when we send ground into the middle east, they are usually bogged down. i went to walter reed hospital and saw the first casualty i could remember from the iraq war, from the national guard of ohio. he was well trained and ended up being the visit -- victim of a roadside bombing. if a crude military like that can stop a military power like the united states, we have to think twice. if we will go to the middle east, we will use the iraqi army, 900,000 strong, train them and support them with air, logistics, and intelligence. but the iraqis are willing to fight for iraq. americans, 300,000

with areas injuries, $1 trillion to the national debt, and the country was still in chaos. it has to be driven by forces in the middle east. the president's coalition, including major arab muslim countries, is the right move. we should not be sending america's brave men and women in their two die without their commitment. >> contrary to what he said, didn't our president say iraq was no longer in chaos, that things were accomplished, and that is why we could pull out the troops a year or two ago? >> the president said at some point iraq has to accept responsibility. when we tried to keep some forces on the ground the iraqi government under maliki would not agree. iraqian't be tried in

they were not agree. it was president george w. bush that negotiated the end date in iraq. think about that. left american soldiers on the ground subject country ifn the they executed military duties. most americans thought that was a bad idea, except my opponent. >> it was a bad idea to withdraw all troops. i believe we could have negotiated an agreement that could have been acceptable, that would not necessarily a letter to be -- allow troops to be subject to iraqi courts. >> how many troops should we have left, and for how long? >> as a guess, 10,000 would be reasonable.

5000 to 10,000 would have been making a commitment. i don't know how long. we have had troops in germany, in south korea that have become. major staging point for our troops. i don't want to leave troops there, unless it provides a military advantage. >> two questions. durbin, about rob the voyage -- rod blagojevich's quick, you enabled a election. you said that no appointment by the governor could produce a replacement. today would you just as eagerly advocate elections to fill vacancies? >> i believed at the time and still do that there was such a blow to the body politic by the

arrest of the sitting governor, led from his home in handcuffs, that you have a credible replacement the people needed to speak. call shortly thereafter. they talked to me about possibilities. he said, i you talking about being appointed by governor mccoy that? he said, that might help. i said, don't do that. you don't want to be associated with him at this point. it was such a dangerous time in terms of the credibility, the involvement of the public, that i felt the election would be the right way to let the people speak about a successor. now i think the law is in douby. -- doubt. as i understand it, there's a

statutory measure for filling a vacancy until the next election, but the courts, at least one ruled that doesn't stand. so the current situation -- >> election or not? >> a special election was warranted. special election is the right way to do it. >> i had not thought seriously about the issue. my first reaction is a special election would make sense, but i would like to understand arguments on both sides before i commit. >> that's fine. senator durbin, a recurring theme, the effort to amend the bill of rights provision on free speech, your efforts to build an enemies list. the ir commissioner examinings

one conservative advocacy group. then you said it's unacceptable to single out a political group and target themnn., you speak openly about the danger of money in politics, yet your campaign committee is outspending republicans by $30 million. is the problem money, or money in the hands of people who disagree with you? >> that analysis is not even close. right now, the koch brothers, in the last election they spent $250 million. the democratic national united threwtizens the door open wide. a businessman in chicago who i never met personally spent $75,000 in negative advertising

against me. under the old rules he could not, but under citizens united and the supreme court, they threw the doors open, treating corporations like they are human beings. i believe that is the first time -- what we see with the citizens united decision, we have taken away from ordinary americans the role they traditionally played. look at the governor's race here. i don't know the ultimate amount, but it will probably break all records in spending. in the range of $40 million now, and talking about millions more. i don't think it's healthy, and i think it will discourage mere mortals from going into politics when they see they are up against big money. let's talk about that. it amazes me that the open vote chicago tribune editorial board believes in secrecy when it comes to government. what is alec?

they are a group that comes up with model legislation they propose to legislators. whose sponsors alec? no disclosure, it's secret. they tripped up once and left a list of 300 corporations that support them. what measures are they pushing for? ldand your ground, why wou corporations be interested in standard ground laws? turns out alec was pushing them. they're interested in voter suppression. photo id's, shortening the time people can vote. when did that become a corporate strategy? is, looked at what this what do you think of stand your ground? one corporation said they supported, the other said they oppose. let's look into this organization, find out who is

behind this organization that has a profound impact on american politics, right or left. my opponent happens to think the biggest single issue in this campaign is defending karl rove. i don't think it is. said, ied a letter that think the way you are interpreting the law in terms of the secrecy of campaign contributions is flat out wrong. i say, look at karl rove -- in crossroads. why did i name him? they were the biggest and most active. i said, look at all the group, right and left. the ruling gave secrecy to campaign contributions at a time when most of us support disclosure. >> could you explain how the alec situation is different from organized labor? >> you really don't know who organized labor is? >> you don't have to disclose your members.

do you not think any democrat -- >> they are now. it ought to stop on both sides. if i asked the corporate supporters of alec to give us the names of all their stockholders, ridiculous. i think it' whatponsible to say, corporation is supporting the organization lobbying for the passage of standard ground laws in florida? why is there such an outlandish request? >> senator durbin has gone through so many things, it's hard to go back and catch up. but george soros has spent large sums of money on the other side of the coin. this is a clear case of intimidation. in the case of alec, they don't generally support stand your ground -- i'm sure people who

supported you found out they voted for -- you voted for something they don't support as well. the issue is, an organization is attempting to provide model legislation different states can look at. i tihnk -- think that's a worthy goal. to pick one particular issue and try to make political points with that against the organization that is generally conservative-leaning is totally unfair, and to subtly connect those corporations with stand your ground and say, send us your response and we will make the letters public, that's a perfect case of intimidation. totainly the use of the irs intimidate political opponents was wrong when richard nixon thought of it, and it is wrong when you do it, senator durbin. if i go to the wash -- washington i will do everything to find out what was going on and stop this from continuing.

