in northwest north dakota? what would you do to get it up and running? >> i had a number of chances to talk to people in areas around the state and if it untapped we need to support it. i don't see a lot of effort going forward and it maybe because the balkan fields in north dakota are richer in supply and the process is already underway. eventually i can see it coming to that part of the state. we need to be prepared. maybe there is lessons learned from what is going on in north dakota that we need to be mindful of. i personal think we should be moving more toward renewable sources of energy like ethanol and solar and wind.

and to move way from the fossil fuel development we are doing. but we have to transition to that and need to make sure we make efforts to do that. >> mr. howie. 60 seconds. on south dakota oil. >> the environmental protection agency is an agency that has gone far beyond the pale when it comes to regulating businesses. the government has regulated energy production and development out of business practically. i don't know if we could find out at this moment when the last oil refinery was constructed in this country. we need policy that would enable business men and women to invest in the development of our natural resources. i support oil and natural gas

development in south dakota and frankly the balkan isn't just in north dakota. the city of faith hit oil drilling a water well. i know of a rancher who was drilling water 30 miles or so from rapid city and pumped oil for five days. it is here ladies and gentlemen , but we see government restricting the governor. >> larry pressler, 60 seconds on south dakota oil. >> i would use my senior origin the senate, and i would get on one of the energy committees and work for legislation that would allow for the development of oil in our country with extreme environmental care. i cosponsored three water pipelines in our state. we don't have very much potable water for humans to drink and they have been build now. i have worked on this water problem. i don't want to see any more of the ground water being polluted but there maybe a way to do it.

i am in favor if we can do it in an environmentally safe way. people tell me stories about the epa. i would be and the president and i am the only candidate running that has a relationship with him where i could work and see with him. i don't agree with him on a lot of things but he is the president of the united states for two more years. those epa regulations are handled by the administration. >> gentlemen, you each have 30 seconds to answer this final question. what does it mean to be a u.s. senator? larry pressler? 30 seconds. >> i believe it means to serve. i have devoted my life to public service. the legendary professor in south dakota used to say the people need help. we a small state and ranked the most corrupt in the union.

we need a breath of fresh air and my election would change the local and national politics. >> rick weiland 30 seconds on what does it mean to be a u.s. senator. >> first of all you have to show up. the people deserve a fair shake and they are not getting it from the government. get big money out of the government and aligning the pockets of politicians that are more interested in fighting. we are not a state of billionaires and corporations. >> i think it is a significant position that allows you to be a voice representing the people. we need a voice in washington and the united states senate who

demands we will return to the things that made the country great. the foundation of freedom and purpose and we don't hear a lot of talk about fate on the campaign trail but we were founded on judeo principles and they provide an ethical bases to make good politicians. >> we determined the order of closing statements by a drawing of straws. >> larry pressler we will begin with closing statements from you. >> i would like to ask the citizens of south dakota for the blessing of your vote. i served in the senate for three terms and think i did a good job by all accounts. i bring seniority and i can be a powerful voice for the state. south dakota needs leadership now, both morally, ethically, and across the board. i would be back into the senate and work on a bipartisan bases with both sides to achieve

certain objectives for the state. and i might say the working people of south dakota need help. they are barely getting by. they are operating paycheck to paycheck. as i go around the state, i am amazed at what a difference there is between the very wealthy and middle class. we are loosing our middle class in south dakota and i will take steps to help restore that. >> gordon howie, your statements. >> i think most south dakota residents have actives. the choice in this race is very clear. we have two candidates that supported obama and one supported harry reid financially. and another one that doubled the budget, left with a deficit and a scandal that is growing every day.

there is a conservative choice in the race and that is me. i don't just talk about conservative principles, i believe them. i am a strong supporter on the defense of unborn children. i am a strong fiscal conservative and voted against the governor's budget that led to the deficit and i would appreciate your support as south dakota shows its conservative value values in this election. >> this is a big decision for the state of south dakota. i cannot tell you what a profound experience it has been for me to sit down and talk to the people on the road. most of the time on my road is sitting town and learning. we are at a cross road in this coapt country.

-- we are at a crossroads in this country. you need someone who is going to stand up and look at the legislation that is coming across the aisle and how it affects people in the state. not the big money donors funding your campaign either. i will make one commitment. one promise. i will work as hard to keep your vote as i have trying to earn it these past 16 months. >> and with that we have covered a lot of topics and thank you for accepting our invitation for coming and thank you for joining us at home. election day is tuesday november 4. i am brian alan.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] democrat rick why let us 11 points back, larry pressler is another 4% behind. we will take you live this sunday to iowa, where bill and hillary clinton are participating in senator tom and final steak fry. senator harkin retiring at the end of the year. live coverage beginning at 3:30 eastern time, sunday on c-span. last night, i will public tv hosted an hour-long debate in council bluffs, for the u.s. house seat to represent the state's third congressional district. democrat staci appel and report book and david young are buying for that seat. tom latham announced he will not seek reelection this year. the race is rated as a tossup by

rothenberg political report. [applause] >> welcome to council bluffs. this is i was third congressional district. stretching from central iowa southwestern to the missouri border. and the missouri river, too. that is des moines, to council bluff, shenandoah, atlantic. republican tom latham isn't seeking reelection. that makes it one of the 44 open seats in the u.s. house of are presented as. hoping to reclaim that seat, are pinning those hopes on staci appel, she is a former state senator serving a term from 2006 to 2010. republican david young hasn't held elected office, but he has apple hill experience as senator

charles grassley's chief of staff. welcome to the special edition of iowa press. you are familiar with our true original format. we are in a different setting. they have agreed not to cheer during the debate. we are following the regular iowa press format. rules, andno debate no opening or closing statements. just ideas and issues. i will be moderating and questions are coming from political journalists, des moines columnist and kathy henderson. mr. young and ms. appel, we are producing this debate on the anniversary of 9/11.

there are half-mast flags flying throughout the nation today. i am wondering where were you on 9/11? >> i was feeding my third child on my couch with my 2-year-old son sitting beside me. >> how did it change your life? >> it made us more aware it is a dangerous world. i was driving two kids into the school and went by gray's lake and hundreds of flags were there. it was really moving to think of the lives lost that day and families left behind and the first responders that went in there and tried to help. >> mr. young, where were you? >> i was sitting at my desk on capital hill and i saw the first glimpse of this on tv on my desk.

someone called over and said turn on the tv it looks like someone is flying into world trade center. it changes your life. >> how did it change your life? >> you want to live every die day to the full est because you never know when it is your last one. >> starting with gay henderson. >> 13 years on terrorism still exist and president obama announced he is authorizing airstrikes into syria. mr. young, do you think congress should vote to authorize those strikes or do you think the president has authority? >> the president outlined in the war act of 1973 that he has those powers and many members of congress acknowledge that. but i think congress should buy into this because when the president and congress work together on issues like this it is very important and i think congress needs to be involved.

