contagious? >> later in the disease when people are deathly ill, they may not have a fever but they would be able to walk at that point. >> you need to show symptoms within 21 days of exposure. are contagiousu at that point? time, anywhereon from 0-21 days. question early within the first 21 days or so. >> you said there were 121 people from west africa to the united states. you are opposed to -- constituents are in favor of traveling -- i predict you or the president will put on traveling restrictions. i think they are coming and i think sooner rather than later. 150 a day and you rationalize,

we do not need to worry about that because they can get across borders and go by land. that number might be reduced to five or 10 a day? >> i cannot comment on what numbers. >> if someone had to make an effort rather than going on airport and jumping on a plane, if they really had to, don't you think the number would dramatically dropped? >> i know people come back. right now we are able to screen them and collect information. >> what if they do not come back? a lot of people miss country, they do not come back. what happens then? if you have five coming in today, i were my constituents rather have five a day coming in. this thing of checking for temperatures, like it will help, is like scrubbing what does not need to be scrubbed. i would like to commend reading this copy, "ebola is coming to

america." the u.s. had a chance to stop the virus in its tracks, but it missed. the issue came out before mr. duncan came to this country and before he was diagnosed with ebola. there is good reading in there. i also recommend, if you want to google a hospital from hell, swamped by ebola, hospital from hell, if you get a chance to read that, i think everyone would be in favor of the travel restrictions we talked about today, and today, the health administration just today said customs and border control immigration and enforement agents are at risk of coming into contact with ebola. are we prepared for that? are your agents protected? this came out today.

>> we train them on how to wear the protective gear and what circumstances. travel with a whole host of potential diseases, we are aware and we trained to recognize signs of over illness. we have protocols without professionals to get those travelers into that care and protect our employees. >> they fall in the same category as nurses. they're there to save us and protective of the country. god bless you. i yield back. >> the gentleman's time is expired. >> thank you so much. i have a number of questions. i would like to start in regard to the two nurses exposed, my understanding is the first nurse, ms. phan, was exposed in the emergency room. is that correct? >> could you repeat the question? >> the first nurse was in the emergency room?

is that correct? >> no, that would not be correct. she came in contact with mr. duncan when mr. duncan was transferred up to the e.d. >> that was some time up from september 28 through the 30th. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> the second nurse, ms. vincent, was she also an icu nurse? >> correct. >> so they were exposed after the point -- >> that is not correct. the nurses from the time may have first contact with mr. duncan were in personal protective equipment according to cdc guidelines.

nina cared for mr. duncan. >> i will stop you right there. they are already using universal precautions, but were using more isolation. just answer yes or no. >> yes. >> ok. dr. frieden, this, and i will just back up, on october 2 -- excuse me, october 6, i sent a letter to cdc calling for travel restrictions. there is no question i believe travel restrictions need to be put in place. after having this subcommittee hearing now, i believe even more strongly that we need them. i want to back up to a couple of

questions for dr. frieden and dr. fauci. are there multiple strains of ebola? >> five different subspecies. this outbreak is one particular subspecies. all of these have been closely related. >> we know it has been isolated to one particular strain. the quote was, unless it mutates, there will not be an outbreak here in the united states, is that correct? >> there will not be a large outbreak here barring a mutation. >> when nurses were using protective gear, how coud this have happened? it tells me something is changing herein are we currently looking into the situation now? >> what we have seen is very little change in the virus. we do not think it is spreading by any different way. >> you have already said a couple of times it is not airborne. you are protecting yourself and your protecting your patient and

you are protecting your family. based on precautions, i am sure. we are now having this conversation and i am concerned about that. >> we are confident this is not airborne transmission. these nurses working very hard and working with a patient who was very ill and was having a lot of vomiting and diarrhea. a lot of infectious material. the investigation is ongoing, but we immediately implemented a series of measures to increase safety. >> i will move on. in the discussion of fast tracking a test for ebola, where is the fda on that? >> a diagnostic test? there are three authorized for use. we have taken some proactive steps by contacting commercial manufacturers who we know have

potential technologies to be brought to bear here. we reached out to a handful who might be interested in working with us. >> you're in the process of working toward a fast-track process. >> yes. we expedite every such path. >> dr. frieden, i am speaking on behalf of my constituents in every in my country. i just do not believe it is acceptable, the quote you have given us, as the reason for why we should not implement travel. -- travel restrictions. i believe we can. as far as our border patrol, do you believe there is a way we can implement tracking of individuals, if we do not allow it? >> yes. we have a way to determine that through review of passport. it is easier when they come to direct places. >> true, thank you.

