time space. that's after school, during the summers. it's that space, the highly complimentary space to schools but we believe absolutely essential to developing america's leaders for today and for tomorrow. >> many children that face obstacles to achieving exactly the schools you filed a report recently. it sounds a little ominous. tell us what exactly some of those challenges are. >> sure. we have a generation of young people today who it's estimated won't do as well as their parents did a generation ago. candidly that is not good enough. when we look at the educational achieve mentdata from a global perspective we see our young people graduate at a level that ranks only 27 out of 28 developed nations. we think about these issues in terms of poverty. our children are, in this country, being raised in 1 of every 5 young persons is raised in a state of poverty.

when we look through the lens of health 1 of 3 kids is obese or overweight. when we take the collective impact of each of those disparity points, what we see is indeed a generation of young people who are in crisis and there is a cost associated with that crisis, a cost that totals into the more than $150 billion that we estimate it will cost this nation when young people don't graduate. additional burdens that will come in the health care system. so what we see is that our work is not just about prevention but our work is really about stabilizing the very foundation of this nation in terms of leaders, in terms that we have the work force that we need, and in terms of reducing the burden on our health care system. >> and we want to let you know that you can call in and join the conversation about what the challenges are facing today's youth or share your own experience with the boys and girls club of america or other sort of mentorship organizations. if you were under 18, you can

call us at 202-585-3880. if you're a parent, call us at 202-585-3881. all others can dial us at 202-585-3882. you can also corned with us on twitter at c-span wj, on facebook at facebook.com/c-span, or send us e-mail at journal@c-span.org. damon, i unthat you actually have a personal experience with the boys and girls club of america, that it helped you in your past to your current career. >> absolutely. i grew up in dayton, ohio. and i was a member of the boys and girls clubs of dayton. it was an important piece of the youth development ecosystem that really helped to put me on the pathway to what i think has been a great career and really a healthy and happy life. you know, i've been a scholar, published multiple books. i've worked at the highest levels of higher education

administration and now i have an opportunity to be with boys and girls clubs of america, which is a world class organization, which really makes a difference in the lives of young people in our three priority areas and a chance to be a colleague to the thousands of youth development professionals across this country in our 4100 clubs which erve again more than 4 million youth. i don't know where i would be if the club wasn't part of my background. we look at our alumni data and my experience is similar to other alumni. what we found is over 57% of our alumni said that the club actually saved their lives and really serves as an anchor to keep young people on the road toward great futures, which is what we focus upon each and every day. >> now, the kids in crisis report you all put out has a very alarming statistic, which says that 3 of 10 children will not graduate high school on time. what are some of the major barriers they're facing in order to both get the high

school diploma and get it in four years? >> absolutely. one of the spaces we've really focused into that we know is an incredible detriment to on time high school graduation is summer learning loss. every day during the school year roughly 15 million young people come home and don't have a place to go. those young people that are unsupervised, uncared for, and unsupported during the school year, it gets even more dramatic during the summers where 43 million young people are not in a learning-enriched space each and every summer. as a result, what happens in those summers is that many young people lose capacity in math, they lose capacity in literacy. because they're not practicing those skills. what happens is a summer slide. that summer slide then results in often as much as two to three months of learning loss in the areas of math and literacy, which are fundamental. so the slide sends you crashing into the academic year. and you're performing at a lesser level than you were when

you left school in the spring. what we know is that over time, by as much, by as early as the fifth grade, many young people are as many as two years behind academically. we believe and it is part of our impact agenda that we can make a difference particularly during the summer. one thing we say is when school is out the clubs are open whether that be during the school year or the summer. in 2013, what we did is we drew a line in the sand and we launched our summer learning loss prevention program. we served about 15,000 students in that program. this past summer we just completed 2014. we served nearly 100,000 young people in our summer learning loss prevention program. what we learned in the pilot data and we still await our continuing data is that there was no loss in the summer learning capacity in terms of math and literacy from the evaluation data we have and what we've also come to see is that there was some strengthening of 21st century leadership skills. strengthening in terms of teamwork, problem solving, terms of the ability to

collaborate with others. all the things we know are foundational not only to academic achieve mentbut in terms of being leaders in this country. that is a key place. >> we want to turn to the phone lines now. our first caller is jeff from newark, new york. he is calling on the other line. jeff, go ahead. you're on the air. caller: yes, hi. mr. williams, i'm from dayton, ohio also and i attended the boys club down in wayne avenue and it did a lot for my life. i played basketball down there. currently i'm an educator in new york state. i'm very concerned about -- you talk about education and how to help these kids. i'm very concerned that legislators across the country are not funding public education like it should. i wonder if the boys and girls clubs of america have any sway with legislators to get public education funded like it should. i know in ohio they have charter schools and i think right now they're going through

some turmoil. but i think public education is the key and i'd like to get your opinion on that. >> absolutely. well, first off, it being on the line with a fellow daytonian and boys and girls club alum i am glad to be on the line with you and appreciate your question. our vision is that the out of school time space is a highly complementary space to what happens during the school year. we see it as a space where we can really enrich the learning of young people and really strengthen them academically. what we know from the research and the research is clear and i've spent my life as a social scientist is that young people who are involved in expanded learning time environments, the out of school time space, they attend school more often. they get better grades. their behavior shows less of the negatives we know lead to destructive pathways. indeed, they even test better. so for us, it's all about expanding that complementary space to the school year and strengthening the work we do

after school abduring the summers. >> next up is dina calling from houston, texas. you're a parent. how many kids do you have? caller: actually a parent and step parent so collectively i have five. this past summer i actually had the opportunity to have my 14-year-old join the boys and girls club. it was my first experience with the program. and she was the one who turned me on to it. we were trying to find something for the summer and she said, hey. let's try, you know, this. and we went and it was probably the most awesome experience she had all summer. brilliant child. it really did give her the opportunity to continue her own interests. so, mr. williams, i just want to commend you. thank you for your very clear and comprehensive overview of the program and the use of the data. it really helps. i'm a nonprofit so i really wanted to commend you for your

work and just let you know you did an awesome job. my daughter really valued and appreciated it. thank you. >> well, i tell you, on behalf of the nearly 54,000 youth development professionals across this country, which get up every day and work on behalf of our children, we appreciate hearing that positive story and indeed that's a story we know took place all across this nation. one of the things we really focus into during the summers and during the school years, we want our environments to, number one, be safe. number two, to be fun. three, to be enriching, four, to really, really have the highest expectations for our young people. and, five, we want to recognize and acknowledge young people as they're doing great things. that for us is what it's all about. i appreciate that story. it's a great organization in houston that we have. >> diana is our next caller from college park, maryland. you're also a parent. caller: i am sure am. i'm a single parent at that. i see so many, mr. williams, good morning. i see so many children

especially like in urban areas trying to break cycles now. and when i say breaking cycles, i mean, many of our children, particularly in the black community and the latino community, are being run by single parent households. and there is a continuation of a lack of resources, a continuation of these children are sometimes the older children are placed in an adult role for their younger siblings. how do you address that and how do you make it, you know, how do you feel about your program and just making sure that these children have -- are children and they continue their childhood more so than, you know, you got to get your younger brothers and sisters tucked in and make sure they do their home work and if i'm not there by the time you leave for school, get them breakfast and

everything like that and then go to school yourself and concentrate on what you're supposed to concentrate on. it is very, very hard. i see some of these kids are struggling with that. how do you address that? >> i appreciate that question and your kwlarification of what a true challenge in our communities is. we see our clubs as being a space where young people can be children, tweens, teens, and come into those spaces and environments and explore their interests. they can explore their passions. they can define purpose and identify pathways and resources to help them get there. they can have fun and just explore life. that's why we believe so deeply in the boys and girls club mission. it allows for young people to be young people and to not all -- all the time be burdened and obligated to some of the responsibilities we know many of our young people carry each and every day. the grit and the resilience that is built by being a care

giver are qualities that we know serve young people in the long haul and, for us, what we try to do is focus that in each and every young person that comes to the door helping them to move forward and having a plan for the future which we believe is essential and for so many really building that plan in terms of a clear vision toward post secondary education. whether it be at the community college level or the balk lawyer yet level. >> damon, you said earlier that you estimate the obstacles facing today's youth to cross the country something like $150 cost in the long run. can you break that $150 billion number a little bit? what are the factors contributing to that? >> we've looked at a couple things and worked with economists who assisted us and what we've come to understand is that there is a true burden that comes when young people don't graduate from high school. there is a true burden of childhood obesity.

there is a true burden when young people are disassociated youth meaning they don't graduate from high school and also, too, they're not employed. what we know is that the clubs make a difference in terms of keeping young people on the pathway toward great futures, keeping them on a pathway toward academic success and really helping them have an understanding of the habits of mind and body that are going to be absolutely critical in terms of protecting your health over the course of a lifetime. so when we talk about that number it's taking all of those factors into account. some might say it is even a modest number when we look at the true impact of the challenge that we face today. >> all right. now we'll turn to suffolk, virginia, where clifton is calling as a parent. you're on the air. caller: good morning. thank you for receiving my call. there's one thing that i really resent and it's that most people call children kids.