>> how would you vote if you were a member? >> i don't get classified briefings or have that intelligence information but i would make sure i was on the floor listening to the debate at every moment. >> i will turn to you. how would you approach this as a member of congress and do you think the president has the authority to act on its own? >> i think he has the authority to act whenever the homeland is threatened and i think we are threatened with i.s.i.s. i believe the way he put forward the airstrike and the humanitarian aid and working with folks on the ground makes sense. so i approve of how he is doing it. >> she mentioned working with people inside the state of syria. mr. young, do you agree it is a good idea to arm and train

people inside syria? >> we need to make sure who we are arming. and what side they fall on. when the president spoke last night, for months he had been indecisive and i saw resilience in him last night. he talked about not just demeaning or managing the threat of i.s.i.s. but destroying it. and i was happy to hear that word because i thought it was long overdue. >> congress david on the armed service committee said it is hard to tell the good guys and the bad guys in syria. he is concerned about that component of the president's proposal. do you share those concerns? >> we do need to make sure we work and arm the right people. we need to work with people that want to defend their own freedom. that takes time and working and listening to the folks on the

ground. >> you mentioned a security interest for the united states. the president last night talked about the threats and that i.s.i.s. might pose future security threat to the united states. do you think that that is sufficient american interest to get more involved militarily in that region or are there other interests as well involved? >> ms. appel? >> i.s.i.s. is growing and it is taking over two weak countries. we need to make sure -- i look at this as a mom. i want to make sure my homeland and state and family is protected. i appreciate what the president is doing. >> mr. young, do you feel american interest is represented in this? is there enough of a threat to the united states to justify this?

and are there other issues the president should be paying attention to? >> the threat is real and getting larger. i.s.i.s. is on the move looking to overtake baghdad and they want to go south and grasp control of the oil fields in the middle east. imagine what that could do to fuel around the world and the pocket book of americans and the economy. more importantly these terrorist trying to come to america -- there is home-grown terrorist here and we need to be vigilant about it from all angles. >> what does that mean if you are elected to congress? what would you be urging? >> i would be urging the state department to revoke the passport of those who have admitted they are part of terrorist organizations. our state department has that authority and right now they are

not doing it. they are putting it under the religious freedom act. that is absurd. >> what would you be doing ms. appel if you were in congress? >> congress has the role of oversight. >> what would you encourage? >> i would not encourage taking away passports. >> let's move from being the world's police man to being the world's doctor. there is an ebola outbreak in africa. mr. young, what role should the united states play in outbreaks such as this? has there been not enough done to curb the threat of a pandemic? >> this is so new and it could be in the back yard. across the river in omaha there is a bio containment unit and a patient with ebola there.

it is kind of unnerving because what happens if this gets out? we need to push forward with the vaccination as fast as we can. the fda has a role in that and the ccdc. we need to work with other countries as well. we need to expedite this. >> does congress need to provide more money for those efforts? >> if they are asked, possibly. >> you said it is unnerving for the doctor to be over in the hospital in omaha. it is inappropriate? >> i don't know if is inappropriate because probably the best treatment is in america. >> same question to you. what sort of role should the united states play in the horrific outbreaks that are occurring else where but haven't reached our shores? >> it is a humanitarian effort. we have the best scientists in the world and coupled with that we should be working on that. >> what about the fact that the doctor who contracted ebola was

flown to the midwest? are you ok with that? >> he should a united states citizen and his family wants him taken care of. >> health care in the united states hasn't been sorted out entirely. what is your position on the future of the affordable care act/obamacare? are there things in that law, ms. appel, you would like to fix? >> of course there is. >> such as? >> i would say it is everybody's right to have access to health care. i think there is great things within the affordable care act , making sure that big insurance companies cannot take away your insurance coverage just because you have a pre-existing condition. i look at it as a mom thinking about a child being diagnosed with leukemia and being told the

next day they they don't have coverage. >> if you had the opportunity in congress to fix the law what do you think would need to be fixed? >> one thing is if you were told you can keep your coverage you can keep it and with medicare we should have been able to negotiate drug prices like the va does. that would save aliens of dollars. of dollars. we should not be repealing it. i traveled the state for the last 15 months and never had one person say they want to repeal the law. what they have said is we need people that want to get together and fix it. it is atrocious we have spent 50 times to vote to repeal it. we should spend the money to fix it. we are in this together. >> mr. young, a lot of republicans have said to repeal the law. i think you said repeal and replace, correct? what is it you would replace

obamacare with? >> i think it is a bad law. i thought it was a bad process and very partisan. i wish this was a bill/law that both sides could have come together and senate voted on and the house as well. but it didn't. we are stuck with it. >> before you go on, do you think it is fixable or does it have to be repealed and start over? >> well, when the president delays parts of it, it is hard to tell if we will ever see it come into place and stand on its own merits. but we had a president who said if you like your doctor or insurance you can keep it and your health insurance premiums won't go up but we are seeing the opposite of that. iowans are telling me they have problems. it is hurting relationships between employees and doctors. we want solutions.

>> and again does that start with repealing or can you fix it? >> it is not going to be able to be repealed. as long as we have this president. this is his keynote law and it is going to be there for the long haul. i would drop the barriers along the state lines so people could shop across for insurance. we need price transparency. consumers need to know what they are paying for before they go into the doctor and see their provider and not wait to see the sticker shock afterwards. >> did you favor the expansion of medicaid that was included in obamacare? >> it seems to be working in iowa. i would make sure in any regard to medicaid they had flexibility. >> ms. appel, medicaid, should it have been expanded? >> yes, we have more women and children getting coverage. >> would you expand it further?

>> if need be we would. >> let us turn to what occurred in washington, d.c., last october. there was a debt ceiling vote and republicans tried to get him to setting in regards of the affordable care act. should you become a member of congress would you tie future votes to raise the debt ceiling to other issues or would you vote on a stand alone prospect of raising the debt ceilings? >> you have to look at how we got there. we are not doing budgets. we are spending money out of control. i want to audit the federal government so we know where the fraud and mismanagement and duplication is. a balanced budget amendmment. with the debt ceiling there are other items tied to the debt ceil ceiling.

i think there are opportunities you could add that. maybe all the keystone xl pipeline or corporate tax inversion and lowering the corporate tax rate. i think it would be healthy to get something out of this for those who are not in favor of raising the debt ceiling. >> ms. appel, should you become a member of congress, would you vote to raise the debt ceiling? is there a point you would say the credit limit has been reached and address the issues he is bringing up of tying the future debt ceiling votes to other issues? >> i think we need to work on how and where the money is being spent. i became chair of state government and worked with republicans and democrats and the senate and house and managers of the departments and employees and citizens and we found ways to save money for the iowa taxpayers.

>> that sounds like you are not in favor of raising the debt ceiling without cost savings in the bill. >> i think we have so much gridlock and people elected not doing their job so we need to work together so we don't have a shutdown. >> speaking of spending money, there are a lot of infrastructure problems in this not just potholes in the road, but problems with the electric grid and all kinds of infrastructure. mr. young, if you were in congress, what priority would you give to infrastructure improvements and would you consider a tax to have the users pay?

>> on roads and bridges the gas tax isn't doing it because we have vehicles not filled by gas. electric, propane and natural gas you. we need a long term solution and make sure the users of the vehicles using our roads and bridges may a user fee. >> and what is that is solution toll roads? >> i would not go toll roads. i think it would be something in line with a gas tax. we need to not kick this can down the road like we have been doing where the highway trust fund is deplete and we throw our hands up in the air. >> ms. appel would you raise the gas tax to pay for highway improvement and what other commitment would you make to repairing infrastructure at a time when the budget is tight?

>> i don't support raising the gas tax. our middle class iowans and their families can't afford any more taxes. our infrastructure is crumbling. in the third district we have the worst bridges and roads that need to be fixed. this is a bum budget issue and a priority. >> since every dollar is red inked do you borrow? knowing that there would be jobs created in doing those repairs around the country? >> i think it is something you look at the budget line by line and make this a priority. >> something else has to go then. if you are going to devote money to infrastructure you are taking it away from something else or going deeper in debt. where were you going with this? >> you have to sit down, look at the budget and find priorities.