>> i say, full disclosure of those who contribute to political candidates and campaigns. do you? >> of people who contribute to candidates? of course, and it is required by law. >> with citizens united and the case we went to the irs, they were able to collect the money in secret and get a tax exempt status. that is unacceptable. full disclosure is the only voters know who is paying for the ads on television. >> talking about -- what you're doing is equating a federal agency for collecting money with money going to candidates. a you wesee it as candidate-oriented organization. >> of course.

buying are notre in favor of the body politic. they are in favor of a political party, a political candidate, and that's what it's about. the daughter of an ill-fated election that would reduce the time of election campaign, take public the contributions in the campaigns, and individuals who are not rich consider getting in public life. that is healthy for america. the current situation with citizens united is out of control. right and left, massive amounts of money coming in. i don't think it's a good thing. i am for full disclosure. >> you say citizens should be able to fully expose opinions on different issues, and my understanding is that a majority of the funds may be -- must be used for issues as opposed to individual candidates. the problem is when you have career politicians like senator

durbin, in washington for 32 years, i have just been in the illinois senate for two years. what a phenomenal advantage i have. i get credit for what my staff does. my staff solves problems for people -- guess who gets credit? it should be the staff, but i get credit. in the news because i'm invited to events that happen in my district, same thing happens in the senate and congress. incumbents have an incredible advantage. 94% of incumbents who run for reelection get reelected, and it is not always because they did a great job. it's because people recognize the name. if you stop the free will, the ability for people to support candidates they believe in, who wins? incumbents. naturally, incumbents, career politicians of 32 years, will support that. explain why you

oppose universal background check for gun sales? are the new restrictions on gun sales or arms shipments you would favor at all? >> let me say, first of all i was one of the sponsors of the bill that passed in spring field for concealed carry. anytime you get the city of chicago to agree with the nra on legislation, we need to take a careful look. i think that was a great tribute to the people who worked on that, for the people who got that agreement. i believe illinois has some of the most restrictive gun laws. illinois has some of the most restrictive gun laws, and yet we also have some of the highest crime rates using guns. i believe the universal background check would clearly reduce -- if i believe the universal back rent check would clearly reduce crime, i would take a look very carefully. but the avent -- evidence is it

has not made different. a lot of people are afraid if we have universal background check, it creates a database for the federal government. we are seeing concerns about that in other areas. cell phone messages, cell phone locations, and so on. people don't believe the government should have access to do much information. that is an area that has concerns. but if i was convinced it would reduce crime, i would look at it. >> it has been shown, data has indiana doesecause not have a strict background check policy, the guns are flowing here. how can you sit in the midwest, right where this is happening, look at all the illegal gun-toters in chicago, and not support a very moderate background check and closing the gun show loophole bill in the senate? believe we- if you

had a universal back rent check, that would stop people from buying guns illegally? >> we do. >> i'm not convinced of that, and if i were i would look at it differently. >> in the city of chicago last year, the crime guns confiscated compared to new york and los angeles, we have six times the numbers per capita as the city of new york, and twice as many as the city of los angeles. we are awash in guns. several things need to be done. we need to close the gun loophole. third or fourth in supplying crime guns to illinois? mississippi. why? because you put a drivers unter inon the co mississippi and they will sell you as many guns as you can put in the trunk of your car. i believe we need good laws and universal background check. >> how would background check -- >> i tell you how it changes it.

most responsible gun owners and sportsmen are not opposed to keeping guns out of the hands of convicted felons and mentally unstable people. they understand these are lethal weapons that can kill innocent people. secondly, we have to make sure, whether it is riverdale or some shop in indiana, the notion the girlfriend buys the gun for the boyfriend to kill somebody tonight. also gun tracing. our own effort, encouraging police departments across illinois to trace guns. what difference does it make? you trace a crime gun in chicago to a murder in east st. louis. i went to their office. they're connecting crimes by going after the guns. that scares some people on the far right who think, the government is looking at our

guns closely, but the legitimate, honest, responsible owners of weapons except -- accept this. ent is a minority of a percent of americans who -- 8% of americans who say we should not do more. >> does that in any way make you rethink your position? >> i met with the parents of some of the people involved. it's a tragic situation, but i want to understand what will more what isn't just oinne attempt. perhaps strengthening penalties were -- for straw man purchases would make sense. i don't know. but everything the senator talked about, and neither will universal background check stop

straw man purchases, which is clearly a problem. >> where is your primary residence? >> it is now sugar grove. it was aurora. i have been in the same home 37 years. >> you and your wife have different primary residences? >> we do. >> explain how that works. >> we bought a condominium in florida four years ago. she made that her primary residence and spends six months a year there. >> how much time do you spend there? >> i was planning on spending time there, but having been elected to the illinois senate i spent only a few weeks. >> do you think voters can trust you will actually represent illinois when your wife is living more than six months a year in florida, that's where she votes? >> i have five children, four of

whom live in illinois. i have two stepchildren in chicago. i have 19 grandkids. 14 of them live in illinois. i have been in the aurora area of illinois my entire life, in the same home for 37 years. my businesses, the business i started, are in illinois. the dairy is in illinois. i'm about as tied to illinois as anyone can be. >> senator, having a dual residence in washington, you find that to make sense? >> let me clarify -- i never moved to washington. i have been commuting. 40 round-trips a year to springfield and chicago. this new responsibility, we bought a condo. our primary residence is springfield, illinois. it was when i entered public

service. iut is to this day. my opponent will be almost half the story. declared hise permanent residency was kane county in sugar grove. in 2010, his wife declared her primary residence inflorida. he was interviewed by another newspaper in november. he said, it's about tax advantages in florida. we know they don't have a state income tax. residencefe to claim in florida, he can't claim permanent residence in another state. he gave up his tax residence in kane county so he was you -- viewed as a resident in

florida. this might be the first time in history you had a state senator who declared his home in kane county to run for office but declared his tax home in f lorida. he may not be paying illinois eight income tax. i challenged him. this is osomething -- >> should i let him keep going? >> he's totally wrong. >> these are my income tax returns. i make them public every year. state and federal, plus schedules. i did it every year. he refuses to disclose his illinois state income tax returns. the question is, are you paying illinois state income tax on your income? >> the senator has attempted to mislead people again, as he did several instances.