a lot of incidents this morning, callers as well as you have spoken of them as kids. i wish you would reframe that and call them children, youth, young people, young adults, anything other than kids. my superintendent at my sunday school wouldn't allow us to call -- he said that's a goat. it's not a human being. >> all right, clifton. we hear you. our next caller is dick from lyndon, michigan, who is calling for all others. caller: yes. thank you so much for this program. you've got it right on. so many people talk about this problem and love to talk about the problem and cause of the problem but never get to solutions. you're talking about solutions and i hope you and i can talk further after this program is over because we're trying to put together a program exactly like you're talking about. we know they lose it in the summer time and we can do a lot with summer programs. we propose to bring them in two

days a week, feed them two meals, work them in the garden, on habitat for humanity, set up a shop program, tear down engines, teach them some basic nutrition, and anatomy, and do some basketball, physical activity. those are the things here and we'd surely love to talk with you. >> what organization do you work for? or do you work with? caller: i'm a board member at the senior center in lyndon, michigan. >> okay. caller: we are trying to put together a scholarship program where the seniors can support this. we're not looking for tax dollars. we know where the private sector money is. >> all right. next caller is paul from hemlock, michigan. you're a parent. how many children do you have? caller: four adult children and i have seven grandchildren. but my concern is the children, you can take them to school. you can give them food. they have to go back to the

same environment they came from where they have parents that don't give a damn about them. i have a problem with yes there is some social science we can deal with but the children are thrown right back into the same mess they came out of. how do you resolve that? >> damon williams? >> a couple things. we see ourselves as a powerful complement to what we and i refer to as a youth development ecosystem. that means schools, families, other community organizations, faith-based organizations, lots of organizations and lots of different parties are going to have to play a role in terms of strengthening what happens with our young people. when those young people walk through the door the one thing we know is that we want it to be a safe environment. nurturing o be a program and get them involved in programs that can be transformational. there are factors beyond the control of any one organization. for us we really focus into those young people in ensuring we're enriching them in all the ways we can each and every day they come to our doors.

we want more members, more often coming into the clubs. because we know ultimately that will make the difference in terms of their outcomes. >> damon williams, you mention you guys are one of the oldest organizations focusing on children and mentoring. how has your strategy changed over time as society has changed, as technology has entered these children's lives. how do you adjust to fit their needs? >> that is a powerful question. i think one of the things that is truly changed is that we've continued to evolve and grow but staying toward our mission of helping young people who need us most. we'll find clubs in 2014 in urban environments. you'll find clubs in rural environments. you'll find clubs on military installations around the world. you'll find clubs on native american lands and territories. you'll also find clubs in public housing. last and definitely not least, you'll find many of our clubs actually in schools and moving toward even tighter integration

of the school day and out of school day. that's been a key evolution of our strategy. as we look toward the future, we will be engaging even more and more in the space of digitizing youth development and not only complementing what we do in bricks and mortar when kids walk through the door every day and support it but also how we move forward in terms of embracing the fact that so many of our young people, they're known as digital natives. they live in the digital world. so we're evolving our strategy and will continue to do so to really embrace that as a space for positive youth development where we continue to maintain the highest standards of safety but have a vision toward where we want our young people to go. >> kim is calling from nashville, tennessee. you're a parent. how old and how many children do you have? caller: i have one >> you have one kid. okay. what is your comment today? caller: my comment is it is not about boys and girls clubs but parents coming together.

you know what i'm saying? . meless -- the kids need help we can teach our kids to give back. maybe the kids will appreciate and understand there are kids who don't get no allowance, no basketball. you know, to help people. instead of teaching them to play basketball teach them to . to work and help other kids using influence. kids have nobody to talk to. hat's why they have a problem. they need help. >> damon williams? >> you know, each and every day young people that come through our club doors, we get them involved in service activities and really trying to make a difference in their communities locally. it's a key component of what we

really embrace and was a major aspect of what we really celebrated this last week. we were in d.c. for the identification of our national youth of the year. each and every year thousands and thousands of kids across the country who are members in our organizations participate in what we believe was one of the world's great youth recognition programs, youth of the year, which celebrates our three priorities of academic achieve ment, good character and citizenship and healthy lifestyles. we identified mariah sullivan a wonderful young woman in central florida, boys and girls club, who is now a first-year student at the university of south florida. mariah is the embody mentof all we hope for in our youth across this nation. she carries north of a 4.4 gpa, is endeavoring toward a career in the health professions. she was captain of her track team, honor student, and deeply involved in service and involved in helping to make a difference and being an empower

mentleader in our community and at the end of the day it's the three aspects and qualities which we want all of our youth and couldn't be more of an ha sullivan. mary >> next up from california calling on the line for all others. caller: well, good morning. the point i wanted to make was that the program that i've been involved with, with helping our youth and people that are going to grow up and some day lead our society, involves a specific thing. that is h that they can come into a program with little or no meteorology of what it really -- with little or no knowledge of what it is all about and each one leaves feeling like they have been a uccessful part of a group.

i think that is very important because, and studies have shown, there was a study by university of edinboro, some ere in l.a., where the ramifications were recognized by school principals and teachers who said, wait a minute. i notice this group is light years beyond some of the other kids and they're active and participating, etcetera. why is this happening? and they ended up tracing it back to the program that i was involved with. but whatever program it is, whether it's taking kids into the garden, whether it's all the things you've mentioned, it' important that they feel like they are successful at something new. part t i think is a key

f whatever program we're doing. a gentleman from michigan mentioned habitat for humanity, which is a great program. how many kids -- excuse me from the other gentleman -- how many of our youth don't understand a lot of what our kids are going through? >> i want to ask you about another statistic that is in the report, which is that three out of ten kids are obese or overweight. again, from your america kids in crisis report. what are you guys doing to address the obesity issue? is this a health care problem? is this a nutrition problem? is it an access problem? how do you tackle it? >> absolutely. you know, one of the things that has always been fundamental to the dna of boys and girls clubs is having an active lifestyle. whether that be getting involved in youth sports,

whether that be just hopping into the swimming pool and swimming some laps, whether that be playing a game of dodge ball or kick ball in the field or the yard, that's always been part of the dna of our clubs. if you step into club across america you'll still continue to see that dna. some of the other things we've really been focused on particularly in the last several years with our partners is really focused into helping young people understand the importance of nutrition and really helping them understand the importance of consumption regularly of fruit and vegetables. this is a challenge for many of our young people who grow up candidly in virtual food deserts in many communities where they don't have access to good food, to fresh fruits and vegetables. so one of the things we place an incredible priority on helping young people to understand nutrition and to have a level of nutrition literacy moving forward that will serve them throughout a lifetime, keeping them moving and active and setting a foundation for habits that can last a lifetime and each and

every day trying to get young people more often to have the opportunity to consume fresh fruits and vegetables and healthy snacks as a part of their club experience but also as something that that carries into their life once they leave the club each and every day. >> from fort wayne, indiana, calling as a parent. good morning, tim. caller: hi, damon. you mentioned the education of our public schools, our children were rated like 22 out of 28 internationally. the public schools have our kids nine months out of the year. isn't that long enough? i think children need to stop being institutionalized. when i came home from school, got off the bus, i went home to my parents. the problem is, we can't be having the glorified babysitters. since 1996, boys and girls clubs have received $875 million and, like i say, there

is no dad, no parents. the single parent business. it's nothing to be proud of. you're being selfish. >> damon williams, your response? >> you know, one of the things we do is we see ourselves as a highly complementary space to what happens during the school year and particularly during the summers and really creating an enriching environment we know makes a difference in the lives of young people over time. we can look across the data and see very powerfully that young people who are involved in our clubs tend to graduate more frequently than young people we compare them to who are not involved. they tend to consume more fruits and vegetables and live a healthier lifestyle than those we compare them to who are not in our club. at the end of the day we go back to our alumni survey and go back to the alumni survey and what the alumni said and 57% said the club helped save their lives. so we stay focused on our mission to serve youth every day particularly those who need us most and to really do

anything and everything we can to help our young people be on a pathway toward a great future. >> next up is elaine calling from clear water, florida. you're a parent. how um children do you have? caller: four. >> how old are they? caller: they're in their 50's and 40's >> okay. grown children. what is your question today? caller: it's not a question. i want to tell you that 68 years ago, my youngest brother was pingpong champion of the boys clubs of america. it was only boys back then. we were allowed but i was a little girl and i was allowed to go to the boys club movies on friday night. i think if it wasn't for the boys club my two brothers would have been probably a lot of trouble. but they hung out in the boys clubs all the time and turned out to be great guys.