thank you for indulging. i am over time here. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate your holding this hearing. i've talked to a number of health care professionals and listened to the panel as well. i want to join with chairman upton in urging the president to immediately institute a travel ban until such time as they can firmly and scientifically prove that americans are safe from having more ebola patients coming into the united states. i know, dr. frieden, you expressed disagreement with that. have you all had any conversations within the white house about a travel ban and whether or not the president has the authority? many of us have said the president does have the authority to do it today. >> from the point of view of cdc, we are willing to consider anything --

>> have you considered that and have you ruled it out, or have you not considered it at all? have you had conversations with the white house about a travel ban? it is a yes or no question. have you had conversations with the white house about a travel ban? >> we have had discussions on the issue of travel -- >> have you ruled it out? if you are in those conversations, maybe they had their own conversations without you, but if you were involved in conversations with the white house about a travel ban, did they rule it out and are they still considering it? >> we will consider anything -- >> are you going to answer the question about your conversation with the white house? is the white house considering a travel ban? >> i can't speak for the white house. i can't speak for the white house. >> have you had conversations with them about it?

>> we discussed the issue of travel. >> i would urge you, if you do not think it travel ban is the right way to go, a lot of people disagree with you, at a minimum, you ought to look at immediately suspending visas for travel in the united states from liberia. have you all considered that were discussed it or ruled it out? >> at cdc, our authority is to acquire the isolation of individuals. >> but you said you do not think there should be a travel ban. what about at least looking at extending visas to non-u.s. >> at cdc, our authority is to citizens? >> the cdc does not issue visas. >> but you can make a recommendation to the white house that you think would be in the best interest of the american people to have that kind of suspension issued. are you not aware of that? >> we would certainly consider anything that will reduce risk

to americans. >> do you have a high level of confidence that our u.s. troops over there right now, already in those countries, up to 3000 of those trips will be sent over from president obama -- do you have a high level of confidence those trips are protected so they will not contract ebola? >> we work very closely with dod on the protocols. i would not say there is zero risk, they are in those countries, but they are not participating in high risk activities. >> who establishes protocols in that case? >> they are following cdc protocols, but they follow their own -- >> let me ask you about the protocols. i have heard reports that some people of some of the other organizations that have been there for a while, you have got

a group, a person by the name of shawn kaufman, who is involved with some of the doctors over there that got infected. they have been working for decades in some cases. he said he warned your agency that the guidelines you had on ebola were relaxed and his response was "they kind of blew me off." >> do not know that occurred. >> i hope you go find out. there is a real concern. one of the concerns i get from those i've talked, a number of medical professionals in my district, they are concerned they have not had consistent protocols. there have been at least four in

the last few weeks were the protocols keep changing. with the first nurse that was infected, you personally said the protocols have been breached. have you back away from that? you said the protocols were breached. were the protocols breached? yes or no? >> our review of the records suggest -- if you did not know for a fact -- do you still stand by the statement that protocols were breached by the first nurse? >> there was a definite exposure -- >> i yield back. >> the ranking member and the chairman have a final two-minute wrapup. >> it's fair to say it looks like the first nurse was exposed in the first couple of days before the diagnosis came in. >> that is our leading hypothesis. >> thank you. dr. varga, have you now see in

my chart from "the new york times" about protective gear? >> yes. >> do you know which types of protective gear health-care workers were wearing in the last few days? >> the second garb, folks would have been wearing that in the first picture. >> thank you. it is your testimony, you do not really know how either one of these nurses were. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> i want to say one last thing. we have had a lot of discussions today about a lot of issues. my takeaway, i will make a statement and i will ask you to comment. it seems to me, aside from trying to stop the ebola from africa, the things we can do here, number one, better training to people in our