what he said is clearly not the case. 3 buckingham drive is and has been further -- for 37 years my residence. under the law, if my wife claims a resident in florida i cannot claim a residence in florida. -- illinois. the florida exemption is larger. i don't get any exemption, meaning i pay more illinois income taxes. nonsense he iste talking about. never did i ever say to anyone that i am not an illinois resident. you get your chance to ask one question later on. i will be willing to take the question at that point. >> i will ask that question. will you disclose your tax returns? >> i already disclose my federal tax return.

if it is important, i will provide you the state. >> you have income in illinois. do you pay illinois state income tax, as an individual? >> absolutely. of course i do. i pay more than i ever paid before. i'm a great customer of the state of illinois, and they don't respect that. >> i was asking both senators, the deficit is going down. u.s. government debt is projected to reach 110% of gdp. i'd like to know to what extent that keeps you up at night? >> go ahead. >> that's one of the main reasons i'm running to a u.s. senate seat. spending has been out of control.

since senator durbin went to washington, our debt now approaches $18 trillion. it will take time, but we need to get started. my background is in financial services. i realize what really affect our economy are the unexpected things. if we know what is happening, you get expectations. but what can happen, all of a sudden something causes complete concern for the markets. the u.s. government cannot sell new debt to pay off the old debt at favorable interest rate. suddenly, interest rates, which are incredibly low right now, 2.5% for 10-your debt, is 6%, 8%, and the government has difficulty refinancing. as interest rates go up, that puts even more pressure on our federal budget, and we get into a downward spiral from an

economic standpoint. i believe we need to change directions, simple by the tax code. not just one more special lobbyist break. the senator has received more than $9 million from lobbyists and special interest groups. if you add the senator's campaign account to his network, it exceeds my campaign. he talks about spending on political campaigns. here's a man who has $9 million in a campaign account. i think we need to begin to look at every program, bring some spending under control, and gnstead of keeping on addin new programs -- >> what is the biggest opportunity to reduce spending, including entitlements?

>> entitlements, obviously. >> which target? >> medicare, excuse me, obamacare is hugely a -- clearly a huge new cost. we need to pass legislation on a bipartisan basis. we need to have both sides working. >> what would you do? >> i would repeal it and replace it with a health care plan available to more people. >> how much savings do you think you would get in federal costs from the change in obamacare? >> i believe there would be $50 billion to $100 billion in potential savings. i would have to look at proposals, but this would clearly increase, get worse as time goes on. >> medicare and social security, how would you change those? >> one way to do it, for medicare, would be to coordinate

retirement age for medicare with social security, which for all practical purposes is now 67. that would be a significant savings. we need to understand what the be, of these programs will and bring them in line with revenues. >> are you willing to do a mean staff -- means test for medicare going forward? >> that should be considered. i will go to washington and try to work together with both sides to agree on something. >> let me make sure i have it correct. you favor raising the eligibility age for medicare to 67? >> i don't think that's the only answer, but that should be considered. >> lots of questions here. where do you want to start? entitlements? you tell me. >> let's do that. we added trillions of new debt.

we applaud you for your efforts have we reached the point where we cheer when the annual deficit falls under? >> let's take a snapshot of the year 2000, the end of bill clinton's eight years in office he left having had four straight years of surpluses. had not happened in 40 years. new jobs created. he said to george w. bush, here is next year's budget with $120 billion surplus. the national debt accumulated was $5 trillion. eight years later, george w. bush is turning over to barack obama. the economy and the budget. what was the situation? at that point in time, we projected the deficit for the next year, the deficit, to be

$1.2 trillion. perere losing 800,000 jobs month. mr. oberweis' mutual funds had taken a beating in the year 2008. value.st 60% of their the national debt was no longer $5 trillion. it was $12 trillion. how did we get into this mess? we had wars we did not pay for and we had a president who said the answer to every problem is to cut taxes. my opponent supported that. he was for tax cuts for wealthy people. approach upside down that drove us into debt. the president inherits a recession, the second-worst in modern memory. he puts together a stimulus package, which includes some tax cuts, safety nets, and infrastructure. where are we today? the deficit he inherited was cut by two/three -- 2/3. of gdp took office, 14%

was revenue and 24% was -- 18% in revenueto and 21.6% in -- >> let's move forward. can we ask the senator specifically about, give us a prescription to deal with this and what are the prospects? >> what is the number one problem with the deficit in america? health care cost. 60% is driven by health care costs. -- a fortable air will care act is to extend the reach. is to affordable care act extend the reach without being a burden on everyone else with health insurance. what we have seen for five straight years is a decline in the rise in health care cost. two things are happening.

more people are being covered. the providers are thinking of a way to do this. week, the week before, the new administrator of stroger hospital came to talk to toni preckwinkle. he said there was a time when she took every person in the region and did not bill anybody. it was a financial disaster. now they are billing people in regular hospital mode and they have to do speak -- compete. are expecting better service. he said people are on their toes. it is competition. let me get to specifics. untouched, unchanged, social security payment for 20 years, it falls off the table. what can we do today, small likes, that play out interest rates play out, that will give us more solvency in

social security? >> [inaudible] >> i will tell you. i will give you an example. we ought to expand the reach of fica taxes beyond current limitations. we should send 90% of earned income subject to the fica tax so more is coming into social security eerie at my opponent and i have to qualify for social security. we paid into it all our lives. i don't think we should be receiving the same as the same -- as the person struggling to get by. reduce it for higher income individuals. they receive reduced benefits. privatizing social security is disastrous. it does not work out. >> you would [inaudible] >> that is what i am talking about. we should have means testing.