>> all right. next up is ron from pennsylvania. also calling as a parent. caller: yes. i'm a little late in the program right now but i don't know if this was touched on. a lot of this stuff with the kids are the parents. nowadays you see the parents, in my generation, or buddies with their kids. there is no real authority figure in the family. they have their friends over drinking beers or what not and there's the parent right along with them, you know? i don't think that's the right thing. it's not teaching the kid anything. >> damon williams, how do you straddle the line between being a comforting presence in these children's lives but also being an authority figure? >> you know, we really focus into the work, when young people walk in the door we want to set a certain type of value system for them and set a certain expectation level of

how we think behavior should manifest itself in terms of character, in terms of ethical decision making, in terms of being caring and nurturing and supporting and understanding the needs of others and being able to look at the world through multiple perspectives. that all wraps up into our character development work we do with the clubs and young people. we do that again just in the general environment but also through our targeted programs that we have. programs like smart moves, programs like passport to manhood. programs like smart girls which really hope to empower young people to make great decisions in their lives. that's the space that we can really play in. that's the space we know that we can make a difference in. that's the space we do each and every day across our 4100 clubs. >> i think we have time for one last caller. pal will be betty from meto, florida. also a parent. caller: yes i am a parent.

i -- we had boys clubs with my children growing up. they weren't allowed to go, all white. that's the part i didn't understand. two kids have been educated. i have five boys and two girls. i have twin boys. they couldn't go to the boys and girls club. so i had to take my grandchildren, four of them. they started the boys and girls club. the girls could go. so the oldest granddaughter played basketball the whole time and she went on to the university of florida. now she got her masters and she is in pennsylvania. the boys club i always say, helped my grandchildren. they didn't help my boys but helped my grandchildren to have a place to go. and i been writing the governor

and everybody trying to get the boys club out here but they won't do it. we need a boys and girls club so bad out here. we don't have nothing. >> damon williams, final word? >> the thing we say is that great futures start each and every day in our clubs. and this year we launched our great futures impact plan for america's youth. those of you who tuned in had a chance to hear about that from me but i encourage you to go to great futures.org. i encourage you to learn more, get involved locally at volunteers given the treasure of your time and given the treasure of any resource that you might give because america's youth need it so much. we appreciate all of you who are partners and thank you for the opportunity to be here today. >> thank you for joining us. that is damon williams from the boys and girls clubs of america. discussing the challenges facing today's youth and some of the solutions to their problems as well. thanks again. >> thank you. >> on the next "washington

journal" thomas litman of the middle east institute talks about the u.s. effort to form a coalition of arab states to fight against isis. bloomberg news reporter alex wayne details a new report by the cdc on reducing the number of uninsured americans. then we'll talk with local reporters about some of the mid-term elections in arkansas, pennsylvania, and kentucky. and as always, we'll take your phone calls and you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. "washington journal" live at theext, a debate between candidates running for iowa governor. after that, president obama the medal of honor to two vietnam veterans. talks -- kener ken ken burns talks about his new documentary on the roosevelts. now, the iowa governors debate between terry branstad and his

democratic challenger jack hatch. branstad is iowa's longest serving governor. 1999.ved from 1983 to then was reelected to another term in 2011. -- currently anumb iowa state senator with 22 years iowa house and senate. cook political report has this race listed as likely republican. this is about an hour. >> good evening, and welcome to burlington, iowa. i'm gary with kwqc. marks the second of three debates in the race for iowa governor. we are happy to bring it to you with our partners, the burlington hawkeye newspapers and the greater burlington partnership. for the next hour, terry hatch, hisd jack democrat challenger, will answer panelists.rom our let's introduce them, kenneth, danielle, and the managing hawkeye, dale.

we'll also be getting some questions, from you, our viewers and readers, through twitter and facebook live throughout this program. use the hashtag #iowagovernordebate. please welcome terry branstad and jack hatch. >> the overall theme, if you will, continue is on the economy, from jobs to job creation to infrastructure. jobs.rst topic will be on in this, we will talk about job likeion, tax incentives, those used to build the fertilizer plant that's being built right now not far from wage.and the minimum but we begin with jobs. job creation and sustainment is very big political promise and point of contention

candidates running for office. danielle begins our discussion a jobs, specifically with question for senator hatch. 4.4%,ator hatch, at iowa's unemployment rate is even lower than the national average. iowa'suld you do to make job climate even better? and we'll get to the governor's in just a moment. >> we're very fortunate in this state, as in every state, to have recovery after the 2008-2009 recession. and every state is increasing their employment record. we're glad that iowa has the it's ever had before. the other states in this country. and unemployment is going low, and that's as well an accomplishment for all of us. but what we need in the next governor must lead iowa to the next generation of jobs. be an explosion of economic opportunity.

but to get there, we have to do different. build the economy from the community up. not from the top down. plan is to have an economic development authority, not one to cover the whole state, but regionally, four of them, so district willonal be able to match the state's with national priorities that will be funded by our congress persons and also the local communities have spent so much time and effort, like davenport and burlington, to be able to create jobs on their own. who knows jobs the best but the authorities, the city councils? they know where the jobs are. the communities are that need it. they noa know -- know what theye do to get those jobs to become a reality in their community. state government is going to be provide refreshing new dollars instead of one agency getting it. be disbursed to four

economic development authorities with their own board of directors, appointed by the governor, to sit for three years. they will create the thertunities and identify match between our state investment and the local priorities. >> senator, thank you. governor branstad, 45 seconds rebuttal. >> well, first of all, obviously my opponent doesn't know what's going on in illinois, because have the second-highest employment -- unemployment in the nation. iowa's has dropped by nearly in debtinois is mired and has the second-highest unemployment in the nation. i'm really proud that we've created over 150,000 jobs in the last three years and eight months. we've gone from the highest unemployment in 25 years to of peopleecord number employed. that doesn't happen by accident. we've got a great economic thatopment authority partners with the locals. the fertilizer plant happened county the people in lee partnered with the state and

made that possible. we see those that great jobs in iowa. >> and we'll be talking more about the fertilizer plant in moment. would you care to rebut for 30 seconds? >> yes. it's important for us to understand these numbers. the governor talks about 150,000 new jobs that he has created. a fifth know, even grader knows you have to subtract what you've lost. 80,000 jobs were lost in this economy, giving a really 75,000 orin of about 80,000. that's how we identify jobs. knowe private sector, we that government doesn't create jobs. businesses do. governors don't create small businesses. entrepreneurs do. create a base of entrepreneurs in this state that will be able to meet the demands the needs of our communities. >> thank you, senator. keep on path,to we'll try to keep as close as we can -- i'll give a reminder as to the length of time. it's harder to keep track of, i

know, from back here. our best.do our second question now, still on the question of jobs. >> yes, governor. to go a little bit more into detail about your promise 2010 about creating 200,000 jobs in five years. increasing iowans' personal income by 25%. hatch has accused you of cooking the books on this. all right. us where weto tell were at that point, where we are now, and how you think you've those promises, talking about adding and subtracting? to where weink back were four years ago. the unemployment rate here in southeast iowa was the highest in the entire state. and we had an unemployment rate 6%.owa well over we've reduced that by over 30% 40% here. nearly i was just last week down at the fertilizer plant. 1900 construction jobs there. they're going to add another

400. goingrmanent jobs are now to be 240. but there's also another right here in burlington that share foods is going to be investing $35 million and adding 80-some jobs. every day to bring more good jobs to the state of iowa. i'm proud of the fact we work in localrship with the governments and with the local economic development people and economic development authority, debbie durham, has done a great job. i think it would be a big mistake to divide the state into four regions. wouldn't have as much resources. i'm really proud of what we have accomplished. but we're not done. we're going to continue to focus on how we can prepare the the jobs of the future, because the lieutenant governor and i hear from butness we have good jobs can't find people with the right skills. iowa andere skilled investments in s.t.e.m.,

science, technology, engineering and mathematics, prepare them i'm reallyobs, and proud of the fact that today the ismployment tax rate in iowa going to go down again in january for the fourth year in a row. morealso makes iowa excessive for business -- businesses and jobs. >> senator, 45 seconds. >> thank you. that the top-down approach that governor branstad following where des moines picks winners and loses is the wrong approach to from an we're recovering recession. our proposal is from the community up. thatroposal is to ensure local communities, state coalitions, city councils, boards of supervisors, have a chance to identify and empower their communities to get engaged and to value their own dollars and to be able to have a to leverage local dollars with state dollars. tohink it's wrong to be able say it's only going to be

des moines that's going to make those decisions. that's the wrong direction. we're going to have a direction of going from the community up. >> now let's move to the big have, but the both of you alluded to, regarding tax incentives. incentives are used more and more for job creation and generating revenue by many states. tax incentives, tax breaks, the fertilizer plant being built $1.6 billion area, plant being built here. $100 million in tax breaks used to land this deal and to build the plant was too much. the first question here regarding tax questions for the governor, dale allison, whose has done a considerable job of reporting on this very subject. governor. regarding the negotiations to land the plant, property owners the immediate vicinity aren't quite -- don't share your it.usiasm with negotiations were done out of

the purview of the general public. and, you know, not only was the property negotiated but a of taxes andeu other considerations, including water rights. was announced, iowa fertilizer upped its demand from 480 millions 3.3 billionally to gallons. how is this good public policy everyday working iowans and you address the charge that this deal was crammed down wever?idents of >> , first of all, it was initiated by the people, the supervisors and they provided incentives. but the thing you need to net result ishe the fort madison school district and lee county are going to get of 2.9 million additional tax revenue every year. iowa is also of going to gain revenue.