emergency rooms and first responders, not just send them out e-mails and bulletins. we can have more robust protective gear at an early stage if someone looks like he might have a risk for ebola. number three, it might be useful to have cdc on the ground earlier. they did not come down to the dallas hospital until after the diagnosis. there was two days, people were moving in and out of mr. duncan's room, and we do not know exactly what happened. dr. frieden, can you comment on that? >> i agree completely on the framing. we are looking carefully at the equipment issue. we consult immediately every time. consultations. only mr. duncan was confirmed to have ebola. we will do everything we can to support the front lines.

>> i would ask for both this protective gear chart and the flights to be included in the effort. i would also ask all of our witnesses if they would continue to keep this committee updated as changes in procedures or developments are made. i ask unanimous consent to put these statements in the record. >> i had previously asked for unanimous consent, but i do not think we ever agreed to it. >> it is so ordered. i now recognize myself for another two minutes. so having listened to all of your testimony, a couple things stand out for me. i appreciate dr. vargas' statement honesty that we made mistakes. i did not hear that for many of

you, and that troubles me, because what has happened here is your protocol depends on everyone being honest 100% of the time. i am not a medical expert. i study behavior as a psychologist. people are not honest 100% of the time. secondly, it relies on tools that take temperatures. a 1 in 21 chance they may register something. and a person can mask it. that is not helpful. we also have to recognize human behavior, the protocols may not be followed. watch you put it on and watch it , take it off and do things. the example of how this failed was there was an assumption, you said cdc granted travel. the assumption that you use all the right protective gear, but we looked at this and you are not aware of what she wore. to this extent, these are my recommendations. i believe we need an immediate ban on commercial and

nonessential travel from guinea, liberia, and sierra leone, until we have an accurate screening process to treat the disease. a mandatory court order for any american who has traveled to or return from the ebola hot zone countries, because of an assumption and without this assumption of what they were was donned and remove properly. number three, through training for health care hospital workers for personal equipment used in the treatment of ebola patients. and number four, identify and train. number five, identify gaps in the statutory language to take more aggressive and immediate action to protect public health

in ebola, including any other action congress needs to do to facilitate your needs. number six, accelerate on development and deployment of clinical trials investigations on drugs and diagnostic tests. number seven, acquisition of vehicles capable of transporting military personnel who may have contracted ebola in africa to return to the united states beyond the current capacity of two. number eight, additional contact and testing for public health agencies. number nine, to provide information to congress and the resources needed to assist health interventions in africa so we can stop ebola there. i appreciate the members coming back today for the hearing and i especially appreciate the testimony of the panel.

i ask unanimous consent all testimony be entered into the record. >> yes. >> so ordered. they will be demonstrated in the record. >> mr. chairman, i want an acknowledgement -- >> we will follow up and notify participants and when that will be. i ask that witnesses plea agreed to respond properly paired with that, the hearing is adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy.

visit ncicap.org]

>>what should the next step be? i will encourage the president to put in a no-fly zone in that region of the world, particularly for folks trying to travel here on a visa. we need to send the signal now. our border is closed. until we resolve this issue in west africa, we are not going to allow folks with these is from that region to becoming the united states a weekend at the

problem fixed. >> i gave a list of several recommendations, and i want the white house to consider those, including a travel ban of it those coming to the united states until we have those problems solved, to make sure we have trouble recessions once the connector and the people who are treating ebola patients. it is clear that errors can be made and people can make mistakes, that people will not always be trustworthy about where they have been, and what we ought to be doing is all these steps. what we are asking for may amount to an inconvenience for some. the alternative is illness and death for some. we believe we should hold a higher standard at present, and the white house has all the right now, and