work through it line by line and find out ways to fix it. >> you would not raise the gas tax. what did you say about it? >> the gas tax alone and the way it is doing is it is not doing its job. >> would you in favor of raising the gas tax if need be? >> we need to have that debate first, but our state legislature needs to have that debate as well. we passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill. fur elected to the house, what sort of immigration reform would get your vote? are one that protects the border, and secures the border. in the bill, the president gave

the delegation of authority to the department of homeland security to certify whether or not that border was secure. i didn't trust this president. i may not trust any other president to have somebody in bureaucracy say it is secure. i think congress needs to go down and visit that border and vote on whether or not it is secure or not. we may need to make sure that we reform our legal system. with people coming in the way hey are illegally, it wasn't easier to come in with visa reform. it is a problem and challenge we have. we have to put a human face on this. people are coming over here to better their lives, i understand that. i believe in a guest worker program as well. >> do you either fault or favor the business community's effort in regards to passing immigration reform? do you think there needs to be more workers brought into the country than the native-born? >> well, it depends on how our

economy is and the need to workers at any one time. at the immigration level that we let in, you may have to match those up to what our unemployment rate is or what the need is for certain workers. reform, pel, immigrate president obama has delayed action of his own to address this issue. if you become a member of congress, do you think con depress should act instead of the president? >> yes, i think congress should act. we have a by patterson bill sitting on speaker boehner's desk. it increaseses border patrol by over 22,000 individuals. t creates the dream act. it creates a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented workers. what we need is people who want to go up there and do the work in front of you. >> so you think president obama has the authority to act on his

own in this regard, or do you think congress needs to set the policy? >> i think con depress and president needs to work -- i think congress and the president need to work together, but right now we have a congress that does not work. >> children, undocumented, under 10 years old some of them, coming across the border and trying to find relatives here or a place to live. should iowa or in some way the ferguson be involved in finding them -- some way the federal government in some way be involved in finding them a place to live. >> you have to put a face on it. it is heartbreaking when you see some of the pictures and hear the stories. i do believe governors need to be notified when those children are dropped into our state or any state. i want to make sure they are taken care of. there are health needs, as well

as could they have some communicate campbell disease that could be harmful. >> i hear you saying some humanitarian things. do i hear you saying, they are here, let's take care of them nd find them a place to live or send them home? >> i think we send them to their families. and we lean in on southern mexico to make sure their borders. >> ms. app, send them home or keep them here? >> there is a process. if they have true refugee status. -- if they ref jeez are refugees, they have status.

>> are you in favor of keeping them? >> i am. i am a mom. it is hard to send them miles and miles. >> i am hearing from teachers and parents saying we have enough needs to take care of in our municipalities and schools to take care of another later of children. it is hard enough to make sure everybody is taken care of. >> i ask that question because you are seeking to identify yourselves to third district voters. as you are seeking to do that are others running commercials, doing it negative for you. mr. young, first one about you. >> i can't wait. >> after 20 years in washington, david young says -- arrive seen the ugly of washington, d.c. i have been caught by it's trappings. >> caught by its trappings. maybe that is why young wants to give more tracks breaks to big corporations and billionaires and pay for it by slashing funding for schools

and eliminating the department of identification. because david young got caught up in washington. he will never work for iowa. the democratic campaign is responsible for this. >> this was a comment made on iowa press when you were a guest. >> yes. >> the operative phrase there is campaigning, and i have been caught by its trappings. >> sure. >> that is the phrase. that brings up the question. are you campaigns as a washington insider, i know things and can get things done? or are you campaigning as an outsider that you can change things? are first of all i want to comment these commerces. i find that laughable. words are taken out of paragraphs and sentence. i have seen washington, d.c. up close, and it is ugly. and you can get caught in a bureaucratic, massive big

government mays. there are traps sometimes where you are banging your head aagainst the well. i will never run away my service to yay. being on the phone day in and day out with people, being in meetings with them, seeing their tears when the e.p.a. orers is coming down on them. that is why i want to go to washington. >> ms. appel, they want voters to know things about you, too. >> when your family makes its budget, what are your priorities? the mortgage? groceries? when appel voted to spend your tax dollars, she had different add ys. on the eve of the great recession, she voted to spend $120,000 on decorative flower parts, and 80,000 to repair an organ.

appel's spending priorities are a little off key. the national republican committee is responsible for this advertising. ms. appel, i catch the drift there. flower pots. the commercial says she spent money for flower pots and repairing an original. >> this is a bigoted ad that trikes to take away from my record. my record is about creating preschool for every 4-year-old in the state of iowa. creating equal pay for equal work and the statewide smoking ban. those are big pieces of legislation. >> do you wish they didn't exist? >> they both were voted. e organ was a matching

program with senator grassly when my montana was his chief of staff president >> neither of you are paying for those negative ads against each other. they are coming from outside sources. >> you are correct. this is what is unfortunate in a campaign, when outside groups do that. but those votes are real. that shows a contrast between me and my opponent. she voted for the largest budget in the state's history which had to be bailed out by federal stimulus funds. over-sight are new words to me from her. we need to be watching our government every day, day in and day out on the local, state and federal level. >> let me respond to that. i was interested in that question about the government accountability office as well. wasn't that adding more government bureaucracy to a bill that was supposed to be

making government more efficient? >> yes, it was. it was an amendment, and i joined with democrats and republicans against creating an accountability office. >> whose idea was that? >> it was the republicans. i am not sure which individual put the amendment forth. at that time we had a represent auditor that was doing a pretty great job, and increased government was not what we were going for. >> every dollar put in for accountability, you get so much in return. i have a direct experience in his as chief of staff in over-sight. the fraud, waste and mismanagement this come out with whether military contracting and other areas. those are taxpayer dollars. >> we went through department

and by and if he found ways to make government effective and efficient. every other year we would go through and do it again. >> let me ask you this. you have just heard each campaign trying to define each of you. most people who live in this district probably don't know you very well. starting with you, mr. young, how do you define yourself? what is this person that you want these folks to send to washington, d.c.? >> i am somebody who knows how to listen. a better advocate for the voters if i don't know what they are thinking. washington, d.c., as we have seen, does not have all the answers. i am somebody who remembers who my boss is. i am honored and humbled to be elected to the third district

as a congressman. i remember who my boss is. we have seen what happens in weashts when they go wayward. eric cantor lost a primary because he forgot who his bosses were from his district. i believe the best government is the government that governs closest to the people. >> how do you introduce yourself to people who have never heard of you before? >> that i am a very independent thinker that has the result of getting things done for the people of iowa. i know that democrats don't have all the right ideas. republicans don't have all the right ideas. i learned that from my service to the state senate. that is what i bring to the table. >> when you talk about your experience, your experience as chief of staff, your experience as a state senator >> people don't have very much

of a voting record with both of you. you served a term. you didn't take votes. mr. young, why should somebody trust that you are going to do what you say you are going to do? well, i can hit the ground running. if you want to know what kind of person i am, call senator chuck grassley. he is somebody people trust. he wouldn't have a chief of staff that he didn't trust. sailed say that. we have so many challenges in washington, d.c. i want to be at the able. i know who the honest probabliers are, and i want to help iowa and take care of these problems president >> what deviates you between you and ms. app? >> two things, contrasts in our philosophy. i like balanced budgets. i like keeping an eye on the

federal government. she voted against the state government accountability office and voted for the largest budget in iowa's history. i hate debt. want to take care of debt in washington, d.c. >> ms. appel, he infered you are not for a balanced budget, is that true? >> i don't think so. we have to balance our budget every year. >> what deviates you from david young? > my service to the state of indiana state. being a mom, being a financial consultant for 10 years. there are a lot of differences between myself and mr. young. i would not have been for the government shut-down. he is. he wants to repeal the affordable care act. i do not.

