my focus is on moving us forward. >> by example. >> as i said we'd pay the women on my team the same for equal work. >> 86 cents for every 1 dollar you pay a man. >> ok, thank you, gentlemen. we are coming to the closing arguments portion of our mr. gardner chose to go first. you have the floor. >> i talk a lot about my hometown. a chunk ofe concrete. that was my grandfather's hardware store. it will be 100 years old tomorrow. my wife and i wonder if we will have the same type of opportunities that there great if we don'tdid

change the way things work in washington it, if we don't put , the answer will be no. it will not have the same opportunities. i will never shy away from the greatness of our country. i believe we have the ability to change washington. colorado can be the vanguard of a movement to make sure that we are turning this country around and creating jobs and opportunity in fulfilling our moral obligation. must pass on a stronger nation to our children and grandchildren. >> the greatest honor of my life has been to represent colorado in the senate. we've accomplished a lot. challenged with the floods and fires. we've stood up and been raggedy collaborators. i've been proud to be part that.

economy is coming back. there is more work to be done. we need to pass the minimum wage and respect women's place in the workplace. elections are about the future. competitions about vision and policy in style. there is a clear set of choices in the selection grid congressman gardner talks at representing a new generation. do generation believes in marriage equality and immigration reform. it believes in women's reproductive rights. it believes in climate change. the new generation does not stand with congressman gardner. he doesn't believe in those things. vote on november 4 because working together, we can keep this state moving forward. thank you. [applause]

campaign 2014 is bringing in more than 100 debates for control of congress. you can follow us on twitter. >> the conversation on women and the november elections. president ofto the pro-choice america. russell moore will join us. you can also join the conversation on facebook and twitter. >> the third virginia u.s. senate debate with mark warner and his challenger. senator warner is a businessman who was elected in 2008.

mr. gillespie served in the george w. bush administration and chaired the republican national committee. the senate races listed as likely democrat. >> welcome to the people's debate. tonight in a race for one of virginia's u.s. senate seat the candidates will answer questions. some ground has been covered in prior debates. we will try to plow new ground. let's introduce you to the candidates. and -- joining us are the former governor democrat mark warner and his challenger tonight, republican and gillespie. tonight's debate is broadcast on television stations throughout virginia and can join a live conversation about the debate on

twitter using #people's debate. here's a look at the guidelines. candidates will answer questions from our panel of four enemy. both will have 90 seconds to respond. the first candidate will have an additional 60 seconds to rebut. the candidates will alternate taking the first response to each question and the signal will determine when their time is up. the candidates will have two minutes each for opening and closing statements. who goes first has been decided by coin toss. let's meet the panel. joining us tonight is the president of the league of women voters of arlington. and the political porter -- reporter craig carper. and from -- anchor cheryl miller. it was determined that mr.

gillespie will go first. he will deliver his opening statement. a second coin toss has determined that he will get to answer the first question now. let us start with opening statements. >> it is great to be with everyone here. i am running for the united states senate because they want future generations to have the same opportunities i have had. my grandfather was an immigrant janitor. my parents did not go to college. i got to be counselor to the president. we are losing that kind of economic opportunity and upward mobility as a result of the obama-warner policies. president obama says these policies are on the dollar this year, every single one of them and in voting with the president 97% of the time, mark warner has voted for every single one of them. these policies are making us less safe as a nation and making us less able to meet growing threats to our national security and public health and safety.

they are squeezing too many virginians between lost jobs, lower take-home pay, reduced working hours, and higher prices for health care, energy, and food. in virginia since the senator has taken office, 65,000 or woman have gone into poverty. for every net job we have created, to virginians have gone on food stamps and 250,000 have the health care plans canceled as a result of the vote for obama care. this election presents a big choice. we can continue down the path of the obama-warner policies or we can take a new and better direction with my five point agenda for economic growth that would create jobs and raise take-home pay and lift people out of poverty and reduce energy prices. it is a choice between higher taxes and lower take-home pay or tax relief and increased wages.

a choice between more debt or a balanced budget. more regulations on energy that kill jobs and drive up prices or unleashing american energy to create jobs and hold down prices. my approach would ease the squeeze and make it easier for the unemployed to find work and i look forward to debating those issues here this evening. >> thank you. >> it is good to see you. i would like to thank our hosts and all the virginians who are watching tonight. it has been a great honor to serve virginia. first as governor and now a senator. what brought me to public service was the notion that in america, everyone not to get a fair shot. everyone ought to get a fair shot. and to make sure that sense of opportunity exists. we have to make sure people in washington can work together. that is what i did is your governor. we turned a deficit into a surplus and virginia got named the best managed state in the best state for business.

i brought that same bipartisan approach to the u.s. senate. that is why i am honored to have the endorsement of john warner who held this job for 30 years. and had more former legislators endorsing me this race than when i ran the first time. in the senate i have wrestled with issues like bringing down the debt and deficit. making sure veterans get the care they deserve, bringing jobs back to virginia and making sure young people do not get crushed i student debt. on every issue that i have worked on i always start with a republican partner because that is how you get things done. my opponent has a different approach. he spent his whole career as a d.c. lobbyist and partisan political operative. he sees every issue -- he even went out and called himself a partisan leader.

i do not know about you but the last thing washington needs is another partisanawyer in either political party. the world needs a strong american. economically, militarily, and morally. you have to have leaders that can work together. thank you. >> thank you. we will go to the questions as per the point toss. mr. gillespie will answer first. let's go to christine goss. >> thank you both for being here. last year, the supreme court gutted the key section of the voting rights act that for decades had help you protect color from discriminatory voting laws. legislation is pending to update the voting rights act. so that its full protections are once again in place. presumably the bill will be reintroduced in the next congress. when you correspond -- cosponsor this legislation? >> i would look at that, i believe that it is free

clarence. the voting rights act is critically important, must we enforced and this is one of the most sacred rights we have. people have shed blood in died. we saw here that the voting rights act is being enforced and we have district lines overturned and it is one example of why the federal courts are so important. it is an example why so many virginians are concerned about the recent reports that senator warner made a phone call talking about the potential of recommending the daughter of a state senator for the federal bench, a lifetime appointment. in relation to a political decision. whether or not that senator would stay or leave came in the same timeframe as the story of the governors chief of staff making a job offer.

this is very serious in terms of the federal bench has a big impact and we need to make sure that qualified people are put on the bench and i would never play politics with recommending judicial appointments and i would not raise the prospect of it in the context of a decision about expanding obamacare further in the commonwealth. >> let me answer the question. i strongly would support that legislation. we need to expand voting rights. it is remarkable that we see all around the country efforts to restrict voting rights. often times in a political posturing. i am not surprised my apartment would not be in support of expanding voter rights but let's do with the issue he just

raised. i have been a friend of senator philip duckett and his family. when i heard that philip was considering resigning from the senate, i reached out to his son joseph and to find out what was going on. during that conversation, we brainstormed about possible opportunities for his sister. his sister had been a substitute state judge. she could not be confirmed. we talked about a lot of options. i did not offer her a job nor would i offer her any kind of position. the following day i talked to senator pocket. he decided he was going to resign. he even drafted his letter of resignation. i have been friends with them for long time and i respect the senator's decision.

>> your rebuttal and bear in mind that republicans face similar accusation in this case commits a federal investigation as well. >> let me be clear. i am talking about news reports and questions that are out there. the senator has answered the question here that i do not think is being asked. i am not saying a suggestion that he was offering a job and i understand the difference between the executive and legislative ranch. i can tell you this. the role as senator plays in the judicial nomination process is a critically important one and influential. the recommendations are made have a great aid in terms of what nominations are made. i have not seen anyone suggest that there was a job offer. there has been talk of private sector jobs with a federal contractor. even that discussion raises questions about the notion of a

lifetime appointment to the federal bench in relation to a political decision and to further the effort of expanding obamacare in the commonwealth of virginia, i do not know if that has been answered. >> it will address the second question starting with mr. warner. >> this year the general assembly reformed the sol's but there have not been reform since all -- no children left behind. a major criticism of the current system from teachers and administrators is that it does not celebrate progress made by struggling students who start from behind. what specific changes would you make to no child left behind?