we would like to work with the cdc on this and move forward on some of these other restrictions. [indiscernible] verify to thes american people some aspects that a number of governments are looking at this. but it also sends some mixed messages saying they believe right now that they can trust and be aware of their exposure and they may not necessarily do that. i think it is important they know that congress is partners with the administration on this, we want to protect the american people, and that is our first step. >> i think the need for travel 'sn is clear under the cdc reasoning. yet the cdc does not know the number of flights, the number of personnel, supplies that are

coming in, so how can they base an entire decision to avoid a travel ban when they do not know the number behind the reason they are stating their opposition to the travel ban to. their reasons are the same thing as saying we should make sure that all children with chickenpox stay in school so we know who they are. it makes no sense. we must make sure we are protecting the american people making sure that travel from the affected area is restricted. >> any other questions? >> i join with the chairman and others in calling fo on president obama to issue a travel ban. this, the ability to do and there are still so many unanswered questions. at a minimum, the president non-uso at least stop citizens from those countries come here. i am does appointed the head of c would not discuss whether or not he has had discovered -- discussions with

white house. there are a lot of other questions that we need look at. if you look at some of the complaints like people like doctors without borders from some of the organizations that the western african countries that have been affected for decades, they have been critical of cdc's procedures. some suggested they been blown off by the cdc. the head of the cdc to be taken into that, finding out those employees that not been taking this seriously enough. >> [indiscernible] if the administration does not impose a travel ban, -- >> first of all, we have asked for the president to institute a travel ban. dr. freeman will not say whether or not it the white house has ruled it out. we are placing this on the white house, and are asking the president to institute a travel ban. let's see what he says. we want to give the president that opportunity.

>> [indiscernible] one of the things we have done is we are going to take the issue seriously. we are going to do whatever needs to be done. right now the ball is in the president's court. we have called on him to institute a travel ban. they ought to at least injure those questions. have they ruled it out, yes or no? a pretty straightforward question. to say on behalf of moms and nurses, health care workers across this country, i believe we are working together in a collaborative way. we want to work with the white house, we want to work with the president on this issue. if there is a better time for him to take out his pen, now is the time. let's put in place the trouble recessions we are looking for, let's get to the bottom of this issue before any other american is affected. back, one of the things we have to remind

americans, the chances of contracting the ebola virus is small as long as you're not supposed to someone else. that is why we are saying the travel ban should be in place to make sure we minimize those to protect the health of americans. >> [indiscernible] u.s. citizens have a right to the return to the country, but they can also be quarantined and learned -- and monitor. >> [indiscernible] >> we would like a proposal from the white house on how to handle this. the procedure now is full of holes. anything else? thank you. >> we will be showing the hearing today on ebola tonight on c-span with the head of the cdc, tom friedman, and the

director of the national institute's of allergy and infectious diseases about dr. anthony fauci. that entire hearing tonight and not cut p.m. eastern on c-span. officials with the state department and went on brief reporters about efforts to control the ebola outbreak in liberia. the ambassador to liberia and member of the disaster response team from usaid joined the conference by phone. this is about 40 minutes. >> good afternoon. we are ready to go, so i'm going to get us started here.

,ajor general darryl williams this is an on the record briefing. nobody can see each other, so everyone speak up a little bit and your name and who you are with, so they can get a visual. i have described the setting on the phone. pictureet a mental hopefully. ambassador, can you hear us? >> good afternoon. have a few opening comments, so over to liberia. >> thanks, ladies and gentlemen. here with meal in is the u.s. ambassador to liberia and then hemingway from usaid. i have a brief statement i would like to give before the monitor

opens the floor for questions. joint forces command united assistance and u.s. africa command is supporting a comprehensive u.s. government effort led by the u.s. agency of international development here to fight the outbreak of the ebola virus in liberia. after, established the joint force headquarters to facilitate all u.s. military forces to support usaid and other agencies in stopping the ebola outbreak. we are currently overseeing the establishment of logistics nodes, the monrovia medical unit , which is a 25 bed hospital, and up to 17 ebola treatment units as well as the training of health care providers and other usaid requests as approved by the secretary of defense. have made great progress since the president announced our participation here. the mission is getting momentum every single day. militarydded to