if it had not located here, we get those additional tax revenues and we wouldn't have the 1900 construction jobs, the 400 more that are going to be added, nor would we have the wouldent jobs, nor farmers benefit from the $740 reduction in nitrogen fertilizer costs. significant, because that is the biggest cost of raising corn today, is nitrogen fertilizer. most of it is being imported. and the big cost is all the transportation costs to bring it in from overseas here to this in theoducing area midwest. so this was a good deal. in fact, the site selection magazine, read by economic developers around the world, said this was the second-best development deal in the entire world last year. it.e very proud of and the ceo of the company recently said that they're just up.ing warmed when they complete this, they're

looking at expanding it. were tennly -- there fertilizer plants being looked at. only three of them being built, and two of them in iowa, and we're really proud they're being built here, where the corn is produced. >> senator hatch, 45 seconds. >> thank you. let me be clear. i'm in favor of fertilizer will help engage and expand our agricultural base. favor ofery much in the jobs it has created. what i've been critical of is -- deal that the governor negotiated. it was a reckless deal. it is a bad deal. a terrible deal, where he $110 millionngage 165tate money to create jobs. 700,000 --al to job.000 per

governor, in the seamen manufacturing plant, gave money to them to build wind blades. for 240 jobs, that equaled $7,000 per job. governor, in the seamen job.acturing $7,000 per job, $700,000 per job. there's an imbalance. that's what we're up against. a bad deal. that is what is causing the problem. imagine whatust this area could do, if we were able to balance those two us tosses and allow spread the investment from the state to more businesses and to areas than just lee county. >> governor, 30 seconds. >> well, you can't be against and for the jobs.. without the incentives, we wouldn't have gotten the jobs. debbie durham is a very skilled negotiator. for 15 years, she did a great job up in sioux city. that's why i asked her to be the economic development authority. she worked with the local people here. and actually, it looks like this going to continue to grow beyond what was initially planned. the net revenue gained -- we

didn't write out a check. credit against a taxes in future years. frankly, the state is going to fort madisonw the school district in lee county gained substantially. this was a great deal. on this samentinue subject with the next two questions. so for the next question, let's who has aelle, question for senator hatch. >> senator hatch, if you're elected, what's your plan to any business that does receive a state tax incentive is held accountable job creation, contributing to the overall economy, and also also explain how you have used tax incentives in your own private investments? >> absolutely. the one important thing that you maketo do as a governor, sure that there's transparency, accountability and responsibility. ans is another good area, example, in which governor branstad did not use any of those three guidance or principles in negotiating a deal. the citizens of iowa want to

know what's going on. you've got to be open, transparent, and that's how you can ensure that negotiations with a company will be honored in the deal. they are already changing the deal. gonna change the deal more. and it's going to hurt our our local folks, our water and the entire ability of to share other tax credits. now, the governor has been criminal of my business -- critical of my business. des moines register spent over six weeks investigating his claims of a conflict of interest and that i'm spending so much state money and not giving anything back in return. kind ofeally disturbing. roberts,nd i, sonia opened up our entire business. no privately held company would this to happen. claims by thee

governor prompted us to do this. what did they find? that we followed the rules. was no conflict of interest. kcrg also had a fact check. what did they find? claims thaternor's our misuse of tax credits was false, that we did things right, an appropriate company and we're a good company. and it's strange that a republican governor would be blaming a good businessman for having a good and honest business. wrong.just and it shouldn't be happening. >> governor, 45 seconds. people of trust the iowa and i have disclosed 4 of myof my -- 24 years taxes and if he wants to disprove our claim that he has gained substantially and made millions of dollars at the expense, i would challenge senator hatch to -- to years of hismore taxes. i'm willing to do another four, i the previous four before came back as governor, if he's

willing to do that. i believe that we need to be open and transparent and i'm telling you we have been. the people in lee county know that. and we have worked with them. and we're very proud of the fact partnered with lee county to bring this great project here and bring these iowa.obs to southeast >> senator, would you like 30 seconds here? >> i think what's important is us to understand, in my business with my wife, that we in areasax credits that no other developer would go in. housing.affordable des moinesst 21, the register wrote an editorial that said our use of tax credits was appropriate. the governor's use of negotiating with one of the profitable most egyptian companies in that nation was questionable. so we're providing a public good, by providing housing for low-income iowans. he's providing additional dollars to one of the most profitable corporations in the

world. to a socialve on media question. our first of the night. this is for the governor. johnny writes, since the governor brags about the deal in bringing the fertilizer plant to which was a good thing -- i'm quoting here -- increasing the workforce and putting a lot work with this deal, how many of those jobs actually went to iowans? of those i have met say wever, iowa, it's out of town contractors bringing their them.rce with >> first of all, it's brought a lot of jobs to the area. iowans.e been filled by and there have been some that have come in from other areas as well. for the been also great economy, here in burlington and fort madison, wever, the entire area. i'm really proud of the fact that we have that. passed this year for more opportunity for people to learn while they

earn. apprenticeships. and we're working, because there's a need for more people in the construction industry -- the construction industry during the previous administration, during the recession. that.now rebuilding and we have a great opportunity. we tripled the funding, the funding for apprenticeships. that way people don't have to go into debt. they can earn while they learn in construction and manufacturing. say we work with building and construction trades and we worked with the contractors. and we got that legislation this year. and it's now in the process of being implemented in helping people for those jobs in the construction industry, the fertilizer plant, and others being created all over the state of iowa. jobs up inhere's fort dodge, up in woodbury county, all over the state, so this isn't the only project. but this is the biggest and one of the best. thats a follow-up to question, were there not enough

skilled iowans to do these jobs? enough.here weren't that's the reason why we need apprenticeships, to train more skilled jobs.se you can talk to the building and construction tradespeople. they'll tell you they need more people with skills. and we're working hand in hand people so wetrain have more iowans with those building and construction trades jobs. good careers. and we want to have more of them in iowa. seconds.r hatch, 45 >> thank you. we're talking about the possibility over the next four years of an economic opportunity explosion in jobs. if we'ren't do it going to put all of our eggs in the basket of large corporations projects. then you will have an inability the workers to do the job in the construction. focus on isoing to on small business. on small business, i want to to southeast iowa's

vision, when tom brought in anheuser-busch, when he widened highway 34 and he created and developed the avenue of the saints. that's what's going to create the opportunities in southeast and all over the state, by our ability to focus on job opportunities for small businesses in this state. >> let's move now on to the of minimum wage. danielle has a question for senator hatch. >> senator hatch, in your you talk about growing small businesses and also increasing the minimum wage. the small business owners we've heard from say they're worried about how an minimum wagehe would affect their business. how can you be in favor of both? >> well, you know, good question. [laughter] allyou're assuming that small businesses pay below the minimum wage, which is wrong. 216,000w, there are iowans that get less than the we are proposing.

that's not high wages. allows an individual working 40 hours a week, works works hard, works every day, to get just above the poverty. no iowan should be able to work and not get the wages necessary to lift their lives the level of poverty. that's my value. believe in sot i much, that we had no problem acommending that wage of minimum wage. and it would lift 216,000 possibly 20% of them, off of general assistance. not thesinesses are type of businesses that pay cheap. businesses, like my wife and i, pay very well. they're all over the state. we can't be afraid of that kind of wage. ofknow that from other types proposals, and when we raise the

minimum wage before, and which signed, there was no outcry from the small businesses that they were losing losing opportunities. just the opposite. people got that money. they spent it in their communities. they were able to get off of general welfare. they were no longer part of that anti-poverty program. >> governor, 45 seconds. >> well, if the minimum wage was when theant, why, minimum wage bill was assigned to the committee that senator on, was it killed by the democrats who controlled that committee? they didn't even bring the bill out of committee. it shouldn't -- it couldn't have been that big a priority. i reserve judgment until i see where a bill ends up. it's gotta pass the house and the senate in the same form. in this case, the minimum wage did -- was not even approved by the democratic-controlled senate, house.ne the republican my focus is on trying to bring

helpjobs to iowans and to people get the skills so they can have a living wage and be themselves and their families. we work at that every day. workforcesing on development and economic development and coordinating them. is thetor hatch, if that case with the blockage in the legislature, how do we fix this? >> well, you know, harry truman in thepublicans believe minimum wage, as minimum as possible. [laughter] that bill come through, senator courtney, your senator here, was the chair of subcommittee. there were negotiations all year. and during the legislative session, whether or not the house would pick it up. the house said no. we went to the governor's office. governor,help us, dislodge the disagreements in your own caucuses? no, he wouldn't. that's not leadership. they had no intention. so our majority leader said, you know what? this is a political year. we're not gonna put our members