>> senator? >> are you asking about me? what is the question? could beomething considered. i have not really thought about that a whole lot. i have thought of other alternatives to that. >> are you for or against it? >> his comments about means might make sense, but it is not going to solve a lot of the problems. >> raising the medicare eligibility will -- ella bill g 70.--eligibility age to the idea of adding two more years of vulnerability -- >> they can't get care under the affordable care act? >> some can, but some people can't afford medicare.

he wants to leave two more years of vulnerability. >> are they not eligible for medicaid? quick they could be. -- >> they could be. >> if they cannot afford it, they should be eligible for medicaid. >> i have been on the southside of chicago listening to the problems. they have tell me -- they have told me they never see you. you are not in the community. >> [inaudible] now, the president -- my question to you, senator durbin, is there something you

should do and [inaudible] >> there is a transfer facility in broadview. a look onto take friday mornings. there are a couple of nuns that get up there every morning and stand around the council. i go inside. i went inside with the director of the homeland security. some of them should be deported. they committed crimes. they should be gone. others have been swept up. we are breaking up families that have been here a long time. the people remaining are heartbroken and don't know where they are going to turn next. let's fix the immigration system overall. until it is fixed, let's be thoughtful in deportations. let's not break up families when they have been here for long periods of time. let's make sure we apply the law

in a sensible way to keep america safe but not destroy family spirit >> that does not answer my question. what do you think the president should do? >> that is what i said. i encourage the president to make sure we don't deport all those swept up in the dragon at, but only those who are truly a danger to us. not.of these folks are they are technically in violation of immigration law but have never done anything wrong. i honestly believe they should be brought into the system. pay taxes. be part of our economy. until then, i think the deportation standard should be changed. >> [inaudible] >> ia was the first to direct the president for that. 600,000 across the nation -- illinois is third or fourth in the nation of applicants. i have met them.

these are great young people. they only know this country. a realn make contribution to this country. deporting them would be a tragedy. halfwish i did not [inaudible] >> he maybe forced to. -- may be forced to. >> politically smart to hold off? he could have and did move earlier. i understand the political circumstance. it was a calculation. vote of the republican-controlled u.s. house of representatives was to call for the deportation of 2 million eligible people. gave themselves a standing ovation. they were so proud of themselves. that is how poisoned the well is.

hateful and divisive things had been said about this. the president measured that and said, i will wait until after the election. action in executives something so important like this would be totally wrong for a country. that is part of the problem with obamacare. it was done without a single republican vote. toill have an opportunity try to bring people on the left and the right together to finally solve this problem. the senator has been in washington for 32 years and has not fix the problem yet. to think that if we send him back, he will magically do it the next time around, what is the definition of insanity? there are reasonable compromises that can be made. i believe blanket amnesty for people who have broken our laws is wrong because it will in core edge -- encourage more people to break the laws. >> [inaudible] >> can i finish --

>> [inaudible] >> i believe that people ought to apply for citizenship just like anybody else. they should not be moved to the head of the line. sameought to have the legal requirements that anybody who has not broken the laws -- the laws are wrong if we don't have the right immigration policy. let's change that. let's follow along with whatever the law happens to be. >> [inaudible] >> i believe if kids have grown up and were brought here by their parents at a young age, they consider america to be their home country, no, i believe we should not. toshould give them a path citizenship. however, the parents who broke the law, it is different. they did it knowingly as parents. they should apply for citizenship just like anybody else and go to the back of the line. >> [inaudible] -- i alsostill offered a solution to that.

provide those parents with a non-immigrant these up but not automatic government entitlement. that be a huge additional burden on current taxpayers. they should not get that benefit by having broken our laws. >> you apologized for your initial approach on immigration issues. why did you apologize? i think it did not communicate the right message. my message has always been, we have immigration laws. reward people who break those laws. if the law is wrong, change the law. that was not the message that came across. -- i do believe if kids have grown up, they should be given a path to citizenship. in this country, we don't punish kids for the mistakes of their parents. cheers for my opponent.

i introduced the dream act 13 years ago and i am glad he is supporting it. if more republicans would take that position, we could pass it. let me clarify one thing. if you happen to be in the united states undocumented, here is what the comprehensive reform bill says. forward andcome register. the government will do a background check on you. if you are committing a serious crime, you are gone. if you have a clear criminal -- if you have a clear criminal record, you will pay a substantial fine. then you pay taxes. then you learning push. at the end of 10 years going through this, virtually qualifying for no government benefits during that time, you can apply for a green card and go to the back of the line. the earliest that these people can become citizens is 13 years. to call it a blanket amnesty is to trivialize a very important policy issue. are a billion other

people in other countries who would like to come here, pay the fine, and go to the front. >> the cutoff date was two years before passage of the bill in the senate. read it. there is a cutoff date. meanwhile -- >> what about the people who come after that? will there be a new amnesty bill? >> what john mccain and the republicans insisted on, there was more border security then ever in history. the border security between united states and mexico, that commitment is greater than the combined total of all law enforcement of all other federal agencies. we will have these people handing whole -- holding hands at the border. the border has been an important part of this from the start. >> corporate inversion. [inaudible]