>> crexendo if that no child left behind needs to be reformed or gotten rid of. i think the pendulum has swung way too far in terms of testing alone. i would argue that one of the things i have done that i am proudest of is what i was governor. we fixed virginia's budget and made the largest investment in public education in virginia history and we need to have that kind of approach. the challenge is going to be not only how do we reform education but how do we adequately fund it. he talks about easing the squeeze or his commitment to virginians but he has taken one of the most important pledges of this campaign. it says in effect it is better to cut education, better to cut ella terry, better to cut support for seniors than two close a single tax loophole. i doubt with the debt and deficit. no serious person has said you

have to look at both sides of the balance sheet. i know about that as a business person. even republican members of the delegation have said taking the grover norquist pledge is an impediment to tax reform. you need education reform and a need to fund education. my opponent has already taken a pledge. he will not be able to reform or fund education. >> this is another debate where senator warner has made a flat-out wrong statement. i do not sign any pledges. i have not signed the atr pledge in terms of repealing obamacare. i have made a pledge to the people of virginia that i will not vote to raise taxes on the floor of the united states senate. senator warner has voted to raise taxes i a trillion dollars

and they have been implemented. that is one of the reasons we have the lowest the perforce participation rate in 36 years and half of all recent college graduates are unable to find full-time quality jobs. i do not believe in raising taxes. i will make a pledge to my i will fight to lower taxes. that is one of the big choices in the selection. in the six years he has been there, our debt has gone up $7 trillion. we need education reforms. i support education reforms. you can see my economic growth agenda.

if you believe in a society based on equal opportunity, you have to have quality schools. >> butts go back to the pledge he took. i've got the letter from grover norquist. you will go up above and beyond the pledge. we should not vote for anybody. youould be happy to give grover norquist complement you on taking the pledge and going above and beyond the pledge print let's go back to what the effective at our. saying it isup better to cut education, it is better to cut the military, it is better to get senior services rather than closing a tax loophole. withant to hire somebody one hand tied behind their back. lookedous group who has

have said you have to look at both sides of the balance sheet trade what i did as governor and senator, there is a clear choice between the two candidates on this issue. we're going to go to our third question. >> sus returns 80. basis for older americans. how would you protect social security? >> we have to start with the point you just made. we must protect social security for today's seniors. then we have to save it for future generations. with mend dollar are this evening. in will not be there for them.

younger, you or are looking at your retirement point getting a $.70 on the dollar of projected benefits because of the insolvency that is looming. we need to save social security and medicare for future generations so it is there for them. senator warner voted to raise medicare. it did not extend the life of the program. we do take a serious look at what we need to do to reform those programs. that entails a number of things that would take bipartisan support. i think looking at retirement ats, we are looking increasing the retirement age to 67. we need to look at other options.

our children and their children will have the same benefit of a safety net in their retirement that my parents have had and that i will have. it will be there for me. people younger than me will be at risk. security -- social security is important. the promise of it must still be there. the math doesn't work and more. there were 16 people working for everyone personal retirement. three workinge for every person on retirement. we have to make changes. i have laid out some specific changes that i think ought to be considered. underea that those people 35, if they would be willing to get cell security if it would be there. maybe we out to raise the tax in terms of how much is taxed in terms of income.

are 80 andeople who above, we should increase the benefit because they are not living their savings. my opponent has a different approach. he was the major cheerleader for the bush cheney plan to privatize social security. think of a had been legislation in the midst of the financial crisis. it would've been devastation. it would've been devastation for millions of seniors. think after that crisis, he would no longer be an advocate for that. he wrote anar, editorial saying it was good for the country and good for the republican party. i strongly disagree with that great we've got to strengthen social scared and make sure it is still there. a topator warner has been staffer himself. he has worked for elected officials. i am running on my proposals.

policies own ideas and that i'm putting forward. about inflation. i appreciate senator warner's recognition that that is an option that we should look at and i would look at it as well. so security and medicare as a whole. it is part of the social safety net. with home health care providers in virginia beach. they are having their services slashed to pay for more obamacare. that means that the medicare population that is more second elderly and more poor than the broader population are going to find themselves not having access to home health care. to myas so important mother. i want to protect it for seniors in the commonwealth.

the next question will be addressed to mr. warner. reports overews it appropriate for elected officials to help find jobs for other lawmakers or their family members in exchange for their support? theet me restate circumstances that you referred to. i have been friends with them for 20 years. son i reached out to his before i talked to philip, i did not offer anyone any job. nor what i. it where do weor go from here? been a bits a

tarnished over scandals. i hope we would come together with stricter ethics laws. we need stricter ethics laws. we need to make sure that we would restore trust in our political process. that starts with people who are willing to work together. every who won't see problem to the lens of republican versus democrat. i have a record of being bipartisan, that is what i have done as governor and senator. maybe it was a coincidence that this call to an old friend came the same timeframe as the call from the governor's chief thetaff to offer a job to daughter. maybe it was just a coincidence. i do not know her.

i'm sure she is a fine person. maybe she is qualified to be considered to a lifetime appointment to a federal bench. nobody is suggesting that. the executive branch has that ability. senators have a great deal of influence on who is put forward for a nomination to the federal bench. we know the impact of these appointments have in our country. we talked about it earlier today. politics withy recommendations to the bench. i don't believe that the questions that are out there have been answered.

i think the people of virginia deserve some answers. >> i agree with ed. we need to have an appropriate process. that is what we do. processrough lengthy where candidates are viewed by the bar. candidates are interviewed. we recommended to candidates for a judgeship for the western district. think to very qualified candidates and i think the present move forward on one of them. virginiake sure in that we have a stronger ethics laws? it goes to the trust people have

in our elected officials. they are so tired of the partisan gridlock and political attacks and innuendos. that is not the way i have operated. we will now go to the next question. >> thank you. you both said your troubled by the sums of outside money flowing into political campaigns. what policies might be effective in remedying the problem? of the things we are dealing with is a bill that went to the congress that was intended to try to fix the problem of money in politics. that was the campaign finance reform act. i argued against it. i thought it would result in

money going to outside groups that are less accountable in the political process then are the parties. rnc, i filedf the a brief against the law. now we are living with him today. senator warner to mercy suggested that we take a vow not to have any outside money after millionr pac spent $1.4 in attack ads on me. i do think it would be better for us to have laws where the parties and the campaign committees are more accountable for their election messaging that outside groups. this is the result of a bill that was an acted not that long ago. we are seeing the unintended consequences of that today.

i would like to see campaigns and parties that have greater transparency and more accountability in the process. support campaign finance report. i think the supreme court got it wrong on citizens united. i don't think we should have all kinds of unlimited and undisclosed money in our system. what thehink that's founders had in mind. back between ae debate. --addition to come pain campaign finance reform, he and karl rove formed the granddaddy of all super pac's. i'm not surprised he is not willing to say that citizens united got it wrong. independent redistricting reform as well.

legislatorsght now, choose their constituents rather than the other way around. if we want to end the partisan gridlock and get back to where there is more centrist , districting reform should be on the agenda. i did support efforts on the conservative side of the spectrum to counter what the liberal side of been doing for some time in the campaign process. one of the things that i am sure senator warner would not support is ending the practice of having compulsory union dues taken from hard-working virginians hard-working americans and put toward a political action committees and political ads that they don't agree with. reasons i'm sure the warner support senator

aresmall business groups for me is because senator warner is not able to say that any trance -- finance reform bill exempt labor unions. >> the next question will be addressed to mr. warner. you both said you support and all of the above approach to energy development. ?hat should a centerpiece be what resources would you seek to aggressively develop? >> i think one of the great success stories of the last decade has been the explosive growth of american energy. who would have thought that we would soon be a net energy exporter and that we're able now to bring back a number of manufacturing jobs because our

energy costs have driven down. as much as my opponent wants to claim otherwise, i support all of the above energy policies. including coal, including natural gas, including renewables. including nuclear. all of the above. what we need to do is to make sure that we unleash the complete potential of american energy. now, i do believe, and one of the areas where my opponent and i differ, i think we also have to deal with climate change. i've invited ed before, i still want him to come down to norfolk and see how the navy is spending millions of dollars on raising the piers because of the costs driven by rising sea levels. as a matter of fact, the secretary of defense came without with a new study today on additional costs from climate change. so we've got to get this balance right. i support that all-of-the-above approach, including coal. but we've got to find ways to use coal cleaner as part that

have approach. regardless of what we do in america, china and india are going to go ahead and build 800 additional coal plants. so i do support all of the above. i think it's important for american manufacturing and jobs. >> believe me, i haven't put 53,000 miles on the road over the past nine months. i've been to norfolk, i understand the concerns there in this area. and i've put those miles on the road. i don't charter planes, i drive everywhere in the commonwealth. and i understand those concerns. i also understand the need for to us create high-paying jobs in the hampton roads region by lifting the ban on drilling off of our deep sea coast, which has been in place since senator warner took office. when there was a bipartisan amendment on the floor of the united states senate to do just that. former democratic senator jim web stood up for virginia -- webb stood up for georgia and he voted for that bipartisan amendment. senator warner sided with harry reid against it. when there was a bipartisan amendment to move forward with the keystone x.l. pipeline, senator webb voted for it.