in the way of being criticized a political year and then have workers who are trying to lift themselves out of poverty become the political ping-pong during an election process. we are very sensitive about that. passed it without a problem. the fact is, it would have been stopped. and it was stopped by the governor.s and by the continue thate'll with this from social media. 40-plus hoursork a week in construction with three kids and a wife that's a cna. and we still live paycheck to paycheck. is that right and is there any way that will change? >> that's the reason why we're bringing 40-plus hours a week in construction with these jobs at the iowa fertilizer plant. it pays very well. and we're working to try to more of those kind of jobs in the state of iowa, companies like g.e., here in burlington, they provide good wages. companies like cargill and c.j.,

which we brought to the fort area. - --ciences, iowa home-groan home-grown businesses have all been expanding. we're working every day to try to do that. make sure people have the skills for those jobs. that's why we started with the bill, the skilled iowa program, why the lieutenant governor has led the efforts for s.t.e.m., science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and we're working with every high state andthe community colleges to train the jobs of the require knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and we want to make sure the workforce of the future in iowa has those skills. i'm going to continue to work on that every day. recently proposed a center for human capital which would coordinate what we're doing in economic development with our workforce development so that we the workforce with the skills for those jobs that can

incomes and better provide for their families and to the economic well-being f our state -- of our state. >> senator hatch, in the 45 ournds we have remaining in first half hour, your reaction to that. >> well, it's interesting, the governor said he would like to he's done.hat the state doesn't have enough than just onere orscon's model. and the fact is we need to be what our friend said in his question as an opportunity to understand that middle class iowa family to paycheck.ycheck they're being taxed too much. and we may talk about this later. but we had proposed a middle class tax cut, where every family under $220,000 would get. they're being taxed too much. and because we're working on productive ti, and children are the values of our proposal. ups that if you have to live paycheck to paycheck, the state

responsibility to invest in our communities and our small the biges, not undeserving corporations like we have. >> and we will continue regarding property taxes, accountability and leadership, much more still to come in our gubernatorial debate. >> we continue our conversation now with the focus on accountability and leadership. weoughout the campaigns, have seen on television and on airwaves, radio and newspapers as well, senator hatch has have. >> and we will continue regarding property taxes, accountability and leadership, accused the branstad administration of being scandal ridden, settlements of state employees. now is our chance to discuss this matter in particular. we begin with dale who has a question for senator hatch. likenator, iowans clearly their governor. they keep reelecting him time widertime, by wider and margins.

yet instead of telling iowans lead the state, your advertisements and press statements focus on criticisms. that iowans don't get it? >> what i'm saying is that iowans need to listen to the problems that this governor has over the past four years. it is the most scandal ridden administration in the history of state and it's beginning offices development that he closed, that the iowa supreme court said was unconstitutional. then the iowa juvenile home he closed and the district court said governor, that's unconstitutional. then it was the settlements and changes of merit employees. to of them were moved over political over to political positions including administrative law judge. meaning that they no longer had

qualifications but could be fired for any reason. right under the direction of the governor's office. and then you had the secret settlements to fire employees have been there before and then hush money to keep them quiet. then the black list of do not hires that now there's a class action suit against the governor on people's names that should not have been on there. firing of top aides. and the d.c.i. agent that reported the governor's vehicle for speeding doing a hard 90 on route 20. he was fired for reporting that. and then of course was the commissioner godfrey's position. where he was asked -- the governor asked him to resign. he wouldn't. and then commissioner godfrey who just left for an impressive position in washington sued the governor for defamation of character. that is not leadership. that's not something iowa wants. that's not something that iowa values have. it should very well be looked at. and there are now investigations of the senate and the courts to look at how governor branstad

has been managing the state. >> governor branstad. 45 seconds. >> well, iowans know me. they know that i go to he have county every year. i have a press conference every week. they know i'm honest. i'm straightforward. i'm transparent. i've released all my taxes. they know these attacks are false. they are not correct. and the people of iowa know that. and i trust the people of iowa. i have nothing to hide. i'm very proud. fact when we found out about confidentiality agreements, i signed an executive order to prevent them in the future. senator hatch and his friends in the senate killed that bill, which would have made it available to the public to know what's in those personnel records and why people have either been dismissed or not hired. i want honest, open, clean government. i'm committed and the house passed that by an overwhelming bipartisan margin. the senator and his friends killed it. >> 30 seconds, senator. >> sure. the fact is iowans don't know what's going on. and if you look at his ads that are attacking me, you would think that i'm the one that's

under investigation in the statehouse. but that's not the case. governor's ads are false. don't take my word for it. "des moines register" and their series of articles understood that i had done nothing wrong and they said that i followed the rules. and kcrg did a fact check and again, they said nothing was right in his advertisements. that his advertisements were all false. ladies and gentlemen, and governor, i would like to ask that you take the key from one of your political heroes. ronald reagan. and he said, and i keep it to you, you stop lying about me, and i'll stop telling the truth about you. [applause] >> an opportunity to also answer that if you choose. governor, social media question. twitter. why postpone deposition if charges are true?

why didn't you want that information out there? >> well, first of all, this lawsuit was filed about three years ago. it's been delayed by the plaintiffs on many times. we're in the midst of a campaign. i have a very busy schedule. and that's -- we have agreed upon the date for the deposition. like i said, we've got nothing to hide. first of all, i treat everybody with respect and dignity. i don't make these outlandish attacks. everything that's in our ad has been documented. it is true that he killed a bill that would have reduced the fees for the kind of tax credits and also true that he's made millions of dollars off of tax credits. he may complain about the tax credits that have created good jobs here in southeast iowa. but he has no complaints about that. nor will he release the tax returns to show the people of iowa how much money he made and what kind of tax breaks he got. >> senator hatch, let's talk about this because this is a lot

of information for the voters to go through. one side having one big issue and another bringing up other issues. let's talk about whether the politics in play regarding the -- some of the lawsuits against the governor right now and some of the accusations you face. >> sure. the fact is i'm only repeating -- not accusations, but lawsuits, investigations. even the state auditor said that the governor had mishandled the investigation of the secret settlements, that there were more secret settlements even after the governor and his staff said there weren't. if you're going to be a leader, you need to be a governor who's going to be open and transparent. and it's just unacceptable that the governor stands in front of us that he's open and transparent and has nothing to hide when that's all they've been doing. is hiding and not just an attack of a candidate. but the accusations come from

legitimate sources of the legislature. the state auditor's office. from the courts. and from individuals who have taken the time to sue him personally and his office. these are not the actions of a governor who can lead. >> governor, would you care for 30 seconds? >> this is iowa, not illinois. most of the former governors in illinois are in prison. i'm back in office because the people of iowa trust me. they know me. they know i'm honest. [applause] and i have been totally open and transparent. and i have a press conference every week. and i take the tough questions from the press. and anybody can file a lawsuit. but i can tell you we worked with the auditor. there was one agreement that was agreed upon before i signed the executive order and was signed later and when it was discovered that was the case, it was changed.

they eliminated the confidentiality clause in that. that has been enforced. i will continue to enforce it. but we want to extend it to local governments and to the legislature and the house passed it with an overwhelming bipartisan vote. and my opponent and his friends in the senate killed it. because they don't want the public to know the truth about what's in those confidential files on employee personnel. i think the people of iowa deserve to know that because it's their tax money that's paying it. >> and as i give you 30 seconds on this, because i think this is such an important issue, i will remind our audience, please, do not applaud until the end of our debate so we can continue moving forward. senator hatch. >> gary and the audience, it's really important for us to understand that these accusations could go back and forth. it's not something we've made up. the republican governors' association and the governor have spent millions of dollars attacking me on tv.

on accusations that are untrue. and he's expanding his search to find something more. i'm very proud of my company with my wife. we spent a lot of time being successful. and the fact is we did not kill a bill that would lower the amount that develop coerce receive and in actuality if you read "the des moines register" story, governor, you would see that what they said is that my developer fee was actually less than 10%. it was 9.2%. and that bill had no support with anybody else. and it wasn't dead. it wasn't taken up. this is the kind of leadership you would expect from a governor of illinois. not the governor of iowa. >> this is also a subject matter that can be intertwined with the following questions so let's move to property taxes now. for a question for governor bran stand from dale. >> sure. governor, last week, we published a story looking at property tax reform and how it

looks to be working against smaller low growth communities. in fact, in the story, the state was accused of institutionalizing devaluation. apartment complexes, for example, have been taxed at 100% of their value. they're on their way to being taxed like residential rates. retail and industrial properties are also headed lower. somebody must pay for the cost of government. if taxes are being lowered for the upper values, the burden must fall on someone. do you know how this is going to shake out? do you know how this will work out for slow growth communities like burlington which are kind of more the rule rather than the exception? and how can you assure ordinary iowans that they won't be asked to shoulder an even bigger burden? >> well, thank you for asking that question. because this has been a problem that has faced the state of iowa for 30 years.