senator, you are not just a critic, you are an outspoken critic, and have used strong language, accusing companies of being unpatriotic for following to follow their own fiduciary responsibilities. this is the local economy. if this is about tax reform, why such a strong perspective? when corporations don't pay their fair share of taxes, other companies have to pay more and individuals have to pay more. that is the bottom line. what these companies are trying to do is avoid tax responsibility. they have told me as much. i talked to the ceo of -- i talked to the ceo of walgreens. i know what is at stake. investors from wall street are looking for the stock price to be pumped up enough, some so they can make a killing and get out. i think it is shortsighted for

companies and for our nation. take a look at a pharmaceutical company. how do they make money? they develop a drug. who did the research on the drug in most cases? taxpayer supported national institutes of health. then there has to be testing. who does that? taxpayer supported fda. u.s. patent the office. here is a pharmaceutical company that has made its fortune taking the benefits from our government-supported, taxpayer-supported institutions. then they say, we are leaving. we are passing tax liabilities somewhere else. when walgreens made the decision, it was terrible. people came up to me in the street and said they would never set foot in walgreens again. they made the right decision to stay. if you want to be america's pharmacy, stay with america.

tax reform. what about tax reform? >> the companies that have been following the tax code that senator durbin helped get past. he has had 32 years to try to improve it and make us more competitive. that has not been happening. then he questioned the patriotism. nobody in this room or anywhere in illinois is more concerned about wanting companies in illinois and keeping companies in the united states. that has been my whole background. he question the patriotism of companies that are following his laws and tax code. i want to read to you something he said in this room six years ago. i'm going to question a lot of things about my opponent, his positions. i will never question your patriotism. i think that is the refuge of scoundrels. i think what you have done here to raise the question as to whether i love this country is the lowest form of politics, the

lowest." so, are you still good with your words? >> i did not question your patriotism. >> not mine. walgreens. other companies are following your tax code. instead of doing the right thing and going back for tax reform to signify this, to make this a country where companies want to be here, once again you are bullying companies, trying to make them stay here, instead of doing the right thing to have a competitive, worldwide tax code that will make sense for most companies. >> i don't know if becky is in the room. one of your writers. ght to read this article she wrote about what corporations pay in the income tax rates. we talked about 35%. few get near 35%. >> [inaudible]

republicans run for the hills as well. >> let me explain. when my opponent runs for office at least twice, maybe more, he makes this pilgrimage to washington to walk into the office of grover norquist. signs the tax pledge. you know what it says? >> [inaudible] i am asking you, they are the majority party [inaudible] >> filibusters. filibusters. votes.s 60 when we have senators who have taken the grover norquist tax pledge, they pledged they will never reduce any deduction or credit from the tax code. we cannot write tax code reform with that premise. made this announcement, signed another oath. >> you believe we should not allow -- you want to end filibusters?

>> they are being abused and you should know that. it should be limited in most cases where it is necessary on big-policy items. i favor tax are from. the last time we had it was 30 years ago. it was headed up in the house ways and means committee. it is a tough job. it is made double he tough if you have a split in parties between the house and senate, made nearly impossible when you have people signing the grover norquist tax pledge. if we are going to look at this tax code, we should put everything on the table. to give you an opportunity to ask a question of each other. senator, would you like to go first? >> you said the republican party should become this tea party. you have been to their rallies and accepted endorsements. when i look at the tea party in washington, i don't see the republican party i know.

it opposes federal highway construction. i am not making that up. they want to get the federal government out of the business of federal highway construction. 75% of the highway construction in our state comes through the federal government. party opposes it. they also oppose de-authorizing -- critical for boeing and other businesses. do you support the tea party positions that would cost us jobs in illinois? >> senator, i am not a tea party member. i don't know where you got this be review throw this out as though it is factual. my understanding of the tea party is this is a group of individuals who have not been politically involved in the past to have gotten concerned about the direction that you have in taking this country and they would like to change that direction. they believe in limited government.

they believe in lower taxes. those are the main directions they would like to see the country go. i don't know what more i can say. >> do you think the tea party has been a positive or negative influence on the country? >> they have called attention to the fact that government has gotten too big. we have too many regulations. >> generally positive or negative? >> generally positive. >> senator, during this campaign, we noted that you and a few other democratic senators played an integral role in byhtening free-speech rights asking the irs to investigate them. in addition to the infamous october 10, 2010, letter, asking aem to investigate conservative crossroads organization, we asked for you to reveal any other communications you or your office have had with the irs. you have mostly refused to answer this question. your came pain -- your campaign

had the following assertion, senator durbin has posted all communications he had with the irs on the senate website and it has been there for four years. do you stand by your campaign's assertion that you and your office had only that one communication with the irs during the scandal? >> yes. let me refute that because -- >> there is a copyright here -- copy right here of correspondence between you and the commission of the irs. this was revealed -- it is available. we will make it available to "the tribune." you obviously did not tell the truth there. we would like to know what else is available. we would ask you to go back to your records. we can't require you to make those public. we ask you to make those public and you have so far refused.

we hope you will change that position. i in that letter and today, made it clear where i stand. why i did it and why i believe the organizations, right, left, liberal, conservative, -- >> we should not -- >> please let me finish. my position is clear and i disclose to this publicly. my position has not changed. on april 16, 2014, at a local tea party meeting, it was said -- >> let me explain what that was about. people were asking how to get involved. the republican party welcomes them if you want to be more involved. get elected. become members of the republican party. >> are you satisfied with the answer? >> i am satisfied that he did not tell the truth once again.

we would like him to now tell the truth. own up to the fact he had that other correspondence. letterve made public the i sent to the irs before -- >> but why did you -- stop lying. tell the truth. the streets of chicago, ask the first 100 we should many think be focused on protecting karl rove and the crossroads path -- >> [inaudible] >> not that i know of. i have given everything i thought i had. if there's anything else, i will disclose. >> [inaudible] >> i plan on being cremated. i don't want any arguments. >> [inaudible] >> he was honest and he helped the helpless.

those are the things he told me about public service and what the public servant's job should be. , a man lies jim oberweis who cared about his family, his country, his state, and the people most in need. >> it has been a great conversation. we appreciate you taking the time. thank you. >> thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] senator tom harkin is retiring after 30 years in the senate. in the race to replace him, democratic congressman bruce braley and republican state senator joni ernst debated over the weekend. here is a brief look.