>> you said be a mom. is that playing the card of let's send a woman to congress? >> i think you want to send the most independent thinker to work for the middle-class families of yay. >> would you vote for ale whatted budget for the constitution? >> i think we need a balanced budget that carves out social security and medicare. -- o you would vote for a balanced budget amendment? >> i would not. >> i would. >> you would what? > vote for a balanced mugget amendment. we have to make sure our priority was the mandatory spending. >> ale whatted budget amendment

could be a 20% across the board cut. that would affect social security, medicare, our education budget. we have to be extremely careful. >> that is why you make sure mandatory spending is a priority. >> people are hearing a lot of adams for the united states senate race, and in that race issues a focus on which review has focused on tonight. that would be social secure, medicare and the veterans administration. ms. appel, how would you solidify and make those systems solvent. >> well, i would keep my promise to seniors and the 40-year-olds and 50-year-old he is paying into the system. the best way to ensure the

system is to get more well paying jobs paying into the system. also we need to be able to negotiate drugs prices just like the veterans administration does. that would save becomes of dollars. this is personal to me. my mom called a couple of months ago and said her doctor wanted to put her on a new description, but it was $100 a month co-pay. he said i can't afford that. i can't even afford $500 a month. >> so you wouldn't vote to raise the retirement age, and u wouldn't vote to require wealthy americans to pay more, perhaps social security taxes on their entire income? >> when i was a financial tables, t sitting at

we made plans with social being there. >> how do you make it solvent if you don't make any changes? >> we need to create great jobs for middle-class families and make sure more people are paying into the system. >> mr. young, how would you change the system? i want to make sure we keep the promise. those are benefits americans have paid into. you asked yourself how did we get here? if a trust fund was pillaged on wall street like bernie madoff did, he could be thrown in jail. but when the federal government does it, there is a lock on it. we have to make sure we do was ragan and tip malone did. ey put everything on the

table. i would take raising the retirement age right away off the table. i would make sure we look at the wealthier americans, they have to forego. but you have to have solutions. >> another issue -- no. mrs. appel wanted to respond. >> thank you. >> he is talking about privatizings social. he has applauded that. and changing medicare as we know it. i think seniors need to know where he stands. >> can you quote where i said i wanted to privatize social security? >> you applauded it. >> is that off the table for you? >> it has become such a political issue. it is amazing when so many americans want a better investment on their dollar, they look to mutual funds.

it has been so politicized, it is going to be taken off the table. >> as a financial consultant, i know. e saw how our 401-ks and plans went down in value. >> where would you put social security? you are not in favor of raising the retirement age? >> no. >> you want to keep the raditional pay as you go ocial security as opposed to another plan? >> how would it be? >> just like it is right now. we keep that promise to our seniors. >> how do you pay for it? >> we have to make sure we are creating good paying jobs to make sure more people are paying into the system. >> setting the minimum wage

where? >> $10.10 an hour. one of my first bills in the senate was to increase the minimum wage at $7.25 an hour. that was years ago. >> the federal minimum wage? >> yes, sir. >> where would you set it, mr. young? >> i think it is time to raise the minimum wage, but you have to do it in a way that congress has done it in the past in, a bipartisan effort where you make sure you are keeping in mind small businesses out there that employ 70% of the work force out there. we need to make sure the main streets in the smaller cities hear it. ? give me a dollar figure > $10.109 teams to be -- >> how do you consider small businesses that are having to pay the minimum wage. what consideration would you

have in the law for them? >> re-authorize the way it has been done in the past with tax innocentives and credits for small businesses. >> when you say tie it he together, are you saying it should be intellected in the future? >> i think the raise and the tax credits should be some sort of -- >> you want to redo corpte taxes? >> not corporate tooks. just for small businesses. >> it is interesting that my opponent has always been against raising the minimum wage until this evening? >> i spoke on it on iowa radio. >> a lot of republicans say this is a job killer. do you not agree with that? >> they said half a million jobs could be lost. but with the small businesses

incentive, it couldoff set that. >> the renewable fuel standard is under debate every month in the heart land and in washington, d.c. do you support continuing the renewable fuels standard and how long should it be maintained, mr. young? >> i do support continuing the standard. at i do not support is the yeap medicaling with it because the standard has been set in law. if it is going to be changed, it should be done through congress. i don't have a crystal ball and i don't know at what stage you should remove it. but it probably will be removed at some point for make to be competitive. >> would you maintain the renewable fuels standard forever or do you foresee a point at which it could be removed? >> our economy depends on the renewable fuel standards. our farmers and businesses

depend on it. i truly support it, and we need to make sure we sent somebody that truly supports the renewable fuel standards here. fortunately, my opponent has stated that he wanted to phase out the renewable fuels standards. >> i did not hear him say it tonight. >> he didn't say it tonight. that is interesting. >> what about the administrative rule through the e.p.a.? would it be a good idea to have congress decide a standard for renewable fuel? >> well, it would be if we actually had a congress doing its job. we have too much grid lock. iowa depends on renewable fuel standards. >> do you feel confident that if congress were in charge, that this is something they would actually won to continue, especially considering the fact -- this is a big interest to

iowa, but not necessarily a priority all over the country. >> it is not, but if you look at what is happening globally and want to get away from being dependent on middle east fuels, we have to have a comprehensive energy strategy. we have a department of energy, but we don't have an energy policy. i will be at the table to make sure it is there. >> let me ask you about a comment earlier about one of the problems with our political claimant here is all these negative adams. -- negative ideas. congress this week had the opportunity to deal with the citizens united ruling in the supreme court, that opened the doors to superpack corporate funding of campaign advertising. would you have voted for that constitutional amendment and how do you feel about campaign finance reform?

>> well, when it comes to campaigns, fundraising and the like, we need to make sure we have full transparency. citizens have a word. we need to know who is voting at what level. americans can make a better judgment on who to vote for and what they don't vote for. >> but do you agree with the supreme court that money from corporations counts as constitutionally protected political speech? >> i do. >> and so you don't want to change that at all or just report who is giving the money? >> i would like to see more transparency and over-sight. >> ms. appel, would you vote to deal with the constitution are decision that came up in the citizens united decision? >> absolutely. in the state senate i put

forward two pieces of legislation to take money out of application. >> what about the philosophical question? campaign contributions from individuals, does that count as constitutionally protected speech -- >> i don't think cooperations are persons. so i don't think that should be protected. >> you said you would take money out. how so? >> to live in the state of iowa, there are no limits for any of the sthate with or like that. there has to be limits on how much people can contribute to campaigns. >> mr. young, it seems there is a limit to some reps' tolerance for farm subsidies. at what point would you being willing to vote for that.

would you countenance separating the nutrition part of the food ball from the farm policy itself. >> in the most recent farm bill, there was a reduction in payments. so we have making some payments now. maybe they have decided this is a good time to start having this conversation. the farm bill, $800 pl, 80% of that was foot stamps. the other 20% of that was in the farm practice. we have many people who are suffering, who are hungry and dependent on those foot stamps. i don't like the fact that they testing to ensure people are not frauding the program. e best weigh to -- way to do that is make sure there are good jobs out there. >> how would the farm policy be

united with the nutrition aspects of the farm bill? >> it has been a marriage between the city folks and the more rural aspects. they walk down the aisle and get it passed. barr some of your fell republicans want to he said that alliance? >> well, that is where they stand. >> ms. appel, at what won't do you think pharmacy get a subs due to buy insurance, and the average person doesn't get a subsidy. >> farming is so important here in the stay of iowa, and the farm bill was critical. it was terrible that we had three years of non-package of the bill. we were talking about it at the table i have got, why it wasn't working in the gridlock in con gregs. i remember my oldest son saying mom, you did so much for the

people of iowa, you should run for congress. i pet you can get this fixed. that is one of the primary reasons i am running, to break up the gridlock and get something like the farm bill passed. > and that includes prices for corn. it will be below the target rice of last march, and so farmers will be getting payment from the government to subsidize that loss. do you agree with that? >> yes. >> mr. young? >> the farming industry is different than any other. i believe there needs to be a base support system. for farmers, it is like going to las vegas every day when they wake up because of the weather. when the weather is bad, they need to be sure the support is there so they can do the right

thing for the next son to make sure there speaking of crops, there is a new cash crop with the legalization of marijuana and states are looking at medical marijuana including approving a derivative of marijuana for kids with epilepsy and other disorders. would you as a member of congress consider backing off of the federal laws and allow states to make their own decisions on how to control and distribute marijuana? >> i look at it as a mom. i think any legalization of marijuana i am not supportive of. i do have a lot of compassion for the families that are ng solution for their children's epilepsy and i can see a pathway there. >> some of the state-by-state pathways are being hamstrung by