multiple residential properties should have never been taxed as commercial. and that is being corrected. that was actually something that senate democrats wanted. i wanted to provide permanent tax relief for commercial industrial property. and the agreement we reached between the house and senate and the governor does all of that and by getting the state's financial house in order, putting together a five-year projected budget, and the state providing the money to replace the commercial-industrial property tax is going to provide tax relief to businesses, small and large, across the state of iowa in communities of all sizes. it will especially help slow growth communities and rural communities because the property tax credit is significant. it also benefits for economic development commercial development in our state as well. and the state is providing the money to replace the local property taxes.

and i insisted that we put that money in a standing appropriation so the legislature couldn't renege on that commitment. >> senator hatch, 45 seconds. >> the commercial-industrial property tax bill that was passed as the governor said with his insistence did nothing for residential property tax receivers. and his priority was to reduce corporate taxes, not residential. if it wasn't for the senate democrats who he is so openly criticized now, that provision of allowing commercial property tax for small businesses and property depressed areas would never have seen the light of day. and so we came to a conclusion. i think there's going to be issues in the future about how the state will be able to fund all of those property tax reliefs. but it didn't help the middle class. it did not help the residential property tax owners. and it certainly gave a boone to

the largest out of state corporate leaders that are taking more taxes away and out of this state. >> governor, would you care to respond? >> i would just point out that this was passed with bipartisan support in both houses of the iowa legislature. it was long overdue. our commercial property taxes were the third highest behind minnesota and illinois. we don't want to be there. this is going to make a difference. and it's going to be the most significant property tax cut in iowa history. and it's going to be phased in over a period of time. and we have the resources to do it. and i've protected it because we've cut the size and cost of government. so we can afford to fund the education, leadership bill that we passed for teacher leadership and property tax relief. >> senator hatch, you'll probably get a chance to respond to that if will you in this next question from danielle. regarding property taxes.

>> senator hatch, your campaign website says your proposed income tax cut for middle income families would cost the state about an estimated $300 million a year. over the next couple of years. at a time when you say we need to fund our schools and our infrastructure needs, vital and immediate investment, why would that be the best use of that money? >> the best use of that money for middle class iowans, you're right. it's the best use for that money. iowans who are in the middle class working every day, 40 hours, 50 hours a week, need a break. middle class iowans need that kind of help. we are the sixth highest state with dual income families. we are a low wage state. and we are a state that values children. so when our property tax relief, we identified families that have dual incomes. and we gave them a $1,000 tax credit.

because we value the productivity of the state. and we also valued the children. and i think governor bran stand and almost every politician will say they are our greatest resource that is need protection. so right now we give them a $40 tax credit. they're valued a lot more than that. under my proposal, we give them a $500 tax credit. when you put them together it provides us with a very strong middle class tax cut. that will help the people that need it the most. not these corporations. but people need that. to answer your question on the budget, it is a priority. the budget is a priority. someone once said you could tell me all you want about your values. but show me your budget. then i'll tell you what your values are. this would be a high priority of our administration. >> do you believe that the legislature would pass such a plan and why? >> well, i think the legislature

will engage in this discussion. i can't guarantee anything. but i know that the democratic caucus in the house and senate believe very proudly and very clearly that middle class has got to get a break. that middle class iowans can't be left out in the cold. they were under the governor's commercial property tax relief. that's the largest property tax relief in history. but it wasn't for the residential taxpayers, it was for the corporate taxpayers. i want to give residential middle america the everyday iowan the tax break they deserve. equal to the tax break he gave. to the corporations of this state. >> thank you, senator. governor, your response. >> well, first of all, eliminating federal deductibility will raise taxes for some low income people, too. because if your income varies from year to year, you won't be able to able to deduct your federal taxes.

the bill that we passed, the property tax relief, isn't just for corporations. it's to all commercial and industrial property including all the main street businesses in burlington and fort madison and all over the state of iowa. and people have gotten those tax bills and they can see there's real significant tax relief for individual iowans that own commercial property. i've heard from them. all over this state. and they're saying thank you. finally we got some real tax relief. and i'm proud that we did that. and that's going to continue next year. and we want it to continue in the future. if you instead going out and spend that money on another program, then we won't be able to do that. and the education money that's committed also for teacher leadership. >> 30 seconds, senator. >> being a governor means that you set priorities and that you lead. the governor just said he wanted to provide the commercial and industrial property tax relief

for commercial businesses in this state. i want to provide property tax relief and the middle class tax cut for the residents of this state. for the citizens of this state. for the everyday iowans of this state that need a tax cut. my priorities will always be with the middle class. corporations, which we are one, we're good at what we do. we'll figure out a way. and we'll be able to continue to provide the jobs that are necessary, but i want middle class iowa to get the support they need. >> with just under 10 minutes remaining in our debate let's try to squeeze another category in if we can. regarding gas tax, infrastructure, roads, bridges, the question is for the governor from dale. >> time's going by quickly. >> i like it when you're having fun. >> you're a pay as you go guy. but the state needs money, too, to improve its infrastructure. you're administrator of the

department of transportation says there's not enough money to maintain the network that we have. local coalitions have lobbied you for some time to widen u.s. 61. between burlington and muscatine county and that's more important with all the traffic coming from the fertilizer plant. lawmakers told in us january that there was support for an increase in the gas tax. if you would have indicated your support, but without such an indication, nobody was prepared to propose a tax that might get vetoed. during the state fair debate, you said you were working on a transportation funding plan. but we're not prepared to reveal it. why not? why the wait? >> paul trobini has put together a series of options and i've been discussing that with legislators for the last several months of how we can go to a hybrid system that would replace the gas tax partially with an excise tax on fuel.

like you have with the sales tax and also increased fees for heavier loads that go across the state of iowa. i would also compliment paul trobini when we had that flood in 2011 on the missouri river, he was able to put together a strategy to rebuild all of those roads even though we only had 60 days to do it. we rebuilt all those roads and got the federal funds reimbursement to pay for all of that. he also we've had the two biggest road building years in history. the last two years. because he's reduced administrative costs by $50 million. i'm continuing to work with him. i intend to work with a bipartisan group of legislators as we did the last time we addressed this issue back in 1988. and we got a majority of both house and senate republicans and democrats to agree to do this. and i will lead but i want to make sure that we have a majority of both parties, both caucuses, supporting it. >> senator, if you can, for time

constraints, 30 seconds, please. >> you can't lead with legislators unless you have a proposal. i've offered a proposal for over two years. 10 cent gas tax. two cents a year for the next five years. not only is highway 61 needing a four lanes, but highway 20 up in fort dodge to sioux city. there are areas there that need four lanes. plus the bridges in this state. we have the second worst state in bridge repair in the country. we cannot have a repair of our county roads and our state roads if we don't have revenue. jackson county said they are just now reducing the tonnage of 44 bridges in jackson county. from 10 tons to three. you can get a van with children on that three ton bridge. but you can't get emergency vehicles. you can't get ambulances. you can't get the fire trucks. you can't get the farm implements. the combines and the trucks that need to pass and to provide

commerce for power farmers. this is a crisis. and for the governor not to recognize it, to have a cash force that he doesn't liston and waiting for the special interests to say you can do it now is not the leadership we want. we need a leader to take the lead. >> it is time for us now to get to our closing statements. the order is determined by the coin flip. senator hatch, you are first. >> thank you. gary, i thank you very much. for kwqc to be a sponsor, the chamber of commerce and the hawkeye. i commend the two panelists and yourselves for providing this for this opportunity. and also i want to acknowledge my wife, sonya roberts, and my running mate, monica vernon, in the audience. and if i could give a quick shoutout to my daughter in anchorage, alaska, who's an nbc affiliate reporter and weekend anchor.

so for danielle, she's -- i'm as proud of her as i'm sure your parents are of you. but being governor means that we have to lead our state into a new area of economic explosion. i want to return iowa to the tom vilsack iowa where we focused not only on agriculture insurance but we diversified this economy to finance information technology and advanced manufacturing. in iowa where we are not picking winners and losers but create regional authorities we can rely on local leaders to match the priorities of our local and our county leaders. to do this, we need to reorganize an economic development effort into four regions. equal to the congressional districts. establish regional boards of directors. and provide leadership, locally. and i will announce and tonight

that my running mate, monica vernon, will take the lead being a city council person, she knows how to bring people together. she's done that. and she's a leader in the community. local business leaders know what they need. and we'll rely on their advice. we need a community of economic development proposal. not a top down. we need local people picking what they want to invest in, not winners and losers from a board in des moines. thank you very much. >> governor branstad. >> first of all, i want to thank the greater burlington partnership, kwqc, burlington hawkeye, and all of you in the audience for being here and for sponsoring this. and great to have this debate at the first territorial capital of iowa in burlington. i'm really proud to be here. my mother was born here. i'm proud to have my wife and a lot of members of my family, my stepmother here. and i also want to say i love this state. i grew up on a farm.