>> you say philosophically you oppose subsidies, but you support the renewable fuel standard. make an would you exception for the renewable fuel standard? >> i think until we are on equal footing. if you look at all the subsidies that are going out there to oil and many other sectors out there sithin the energy industry, our needs to be any cool footing. im am someone who will continue to report to the rff. i grew up on a southwest iowa farm and my father is a farmer, a proud farmer. one in six jobs is created by the iowa farmer. i am so proud to have the endorsement of the iowa farm bureau. i will continue to support the rff and do that as your next united states senator. >> i am not sure that is what the senator told the koch

to thes when she went secret meetings. she said she was philosophically opposed to the renewable fuel standard and in a perfect world, it would not exist. my support of the standard has been clear, strong, and un-equivocating. i voted to triple the rfs. i stood up to big oil at every opportunity because their interests are not -- >> i would like to respond. not running you are against these other people. you are running against me. i am a mother. i am a soldier. i am an independent leader. you are being funded by someone who is a california billionaire extreme environmentalist. remember please that you are running against me, not against any of these other groups. you are running against me. >> i realize that and senator e name isesident obama's

not on the ballot and i will not oh him anything on election day. you will oh the koch brothers himything -- not owe anything on election day. >> you will owe the koch brothers everything. >> i only owe something to the people. i will stand up for what is good for the people, not for senator harry reid, not for president obama, but for the iowa people. i have stood up for my community, my faith, and my nation. i have not left my rural roots, but i think, congressman, you have left to those behind. >> 15 seconds to wrap up. >> i have never forgotten where i came from. that is why i voted to pass the five-year farm bill. every major farm group supported

it. that is why the iowa corn growers are supporting me in this election and the national farmers union has given me an award. i have not forgotten my rural values. >> our campaign 2014 debate coverage continues tonight at 8:00 on c-span. live coverage of the minnesota governor's debate between democrat mark dayton, republican jeff johnson, and independent hanna nicolette. , the nebraska governors haste tween chuck sebrock and -- 2014, more than 100 debates for the control of

congress. >> the homeland security secretary this week made his first official trip to canada since taking office. he spoke at the canadian-american business council. he talked about u.s.-canadian cooperation on border security, counterterrorism and other issues. this is 20 minutes. >> thank you for the opportunity to speak to you here today. i appreciate the warm welcome to ottawa and the hospitality from this this this council will stop and i welcome the opportunity to be here in ottawa, your capital. i also book militancy to escape my nation's capital, as my mentor and friend, the former secretary of defense, bob gates used to say, anything out of washington is a good day. this is my first trip to canada as secretary of homeland security will stop i've been in i'vee for about nine stop

planned to come here for some time now will stop i'm here to continue to build the terrific relationships that my government and i enjoy the ministers of this government. given the number of shared come it that we have has taken me far too long to visit my next-door neighbor in my new official capacity. it is hardly my first visit to canada. i recall when i was 10 years old montréal,xpo 67 in july, 2007, 40 years later, my son, who was then 12 years old had a passion for dirtbike centered biking and so his mother, my wife susan was sitting over there went online and found a dirtbike camp in northern ontario, we flew into

toronto, i recall driving the straightest highway i've ever driven in my life about 150 miles through this dirtbike camp in ontario where i will left my son for three weeks. when i picked him up three weeks later, he was covered in dirt, he was having a really good time. even knocked i was unconscious for a whole two minutes. did not return to that dirtbike camp. speaking of business, this past weekend, they would be interested to know that at the very last minute a decided that my two kids were now in college in southern california will stop one is that occidental college, the other is at scripps college. i am under orders from my

daughter when i visit her on her college campus. entourage, the california highway patrol, i am just a freshman. i discovered this past weekend when i visited my daughter, my son was with us. they have this thing, i am like the ambassador, i was born in 1957. to my kids, i am a relic of the past. i learned about something, a social media tool called yet the act. it is a social media tool for kids on college campuses where they can text each other anonymously acting for and just chatter on campus about things going on. they chatter anonymously and furiously. within minutes of hitting the , yik-yak lit up.

two bank secret service agents on campus, what up?" " obama is not here." "maliya is here looking at us for college." then, my son got into the act, he could not resist. my son jumps into the it is a vin, " diesel look-alike, but what is in need of bodyguard?" " finally, no, it is the fake obama, the chief of from and security, his daughter is a freshman here. hey, those guys have guns." bad for his daughter, now

she will never give a date for the next four years." [laughter] [applause] you cannot make this up. in addition to speaking to you yesterday today and i'm here in ottawa and i have the honor of visiting with the alexander, mr. haman.minister .- minister blaney ranging from our shared interest in promoting trade to the potential threats we face to both our homelands. the next few minutes i would like to tell you about the u.s. department of homeland security and what we are doing today. third-largestthe .epartment of the department

the department has a rod and diverse set of missions, it is was ensemble or among other things counterterrorism, the administration and enforcement of our immigration laws, cyber security, aviation security, maritime security, border security, the security of our land and sea ports, protection against nuclear, chemical, and biological threats. protection of our national leaders, protection of our critical infrastructure, the training of federal law personnel, coordinating the response to natural disasters, and emergency with state and local authorities. the 22 agencies that make up dhs include u.s. customs and border protection which by itself is the largest federal law enforcement agency in our country, the u.s. immigration

and customs enforcement, the immigrationhip and services, the coast guard, tsa, fema and the secret service. in my view, counterterrorism must and will remain the cornerstone of the department of homeland security's mission. 13 years after 9/11, it is still a dangerous world. today, the terrorist threat is different than what was in 2001. it is more decentralized and only isplex will not their core al qaeda in afghanistan and pakistan, there is al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, al-shabaab and somalia, the on this roof on in syria and the newest al qaeda in thete, al qaeda indian subcontinent. there are groups like boko haram which are not official affiliates of al qaeda but share its extremist ideology. last but not least, the islamic