senator warner voted to block it. when there was a chance to stand up and have bipartisan support and say that the e.p.a. does not have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, senator webb voted for it and senator -- in that bipartisan amendment -- senator warner voted against it. this is a classic area where what mark warner says in virginia is very different from what he does in washington, d.c. and i will stand up for our coal miners and four the people who pay electric bills and put gas in their car. a price of a gallon of gas has doubled since mark warner took office, promising us that he would vote to bring down energy prices. and now, you know, when you put down $20, it used to get 10 1/2 gallons of gas, when he took office. today it's about 5 1/2 gallons of gas. that's why virginians are feeling squeezed as well. >> again, my opponent didn't give you the facts. i strongly support and have legislation for six years to allow drilling off the coast of virginia. but he forgot to include was only if virginia gets a share of the proceeds.

i think virginia should get a share of the royalties the same way louisiana does. the legislation he talked about would have cut virginia out. i support the keystone x.l. pipeline. as a matter of fact, even got protested against it in harrisburg. my opponent does have two areas around energy that he's got quite a record on. one is he lobbied against increasing fuel efficiency standards. talk about costing virginia consumers more money out of their pocket. because he didn't want to have the auto industry raise their fuel efficiency standards. and we've heard him talk about easing the squeeze. well, we ought to have him address easing the squeeze for the -- when he was the largest lobbyist for enron, where 20,000 folks, energy company, manipulated the markets, lost their jobs, lost their pensions, $700,000 he and his firm made. i'm not sure that's called easing the squeeze. >> i should be allowed to answer that question given that he

raised it. >> you can have 10 seconds. >> when my bipartisan firm had enron as a client, 13 years ago, they've been on the cover of fortune magazine as the best place to work in america and were considered one of the best companies in america. that's why senator warner i'm sure was an investor in enron at that time. >> you lost money -- i lost money. you made money. >> look at the facts. we discontinued the contracts two months before when it turned out they were fraudulent. >> people lost their jobs. >> hang on. this is a very personal attack and it deserves for the voters of virginia to know the facts. and that is this. the fact is that just like he as an investor in the same company that was a client of my firm 13 years ago, i had no idea the fraudulent practices of this company. no one did at the time. this is why good people don't run for office. i don't know what happened to mark warner when he went to washington.

this is classic washington attack politics. >> mr. gillespie, i'm sorry to cut you off. but there's a question to you. the next question. >> another classic issue. for 50 years, medicare's provided people 65 and over and most disabilities with access to health care. what is your view of the effectiveness of medicare and how would you put medicare on stronger financial ground to protect seniors and future retirees from rising health costs? >> medicare is a critical part of our social safety net and, again, it will not be there for future generations and we need to save it for future generations. and get it on a more sound financial footing. it is on its way to insolvency. and we can fix that. while making clear to anyone who is on medicare or near retirement that any changes wouldn't affect them at all. although they are being affected right now and again there are over -- about 200,000 medicare advantage beneficiaries in the

commonwealth of virginia who are ry much at risk because of senator warner's cuts to medicare, to pay for obamacare. over $715 billion siphoned out of this important program, again, not to reform it and save it for future generations, but to fund the obamacare program that he still supports and that i would replace with patient-centered reforms. we know, as i mentioned also, those who rely on home health care, many elderly americans on medicare want to be treated in their home, not be put in a hospital. by the way, that's also more cost-effective for the program. and it's more affordable. and we need to restore those cuts. a 14% cut by centers for medicare and medicaid services, as a result of senator warner's support for the affordable care act, obamacare, i would replace those cuts if i was elected to the united states senate. >> a charge he just made which has been recycled a half dozen

times, has been called by independent political analysts totally false. the challenge is, we have to strengthen medicare. what i've laid out are specific plans where we can strengthen medicare. to make sure it's still there. for example, combining part a and part b and trying to cut down on some of the bureaucracy. i've been a big supporter and have worked hard to make sure medicare advantage programs, particularly here in virginia, are protected. i've looked as well at trying to say, let's get rid of some of this phony budgeting with so the called s.g.r. doc fix. i think we ought to replace it and repeal that and make sure we have true accounting. the challenge, though, is if you're going to deal with medicare and entitlements, youo have the positions that he's taken. privatizing social security. and taking the norquist pledge which says you can't find any tax break at all that can be closed that might allow you to

go ahead and shore up medicare, that might allow you to invest in senior services, that might allow to you invest in n.i.h., the military or education. it's a question of whose side you're on, ed. i think when we look at your policies, i'm looking forward to november 4 when i think virginians will say, do you want somebody who has a proven record of working together or someone who has taken, i believe, extreme positions, whether it's norquist pledge or privatizing social security, which will not save medicare. >> we've already rebutted this. the senator is factually inaccurate. i didn't sign any pledges. look, i'm pledging to everyone here in the studio tonight and watching on television, i will fight against more tax increases. senator warner's already raised taxes on the middle class, on small businesses that are hurting us by $1 trillion already. we don't need to raise taxes anymore.

we've got to cut wasteful washington spending. and i will work to do that as well. the other thing? terms of whose side you're on. i will be on the side of virginians 100% of the time. you have been on the side of president obama 97% of the time since taking office. i will not be a blank check for the president. i will be a check and balance on the president and i will work in a bipartisan manner to pass economic policies that will create jobs, raise take-home pay, lift people out of poverty, hold down health care costs and reduce energy prices, none of which you've done in your six years in the united states senate, despite saying that that's what you were going to do. >> the next question will be addressed to you, mr. warner. >> gentlemen. thomas eric duncan, the first ebola patient to be diagnosed here in the united states, sat in virginia's busiest airport, for hours before flying to texas where he later died from the

virus. it's unknown how many people he came in contact with there. now one of the nurses who treated duncan has become infected and investigators don't know why. has the federal government failed to adequately respond to the ebola crisis and should virginians be concerned? >> i think like every american, i'm concerned about ebola and the challenges it presents. and i think the administration should have acted quicker. a couple weeks back, i wrote the administration and said, we need to dramatically increase the screening at our gateway airports. which they've finally started to do, including dulles now. i think they should have done it earlier. i believe we need to make sure that we have better coordination between all of our federal agencies. so in effect, i believe it ought to be one person in charge. and i think we need to make sure that we train our public health officials so that they are able to spot early on the signs of ebola. at the end of the day i believe we need to rely on our health care experts, i believe it may be time to consider,

particularly with a nation like liberia, where ebola has spread so widely, doing what certain european nations have done in terms of restricting flights. but again, governing is about choices. i think i heard in the last couple of days, the head of the n.i.h. said that, but for sequestration, we might have been able to find a vaccination against ebola. we've seen cuts to public health. we've got to not have one hand tied behind our back by taking stupid pledges, if we're going to wrest well our nation's balance sheet and -- wrestle with our nation's balance sheet and finances to make sure that we can, yes, shrink government but invest in areas that are essential. >> mr. gillespie. >> the time to consider stopping flights coming in from west africa, whether there's an ebola outbreak, has passed. it's time to impose a flight ban in that regard and that's what this administration should do. and while that flight ban is in

place, yes, we need to have proper protocols, we just heard the story coming out of dallas of the nurse who has been affected. we need to make sure that our health professionals are properly trained in terms of how to approach this. we need to get more of the drugs into the production and stockpiled. the screening process, i have to say, i find not that reassuring from what i have seen. and the president, when he said not too long ago that the chances of ebola coming to america, you know, there's not much of a chance of that, he was wrong. this administration has been slow to act. and the senator voted for the sequestration he just decried here today. in fact, that sequestration cut the centers for disease control by $345 million. it's been cut by $1 billion. one of the problems with the obama-warner policies is that under those policies, the federal government is doing too many things that are better left to state and local governments or the private sector and it is

failing at too many things that it needs to be doing right. and we need to rearrange those priorities and replace sequestration and i would do that as our next senator. >> a lot of charges in this campaign. but i think my -- the last one really takes the cake. you all remember how we ended up in sequestration which i've called consistently stupidity on steroids. it was because the alternative was that our nation would default. so i assume that ed's position is we should have defaulted which would have created economic chaos. i remind ed, the majority of the virginia delegation voted for the budget control act. john mccain, the speaker of the house, eric cantor, all said, we've got to take a responsible action. and how we ended up with sequestration is because we didn't roll up our sleeves and