the fact you cannot transport this product across state lines and there are a lot of federal regulations that make this difficult. would you as a congressperson say the states know best about what is right for them? >> well, i think iowa is work through the problems and rule process right now. so i think we have to let that process work. >> you believe in leaving the law the way it is? >> at this point, yes. >> mr. young, should the states be able to write their own destiny when it comes to medical marijuana or should we keep the war on drugs in place in the federal system? >> the states are doing it regardless of what the the federal law is right now. that is happening. i have a number of parents who have tried every effective means of therapy to help their child with epilepsy, and i want them to have the most

safe and effective products available. if that is medical marijuana, then so be it, but i believe we need make sure the fda has a roll to make sure it is safe and effective. >> candidates, i want to mention the veterans affairs administration. would you allow a veteran to have a voucher and go get medical care anywhere? if so, why have the v.a.? >> every day i pass by the iowa veterans cemetery and pass by and think about the men and women who served our country and what we just witnessed with what has been happening with the v.a. program. it didn't just happen under this administration. we a new director with secretary mcdonald and he gave it 90 days to turn it around, but i believe the veterans should have those vouchers. >> ms. appel, would you give them vouchers to go anywhere and

if so why the have the v.a.? >> i have spoke with veterans. the veterans want the system fixed and funded and streamline the program. we just had the president sign into law if you live 45 minutes outside you can get care where you are at. >> you mentioned good-paying jobs need to be created. what is the single most important thing you can do as congresswoman to create good-paying jobs? >> we need to make sure we fund the small business administration and their loan program. this is what creates the best- paying jobs. when they want to expand their business they need to know small businesses are funded. >> go after the united states tax code that is 75,000 pages

long and comply complicates the lives of every american. >> 18 months ago, neither one of you were seeking this office. if you are elected, mr. young, how long will you serve? >> as long as the people want me and as long as i have the desire. >> i am probably the same way. be there as long as the people will have me. i plan to work hard for the people of iowa. >> neither of you would term-limit yourself? >> i would not do a self-imposed term limit, but i think term limits is something that should be discussed in congress. when i served on the board of directors i don't want to spend longer years on it. we need to bring new information in. >> i would not self-impose term limits on myself. i think elections are term limits. what you have to think about the

government workers work 30 to 50 years and they will outlast -- >> i am time limited and we are out of it. thank you so much for being with us. this is the third in iowa public television's special election television's special election programming, iowa's most comprehensive state investigation, beginning with the governor's race and then the second congressional candidates debating in iowa city. for the entire crew, live from the iowa western community college in council bluffs, i am dean borg and thanks for joining us. [applause] a poll yesterday has stacy appel leading. -- alican congressman

republican cover seven is not seeking office. and tea partyican brokers went into the back room saturday, they chose david young, 20 years on the payroll of a broken congress. by standing up for cutting social security. needs isington really wanealthy dose of aislio common sense. she does is this is can achieve job growth. she has helped them help make equal pay for equal work the law and i will. she will help to protect social security and medicare. deals and putom iowa families first. >> i am david young, and i

approve this message. yetck obama promises hope, he ripped apart our health care system, shredded our economy, and crumbled our national security. if we band together and fight for our conservative principles, we can put our economy and our country back together again. wa's answer is not magic. it is david young. just want a good meal and a good government. meal, but ourd government over taxes, and overregulated. it underperforms. i get it and you get it. why can't they? i will bring a dose of iowa reality to washington. have a good can meal and good government. i'm david young, and i approve this message. iowa, a newspaper

reporting that the senate race is a dead heat, according to a cnn-quoted poll. statemocrat leads this 9% to 48%. to pick off the parkin,d by tom which would increase their senate majority. former president bill clinton and hillary clinton will be in iowa on sunday for the 37th and final stake fry, posted by tom harkin. visitill mark the first to iowa for the former first lady and secretary of state is that 2008 presidential caucuses. our live coverage from iowa

sunday at 3:30 p.m. eastern time. yesterday the head of the republican senatorial campaign committee senator rob portman talked about his support for the strategy whiles criticizing the withdrawal of forces from iraq and afghanistan. he weighed in on the possibility of a gop senate takeover after the midterm elections as well as their ukraine-russia conflict and the possibility of his own presidential run in 2016. moderated the session with political reporters. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> ok, here we go, folks. thanks for coming. i am dave cook from "the monitor." our guest this morning is senator rob portman of ohio, vice chairman for finance of the national republican senatorial committee. this is his first visit with our group. our guest was born and raised in cincinnati. he earned his bachelor's degree at dartmouth. he earned a law degree from the university of michigan. he worked in the elder president bush's white house as head of the office of legislative affairs.

in 1993, he ran for a vacant congressional seat and served in the house from 1994 to 2004. in 2005, president george w. bush named him as u.s. trade representative and appointed him as director of the office of management and budget. in 2010, he was elected to the senate. he and his wife have three grown children. thus endeth the biographical portion of the program. we are on the record. please, no live blogging or tweeting. give us time to actually listen to what our guest says. to help you curb that relentless selfie urge, we will e-mail several pictures of the session as soon as the breakfast ends. if you would like to ask a question, please do the traditional thing and send me a subtle nonthreatening signal. raised eyebrow, finger wave, what have you.

we are going to start off by offering our guest the opportunity to make some opening comments. thanks again for doing this, sir. >> thank you, dave. this is a great turnout. i see you all have your reading material in front of you. thank you for memorizing this. i will talk about this plan for action, not just a way to explain to people why it is important to elect republicans but it is a blueprint for governing. i would like to start by saying, here we are, 13 years after 9/11. although some of us may not remember what we were doing yesterday, i think everybody remembers exactly where they were 13 years ago. the nation was riveted by the attacks on the world trade center. the fight against terrorism

began in earnest, and here we are 13 years later with the president giving a speech about fighting terrorism. this is a determined and obstinate enemy that continues to threaten our country. i believe there is a national security threat in what isis is doing in iraq and syria. they are attempting to establish a form not just to terrorize that part of the world, but to attack the west. i think we can learn a number of lessons from it. one is that we are blessed to have the greatest military on the face of the earth. although we have made many sacrifices in the last 13 years, our military and intelligence is second to none. i thank god. dave and i were talking coming in. dave is a veteran and has two sons who currently serve. i appreciate them and him.

i think we have to count our blessings that we have the ability to respond as the president talked about last night. keep in mind the need for us to continue to have the strongest military on earth to not just protect us, but to ensure we have peace and stability around the world. i believe the president's speech last night laid out a strategy for dealing with the isis threat in a general way, and that was good. i think it was tardy, but i believe what the president laid out in terms of his four points, including continued military activity in the region, air assaults, is appropriate. the president made it clear that

we have not had the kind of leadership that is necessary by saying on the outset of his speech, one, taking credit for leaving iraq in total, saying that we had no more combat troops in iraq and taking credit for that. it was ironic to me that he said that because i think the vacuum that was left by the way in which we chose to leave iraq is much of the problem we currently see. i think by not leaving a residual force, specifically trainers to keep the maliki government in check and have some leverage on them, not to have intelligence on the ground to monitor what was going on, including the movement of isis fighters, and, third, to have some special operators to work with the iraqi forces to deal

with that kind of threat is the reason we are in the situation we are in. second, the president made it clear in his speech before he started talking about terrorism threat that he is proud of the fact that we are ending the combat mission in afghanistan this year. again, i think we are not learning the lessons of iraq by setting an arbitrary timeline for afghanistan. again, attesting to not just our enemies, but our allies, that the united states is not in this for the long haul. whether it is in iraq where we have seen chaos, or potentially in afghanistan where this could happen as well, i think we need to let those around the world know -- again, both our enemies, the terrorist groups that are listening carefully, but also our allies -- that the united states is in this for the long haul. it has been 13 years since the 9/11 attacks.