alliances and i can talk about that later. i can add that to the already and they'res here making a tremendous difference everyday. they are literally saving lives. we completed construction on the monrovia bed unit. soon it will be staffed by medical professionals from the u.s. public health commission core and fully operational. we are moving forward on all fronts and our servicemembers are excited to be here working hard with their liberian counterparts to and the outbreak. this is not an easy or simple mission, but working with the librarians -- working with the liberians, i believe we are starting to make real progress. at this time, i would be happy to take your questions. >> we will start with our senior wire reporter from bloomberg. >> what provisions are being made in case u.s. troops are

infected by the virus? have the hospitals been designated for care? what is in place right now if that happens? placehave protocols in with the augment of both increased medical capability and tag thatal-purpose will be helping soldiers get out of your inane a non-ebola event. throughne were to come and unfortunately contract this disease, we have quarantine protocols we would enact. they would be quarantined and we would put on the appropriate of and take care stabilize that patient until he can arrange for transportation to move them back to a facility.

do you see any need for contract staying companies for shipping and roll-on rolloff containers to supplement the military logistics equipment at this point? there already was a vibrant and robust logistical architecture. one of our concerns when we came in here was does the country of liberia have the contracting capacity? we are very happy with the local contracting capacity that is here and we are using a lot of the leveraging, gravel, wood, nails, those sorts of things are critical to building these ebola treatment units. we are bringing some capacity in but most of that is found in the

local economy used to build our various projects. you are spending millions of dollars or defense dollars on private u.s. or foreign contractors coming in and providing transportation assistance or construction assistance. again?that >> you do or do not anticipate spending millions of dollars of u.s. money for private contractors from the united states or europe to complement your effort? >> we have a continuum of contractors. we are the -- we are leveraging local contractors and contractors from other places as you just mentioned. we ares no sole-source using in terms of leveraging the contracting capability in this great country. comeback on one thing and i

have a couple of questions. capability, are you saying people need to be evacuated because they may have been determined to be at risk are showing no symptoms or may have fallen into a risk category , could they be evacuated by marines? that's my first question. >> thanks. there would be multiple ways we could have acted. that's possibly one way we would evacuate folks that had no known exposure or low risk and would not have ebola or exhibit ebola like symptoms. we measure twice a day, are monitoring is required by the recent guidance put out while we are here in liberia. yesterday, i had my temperature taken eight times before i got

on and off aircraft and before i went on the embassy. as long as you emphasize basic sanitation and cleanliness protocols using the chlorine wash on your hands and feet, getting your temperature taken, limiting exposure, no handshaking, those sorts of articles, i think the risk is relatively low. i'm not an epidemiologist, but it's been shown this disease is handlingfest when bodily fluids, blood, other sorts of fluids. right now foran u.s. soldiers or sailors to do the exception is the mobile labs that are here. myself wentor and or two. went up a day

there are four more coming. thesailors performing confirm or deny on the ebola virus are wearing ppe and they are testing for this virus. the other soldiers, sailors and marines are not coming into contact with specimens. >> if someone is asymptomatic at the moment but yet you have determined they came into contact but are currently asymptomatic but need to be monitored or evacuated out of the area, how are you getting them out short of them being determined to have the virus? they currently would be quarantined and watched will stop the personnel would attend and theynd where ppe would be stabilized and we would

provide one of these contracting mechanisms mentioned earlier. they would come and move them out to a medical facility. >> given the fact that in the united states over the last couple of days, the cdc guidelines seems to have potentially not worked as expected. look atonitor that and your own following of the are any of you looking at changing anything or censoring your own practice beyond the cdc guidelines? >> i will offer the ambassador to weigh in on this, but i have great confidence in the cdc guidelines. i meet with the current lead i have greatd confidence and don't land on adjusting any of the current guidelines.