take on what i had advocated, the simpson-bowles plan, the gang of six plan. that would have dealt with entitlement reform and tax reform. why didn't we do that? because too many people had taken pledges where they wouldn't even look at tax reform, they wouldn't look at closing tax loopholes and we end up with this. on sequestration, i've in fact been celebrated -- ed got a little time on the last one. let me get a little time on this. the navy has given me their highest civilian ward for fighting this war on sequestration. >> it leads to my next question on this topic and we'll start with mr. gillespie. >> that's my question, actually. we learned an ugly word. sequestration recently. it was supposed to be impossible. but a budget deal could not be reached. that's the easy part of this question. the hard part is, what do you do as a member of congress when there's brac, we all agree, we have to cut some of the fat, we have to streamline. virginia installations are still hurting from that sequestration, so how does a member of congress stand up and say there might be

something in my district, an employer that needs to trim down? mr. gillespie. >> a couple of things. one, in terms of sequestration. mark's right. the delegation, most of them did vote for it. in the house they voted to replace it. and that replacement has passed the house. it did not pass the senate and it never will as long as mark warner and harry reid are in the majority and harry reid is the majority leader, which is the first vote that he casts in january. second, you know, the sequestration in terms of the impact, langley, fort lee, the jobs, both those places, you know, we have got to stop making national security priorities based on random deep arbitrary defense cuts and start budgeting our defense budget based on our national security priorities. that's why i will seek a seat on the senate armed services committee if i'm fortunate

enough to be the honor of being our next united states senator. i think it's imperative not just for our national security but here where we have always been proudly on the front lines of our fight for freedom and liberty and national security. and so, yes, i believe that if we were to budget according to our national security priorities, rather than set national security priorities based on our budget, that would have a very beneficial impact in virginia, but more importantly it would have a beneficial impact for our national security. >> mr. warner. >> i'm not sure we heard an answer from ed on how we make hard choices. because if you do everything through republican versus democratic lens, you don't make hard choices. what he didn't tell is you i voted for both the republican plan in the senate and the democratic plan in the senate. and again, don't take my word in terms of sequestration. the navy gave me their highest civilian award for fighting against the sequestration cuts.

we've made some progress. we've restored a lot of the funding for our ship repair contracts and the whole delegation hung together and i opposed the president on this, on making sure that george washington, one of our aircraft carriers, got refueled. important for hampton roads and national defense. the way we're going to get rid of sequestration, it comes rushing back next year, is recognizing that when we've got $17 trillion in debt and it goes up $3 billion a night, we can't keep punting. 1% increase in interest rates, that alone adds $120 billion a year off the top that could be spent on aircraft carriers or education or roads or n.i.h. and the challenge is going to be, everyone who's looked that the issue, the one place again where i have dug in the deepest is on our nation's finances. i did as governor and i'm doing it as senator. you cannot do this unless you look at tax reform and entitlement reform. if you keep coming back to

defense spending and domestic spending alone, you end up with a nation that's not able to compete going forward and unfortunately that means you have to look at both sides of the balance sheet and when you take the norquist pledge, you can't do that. >> you're rebuttal. >> just because he keeps saying it doesn't make it true. >> happy to show you. >> look, you know, we have heard the senator talk about it time and time again tonight. for the last six years i have fought for increasing our military spending, even though it's been slashed by $1 trillion, balance our budget, even though we're $7 trillion more in debt than when he took office, fought for offshore drilling here off the deep sea coast of our commonwealth of virginia, still there. fought to get the keystone x.l. pipeline approved. six years, none of these things have happened. talks about being a problem solver. ask yourself, what problems have been solved? and the fact is, even on the priorities he talks about, they haven't happened. you get this sense with the senator when he expresses his

frustration, washington, d.c., the senate, how it's so hard and everything, that he's a newspaper columnist or a commentator on msnbc, not someone who's been there for six years. at some point you have to take accountability for either getting something done or not and stop complaining about it. >> we are just about out of time for full questions so we have kind of a quick question. 30 seconds each. 8% approval rating for congress. people apparently not happy with what's happening there. do you foresee the next time one of you should be running for re-election a different approval rating, that is, can we all get along? let's start with you, mr. warner. >> if we don't improve, our country's going to be in a pretty bad shape. and again i go back to where i started. is it frustrating up there, yes at times. but the only way it's going to get solved is if you're willing to be bipartisan. look at my record. not my opponent's partisan attacks. my record. every bill i work on, i start with a republican partner. i've laid out a specific plan on

both entitlement reform and tax reform, taken arrows from both the left and right. everything my opponent has done in his whole career is partisan. he formed a bipartisan lobbying firm. >> he takes arrows from both sides because he says one thing in virginia and does something completely different in washington, d.c. we can get things done. i will fight for bipartisan support for all of the e.g.-squared, five-point agenda for economic growth. and i believe that i could get that bipartisan support. i have a very simple test. for every vote i cast and every action i take as a united states senator for virginia which is this, will this bill ease the squeeze on hardworking virginians and make it easier for the unemployed to find work? and if it won't, i will fight against it and i will fight for policies that do. and those will get bipartisan support and i will do that. >> thank you both for answering the questions. it is time now for your closing

statements. we begin with mr. warner per the coin toss earlier. >> tonight we've heard once again a lot of attacks from my opponent. if you spend your life as a d.c. lobbyist and partisan political operative, that's what happens. the squeeze, the squeeze is what happened to the employees at enron. the squeeze is what happened when we had the policies he advocated for, which were two wars on a credit card, a tax that we couldn't pay for, entitlement programs that weren't paid for, and an economy that was driven into the ditch. do we need to do more to get our economy going? absolutely. but it's going to take people who are still optimistic about possibilities in america. i've been blessed to live the american dream. i've failed at my first two businesses. but didn't stop me from picking up and trying again and being successful. i believe that the best days of our country are in front of us. but at the end of the day, it's going to require people who are willing to roll up their sleeves and work together and get things done.

that's what i did as governor, that's what i've been doing as senator. and that's what i'll continue to do if you hire me. i believe in america. that we've got to get back to the notion that when you see a problem, you roll up your sleeves and fix it and move on to the next problem. you might not get it 100% right at first but you don't keep kicking the can. the only way that's going to happen in america, and as somebody who has worked in the senate, i can tell, is if we're willing to occasionally put aside republican and democrat and put our country first. that's what i did as governor. that's why i work on every bill in a bipartisan fashion in the united states senate. and when it comes, again, the finances, there's a major difference between us. i took a deficit, turned it into a surplus. when ed was working with the administration, he supported so much, he took a surplus and turned it into a deficit. going forward, the only way our country can get back to that kind of prosperity that we all believe in is if we have people with a proven record of getting

things done and working together. thanks so much. >> thank you, mr. warner. your closing statement, mr. gillespie. >> thank you for this chance to share my commonsense solutions to the problems we face as a nation. i believe they would get bipartisan support in the united states senate and that's why i've put forward my five-point plan for economic growth. so that if i'm honored to stand before you again as our senator, people can hold me accountable, for getting these things done. in the same way i'm asking virginians to hold mark warner accountable for saying he'd be an independent voice in a bipartisan vote on the floor of the senate, but siding with president obama 97% of the time and consistently voting against bipartisan amendments, as i pointed to time after time here this evening. i also want to hold him accountable and voters should hold him accountable for saying that he would balance the budget. for saying he's be a pro-business senator, but voting for job killing policy after job

killing policy. including nearly $1 trillion in tax increases. and of course for saying that he would never vote for a health care reform bill that would mean losing our insurance if we wanted to keep it and then working to pass the affordable care act, obamacare. he's not the senator he said he would be. not the senator so many virginians hoped he would be. that's why so many of his supporters are supporting me this election cycle. so many of his voters and over 75 of his donors are supporting my campaign. the fraternity order of police which endorsed him last election is endorsing me he this year. most americans no longer believe we're a country where the next generation can do better than the generation that came before us. that does not have to be our path. it must be our future. and it can be with the right policies. but we cannot afford six more years of the last six years. we need to change course and we cannot send senator warner back to washington and expect to see anything different occur as a

result of that. we need a new and better direction and i have put forward policies that will ease the squeeze on hardworking virginians and will fight for them every day as our senator. host: will you give me that chance and i ask for your -- i hope you will give me that chance and i ask for your vote on november 4. >> thank you, mr. gillespie, thank you, mr. warner. we appreciate your vigorous participation in this debate tonight. i also want to thank the audience for taking part and a special thanks to our panel. thank you all for taking part in this. this program has been brought to you in part by aarp-virginia. the league of women voters of virginia. thanks again to the candidates for appearing together on this stage tonight. i'd like to thank you, the voters of virginia, and our live audience, of course, for watching and don't forget election day is only 22 days away. on behalf of everyone who brought this debate to you, i'm

bill fitzgerald. good night. \[captioning performed by national captioning institute] \[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] campaign 2014 is bringing you