i learned to work hard at a very early age. and i worked every day, the lieutenant governor kim reynolds and i go all over this state. we go to every county every year. we work hard every day to bring more good jobs to iowa. to make iowa the best in the nation in terms of education, to reduce the tax and regulatory burden. we've reduced the size of government by over 1,400 and we're not done yet. we're focused on things like college affordability and reducing student debt. two years, no increase in resident state tuition. and we're going to do more. to reduce that and make college more affordable, we've proposed a center for human capital enrichment. and connect every acre so that we have high speed internet everywhere in iowa. i would appreciate having your vote of confidence, your support, and the opportunity to work hard for you for the next four years. i love iowa.

and i'm proud to have the opportunity to serve you. and i would appreciate your vote. thank you very much. >> gentlemen, thank you. [applause] the conversation continues at your next debate. but that is all the time we have for tonight. we would like to thatching our candidates, senator jack hatch and governor terry branstad. let's give them a round of applause. [applause] watch us at kwqc.com and on hawkeye.com. thank you for watching tonight. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> now here's a look at a couple of campaign ads from the governor's race in iowa. >> four years ago, 114,000

iowans were out of work. terry branstad came back. jobs.0 new governor branstad is just getting started. iowa is back. terry branstad is building i was future. >> he is honest, compassionate, a visionary. he is always looking forward. where can we go next? to do better, bring jobs to the economy. and we see that. the jobs today, young people moving back. more iowans are working today than at any other time in our state history. i am really optimistic about the future. he definitely has a passion for this state. >> after 20 years, iowans are tired of governor terry branstad.

the scandals, bad deals, and political favors. $110 million bad deal, taxpayer money given to an egyptian billionaire. isu economists call it the dumbest economic decision made in iowa. branstad even tried to abolish preschool funding. aren't you tired of terry? time for a fresh start. jack hatch for governor. >> there are two men running for iowa governor. terry branstad forces tax breaks for corporations, and jack hatch supports tax cuts for middle class families. while he gave away millions to a wealthy egyptian comedy, jack hatch was putting iowans to work. only one thing branstad and jack hatch have in common. for jack, that is one thing too many. >> i'm ready for a fresh start. >> here are just a few of the comments we have recently

received from our viewers. >> i want to say how much i enjoy c-span. to theorning i listened call-in shows. on the weekend, i love the book shows. i traveled white a bit in the summer. i take notes from your history programs. it has enhanced my travel. i see things and i look for people and places and objects i would not have looked for before seeing your program. you have made my life so much better and so much more interesting. take you so much. >> i have been very disappointed in c-span. i called a few times. to my mind, the other day, it looked like grandma and grandpa. realize, youo think that she's going to be fit for office?

this is a tough job, being president. she has got nothing. >> 24 hours a day, i hardly ever watch regular tv. i watch "washington journal every morning. weekends are fabulous with book tv and all the historical topics you cover. thank you so much for c-span. it is a big part of my life. >> to tell us about the programs you are watching, call us or e-mail us. you can send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook or follow us on twitter. next, in a white house ceremony, resident obama award the medal of honor to two vietnam

veterans. then ken burns talks about his documentary on the roosevelts. then a documentary about the challenges facing america's youth. on monday, resident obama awarded the medal of honor to benny atkins and army specialist donald. his medal for the actions as serving as an intelligence during the vietnam war. will accept the medal on his brother's behalf. this is 25 minutes. gentlemen, the

president of the united states. chief plays] ♪ sacrifice. how hero, the title, is a price paid by soldiers, like the two to be honored today. first remembered by persistence to defend his brothers, to never accept defeat, and to never quit. one who stays alive for his friends by selfishly and respectively giving up his own. these brave men, living and dead, consecrate our history and our faith, courage of our soldiers, significance of our -- sacredness of our values,

strength of our nation. today we weave their actions into the fabric of our history as the served in the jungles. we, who are the living, never forget what they did, the friends they lost, the -- -- may we take to heart the words spoken by a grieving president, it is for us, the living, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought have so nobly advanced, god of redemption and grace, we ask you to grant these in holy name, amen. >> amen. >> please be seated. good afternoon and welcome to the white house. more than four decades ago, in early 1970, an american squad in vietnam set out on patrol.

they marched down a trail, past a rice paddy. shots rang out and splintered the bamboo above their heads. the lead soldier tripped a wire. a booby trap. a grenade rolled toward the feet of a 20-year-old machine gunner. the pin was pulled. and that grenade would explode at any moment. a few years earlier on the other side of the country, deep in the jungle, a small group of americans were crouched on top of a small hill. and it was dark, and they were exhausted, and the enemy had been pursuing them for days, and now they were surrounded, and the enemy was closing in on all sides. two discreet moments, but today we honor two american soldiers for gallant triabove and beyond the call of duty at each of

those moments. specialist donald sloat, who stood above that grenade. and command sergeant major bennie adkins, who fought through a ferocious battle and found himself on that jungle hill. nearly half a century after their acts of valor, a grateful nation bestows upon these men the highest military decoration, the medal of honor. normally this medal must be awarded within a few years of the action, but sometimes even the most extraordinary stories can get lost in fog of war or the passage of time. when new evidence comes to light, certain actions can be reconsidered for this honor and it is entirely right and proper that we have done so and that is why we are here today...

then he decided to join the army but when he went to enlist he

didn't pass his physical because of high blood pressure said he tried again and again, and again. in all it took a physical maybe seven times until he passed. because don sub i was determined to serve his country. in vietnam became known as one of they liked and most are siebel -- likeable guys in this company. his patrol was ambushed both times. don responded with punishing fire from his machine gun leaving himself completely vulnerable to the enemy. both times he was recognized for his bravery or as don put it in a letter home, i guess they think i'm really gung ho or something. and then one morning don and his squad set out on patrol pass that rice patty down that trail where the shots rang out.

when the lead soldiers foot trip that wire and set off the booby-trap, the grenade rolled right to don's feet and in that moment he could have run. at that moment he could have ducked for cover but don did something truly extraordinary. he reached down and he picked that grenade up and he turned to throw it but there were americans in front of him and behind him inside the kill zone. don held onto that grenade and pulled her close to his body and bent over it and then as one of the men said, all of a sudden there was a boom. the blast through the lead soldier up against a boulder. men were riddled with shrapnel. four were medevaced out, but everyone else survived.

don had absorbed the brunt of the explosion with his body. he saved the lives of those next to him and today we are joined by two men who were with him on that patrol, sergeant william hacker and specialist michael multi-in. for decades, don's family only knew that he was killed in action. they had heard he had stepped on a landline. all those years as gold star family honor the memory of their son and brother whose name is etched forever on that granite wall not far from here. late in her life dawn's mother evelyn finally learned the full story of her son's sacrifice. and she made it her mission to have dawn's actions properly recognize. sadly nearly three years ago evelyn passed away but she always believed, she knew that this day would come. she even bought a special dress

to wear to the assembly. we are honored that don and his mom are represented here today by don's brother, sisters and their families on behalf of this american family i would ask don's brother dr. bill sloat to come forward with a rating of a citation and accept the gratitude of our nation. >> the president of the united states of america authorized by act of congress march 3, 1863 has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to special sworn donald p. sloat united states army. specialist donald sloat distinguished himself with acts of gallantry and intrepidity at

the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty serving as a machine gunner with company t second battalion, 1st infantry regiment 196 lightning pair trooper. during combat operations in the republic of vietnam on january 17, 1970. on that morning specialist sloat's squad was performing a patrol and armored personnel carriers in the area. as the squad moved up a small hill information to lead soldier tripped a wire attached to a hand grenade booby-trap set up by enemy forces. as the grenade grenade rolled downhill specialist for sloat nelson picked up the grenade. after initially attempting to throw the grenade specialist for sloat realized that nation was imminent. pete drew the grenade to his body and show with his squad members from the blasts saving their lives. specialist sloat's actions to

find the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of his comrades. donald p. sloat's selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflects great credit upon himself, company t second battalion. 1st infantry regiment 196 light infantry brigade america division in the united states army. [applause] [applause]

[applause] [applause] [applause] >> at this point i would like to ask bennie adkins to come join me on stage. now, let me just say the first thing you need to know is when

bennie and i met in the oval office i asked him if he could sign back up. [laughter] his lovely wife was not amused. [laughter] most days you can find bennie at home down at opelika alabama. tending his garden or his pontoon boat out on the lake. he has been married to mary for 58 years. he is the proud father of five, grandfather of six and at 80 still going strong trade a couple of years ago he came here to the white house with his fellow veterans for breakfast we had on veterans day.