>> if i could just follow up on the comments related to the guidelines -- our embassy has been open and operating in this ebola virus -- environment for six months and we have been following very carefully the cdc guidance from day one. we don't feel any need to have to make a change or deviate from the guidelines. everyone on sure the staff including local employees are well versed in all of that information and to this point, they are keeping us safe. this is courtney from nbc news. i'm still a little unclear on the procedures if some u.s. troops are exposed. not necessarily if they have ebola, but if they are in a group, the contracting

mechanism, i am assuming that is a contracting flight that would take them back to the united states. what facilities have been identified? what a good to a civilian the silty or military one? since you brought up the task, i believe those marines will redeploy. has there been an agreement with the government care about procedures for when they get back and whether they want them quarantined? considering they are not going back to the united states immediately, is there any kind of agreement with the government? that africana is currently working the procedures for those sorts of things and as you know, the 101st will come on and take this mission through its completion. weekend,hange out next

so we are also starting to work not just with spain but italy and other places where my current forces are coming from. we have folks from germany, italy and all over. that is being worked at higher levels to work those pieces will stop >> i'm a little unclear on the specific features for evacuating troops, particularly a group of troops exposed to ebola. is a contracted aircraft that brings them back to the u.s. and where will they go? start as the ambassador just mentioned, there are nongovernmental organizations, we fell in on a host of folks who have been living here for some time and operating in this complex environment.

if some a god forbid, one of these soldiers, sailors and or came into contact, we would go through the appropriate mcauliffe and people would be attending to them. symptomss shown those -- i've been here 30 days as of today, so they would be quarantined and we would synchronize and work those actions so they go back to the appropriate medical facility. ask has any u.s. military medical facility then identified as the one that would accept potential ebola exposed patients? >> not to my knowledge. i would have to get back to you on that old stop i know the are inurgeon, we constant contact with not only the joint surgeon but our own army surgeon about appropriate protocols.

got ad envision -- i've lot of time in europe that it would be activated but i cannot comment on that. i know that here on the ground, i am on the tactical level. my concerns are about stabilizing the soldier, airman and marine, making sure we use the appropriate ppe and then work the court and his age and and synchronization to get them to the appropriate facility where they can get the treatment they needed. >> thank you. >> this is christina from the hill. some lawmakers here are advocating for troops to directly treat it will patience. merithat idea have any and do you foresee that happening in the future? that is not currently in the department of defense portfolio to do that. what we are currently adding to

help fill the gaps at the elite girl agency are the mobile labs. that's the closest it comes to the ebola virus jane, if you will. we have three man sailor teams in the county who are making a big difference and handling people who have been inflicted with the ebola virus. the medical treatment you are talking about, currently the closest that comes to is the public health command i mentioned that will be manning the 25 bed hospital. dr.-nurse teams that will flow in in the next week or so will actually be involved in the care and feeding of health care workers who have been infected with the ebola virus. >> that team of 65 doctors and

nurses, are they u.s. personnel? >> yes, they are. on slowing the spread of ebola -- have you seen any progress in slowing the spread? >> not an epidemiologist. it then wants to talk about this have been30 days i here, i have seen great momentum. disease requires a team of teams, the department of defense team, the department of state team, the cdc, nongovernmental organizations, all of those together are providing the momentum we currently have. i won't speak for the ambassador, but she will tell there has been some change and a lot of the projections have been assuming no interventions. a lot of interventions are happening on scale.

aid has six streams that they track and the ambassador runs a daily update and we get the progress of how we are doing against it. i will tell you a lot of momentum is starting to occur and i'm very optimistic about our ability as a team to get after this fight. >> if you could elaborate on what exactly you think the impact has been so far of your mission there on the overall outbreak.stem the related to that, one of the explanations we heard at the beginning was reading in this logistical help, more ngos and more organizations would be able , arrive and help. are you see a -- are you seeing that and could usaid address that? >> i will let then start that.