many of us would like to think we solved the problem. i think the president has succumbed to the political temptation to do that repeatedly. again, last night in his speech, which i support what he laid out, i think congress ought to respond appropriately and provide him the funding that he has asked for with regard to training forces in syria to help us carry out the necessary counterterrorism activity against isis there, but what i don't support is this continued reluctance on behalf of our commander in chief to let the world know that the united states can be depended on and we will be there for the long haul and will not allow 13 years after 9/11 for those kinds of horrific attacks to happen again. i think we need to learn from our mistakes and apply those to afghanistan and around the

world. on the home front, america is only strong globally when we are strong at home. even if that weren't the case, one reason i brought this plan with us is that i am -- >> i hear you take it with you everywhere, sir. >> i apparently do. i do think we are in a situation now where we have a leadership deficit both abroad and at home. there are certain things we can and should be doing to deal with the weakest economic recovery since the great depression. if you look at the job numbers last month, another disappointing month. yes, the unemployment numbers ticked down because more people left the workforce altogether. we had the so-called labor force participation rate actually go

down to the point that among men and women combined, we are probably at the level we were during the incredibly weak economic period in the carter administration in the 1970's. among men, it probably goes back to the 1940's. we have the lowest participation rate we have had since the 1940's when we started keeping track of these statistics. median income is down. health care costs obviously are up, as is the price at the pump. people's net worth is down considerably. if you look at the period from ronald reagan until 2007, we had a steady increase in income, even taking into account an inflation rate that is not accurate, about an 18% increase in income, now we have had an actual loss of income and net worth. so when i am back in ohio, what i find is that what the

president said last night, which is basically we are out of the woods, things are getting better, he talked about this unparalleled period of job creation, that is not what i hear and that is not what i see. in fact, i see a lot of people who are hurting. i see people who are very worried, uncertain about the future. i will acknowledge that i looked at the polls in august. the poll i've found that was most troubling and interesting was the wall street journal poll about how people feel about the future. it asked the american people, do you think the next generation is going to be better off? the answer was a resounding no. 77% of americans said no. that is unprecedented. these numbers have never been seen before. >> this is the point in the program where i earn my salary

by saying, if you could bring your opening to a close, then we will go to questions. if they don't questions, they will march on me with torches. >> i would hate to see that. let me conclude by saying i think we are suffering from a leadership deficit abroad and at home. in terms of leadership at home, i think there is a way forward here. our future can be very bright and it requires republicans and democrats alike to find common ground on issues where there is a consensus. we know we need to deal with the debt, which is at record levels. we know we need to give our economy a shot in the arm by doing the tax reform the president talked about. we have to deal with our regulatory system and provide regulatory relief which we can and should do. we know our energy opportunities are great. the numbers would be far worse if not for the growth in the

private sector. there is so much more we can do. that includes the keystone pipeline, but also energy efficiency. expanding trade is another area. i would tell you not to have the ability to negotiate has hobbled our economy. it has not enabled us to expand exports. we have the opportunity by doing some of these simple things to get the economy moving again and do what john f. kennedy talked about, which is rising the tide. a rising tide lifts all boats, he said. that is the necessary, not sufficient, but the necessary action we should be taking as a country. i am ultimately optimistic and i think having a republican majority helps make that happen, for the simple reason that this town is dysfunctional. we are not doing things we

should be doing. by getting a republican majority, i believe it would get the president to the table on some of these issues. i think that can happen. we will talk more about the specific races, if you like. if it does happen, the next few years can be productive. i may sound naïve. i look at what has happened over the years when we have divided government. that is when we have done tax reform, entitlement reform, helped to move the economy forward. we have a desperate need for that right now. a need for leadership. that requires both sides to come together and do what is best for the american people. >> catherine, alex, paul, and burgess to start. a politico story yesterday noted that republicans in a number of

races, including kentucky and iowa, are seizing on what they call the obama administration's feckless response to islamic state militants. their argument is that obama is disengaged. how did last night's speech in your view change the effectiveness of that line of attack? how do you sense the change in the battle for control of the senate? >> first, i think the speech last night laid out a general strategy that i hope most republicans will support. i think it is right. we need to be more aggressive. we were in a much more difficult situation because of this vacuum of leadership that we talked about. but we are where we are. i think it is appropriate that the president laid out a

strategy to deal with the isis threat in iraq and syria. i don't think this is a political issue. i understand the connection with the states where there is a senate campaign and people have different takes on it in terms of the political implications of last night's speech. this is about our national security. someone once said famously, partnership ends up the water's edge. i think america is in trouble abroad. with ukraine and russia, i think the same is true in the south china sea. i think the same is true in other parts of the middle east, including gaza and israel and with regard to iran and their march toward a nuclear weapon. we need to show more leadership. i hope last night's speech begins the process of getting america back on track.

the president, based on remarks last night, continues to hope it will go away. hope is not a strategy. we need to to engage more aggressively. and the president took some of those steps last night. >> earlier this week, it was written that they were expecting a sizable republican wing. charlie cook offers a different view. he says there doesn't appear to be an overwhelming republican side. another said the democrats could well lose the senate even without such a wave. which senate race keeps you up most at night? is it our friend in kansas where you recently dispatched two top aides to work on it? what keeps you up at night? >> first, none of the races keep

me up at night. i am kept up at night by other issues, including the lack of leadership abroad and my worry about what that means. i was in ukraine a few months ago with the elections there. one thing that keeps me up at night is the fact that the united states is allowing the ukrainian people to have to engage in a fight with a much stronger military, russia, without providing them the weapons they need. i am kept up by the fact that this economy continues to be incredibly weak despite there are things we can do to get it moving again. to get back to your question, i think 50 days is a lifetime in politics, so things could

in terms of the senate races. charlie cook said the bad news is that republicans could win without a wave. i don't know if that is bad news. but i think it is too close to call. i believe there are three states where both republicans are seemingly doing very well, double-digit leads in the polls, and that would be that would be west virginia, south dakota and montana. there are probably seven states where it is too close to call. republicans would need gains in order to get the majority. i don't think any republican seats are in great danger. i think mitch mcconnell is doing well in kentucky. i live in greater northern kentucky, in cincinnati. i get a lot of those ads at home. i think mitch is going to be fine. i think in georgia, we are doing well. it is trending in the right direction. it comes down to those handful of states. it is simply going to depend on

what happens here in the next 50 days or so. >> catherine? >> will the nrfc contribute money to state senator jim overwhite's campaign against dick durbin? >> i don't know what the decision will be there. i have been told that that race is close somewhat. it is a single-digit race. i don't know enough about it. >> [indiscernible] >> i don't know. frankly, the playing field is already very broad. i don't think people would expect that we would be talking about minnesota, new hampshire, virginia, and oregon, but we are. the playing field is already quite broad. >> alex? >> you guys take over the majority, one of the first things you have to do is craft

the budget. you are on the budget committee. what will the budget look like? you have to get ted cruz to vote for it, possibly. will it be like the ryan budget? if not, what are the key differences going to be? >> it is a great question. if we get 55 or 57 republicans, we won't need ted and susan. just kidding. you have to assume it is going to be a narrow majority and we need to pull together to make sure we do pass a budget. it is unbelievable to me that we do not have a budget in the house and senate for the last several years. i have been back in congress now for three years. i was vice chair of the house budget committee. i put together my own budget for an administration. it is amazing to me that we continue to move forward without even having the blueprint on spending. i think it is our responsibility

to provide that blueprint for the american people. they need to know what direction our country is heading in. how much you tax and spend is critical to that. i think some folks around this table have not given enough attention to that issue. >> do you think there would be some key differences? >> there would be some differences, but in general where republicans want to head is toward a balanced budget over time. in a budget, you can have what is called reconciliation instructions. if you can pass a budget in the house and senate, which i am confident that we will be able to do, although it is a challenge, you can have these reconciliation instructions that provide for something on the revenue side, which could lead to tax reform, something on the spending side, which could lead to some of the necessary changes to our incredibly important

programs, and it can also deal with the debt. those can be done not with 60 votes in the senate that with 51 votes as we saw with president obama pushing obamacare through the senate with 51 votes. this is a significant part of, should we get the majority, what we ought to be doing. it is included in here. i do think this is part of leadership. i am amazed again at the substantial five-vote majority that the democrats didn't even try to do a budget this year. when they did do one, it was a strictly partisan exercise that had no opportunity to be reconciled with the house budget. i think this will be one of our challenges when we get the majority, one that we should embrace. we should move forward with a budget that provides that blueprint.