more than 100 debates for the control of congress. stay in touch with our coverage and engage. follow us on twitter and c-span, and like us at facebook.com/c-span. in arkansas, incumbent senator mark pryor will face republican challenger tom cotton for the second time in two days. live debate coverage tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span. the louisiana debate for u.s. senate where mary landrieu will face cassidy and rob maness. live coverage at 8:00 p.m. eastern. the first and only scheduled debate between incumbent u.s. senator mitch mcconnell of

kentucky and his democratic opponent, alison lundergan grimes. mr. mcconnell was first elected to the senate in 1984 and currently serves as senate minority leader. his democratic challenger is kentucky secretary of state. this race is listed as a tossup. this is courtesy of kentucky educational television. >> welcome to kentucky tonight. . am bill goodman tonight we will discuss issues in kentucky's u.s. senate race. our guests are kentucky secretary of state alison lundergan grimes of the democratic party and u.s. senator mitch mcconnell of the republican party. we invite questions from kentucky viewers to send questions on twitter. an contact us,m

or you may call. please include your first and last name, town or county, on all messages. to the both of you, thanks very much for being here tonight on "kentucky tonight." secretary grimes, you have aseled senator mcconnell "senator gridlock" and stated in a press release that his message is clear, six more years of brinksmanship and partisan gains , washington, d.c.. senator mcconnell, in turn you have set of ms. grimes that she is an experienced obama liberal with a gun. secretary grimes, what can you say tonight that would convince kentucky voters that you would be an independent voice in washington and would not support the president's agenda for the next two years. >> kentucky is my record. i want to thank you, bill, and

ket. they know the record that i have a secretary of state is one of putting the people of kentucky first, setting aside partisanship. i have my disagreements with the president. his energy philosophy, wrongly ruling by executive order. on thesident is not ballot. it is myself and senator mcconnell. want to take responsibility for all that is wrong in washington, d.c. washington is not working for the people of kentucky, and it is due to the gridlock and the partisanship that he champions. from infrastructure to education -- the lack of the ability to make those investments is hurting kentucky. i am in this race to give hard-working kentuckians a fighting chance to earn a good quality having a good of life, making sure that we

grow the middle class the right waethiy, som that has not been a priority for senator mcconnell, whether you call him senator gridlock, senator no-show, or senator shutdown. the only person that he has been working for his senator mcconnell. >> senator mcconnell, what can you say that convinces kentucky voters you will not side with washington over kentucky issues and that this race is not about your ascension to the top spot in the senate in blocking the obama agenda, but you have kentucky issues first? >> let me first just say that my opponent has been trying to deceive everybody about her own views. she has been an active partisan democrat all along, a delegate and 2012 democratic conventions. convention go to the in 2012. senator manchin didn't got go. senator mccaskill did not go. she has made efforts to deceive

the people of kentucky about her own views and where she is likely to go where she to get there. with regard to my own record, there have been three major bipartisan agreements during the obama years between republicans and democrats. the vice president and i have negotiated every one of them. two-year2010, extension to the bush tax cuts. on newcal cliff deal year's eve of 2012. which made 99% of the bush tax cuts permanent and also got a $5 million per person estate tax exemption, which is really significant for family farms and small businesses in kentucky. 99% of them will not have to be sold in order to get them down to the next generation. so i am prepared to negotiate with the other side when we can find areas of agreement, but i do not share the president's agenda. it is an agenda that i think has

been demonstrably bad for america and for kentucky. >> if the senate remains democratic majority, how would it be different? >> the three major deals i just mentioned are the only major deals during these obama years, all of them either reducing spending or keeping taxes low. >> you would work with the president -- >> those are areas we agreed on. i was willing to negotiate, and they were good agreements that ended up being passed by a larger majority. >> you would work with the president and senator reid? >> the president has said we would do comprehensive tax reform. we now have the highest corporate tax rate in the world among industrialized countries. thatee with the president -- unlike my opponent, who said that she is opposed to trade agreements, apparently.

the president said we ought to be negotiating trade agreements. i and most of my members think that america is a winner when it comes to international trade. i will demonstrated again in the future. >> secretary grimes, i also want to ask you about endorsing or working on the democratic agenda heard can you address those two points? >> first what you just heard senator mcconnell say is a complete departure from what he said to his family, the koch brothers in california. buy they went to help him his way back to washington dc, he said he would have nothing to do with giving a debate level and vote to increasing the minimum wage or extending unemployment insurance benefits or helping our students go to college, all common sense bipartisan proposals that the majority of kentuckians need and deserve because he said he has had enough of those gosh darn proposals.

you have yet to hear anything he would work on because senator mcconnell's 30 year record is gridlock, obstruction. it is extreme partisanship accosts this nation a 16 day government shutdown. kentucky, $127 million. my record speaks for itself. i am an independent thinker that the people of for kentucky. i am not bought and paid for by the koch brothers or any others. >> senator mcconnell? say inking of what we private meetings, secretary grimes said she would go to a fundraiser harry reid sponsored for her in washington and tell him how important it was to -- >> and i did that. >> she went to the meeting, never mentioned a word about coal to harry reid.

this is the harry reid she will vote for to make majority leader of the senate if she goes there. that will be her first vote. he is the guy who said coal makes you sick. she will enable him to be the leader in the senate which will guarantee we will have no votes on coal. >> senator grimes, did you address: in that meeting? >> senator mcconnell, you and your henchmen, the koch brothers, can put out $16 million in nasty ads, but i can speak for myself. i have strong words regarding senator reed on an energy philosophy i believe that he is misguided on as well as the president. coal keeps the lights on in kentucky. my record is consistent. senator mcconnell fought against countyl-fired plant as a judge. he has accepted over $600,000, his family has, from anti-coal interests. it is on his watch that we have lost thousands of coal jobs. billit comes to the trade

-- when it comes to trade, my record is consistent. i am for free and open and fair trade, especially for our workers. it is needed if we have a strong economy. but we cannot continue to turn a blind eye. senator mcconnell has -- to letting china cheat. we have to hold china accountable. >> we will talk about issues, coal, later in the program. do you want to respond to that? >> i have not said anything in any private meeting that i have not said publicly. i have been entirely consistent both privately and publicly. secretary grimes' whole campaign has been designed to deceive people into thinking she is something she is not. it is pretty obvious, given where her support comes from, all the anti-coal activists in the country, that she is going to do their bidding. of -- theissue

outrageous issue that somehow my wife and i profit from anti-coal was given a poor pinocchio's by "the washington -- was given four pinocchios by "the washington post." the only larger was the president, who said, if you like your policy you can keep it. "the winner of this election will be in office until 2020." if you are elected by 2020, what would be your signature compliment in office and why will it matter fact the thank you very much for that question. i have in this race because i believe a senator was to help put hard-working kentuckians back to work. i believe that it is a senator's priority to bring jobs back here to kentucky. alreadype you have

acrossed i'll -- working the aisle. i decided to things that is what has been missing. we have not had anyone to reach across the aisle to enact the jobs plan. i am the only senator in this race with a jobs plan. closing the loopholes and ending the tax breaks that senator mcconnell has done to ship our jobs overseas. it continues with strengthening the middle class, and we do that by increasing the middle wage -- increasing the minimum wage. mcconnell has said no to increasing the minimum wage. >> so jobs are going to be the center of your -- >> putting hard-working kentuckians back to work, yes. >> there is a great likelihood i will be the leader of the majority in the senate next year. the majority leader gets to set the agenda not only for the country but to look out for kentucky's interests.

one of the basic questions is, who can do the most for kentucky over the next six years? we have had an anti-jobs agenda during this administration. virtually everything the president has tried to do has been a job destroyer -- the spending, are owing, taxing, the over regulating. if we had a chance to have a new agenda in the senate to take america in a different direction, we would vote on things like approving the keystone pipeline, which would enable that 20,000 people to go to work very quickly. we would be voting on things like pushing back against the environmental protection agency and its war on coal. it has cost us 7000 coal mining jobs during the obama years. 7000 coal mining jobs, and for every coal mining job, you use -- you lose three more employees. >> so your signature compliment would be?