,tate of iraq or iso- previously known as al qaeda in iraq will stop you now find to be the preeminent terrorist organization on the world stage. speaking for president obama and our government, we are pleased that canada is part of the international coalition. that will degrade and ultimately destroy isil. we have asked added to make further contributions to this effort, to address the threat generally emanating from terrorist threats overseas, our government has enhanced aviation security. in early july i directed enhanced screenings any number of airports with direct flights to the u.s.. several weeks later we added more airports to that list. other airports have followed with similar enhancements to their security. we continually evaluate whether more is necessary without

unnecessarily burdening the traveling public. longer-term we are pursuing clarence at overseas airports with flights to u.s.. established preclearance capability at eight airports in canada. we must be aware that since 9/11 the potential terrorist threat to both our homelands has evolved in new ways. today both our nations face the prospect of so-called foreign fighters who go to syria. for theary, i said that united states, serious had become a matter of homeland security. our government is making enhanced and concerted efforts to track syrian foreign fighters who come from or seek to enter our country. the reality is that more than 12,000 foreign fighters from around the world have traveled to syria over the last three years. we are concerned that not only

made these fighters join iso-or other extremist groups in serious, they may also the recruited by these groups to leave syria and conduct external attacks. our fbi has arrested a number of individuals who have tried to travel from the u.s. to syria to support terrorist activity there. we are committed to working with the canadian government and others to build better information sharing to track syrian foreign fighters. this is reflected in the un security council resolution on foreign fighters passed last week. the second, we worry about the potential domestic base, homegrown terrorist threat that may be lurking in our own society. the independent actor or lone wolf. those who did not train at a terrorist camp or join the ranks of the terrorist organization

overseas but who are inspired at home by groups social media, literature, or extremist ideology. in the u.s., we have an example of this type of act your last year at the boston marathon. in many respects, this is the hardest terrorist threat to protect and the one i worry about the most. part of the way we are addressing the domestic lone wolf threat is to engage in outreach to communities in the u.s. which themselves are able to reach young man who may turn to violence. i personally participate in these programs. last week, i visited an islamic culture center in columbus, ohio for this purpose. with the help of media organizations and a position to touch those disaffected from society and who need something or someone to believe in, belong to, or worship, we are stressing that violence, terrorism, and

groups such as iso-are not the answer. we stress that despite the slick public media and itself automation to be the islamic state of iraq, iso-is neither islamic nor is it a state. contrary to the misguided belief of some, is not defending islam and it is not defending innocent muslims. in fact, most of the people killed are muslims. this is a stateless group of depraved criminals, rate this comment kidnappers, killers, and terrorist who controlled territory. there is no religion including islam and there is no god including allah that would l's violent tactics. we have vastly improved our ability to detect and disrupt terrorist plots overseas before they reach our homeland.

at home, both our law enforcement committees in my judgment do an excellent job time and again of identifying investigating, arresting and prosecuting scores of individuals before they commit terrorist acts. the bad news is that we continue to face real terrorist enemies and real terrorist threat. all that said, i now turn to another major as active my job, facilitating lawful trade and travel at our borders and ports of entry. when john f. kennedy visited canada in 1961, the new american president noted how quote geography has made us neighbors, history has made his friends, and economics has made us partners." legitimate cross-border trade and travel between the united dates and canada is crucial. somewhere between 300000 and

400,000 people cross our shared border every day. billion in goods and services cross our shared border a dayyear or $2 billion or, 1.4 million a minute. 25% of all american exports come to canada, the largest market, for 35 of our 50 states. outputsells 87% of the to the united states, generating about 40% of your national income. last year, canada was the third-largest worse of foreign direct investment in the u.s.. it's investment totaling $280 billion. the ambassador told me that of every dollar of canadian export, 25% is a view its content. wassame year the u.s. canada's largest source of foreign direct investment, al

investment totaling 368 billion. the u.s. subsidiaries employ 547,000 workers, mostly in the manufacturing or. with an average wage of more than $65,000 annually. u.s. subsidiaries of canadian on firms invest more than $500 million the year in research and development in the united states will stop when my country was attacked on 9/11, our first response was to raise all of the drawbridges. they became chuck wins for cars and cargo. but thanks to the commitment and work of president obama and prime minister harper and beyond the borders initiative they launched in 2011, how governments are making real progress in enhancing perimeter security and economic competitiveness of our two countries. job and ang a better

more sophisticated job of keeping our borders open to trade but closed to terrorists and those that would do us harm will stop we have achieved notable results that will improve the lives of the citizens, visitors, and businesses in both our countries. for example, together we have made improvement in an expanding the trusted traveler program. these improvements at land border ports of entry have resulted in a more than 60% increase in membership and anticipation since the announcement of the initiative. today, more than one million members are experiencing swifter and more expedient travel by gaining access to canadian air transport security authority screening lanes at canadian free checkd the tsa program at u.s. airports. access to additional lanes and kiosks at a greater number of words of entry and a simplified

renewal process. we have developed the u.s. canada immigrated cargo security strategy which is intended to facilitate the movement across cargo under the principle of cleared once, except it twice. we have also deployed and innovated joint injury exit programs at our common land border. this has meant that the record of entry into one country is shared and becomes a record of for from the other country third country nationals and permanent residents of both countries. this enhances the integrity of our system and will do so even more when we expand the program to cover all travelers. i spoke about the importance of preclearance, we are nearing completion of a groundbreaking agreement that for the first time will cover three clearance in all modes of border crossing.