>> in line with the question regarding the trends, it's difficult to make a concrete statement on the trends based on epidemiological data. several to look at epidemiological weeks and we are constantly working to improve the surveillance on the data and monitoring a trend there. say is the whole of government efforts the u.s. has wrought has definitely been catalyzing in not only bringing the hope for improved efforts at breaking this chain of infection but has improved the momentum behind the international expert supporte work in full with the government of liberia' for the reduction of the ebola out rate. we are putting together up to 17 ebola treatment units will stop

65 community care centers, to laboratories are in lace. providing training for local and international staff that will man these ebola treatment centers. significant logistics undertaking international and in country. face buriald up 56 teams -- safe burial teams that provide access to safe aerials countrywide. it's in the effort of the united nations to support the effort of the government of liberia. >> if i could add on to 10 loss excellent explanation. in this fight, leadership is very important. the leadership is working in complex empire months and leadership by the government of liberia and others here cannot

be underestimated. folks as thefrom ambassador, myself and a id confront this, they say you give us hope. the ambassador's leadership, a id's leadership is adding fuel to those gaps, trying to fill those gaps with our unique capabilities, our engineering oversight. here,rst week i was africa, commander redirected a there has effort and been over the shoulder expertise and stuff is going up in a vertical and resolved away very quickly. lastly, i will talk about the armed forces of liberia and what we are calling exercise it united shield. the brigadier general who is the commander of the armed forces of partnered withe

them and had you been out with us yesterday, if you had been out yesterday and you had seen all of these staffers, the liberian engineers constructing one of the ebola treatment units , it was awesome. we have a lot of momentum started here. >> i have a follow-up. going back to your comments hospital thatthe is now constructed, we had understood u.s. personnel would be training health care workers. but it sounds like what you are saying is u.s. personnel will actually be working with and treating health care workers there who may be infected with the virus. is that correct? >> both of your comments are correct. help trainn asked to the health care workers year, up to 500 week. here in and00

around monrovia and then have three teams in and around the area. up to 500 health care workers, we have been helped to ask any overall training effort. vod is not shouldering all of the training piece. the u.s. public health services are providing support to health care workers who, if they are unfortunately stricken with the disease, that is what their purposes. you never have to put anybody in it, but that is the purpose of the u.s. public health services and their job here. >> this is u.s. public health services. tony, maggie, jennifer and that is probably it. >> my question goes to budgetary resources.

the dod portion is expected to last six months will stop i'm wondering if you can say that would be sufficient or if you expect to have to come back and get additional funding will stop i think -- additional funding. i think it's $725 million so far. >> i believe we have the resources we need to fill the gaps a id has asked us to fill what our unique capabilities. that's probably all i want to say on that right now. i know the department of defense is committed to this, but the ambassador talked about that. there have been folks pulling on this rope for some time and we were brought in to fill some of those unique gaps. here, have helicopters and what they are principally doing -- i did not answer this earlier. they are principally completing the flight surveys. when you been to one unit, you

been to one unit. the ones in and around monrovia are flat. but when you go up north or south east you are in the jungle. you have the afl helping us clear the sites, and they are there with machetes hacking down that is also the local officials there. we are not just dumping these where we want. we are working with the communities and districts, the government of liberia to put these where they need to be and they are cited based on where the government of liberia tells us they need to be. i'm comfortable where we are with resources. we will see this through. the fact we are bringing in one of our 10 divisions, the 101st airborne division, he has about 40 folks on the ground.

if nothing else, the last 12 or 13 years have taught us how to do that. he wills -- he will fit right in with the leadership already asked that. griffin from fox news. if i can ask all three of you what are the biggest challenges, and most urgent challenges you are facing right now, the biggest problems you are facing and do you believe the u.s. should halt flights from liberia and the affected areas there? neighboring african countries have closed the borders. why do you not think it's a good idea to halt flights from west africa? >> i will do the first part and hand the rest to the ambassador. challenges for department of defense -- it rains a lot here. the infrastructure is challenging. using the we are vertical component of this great

country. we have been asked to build these ebola treatment units and resource them by using the water out of the air, so my biggest challenge right now is working through the environment. the ambassador tells me that the season is about to change, so we are about to go into different conditions. say we not underestimated, but i think we did not realize how wet it would be here and that is somewhat of a challenge will stop >> major-general williams has outlined some of the physical challenges of stop i would identify the issue of poor infrastructure. that, you can interpret in many different ways. as a goal infrastructure, human infrastructure, this is a very poor country only 11 years removed from a long and