>> create jobs. get america going again in a different direction. >> there have been a number of media reports on voting, and who voted for which president and what year it happens to be in. secretary grimes, you made news across the state and the nation about that question. the first question to you is, why are you reluctant to give an answer on whether or not you voted for president obama? >> there is no reluctance. this is a matter of principle. our constitution grants in kentucky the constitutional right for privacy at the ballot box for a secret ballot. you have that right, senator mcconnell has the right, every kentuckian has that right. i am tasked with overseeing and making sure we are enforcing all of our election laws, and i have worked very closely, especially with our members of the military, to ensure privacy at the talent box. >> so your relaxants -- so your

reluctance is a matter of principle? >> i am not going to compromise a constitutional right provided here in kentucky in order to curry favor on one or other side or from members of the media. >> you will not answer the question tonight? >> again, you have that right, senator mcconnell has that right. every kentuckian has the right to privacy at the ballot box. if i do not stand up for that right, who in kentucky will? >> when you responded to the question during the campaign, you said you were a clinton democrat. in yourious about what mind separates a clinton democrat from an obama democrat. well, from my work in kentucky and in this campaign, is one that is based on growing the middle class. as we saw under president clinton's tenure, especially when you increase the minimum

wage, you help to expand the middle class. we saw the largest growth under president clinton's tenure than ever before. we have not seen that. of whoecause not just sits in the white house, the congress has a role. your united states senator plays a huge role. you have yet to hear from senator mcconnell how he would help kentucky get more jobs. he does not even think it is his job to bring jobs to kentucky. that is his words to the folks in lee county, kentucky. >> so the difference between a clinton and obama democrat is? growing going -- it is the middle class in the right way. >> may i respond? >> there is no difference. the clintons support, for example, what the epa is doing in the war on coal. there is not a difference between a clinton democrat and an obama democrat. there is no sacred right to not announce how we vote. i voted for mitt romney probably.

i voted for john mccain. by the way, in 2012, 116 out of 120 kentucky counties agreed with my judgment that we might be in better shape now, admit romney been elected. with regard to the -- had mitt romney been elected. with regard to the minimum wage that raising the minimum wage would cost half a million to one million jobs in the country. an economist in the courier-journal sunday said the city of louisville is thinking of doing it by itself. it would cost 1400 jobs in the city of louisville. 50% of these jobs come from young people who, in the obama economy, or having a heckuva time finding work. i cannot think of a worse time for killing jobs. there are times when an increase in the minimum wage would be

appropriate. but not in this kind of a time with jobs recovery. >> when he went to california, he was against it. suddenly he is for it. you were consistently against helping people in kentucky actually earn a living wage. let me respond to the false allegations regarding the study the has been done. 90% of those who are on the minimum wage are older than 20 years old. >> senator, let me allow bethany spencer from owensboro to tweet -- do you think the minimum wage is a livable wage? >> the minimum wage is largely an entry level. 50% of those who earn it our young people who begin a career. they do not stay at that rate for very long. kindf you engage in this of minimum wage increase right now -- and this is a liberal staffer who used to work for

bill clinton, who runs a congressional budget office. betweenyou will destroy half a million and one million jobs. 50% of young people. it is not the way to grow our economy. the reason things like this are being contemplated is because of this slow recovery we have had after the recession of 2008. everything the administration has done has made the recovery worse -- the borrowing, spending, taxing, over regulating. the last thing we ought to be doing in my view is destroying jobs for young people. >> secretary grimes, how do you counter that argument? the minimum wage is a living wage? >> i do believe that we do need to work to increase the mmm wage so that it is a living wage. -- the minimum wage so that it is a living wage. the studies that have been done in kentucky -- that is what senator mcconnell has lost sight of. being in washington for 30 years

can do that. the study that has been done here in kentucky, they show if you increase the minimum wage, you would help to increase income for 30% of kentuckians. create thousands of good paying jobs. >> would it not be a job killer? >> what the cbo report says -- and he will not tell you -- is the full story. it would health -- it would help lift one million americans out of poverty. the way we grow the middle class and put hard-working kentuckians back to work is by giving them a living wage. i don't fault senator mcconnell for becoming a multimillionaire on the backs of hard-working kentuckians. that is what america is about. keepingotten rich while the key kentuckians poor. >> i cannot let that stand rich he has begin than four pinocchios for that as well.

are you not a millionaire? >> she knows that is a result of inheritance that my wife got when her mother passed away, and she has consistently gone around all over the state and suggested that i have somehow enriched myself at public expense. moneymily has made more off the government in the past 10 years than i have been paid in a salary in all my time in the senate. that is an outrageous suggestion. she knows it is wrong. she has been given four pinocchios and repeatedly for continuing to say that. >> the votes speak of themselves, 17 times voting no on the minimum wage. he is not forgiving kentuckians a minimum wage. gets up atmama who 6:00 a.m. to work two jobs because not only does she have a senator who thinks she deserves equal pay for equal work, but she is not earning a living wage. we have to change that not just for the women of kentucky but for the women of this nation.

the workers in kentucky and the workers across the nation. >> let me remind everyone if you are just tuning in that this is at and you are watching debate between senator grimes and that between secretary grimes and senator mcconnell. in the kentucky u.s. senate republican primary in 2010, who did you vote for? >> trey grayson. , what is the you difference in a tea party republican and establishment republican? >> that is a very good question. the tea party movement was popular kind of a uprising against the spending, borrowing, and taxing of the obama administration. it produced a lot of energy and enthusiasm for our party, which i think led to a lot of success in 2010. we have had some spirited primaries around the country since then, just like the

democrats have had in kentucky forever. it leads to a stronger party in the general election. i had a primary myself this year. seat.ot own the i have to earn it. i think it produces no bad democratic more than primaries have produced that outcomes for them and governors races over the years. >> i assume most people who have followed the u.s. senate race in kentucky have heard you both speak a lot about issues. if they have not heard you speak, they have seen an ad or two on television or on the radio. i do not know if they have heard you talk a lot about how what you believe contributes to what you think might be the philosophy or the role of government that you have. talk to me about the fundamental role, the proper role of government in people's lives, secretary grimes? >> i do believe that government has a place to help make the

lives of kentuckians better. we are a superpower in the world, and we have two objectives -- to advance our economic interests and to protect our u.s. homeland. that does not mean that we have to be the world's police. i think we have work that we have to do with battles right here on our home front. kentucky, they include helping to put thousands of who,ckians back to work under senator mcconnell, 30 years in washington, has found themselves in dire circumstances, unable to put food on the table and gas in their cars. it begins my making sure the women of kentucky get equal pay for equal work. something that senator mcconnell has been against. it begins by making sure our --iors -- my grandmothers that they have a senator who

strengthens and protects medicare and social security. >> do you see that as the role of government in people's lives? >> i believe government has a place to make the lives of kentuckians better. senator thatve a knows kentucky through and through, not one that is out of touch, but one that knows the people of kentucky and their struggles. >> senator mcconnell? >> equal pay for equal work has been part of the civil rights act of 1964 and 1965. the job of the senator, in my view, is to protect to the maximum extent possible this great country and its framework. the framework involves, bill, they can sure people have the opportunity to realize their ambitions. which means that too much government can frequently be a deterrent to opportunity. that is something we have to watch to protect against.

when you have an explosion of andding and debt and taxes regulation like we have had over the last few years, it compresses the economy, making it less likely our young people can find work can begin to dig their way out of all of this. now, in the senate there is an and protectto save jobs almost every day. in paducah, for example, the cleanup at the paducah infusion plan, the new conversion plant that is being advocated and supported by the guy you are looking at. the chemical weapons cleanup is employing hundreds and hundreds of high skilled people. stepping in at lake cumberland this year, when they decided a little fish was endangered by raising the water level. we couldhat problem so

get tourism back up and running this year. it is a combination of protecting the people, bettering their lives and creating jobs on a virtually weekly basis by preventing things that kill jobs and appropriate funds that create jobs opportunities. >> senator grimes, could you give me one specific from your jobs plan where the federal government would enhance people's lives in kentucky back of her close to her. -- kentucky. what is seen in kentucky is that our unemployment is above the national average. 90,000 jobsng a deficit. under his watch, middle-class kentuckians are continuing to struggle. the areas just mentioned -- jobs are lost, not recovered. my jobs plan calls for making sure we actually grow the middle class the right way.

