iowa's 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. >> 114,000 iowans were out of work. unemployment was the highest in 25 years. the state budget was $900 million in debt. then terry branstad came back, and so did iowa. a budget surplus, 140,000 new jobs. unemployment reduced nearly 30%, and 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. >> debate coverage continues tonight at 6:30 p.m. tonight with the pennsylvania governors race. -- secondebate congressional district debate.

2014, more than 100 debates for the control of congress. ebola outbreak, i wish you would have some guests on to talk about the history of africa in general. their resources depleted, the people used by crooked leaders, corrupt leaders. corporations are only too glad to do business with. the most beautiful confident --

continent, where life began really. it has been abused. hearing, thank you for that. that the realn reason we are still having these workngs is because of the the was done to cover up including susan rice. the cover-up is what the problem really is. if we had not covered up, we would not be having this hearing. segment on c-span,

torture.g government i find the man without any credibility. the nazis were really big on government torture programs. >> continue to let us know what you think about the programs you're watching. us,is, e-mail us, -- call e-mail us, or send us a tweet. like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. q&a with jenny beth

martin of the tea party patriots. she talks about the idea behind the founding of the organization, its impact, the issues the party stands for and its challenges today. she also discusses her personal life including having to file for bankruptcy right before founding the tea party. >> jenny beth martin, when did you first get involved in the tea party? and why? >> right after the stimulus bill passed in 2009, rick santelli

had a rant on the floor of the chicago stock exchange. he said our founding fathers would be turning over in their graves and we needed to have a tea party like they did. we were talking about his rant and we decided to have a conference call after his rant, which was on february 20 of 2009 for about 23 people. the following friday, we had 48 tea parties around the country with artie 5000 people in attendance. >> where were you living? >> i was living in atlanta. there were two other people from atlanta on that conference call. we knew there would be at least one tea party in atlanta. >> what was your status? >> one of the things that rick santelli said, he asked the people who were standing behind him, if they wanted to pay for a home that their neighbors could

no longer afford. that really is what motivated me to be involved. that part. my husband and i had just moved into a rental home in february of 2009. we had come out of personal bankruptcy and lost everything. we decided after the bankruptcy, we were offered fannie or freddie money, i don't remember which it was, to bring us current in our mortgage. we realized we had a house that we could no longer afford and it wasn't right for our neighbors to be paying for a house that we couldn't afford with their tax dollars. we wound up losing our house as well as everything else, moved into a rental home and were starting over. >> how did you go bankrupt? >> it was related to issues with personal guarantees. >> what was the business? >> temporary staffing.