he told folks he was the only person he knows who spilled his dessert in the white house. [laughter] and i just had to correct him. that makes two of us. [laughter] i have messed up my tie. i had messed up my pants. but in the spring of 1966, bennie was just 32 years old on his second tour in vietnam. he and his fellow greene berets were an isolated camp along the ho chi minh trail. a huge north vietnamese force attacked bombarding bennie and is comrades with mortars and white phosphorus. at a time it was nearly impossible to move without being wounded or killed. but bennie ran into enemy fire again and again, to retrieve supplies and ammo, to carry the wounded to safety, demand a mortar pit, holding off wave

after wave of enemy assaults. three times, explosions blasted him out of that mortar pit and three times he returned. i have to be honest, in a battle and daring escape that lasted for four days, bennie performs so many acts of bravery we actually don't have time to talk about all of them. let me just mention three. on the first day, bennie was helping load a wounded american in to a helicopter. vietnamese soldier jumped into the hilo trying to escape the battle and aimed his weapon directly the wounded soldier ready to shoot. bennie shielded his comrade placing himself directly in line of fire helping to save his wounded comrade. at another point in the battle for bennie and a few other soldiers were trapped in a mortar pit, covered in shrapnel and smoking debris. they're only exit was blocked by

enemy machine gun fire. so bennie.fast. he dug a hole out of the pit and snuck out the other side. as another american escape through that hole he was shot in the leg. an enemy soldier charged in hoping to capture a live p.o.w. and bennie fired taking out the enemy and pulling his fellow american safety. by the third day of battle, bennie and a few others had managed to escape into the jungle. he had cuts and wounds all over his body but he refused to be evacuated. when a rescue helicopter arrived bennie insisted that others go instead. so on the third night's bennie wounded and bleeding found himself with his men up on that jungle hill exhausted and surrounded with the enemy closing in. and after all they had been through as if that weren't enough, there was something mo more, you can't make this up, they're in the jungle they heard the growls of a tiger. it turns out that tiger might've been the best thing that happened to bennie during those

days because he said the north vietnamese were more scared of that tiger than they were a plus. [laughter] said the enemy fled. bennie and his squad made their escape and they were rescued finally the next morning. and danny's life, we see the enduring service of our men and women in uniform. he went on to serve a third tour in vietnam, total of more than two decades in uniform. after he retired he earned his master's degree, actually not one but two, opened up an accounting firm, taught adult education classes, became national commander of the legion of valor veterans organization. so he has earned his retirement, despite what he says. he is living outside auburn and yes he is a fan of the auburn tigers although i did a poll of the family and there are some crimson tide fans here. [laughter] so there's obviously some divisions.

but bennie will tell you that he has everything to the men he served with in vietnam, especially the five who gave their lives in that battle. every member of his unit was killed or wounded. every single one was recognized for their service. today we are joined by some of the men who served with bennie including major john bradford the soldier that bennie shielded in that helicopter and major wayne murray, the soldiers, the soldiers thought they deserved -- saved from being captured. and i would ask them in all of our vietnam veterans who are here today to please stand or raise your hand to be recognized. [applause] [applause]

[applause] and now i would ask that the citation be read. >> the president of the united states of america authorized by act of congress march 3, 1863 has awarded in the name of congress the medal of honor to sergeant first class danny g. atkins united states army. sergeant first class danny t. adkins dissing bush himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an intelligence sergeant attachment a 125th special forces group were special forces during combat operations against an armed enemy at camp eshoo republic of vietnam from march the ninth to 12th 1966.

when the camp was attacked by a large vietnamese and viacom force in the early morning hours sergeant first class atkins rush through intense enemy fire and manned an order position continually adjusting fire for the camp despite recurring wounds as a mortar pit received hits from enemy mortars. upon learning that several soldiers were wounded near the center of camp be temporarily turned the mortar over to another soldier ran through exploding mortar rounds and drag several comrades to safety. as hostile fire subsided sergeant first class atkins exposed himself to sporadic fire while carrying his wounded comrades to the camp dispensary. but sergeant first class atkins in this group of defenders came under heavy small-arms fire by members of the civilian irregular defense group they have defected to fight with the north vietnamese he maneuvered outside the camp to evacuate a seriously wounded american and draw fire all the while successfully covering the rescue. when a resupply air-drop landed

outside of the camp perimeter sergeant first class atkins again moved outside of the camp walls to retrieve the much-needed supplies. during the early morning hours of march 10, 1966 enemy forces launched their main attack and within two hours sergeant first class atkins was the only man firing a mortar weapon. when all mortar rounds were expanded sergeant first class atkins began placing effective require a list of rifle fire upon enemy positions. despite receiving additional ones from enemy rounds exploding on his position sergeant first class atkins bought up intense waves of attacking vietcong. sergeant first class atkins eliminated numerous insurgents with small-arms fire after withdrawing to communications bunker several soldiers. running extremely low on ammunition he returned to the mortar pit gathered vital ammunition and ran through intense fire out of the bunker. after being ordered to evacuate the camp sergeant first class atkins and the small group of

soldiers destroyed all signal equipment and classified documents, dug their way out of the rear of the bunker and talk their way out of the camp. while carrying a wounded soldier to the extraction point he learned that the last helicopter had already departed. sergeant first class atkins led the group a with aiding the enemy until they were rescued by helicopter on march 12, 1966. during the 38 hour battle in 48 hours of escape and invasion fighting with mortars and machine guns require less rifle small-arms and hand grenades, it was estimated to sergeant first class atkins had killed between 135 and 175 of the enemy while sustaining 18 different ones to his body. sergeant first class atkins extraordinary heroism and selflessness above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, detachment and a 125th special forces group for special forces in the united states army.

[applause] [applause] [applause]

[applause] >> over the decades, our vietnam veterans didn't always receive the thanks and respect they deserved. that's a fact. but as we have been reminded again today, our vietnam vets were patriots and are patriots. you served with valor. you made us proud. and your service is with us for eternity. so no matter how long it takes, no matter how many years go by, we will continue to express our gratitude for your extraordinary service. may god watch over don sloat and all those who have sacrificed for our country. may god keep safe those who wear

our country's uniform and veterans like bennie adkins and may god continue to bless the united states of america. at this point i'd ask our chaplain to return to the stage iv the benediction. >> let us continue to pray. as we go forth be not afraid. have peace and courage and honor what is good. return no evil for evil to strengthen the fainthearted support the weak and helpless suffering. we honor all people. let us love and serve and may god's blessing be upon us and remain with us always, amen. >> and at this point, i would welcome everybody to join the sloat family and the atkins family for a reception. i hear the food is pretty good.

and once again, to all of you who serve and your families who serve along with them, the nation is grateful. and your commander in chief could not be prouder. thank you very much everybody. [applause] >> tomorrow at noon eastern our campaign 2014 coverage continues with a debate between texas governor candidates. this is the first time in 14 years that texas will elect a

new governor. that's at noon eastern. we'll follow that at 1:00 p.m. with the arkansas governor's ebate. >> monday night on the communicators, wade baker on the recent data breaches at home depot, target and j.p. morgan chase. >> it's all of the above. we have worked with law enforcement agencies who have busted down doors and dragged people out of their basement literally. we have also participated in

fairly large scale arrests of multiple individuals that are very highly connected together. they have individual specialties and roles. someone writes malicious software. the others know how to wash the money. just like organized crime. then there are others that definitely are working on plaff of a government. they have an office. there is pictures of it and recon photos going in and out of work and they go to that building. that's their job is to hack into companies and steal information on behalf of a government. i've seen photos of eastern yirne towns for instance that were just an insane number of people drive lamb boar ginnnies and things like this and a lot of that is spam, fake pharmaceuticals, the financial fraud and just tax fraud and

medicare fraud. it's staggering amounts of money that are at some point along that chain traced back to data that was stolen stored at a corporation or government. >> monday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. >> award winning film maker ken burns talks about his documentary the roosevelts on monday. it covers the lives of thee door, franklin and eleanor this. is about an hour. e than 30 drama and flair. his topics have ranged from the baseball,ridge to from mark twain to jazz, from prohibition to the national parks. remarkably, his works never become outdated. we commemorate the 150th

anniversary of the civil war, on that waries remains as relevant today as it 1950.en it debuted in burns captures the historic moments of american life, with archival materials like personal and newspapers. his use of still photographs been revolutionary. he has called photographs the he has donething and his evocative scans have aansformed his subjects into cinematic experience. the slow-moving, the slow motion scanning technique is now even the ken burns' effect. his new seven-part pbs series, premiered last night. and i have reliable information that the ratings were extremely and that they are soaring. the series will be broadcast every night this week. film, he focuses on the

figures,but flawed who, before they were history, were family. news reele to draw on footage, radio broadcasts and personal documents, notably a trove of newly discovered letters between fdr and his daisy and well as an enormous volume of photographs. nearly 2,400 stils series.d in this burns has always rejected using the voice of god approach to narration, relying instead on contemporary voices to bring his words to life. in the roosevelts, you will hear some of america's greatest herman asward franklin and marilyn street as elmore. ken burns, like his films, he never becomes outdated. me in join