we can help kentuckians' lives improve by making sure that we fight for early childhood education, we fight to give toinesses a tax incentive provide child care services. we fight for veterans to receive the proper treatment when they come back from serving this country. and the benefits that they deserve. >> and you are confident the federal government, if you are elected, would participate in those ideals? >> we fight for the vital infrastructure projects that kentucky needs and deserves. eastern kentucky, western kentucky, i-66 and 69. these are projects that the senator should be fighting for. of that is factually accurate. the biggest problem we have in the country that affects kentuckians in a dramatic way is this job killing obama

administration, which my opponent supports. they have crushed the economy. this is the slowest recovery after a deep recession since world war ii. normally when you have a deep recession, you have a quick bounce back. it did not happen this time, and the reason it did not happen is because all of the government excess we have experienced in the obama years has been particularly acute in our state with the war on coal. the congress in the first two years of the obama administration, when it was entirely controlled by the president's party, obamacare, dodd frank and all the rest, could not give cap and trade through the congress. now he is trying to do it through the epa. this is an administration created depression in eastern kentucky. giving barack obama another vote in the senate, continuing this democratic majority in the senate is not going to do

anything to improve america's economy, and certainly not kentucky's economy. >> we will address coal and we will address the economy. fouror mcconnell, one in kentucky children live in poverty. why? >> because we have not had the kinds of growth and opportunity -- i keep saying the same thing over and over again -- but the economy is very sick. even though unemployment appears to go down, the number of people working for work is the same number of people -- looking for work is the same number of people you had in the carter administration. it is the labor participation rate. a lot of people have dropped out. we need to lift people up. the only way to do that is through a vibrant private sector. this administration has been a disaster at getting our economy going. it has been doubly acute during -- because of the assault on the

coal industry. >> we hear reports from economists that there are strong job gains nationally in 2014, on pace to be the best job growth for years and's 1990's. the unemployment rate is below 6% for the first time since 2008. 10.3 million jobs, over 55 straight months. doesn't this speak that things are on the uptick? >> not by much. it is a very tepid recovery, the most tepid recovery after a deep recession since world war ii. it is not providing enough lift. and then if you add onto that this devastating assault on the coal industry by the epa, and it explains why kentucky is lagging even in this slow economy. we are slower than the rest because of the assault by this administration on our state. >> secretary grimes, let me ask you to address the poverty question, one in four children living in poverty. and i asked the question -- why?

>> the jobs plan -- it is a statistic that needs to be at the center. not just one that after 30 years -- you address it? >> that is what united states senators should be fighting for. our jobs plan is an action oriented jobs plan that works for our families and veterans, cultivating what is unique in kentucky. training our workers not just for today but for tomorrow, they concur that we are invigorating appalachia and offering better wages and negotiating a better deal. we do this not only by fighting to strengthen and protect our good coal jobs, but making sure we diversify our economies in eastern and western kentucky, something our jobs plan that was developed with kentuckians from both eastern and western kentucky acknowledge has been a failure under senator mcconnell. we have to have someone who wants to make sure to invest in the infrastructure projects we

need in kentucky. andscience, technology, math programs. we need someone who wants to bring eastern and western kentucky not -- to bring eastern and western kentucky online, not someone like senator mcconnell who wants to vote against on the best bills to bring in that growth. >> she did not mention a single program except the minimum wage. the minimum wage increase that she advocates is going to cost us a lot of jobs for young people. a much better way to target the low income people you are talking about is the earned income tax credit. the way to deal with that in them -- the way to deal with that underemployment problem, a much better way to do it without killing any jobs is the earned income tax credit, which is already a part of the tax law and all to be grown and expanded.

>> that may stop here, bill. that is amazing to see the senator say that the earned income tax bill is something that should be grown, because he supported bills that actually/it lash it.that actually sha the earnedis against income tax credit. >> i don't have any idea what she has talking about. i have been a long supporter of the -- slashsupported bills that it. >> in a large budget vote there are probably things in there that you can pluck out that anyone of us might not prefer. but when you put together a budget, and secretary grimes has not had this experience yet, but when you put together a whole budget, you will not approve of absolutely everything in there. what the budget is designed to

do is put an overall cap on what we are going to spend. you cannot serve in a legislative body and not occasionally cast a vote for something that you are not crazy about because there are other things in the measure that you like. secretary, let's talk about the affordable care act. secretary grimes, you have said of the a for double care act you would like to see it streamlined and fixed. i believe that is a quote. asking this by question, a tweet from john valentine in louisville -- "has obamacare and connect been a boon or a bane for the majority ians?"kentucky an the website can continue, but in my view, the best interest of

be achieved byld pulling out obamacare root and branch. let me tell you why. in order to provide subsidies for the uninsured -- roughly 40 million of them -- 85 million americans had health insurance. obamacare took $700 million out of medicare, the program for the elderly, and use it -- 700 billion dollars out of medicare, the program for the elderly, out of the last 10 years, and subsidize people -- that was mistake number one. number two, the medical device tax, and the health insurance premium tax. over on the consumers side, you have lost jobs, the cbo estimates 2.5 million jobs lost. higher premiums, higher deductibles, higher copayments. a lot of catastrophic impact on

the nation's health care system, which could have been avoided by not passing this 2700 page bill that put the government in charge of america upon health care. that was a big mistake. with regard to connect, it is a be --exchange that can with regard to the medicaid expansion, that is a state decision. oure -- states decide -- in state, the governor decided to expand medicaid. >> you would support the continuing of connect? >> i think it is fine to have a website, yeah. >> well, it has also ensured 520 1000 -- 85,000 of those are in the private insurance market. >> those people, in all likelihood, now are paying more for less. in the hospitals are now

experiencing a new kind of uncompensated care. people who now have insurance but the copayments ended up the bulls are so high, they still cannot pay. the federal government is now telling health insurance companies what they can sell. and couple of points, secretary grimes, we will ask you to respond in a couple of minutes. on the cbo report of $716 billion, that is spread out over 10 years. and $400 billion, according to the research i read, is due to changes in annual updates on fee-for-service payments to hospitals and other services like home health. they are a value-based reference in payment to medicare. >> that is washington talk for a cut. i have had 70 hospital town hall meetings over the last two years. our hospitals are being rim racked by these reductions.

these are the people who take care of the elderly, and they are being rim racked by the obamacare medicare reimbursement reductions. i was in a couple of meetings with the home health care organization in the last couple of weeks. they are not going to be able to provide as many services because of these cuts. so let's make sure we understand what we are talking about. the 700 billion dollar rate on medicare, a program for the elderly, in order to provide subsidies for people who are not old and not poor enough to be on medicaid, that bill is a huge mistake. >> one other point on job loss -- didn't the cbo reports say the decline in the number of equivalent workers are people not being employed at all and others working fewer hours? isn't that how some have interpreted, and i think you said, a job loss? 2.5 million fewer people will

be working. i don't think that is a good idea for the country to have more joblessness, particularly , whichsult of this bill was a huge step in the wrong direction. i think it is the worst piece of legislation that has passed in the last half-century. >> and it is substantiated by fact that premiums are going up all across the country. >> yeah. premiums are going up, the doctor bulls are going up, copayments are going up. just the other day -- deductibles are going up, the payments are going up. i am sure there are some people who are getting insurance who did not have it before. most of the people who signed up are medicaid eligible people who are signing up. but on the private insurance market, it has rim racked the private insurance market. >> but it is 85,000 people, though. >> many who got insurance after

their old policies were canceled, and their new policies are not as good. >> how would you vote on a bill to repeal the affordable care act? >> i have said this is a matter of standing up for 500,000 kentuckians, over half a million kentuckians. there is work we have to do to fix the affordable care act, but we have a senator who realizes what the realities are in kentucky, and the fictional fantasy land that mitch mcconnell is in -- we have over half million kentuckians who for the first time ever are filling prescriptions, they are going to the doctor and getting checkups. i will not be a senator that rips that insurance from their hand. >> would you give me one specific area where you would either streamline or fix, in your words, the affordable care act? >> sure. extending the grandfathering clause. if you like your doctor in your

plan -- and your plan you should be up to keep it. we need to mean that. there is more work that has to be done, but it requires a senator that wants to stop the ing toan politics and try score points on -- over half a million kentuckians lives are better as a result of expansion ofear's medicaid and the government-based exchange. there is work we have to do, but we need a senator who wants to the in conjunction with state of kentucky getting it done. >> let's move to a topic that came up a minute ago that has garnered quite a bit of interest during the campaign. there are plenty of coal miners in east kentucky who have been out of work for two years or more, and i will bet some of them are watching tonight. how will you help them after

this election, senator mcconnell? >> here is the problem. we have already discussed it at some length, but it is worth going back to because it is one of the biggest problems we had stayed right now. the administration has issued twoal regulations and -- as regulations through the epa. know --d everything i number two and starting a system for plant. initially they want to shut it down. if you look at the rest -- and we know with the mission is. it is goal -- it is global carbon emissions. no industrialized country in the world is going to do this. germany, for example, which used to be the greenest country in europe, is now importing coal. have called

greenpeace a threat to their economy and said they have no interest in reducing carbon emissions. the chinese are building coal-fired plants. the australians just repealed their carbon tax, which is their version of what president obama is trying to do in the united states. even if you felt that this is a doingworth pursuing, our it all by ourselves is going to have zero impact. so what we need to do in congress -- and we have not been able to get any votes because harry reid will not let a single to occur.al the funding ofct the environmental protection agency so they cannot go down this path area >> a quick follow-up question -- is this a place that a world power should take a leadership position in and be the first to take action against -- >> the president has been trying to take a leadership position, no one is interested in tying