>> paul singer and others. >> senator, over the next week or so, what votes do you expect the senate and congress to take on the isis threat, and what votes do you feel will be difficult to take? we are asking people going into election to vote essentially for a new war. >> i don't consider it a new war. i consider it a continuation of something that began 13 years ago. that is part of the point i tried to make earlier. the president may wish it away, but this threat continues. to compare what is going on with isis in iraq and syria to what is going on in somalia or yemen also misses the point. the president also continues to take great pains to describe what he is not going to do, including telling our allies and telegraphing to our enemies that there will not be u.s. troops on

the ground, even though he authorized an additional 475 troops in iraq last night. i don't think it is about a new effort. as i have said to others around this table, i believe the president has the authority to act in iraq against isis. when he begins to execute the plan in syria, he should come to congress. i think that would be smart. congress will have a debate on this that enables the american people to have more buy-in into what the president is proposing. that would be helpful. >> [indiscernible] >> i think it would be smart for the president to ask for that. last night he said he didn't believe he needed the authority. if congress passed a resolution, it would make sense. the other thing that makes me

concerned about the president's speech last night is that by comparing what is going on in yemen or somalia to iraq and syria and by suggesting that he is very proud of the fact that we have pulled out of iraq altogether, he may be underestimating the threat. i think this is, as i said earlier, a very real national security threat to the united states of america. it is a humanitarian crisis as well. i also hope this won't be the last speech the president gives on it. one thing i think is apparent to a lot of you around the table is that during the obama administration there was very little talk about what was going on even as our troops were engaged in iraq and afghanistan. the president rarely talked about it. i think that is a problem. i think what people around the world are looking for are allies

who are looking to ensure we have the tenacity and the resolve to be able to finish this task, and our enemies who are looking for weakness, they want to know that we have a focus here. this won't be just another speech. a speech is not a strategy. >> moving on something that is not a speech in a few days? >> i don't think we will vote in a few days. it seems as though harry reid wants to focus on political growth that has no chance of passage in the senate. we are doing that again today. we will be voting on a constitutional amendment on campaign finance and the so-called paycheck fairness act without offering any amendments. this is the first time i have been told there is a proposal to amend the constitution without offering any amendments on the floor of the senate. that is what we will be doing in the senate. at some point, i hope we will bring up this issue and have a

resolution with regard to the use of force, and i hope we will be able to have this debate so that the american people can be more engaged and we have an honest discussion about the difficulties, the need for difficulties, the need for us to make a commitment to it, and the need for additional funding for our military to accomplish this, specifically with regard to the military getting more training in syria. >> the nrfc i just read had a pretty good august fundraising month. you said that kansas, georgia, and kentucky, you're not worried about the races there. [indiscernible] >> i hope we won't have to. we did have a good august. we exceeded our goals. overall, we are raising record amounts as compared to previous cycles. the democrats are doing

very well at fundraising, too. the president is a terrific fundraiser. he has done 19 advance for the senate campaign committee. so that has helped them to have resources they wouldn't otherwise have. i am hopeful we won't have to spend nrfc resources on those red states i talked about. all states which romney won handily and we have good candidates will be fine. our focus will be more on these states, north carolina, arkansas, louisiana, iowa, michigan, colorado, new hampshire, alaska, i think those are the states where we will look for a majority. >> you said you hoped that a republican majority in the senate could both bring the president to the table and also work to find some common ground. i would like to ask you to play out what issues you think you

would be able to find common ground on. since that would be a great novelty in the past era. secondly, senator mcconnell has been quoted as saying things that make it sound as if he would take a much more confrontational tack and turn a budget resolution into a set of repeals -- it sounds a little less like finding common ground. are you an senator mcconnell in sync on that strategy? >> i don't know precisely what he laid out, but i have talked to him and other members of our leadership team about the need for us to pass a budget, to move forward with legislation that we can find a consensus among republican colleagues and also some democrats.

with the exception of these reconciliation ideas, 50 votes would be required in the senate to pass anything. i don't think anybody is suggesting we will have 60 votes on the republican side. i just need to check to see if the polls have changed this morning. i think we are going to need to work with democrats on many of these issues. i will lay out a simple agenda for the first 50 days. this is not something that is impossible to accomplish. we have already votes on these issues. one would be keystone pipeline. this is one where i believe if we can get the majority, we can get close to getting a veto-proof majority on that issue. i think it makes sense. it should be coupled with other things including the energy efficiency bill that has come to the floor twice now in the senate. parts have already passed the house. it is one we could pass with overwhelming republican and democrat majority. i think this shows we have a

balanced and all-of-the-above energy approach. it won't cover everything. but it will help to move forward this strategy. two would be to give the president what he has asked for with regard to negotiating authority on trade agreements. in my view, there will not be a new trade agreement negotiated whether it is the transpacific partnership or bilateral agreements if the president doesn't have the authority to negotiate under trade promotion. we haven't had this for seven years. we suffered as a result. we are losing market share. it hurts american workers. again, it is one of those issues that does keep me up at night. i worry that we are falling behind.

that is something we can do. the president in my view would sign it. third, i would say, and this is a broader area, but there are some specific measures we passed in the house and the senate has looked at, and that is on the regulatory front. one is a permitting bill that would enable us to move forward in a more logical way with permitting. the house has already passed several of these bills. the commonsense bills like ensuring that independent agencies have to go through a cost-benefit analysis, which is not required now, tightening up the cost-benefit analysis on executive branch agencies. this is something the american economy would react to very favorably. i think you would see much more certainty. one thing that has been evident in the polling i talked about is this sense of anxiety and uncertainty. the fourth thing is dealing with tax reform. i don't think the president's

approach to this will help. he is talking about putting a band-aid on the issue of so-called inversions. that doesn't deal with corporate takeovers, which is going to accelerate in my view. the obvious answer is to fix the code. if we don't do that, we will continue to have american companies taking jobs and investment abroad. and you will continue to see more and more american companies being taken over by foreign companies. again, it is outrageous to me that washington sits back and criticizes while we refuse to act on what is such an obvious disadvantage for american workers, a tax code that is inefficient. we are one of the only developed countries in the world that hasn't reformed our tax code since the 1980's. we owe it to american workers to

do this. i think we can. there is a consensus about lowering the rate and broadening the base. it won't be easy, but there is a consensus about that general approach. the president has said repeatedly, including that it can be done on a revenue-neutral basis. republicans would like to see some tasks cuts. i think we understand that revenue neutrality is something we can live with on the business side and that we have an urgent need to address this to avoid more companies leaving our shores and being taken over by foreign companies. those are four things that could happen that i believe would be great for the economy and enable us to move forward on a bipartisan basis, showing the people that washington can work. >> you said earlier that you don't think this is a political issue, referring to the isis debate and the syrian debate. do you believe republicans

should stop using this issue in campaign ads? >> no, i think the issue about leadership is absolutely appropriate to talk about. i think because of that vacuum that has been created, chaos has ensued. that is an issue that is appropriate to talk about. what i am referring to is when the president lays out an approach to attack the isis terrorists that are providing an increased threat to our country, we ought to rally behind the president and provide the means to execute what he talked about last night in terms of the military side of this. >> would you -- do you think this should be a separate vote on authorizing the title x or are you ok if it is rolled into

the c.r.? >> i think it would be ok to roll it into the c.r. and that might be the more practical way to deal with it. with regard to title x, i do believe having the military involved in training in an overt way is the more effective way to proceed. i was over there a year and a half ago or so, i got the opportunity to speak to folks in jordan in the region. my sense was that there was an opportunity with the free syrian army to engage in the kind of training that was necessary to ensure that whatever weapons we provided was going to be properly used. we didn't do it. i think we made a mistake there. we are in worse shape today because of it. i think we need to act on that now.

