is happening and abusive situations. we have to clear of the bureaucracy. we need to lower this background check and find up the someone is appropriate to come into our country. but the favorite the stream at? >> i do not. people come here illegally. we have to do a did things first. we need to secure our borders. government is not following its own laws. >> quickly come amnesty for those who were there legally or a pat to citizenship? >> i am opposed to amnesty. >> the biggest mistake he made

in your legislative career. >> that is a question. i think there are certain legislative is built up that i thought made a lot of sense. i did not working well enough to make sure people understood it. i think that is so important. what is your biggest mistake? >> i think it has to do not correctly explaining the nature of the financial crisis. we took the biggest hit better congress has had. families lost 25% of their net worth. that means that two years later in makes it harder to go after the distinction. there is much left to go. >> let's get away from politics. what is your favorite pastime,

hobby, activity when you are not focusing on legislation. but i go on long walks with my wife. we live by the river. we talk and we walk. it is one of my joys and light. >> i have four kids. i love going by writing. i love to go over there and ride around and look for caterpillars. that is my favorite thing to do. we wish but did you collect. >> up next, we will talk with candidates for illinois treasurer. stay with us. >> with the election in less than a week, he can go online to to seeorg/politics campaign ads in debate. we will bring you live coverage

to some of them this week. he is being challenged charlie. that debate is life at 7:00 p.m. eastern. on friday, a debate among the three candidates for the governor of colorado. constitution can it is tom tancredo. >> every weekend3 1c spanned, experience american history television. 48 hours a people and events telling the american story. it is a fair nation.

is a historical sites in college campuses. american history television, all we can, every weekend. >> in a few moments, and u.s. chamber of commerce forum on the elections with the former head of the democratic committees. washington journal is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> we are covering a couple of campaign related events. in national host a forum, is there a key priority here on c- span, the committee for economic development for them

participants will examine a new poll of attitudes toward campaign spending. >> what is ahead for the tea party movement? >> we interviewed them on afterwards. . tobiijv,irg = = = -- go to booktv.org. >> there are two political strategist but there is the former chairman of the republican national committee. they are introduced by columnists