their hands behind their back and creating more problems for their people in pursuit of a goal they do not -- >> you are not looking for the united states to be the first one? >> our job is to look out for kentucky's coal miners. administration has engaged in an assault. changeamerican people the makeup of the senate and give me a chance next year to set the agenda for the country and for kentucky, we will at least be voting on efforts to rein in epa. let me say one final thing. won'tason harry reid allow any votes on coal is because he is afraid they will actually pass. i will guarantee we will vote on those kinds of issues. >> secretary grimes, how will you help coal miners if you are elected? >> i am helping them right now,

trying to push our current senator to support commonsense measures that would protect the health and safety of our miners. proposed by jay rockefeller and senator manchin, to make sure that the health care coal protection benefit act is supported by kentucky senator s, all things that have not happened yet. i am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the united mine workers in kentucky and across the nation. they have endorsed me because they are ready for a center that will have their back and fight to make sure they will get the benefits they are due and deserve, not have to fight, as they are doing right now, the current senator, to get the benefits that they deserve, the protection that helps make it easier for our minors, their retirees, the widows, their families to get those benefits. senator mcconnell has told you here tonight he wants to repeal route and branch, making sure --

to repeal root and branch. we have to work across the aisle in a coalition effort to build, especially with other energy producing states, the effort to make sure that senator reid or whomever the majority leader is listens to those here in kentucky to make sure that cold has itshat coal rightful place as a primary american export. he is still not being heard in washington, especially to the benefit of our coal miners. >> secretary grimes, what is your position on climate change? do you question at all the scientific evidence and research that lends itself to the debate going on with climate change? >> i don't think you have to be a scientist to recognize the realities of what is happening around us. it did not stop senator mcconnell from having an opinion on how to move the economy

forward. it should not stop you here. i recognize, unlike senator mcconnell, the realities of global warming. but i do believe we have to take a balanced approach, and that is fighting to protect the good jobs we have here in the state, especially coal jobs, with a solution to make sure that we leave this world in a better place for my nieces and nephews, for the children i hope to have some day. i think that balanced approach is looked at as a fighting example for clean coal technology. kentucky has gone without the funding we need to make such technology affordable. we cannot go any longer without a senator that does not have the backbone to stand up and fight for our miners and their jobs. >> do you believe that clean coal technology is in fact working and is viable and there is a demonstration of that somewhere in the united states or the world? >> i believe it exists.

i believe we have to fight -- >> where is it? >> you can see in west virginia, the research in -- the research and development they are doing there is tremendous. i will be the senator, and i am proud of -- i am proud to have the united mine workers support. >> you have talked about the economy, senator mcconnell -- and i think you would grant that you are not an economist -- and the aca, but you are not a medical doctor. we shouldieve that even be discussing climate change? >> look, there are a bunch of scientists who feel this is a problem and maybe we can do something about co2 emissions. george will, the economist, wrote recently that back in the 1970's a lot scientists felt we were moving toward an ice age. i think the main thing to understand here is the job of the united states senator from

kentucky is to fight for coal jobs in our state. this administration has destroyed 7000 of them. it is not surprising that secretary grimes had the support wa.the um >> i think it is worth noting -- i hate to interrupt -- under senatorinistration, mcconnell fails to see he has a role, and all of the jobs that have been lost in the state, they are on your watch. you have been here for 30 years, and you do not want to take any responsibility for the loss of jobs in the state. it is wrong. >> secretary grimes, if i may, congress did not pass what the president is doing. we defeated it. when your party controlled both the house and the senate by large majorities. ons is a barack obama war

the coal industry, through the epa. congress did not do any of this. >> and a failure on senator mcconnell's part to form a coalition to stand up. you cannot just read one line of a cbo report or take one line of a resume. and what senator mcconnell's resume shows -- what he has been working for is not the people of kentucky or easton weston kentucky looking to have their economies further developed. the only person washington benefiting the senator mcconnell in the millionaires in billionaires that he has bankrolled. >> to you want to respond to that, senator? we mentioned this before, that we started our conversation with a economist from the courier-journal. coursebeen teaching a

this semester about you, the u.s. senate race. one of their assignments was to write out a question. this is from anthony pendleton, a jr. from lexington. he wrote this question -- "student loan debt hit a recently -- a recent high of $1.2 trillion. from keeping people getting married, buying a home." what do we do to fix this, senator mcconnell? >> the reason this young man has a problem like this is because the economy is so poor. we are in a situation here where ,oung people get out of school having gone into serious debt, and then they cannot find work. unless we get the economy going, the -- this problem is going to persist. thatponent supports a bill is a big tax increase, and i think that is exactly the wrong

thing to do in this environment. until we get the economy going, we are not going to be able to have much of an impact on this problem. obamacare also, affects this. the governor's decision to expand medicaid, the two biggest items in any state budget are medicaid and education -- that leads to the legislature reducing funding for education, that is passed on to public universities and they raise tuition. health care is driving tuition up and compounding the problem further for these young people. >> secretary grimes? >> i think this again shows the complete difference between senator mcconnell, the senator of the past and the senator for the future, a senator who just gave you washington speak versus someone who is kentucky through and through. someone who wants self-promotion for his party, versus someone who wants to be a senator for the people of kentucky come especially our students.

i wholeheartedly believe the filibustering effort senator mcconnell led against the recent bill this year to reduce the student loan debt facing our students was wrong. we have to have a senator that havezes we have to -- we students here in kentucky who are being crushed by student loan debt. a woman made the right decision, went to college, that she now has a student loan payment that is higher than her mortgage. she does not have a senator who wants to back her. she has a senator in mitch mcconnell who said he does not want to consider allowing a debate or a vote on refinancing student loan. >> do you support the legislation? >> it is not just senator warren will. it is supported by countless republicans as well. to make sure we are putting kentuckians, especially our students and graduates first. they deserve a senator who wants --

>> it is not supported on a bipartisan basis at all. all it does is pass the debt onto the federal government, which under the obama administration, the debt has exploded. debt during the obama years than all the presidents from george washington down to george bush. so senator -- so secretary grimes is saying let's have more debt. what we are leaving behind for them is threatening their future. every generation of americans has gone to their grave believing that they could -- that they had in fact left behind a better america than their parents left for them. that is now in doubt, and his massive debt we have hanging over the future has really compromised the chances of our young people from fulfilling their dreams and living the kind of lives they had hoped to live. >> if i might, i want to address the massive debt that we have -- it is $17 trillion. it is 17 trillion reasons why

not to send senator mcconnell back. two wars on the nation's credit card? >> i will ask you to go first. november 4 has great significance for you. but on november 5, kentuckians all over this commonwealth will get up, go to a job, if they have one, pay a mortgage, and they will try to feed a family. what i want to pose to both of you -- they want to know which of you they can trust more to provide for them a decent standard of living and equality of opportunity. secretary grimes, you have 30 seconds. >> well, i believe kentuckians see my record -- it is a record of being an independent thinker, putting partisanship aside, and putting the people of this state first. that is what my job is all about. the copperheads of jobs plan, i am the only one in this race with a comprehensive -- the comprehensive jobs plan.

i am the only one in this race with a comprehensive job plan. that we fight for them to earn a living wage. that we fight for women to pass not just the right but that it be enforced, equal pay for equal work. that we fight for our seniors to strengthen and protect our seniors for social security. >> a very good question. for ourbest look out state over the next six years? i think i have demonstrated that i have the leadership qualities to do that. a recent poll of congressional ers called me the hardest working member of the united states senate out of 100. we have a chance to have the hardest working senator for another six years. >> senator, secretary, thank you for being here. join us next week for another program on "kentucky tonight."

>> campaign 2014 is bringing you more than 100 debates for control of congress. stay in touch with our coverage and engage. c-span,s on twitter and and like us at facebook.com/c-span. "washington journal" begins in a moment. and lookake your calls at today's news. a health panel will investigate the use and possible abuse of government issued credit cards. live coverage from the house oversight committee begins at 1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. and we will have more campaign 2014 coverage tonight. we will bring you a live u.s. senate debate from arkansas. incumbent senator mark pryor will face republican challenger tom cotton live at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> coming up, a conversation out of on women and the november elections. we talk with ilyse hogue,

president of naral pro-choice america. tosell moore joins us discuss the role evangelicals are playing in the 20 14th campaign. we will take your facebook comments and tweets. ♪ good morning, everyone. tuesday, october 14. the director of the cdc yesterday said the agency is rethinking its approach to ebola infection control after a dallas nurse became infected. with policy changes on the table, republicans and democrats pointing fingers at each other and cutting funding for public health. should congress increase public health in light of ebola? republicans, 202-585-3881. democrats, 202-585-3880. independents and all others,.