this creates a new legal framework for officers operating in each other's country. , oure partners in success economy strong strength from one another and that makes it even more important that we build for the ability into our partnership by streamlining the import export process with electronically transmitted data through a single window. the on the border has allowed us to start harmonizing our data elements so that we can eliminate duplication and burdensome paperwork to speed up the shipment of goods between our countries. the executive order signed by president obama this year mandated this single electronic window. it is going to strengthen north american economy and make us more competitive as a region. our shared border is more than a simple geographical boundary. it is the site of more than 100

ports of entry. with efficient movement, people and goods is crucial to the daily lives of our citizens, the health of our committee, and the competitiveness of our economies. initiative,of the and the collaboration it has fostered, our countries today are stronger, safer, and more prosperous. significant progress has been made but i know work remains to be completed on some of the most ambitious goals of the beyond the borders initiative. i would like to tell u.s. audiences that homeland security means striking a balance. in the name of homeland security, i can build you a perfectly safe city but it will be a prison. i can build more fences and stall more invasive screening

devices, ask more intrusive questions, demand more answers and make everybody suspicious of each other. privacy, ourus our liberties, our freedom to travel, trade, and associate and our diversity. in the final analysis, these are the things that constitute the greatest strength of our two countries. thank you all very much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] isc-span student cam underway. create a 5-7 minute documentary on the topic, the three branches and you. videos need to include c-span programming, show very points of view and must be submitted by january 20, 2015. grab a camera and get started today.

up, a governors debate from minnesota where mark dayton is seeking a second term. jeh johnson -- jeff .ohnson and hannah nicollette >> in a midterm election year with a number of governors lock battles, mark dayton is currently had in the polls as he seeks a second term. join us from st. paul, minnesota is patrick condon who covers politics and government for the "star tribune." >> thanks. >> what are you looking for and size of this debate so far. >> it has been a quiet race so far compared to have governors

races have on in minnesota for the last few cycles. the incumbent has an ahead pretty consistently in polls, his republican component, jeff johnson has kept sort of a light schedule of the book appearances. he has struggled a little bit to dayton fund raising although he has recently closed that gap. airing only one tv commercial. the large degree, tonight's debate is going to be an early chance to really see these two interact with each other and that hasrame the race not necessarily happened yet. >> in 1998, voters did elect.

there is an independent party candidate. >> hannah nicollet has never run for office before although she has had a hand in independent party politics. she is kind of struggle to make an interest in this race. candidate,dent party they were factors in the governors races. have 12 percent of the vote. i was enough to make the democrat and republican a attention. the only polling in low single digits.

this came out a couple of weeks ago. tonight will be by far the platform. we will see what she does with it. it's why is governor dayton currently had in years with a said so many democratic governors are in some tough battles. >> a couple of reasons. i think that jeff johnson, his republican opponent is not very what they, besides did. only 33% of the poll respondents had heard of him, another 40% had no opinion on him. alarming forof statewide candidate this late in

the cycle. has justver reason, he not been able to get his name id up and that has helped governor dayton who is extremely well known. he is a 30 year plus veteran of state politics in minnesota. poll found him with 100% name recognition and he had a very easy first term. coppersmith and some setbacks. he pushed through public funding. this ultimately passed to the legislature. he signed a bill raising the minimum wage. he led the implementation of minnesota's health insurance exchange. not, thert him or governor has had a busy first in some i think that

part that probably explains why you stayed ahead of this race. >> how is minnesota's economy today and how does that help or hurt governor dayton. , we have had some good economic ideas of late going back to last year or two as the country has come out of minnesota has led that. to some degree, we have one of the lowest state unemployment rates in the country. points to thatr a lot falls top talks about sort of where minnesota was when he took office four years ago and where we are now, it is one of campaign.nts of his there are some warning signs, that the job and campaign has been pointing to minnesota life both nationally and in the midwest in private vector job

and the recently johnson campaign will say that that is attributable in large part to these income tax increases that are sort of the signature issue of the governors first term. so, there is fodder there for both sides that even johnson himself has sort of had to knowledge that minnesota's economy is not in bad shape and he is kind of had to try to get his campaign message around that axl's top >> this is the first of five debates in the minnesota governor's race for the what are you looking for? said, this is a chance for both candidates to make an opening argument in the presence of each other. we have not seen them yet rectally engaged with each other. press conferences or

proxies, it would just be interesting to see how they interact with each other, neither of these guys are necessarily known as formidable debaters. the governor has a tendency sometimes to get a little bit tongue tied a month mr. johnson is a very mild entered her, so it will be interesting, i will be watching for how aggressively they take each other on, if one of them is the other on the defense click the and to sort of what the divide is between them. >> we will look for your reporting online for job patrick join us from st. paul, minnesota, we appreciate you being with us. like things, steve. >> now we go live to our campaign 2014 coverage. tonight, three candidates are participating in a debate.

governor dayton debates jeff johnson and independent candidate hannah nicollet. report votes this as likely democrat. >> 2014 minnesota gubernatorial debate. challenger, jeff johnson. an independent challenger, hannah nicollet face-off for the first time. the final stretch of the 2014 race starts now. the 2014 minnesota gubernatorial debate is hosted by the coalition of greater minnesota cities. rochester chamber of commerce.