>> senator, looking at the home stretch of the senatorial elections, what are the known unknowns that we should be keeping an eye on, things that could affect the election? >> oh, gosh, you would have a better sense of that than i would, probably. you sound like a good republican. i like that. i think the most important things in elections is good candidates. i have always believed that. that is why for the first six months i had this job as the national chairman on the fundraising side i focused more on recruiting and training candidates. i think we have done a good job with that. i think we have the best slate of candidates that i have seen. i think that the lack of any big mistakes on the campaign trail was partly due to the fact that people have been focused on ensuring that we stay on the

issues that people care about. this plan that you have before you is one that i provided to every candidate, not that they all use it, but i think the focus on economic and fiscal issues and how to get this economy moving, has been through the isis attacks, through the back and forth on obamacare, the top issue has been and will be how to create more opportunity and get at this sense of anxiety and uncertainty that american people feel about their kids. that is why i suspect we are going to do well in the next 50 days. >> [indiscernible] >> what happens in terms of the economy is always an x factor, but i think it is very unlikely you will see the significant improvements in our economy that all of us would love to see over

the short term. i would say that the jobs numbers we just got, 142,000 jobs and an unemployment rate that ticked down 0.1% only because people have left the workforce, the fact that there have been since the recession 3 million full-time jobs created -- 3 million full-time jobs lost and 3 million part-time jobs created, more part-time work is a huge concern. when you look at these numbers of people who have left the workforce altogether, it is creating more and more dependency. these are the issues that people are worried about. i don't think the campaigns in every one of these states is going to be affected by what happens in the broader economy because i think much of it is

locked in. >> you said that the president would be smart to ask for additional authorizations, but he has said he is not going to ask, and there doesn't seem to be a huge appetite among your colleagues to proceed on their own. is anything going to happen in terms of additional authorization? if nothing happens, what do you think the consequences of that are for the way our system handles these issues? >> it is a good question. i do think authorization to use military force on this issue is appropriate and necessary. i don't think the president needs additional authority to do what he has done, will continue to do in iraq, but i think it would be smart for him to come to congress with regard to the

expanded efforts in syria. as you know, ruth, this is always a controversial and gray area in terms of the war powers act and what it requires and what the constitutional responsibilities are. i am one who believes the commander in chief role enables the president to react to imminent threats. i think the two issues you need to look at our how immediate the threat is, and i think the isis threat was something he needed to respond to without seeking authorization, in iraq, and second is the scope. there is already in place enough authorization from previous actions in iraq that the scope was not significantly expanded. so i am fine with what he has done so far.

with regard to syria, i think it would be smart for him to come to congress. >> if he does not, what should happen? >> congress should act on its own. >> do you see that happening? >> i think it is possible that could happen next week. i think next week it is possible. the house has put off continuing resolutions until next week to consider this as a possibility. specifically, on this issue of authorizing our military to engage in training -- >> how troubled would you be if there is not authorization? if he is going to do what he is going to do in syria, if he doesn't ask and congress doesn't act to authorize it, how big of a problem is that?

>> i think it would be better if he did. i understand this is a gray area. the president has certain inherent powers that we should respect. he is asking for a specific military involvement and training. under the law, that is something congress should authorize. >> senator, you said it was unbelievable the president hasn't done something to help ukraine with arms. what would you do? can you see a republican senate acting on that? ed gillespie seems dead in the water, has only gained one point in virginia since january, and is losing by 22 points to mark warner. why do you even throw that in to the states hopeful? >> with regard to ukraine, i am in disbelief that we are not doing more to help. i don't get it. i don't think america can be the world's policeman, but i think america has to play the leadership role, more like a sheriff where you get a posse with you, and the posse is there. and it is the nato allies.

it is the countries of europe who are not part of nato who and our allies. the election i went to observe was all about that. it was about looking to the west rather than russia, both economically and in terms of an eventual military alliance. they have stood with us and it seems to me we are not standing with them. they have asked for the ability to defend themselves. they are looking for antiaircraft weaponry, antitank weaponry. they are looking for more heavy weapons and communications equipment, things as simple as bullet-proof vests. we have promised some of that. we have not provided the weapons that they need. they have asked for it repeatedly. ronald reagan's famous peace through strength principle continues to hold true.

it is more likely that putin will not continue this aggression on the eastern border of ukraine as he did in crimea already if he knows there is going to be some reaction. a lot of speeches and hot air from conferences in europe and presidential speeches means nothing to him. what would mean something is if we acted. so i think we should be more aggressive in ukraine. i think we should move nato troops to the positions in poland, romania, and elsewhere, as has been requested. i think we need to move these forces closer to the border. that shouldn't be viewed as a threat. it should be viewed as a safeguard. i like the idea of nato coming up with a rapid response force. they are talking about 4000 troops. i think that is too small. remember the russians have amassed on the border at certain

times up to 40,000 troops in ukraine alone. i think we need to stand up and be counted. otherwise, you will continue to see unbelievable encroachment on a sovereign country's territory by russia. this is the first time since world war ii we have seen this. they walked in and took crimea and no one talks about it. i have attempted to get the senate on record on this. we have to push the administration to be more aggressive. again, it is not about creating a bitter conflict. it is about reducing the possibility of a regional conflict that could spread into a global conflict by showing the russians that the west will respond. i mentioned a vacuum of leadership earlier. this is a great example of it. in terms of these races around the country, including virginia, acknowledging that there are plenty of these races where

republicans are ahead now, and i said earlier -- not in virginia, but my point is some of the other races, and i think they are all going to be determined in the next 50 days. i don't think there is anything set yet. it is still in flux. these numbers will go up and down, but i still think -- how much time is left? 51? i said 50 earlier. i was off. i am hoping it is as few days as possible. 51, 5 hours, 13 minutes, and 10 seconds, and that is a lifetime in politics. things can change. >> what does the republican-run say to you about obamacare? is full repeal still an option

at this stage of the law's maturation? separately, how do you assess your home state's decision on medicare at this juncture? >> i don't know what is going to happen on obamacare. i suspect we will put on record repeal and the fact that we republicans think it was a bad policy. we think health care costs should be going down, not up and people should be able to keep the insurance they had. we are worried about the fact that the next shoe to drop is going to the employer coverage. the president has put that off until after the election. about 80%, 85% of us that are not going to be affected. i would support that. i would support repeal. i think we ought to also spend

more time on the replacement side of that. the republican approach has never been just repeal. it has always been let's get rid of this, but replace it with something that does deal with the problem in our health care system. that is the increased costs and the lack of coverage. as you will see, in this plan, the first thing we talk about is what to do on health care. it lays out some specific ideas. >> are you saying a senate republican majority would develop their own health care reform? >> i think we should. i think we should. it is something that ought to go along with the repeal. yes, we think this is the wrong way to go, but we also think that health care system must be improved. particularly now that you see costs escalating higher than anyone projected, including republicans. it has been worse than expected in terms of the cost increases. in my home state of ohio, it is

double-digit cost increases. this is a killer for families and small businesses. and we are looking at the possibility, as you broaden this mandate to include employer-based coverage, to have impact. i am hopeful, as i said earlier, that we can find common ground. one is some aspect of health care. yes, we are for repeal. there are also some specific there are also some specific things where i think the senate and house could act. i think getting rid of the medical device tax, the tax on revenues, is one where i think you could see a 60-vote majority in the senate and may be close to a two thirds majority. it makes no sense. it is driving jobs offshore. i hear about it a lot. the fact is, when you take it off of revenues, it requires