devastating civil war that really destroyed everything. rebuilding has happened, but when you have an epidemic like this if ebola epidemic, that's affecting all parts of the country, it's very difficult to access many of the parts of the country in order to find out exactly what the disease is doing in some of these remote areas. have the overall challenge of understanding how we can communicate with all parts of the country and that what level we need to communicate our messaging to liberians. it varies greatly. the complex nature of this in an urban area like monrovia has never been seen before. at two separate kinds of epidemics. what happens in monrovia in a crowded area and what happens in a rural environment where you have a population with very low literacy, that is quite cut off

from the rest of the country. , buthallenges are many that said, we are making progress overcoming those challenges. fortunately, though weather will be one of the least of our challenges, but we will continue to front -- to confront this difficulty in getting out to the other parts of the city, other parts of the country. as to the issue of whether or not orders should be closed, president obama and others have been clear all along that isolating these countries is not the way to address the epidemic. we need to be able to get people, resources, and supplies in. challengingquite over the last several months because there has been a reduction in commercial flights and reduction in shipping that comes to the country. it's very difficult to get angst like food and supplies at her critically needed to help address this think, what has been said

about the challenges that we face -- it is the response unlike we have undertaken before. based on the range of activities and leadership, certainly in part by the u.s. government, we are seeing a more effective and responsive international effort. working amongst these deficiencies in the health system and the lack of knowledge .f how to battle this disease the challenge is maintaining an effective and dynamic response against and often unseen adversary. >> washington times. wererday you said you hoping international partners would contribute protective equipment.

know why youto need help in that area. a lack ofindicate access to a certain amount of supplies? the supplies are too expensive? the next question is for all three of you. germany wants to assist. my understanding is the country would be unable to transport infected people back to germany. would be said they willing to help but did not have a transportation plan. with the u.s. government be willing to provide transportation to facilitate this? is this a conversation that is ongoing? >> i will speak to the personal protective equipment peace. the specifications or ofquirements for ppe is a the highest importance.

while there are a range of items throughout the world, it is important we have the exact specifications required to safely provide care to ebola patients. there is a lot of discussion around how to improve the pipeline and supply of these materials. an international working group amongst many interested organizations to ensure the pipeline stays robust and adequate for the response. may, this is-- if i a topic of great discussion for the last several months. not just since the arrival of the u.s. military. sought to encourage international health care responders to come in and help fight the disease. germany is going to take over the operation of one of the ebola treatment units within the

next 2-3 weeks. a combination of the german red cross and german military medical personnel who will be working together. germany has received, to date, three positive patients from leone.liberia or sierra they do have the capacity to treat these patients. andeed a more robust organized and coordinated process. it is very clear what will happen in the event someone is in need of an evacuation. this is an ongoing conversation at the capital level. my colleagues in washington are quite engaged with a number of countries to determine how best to manage that system. >> and very own stars and stripes.

>> do you anticipate you will troops as the effort goes on? also, what sort of force protection measures are in place for u.s. troops in liberia? >> as you know, the president announced the troop level we will need over here. for these kinds of contingencies, the commander on the ground will make recommendations up or down the chain of command. if he or she needed more resources to congress the to a commerce the sh then. -- to accompli mission. i am confident about the forces over here. overe about 500, a little 500 in the joint operational

area. that include senegal. we have a staging base in senegal. the idea is to give us more agility as we move into theater and increase the ability to resupply and bring soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines into monrovia. that's why the commander is h ere. we will also have capacity in senegal. are you talking about force protection in terms of ebola or other types of force protection? >> including if somebody infected with ebola tried to approach u.s. troops. or if there were some other domestic unrest. for both of those, really. >> on the higher end in terms of force protection, i have worked closely with the governor and

ambassador. i feel comfortable with the system in place. we have certain authorities to protect american service folks. oroor u.s. equipment -- and u.s. equipment. those are in place approved by the ambassador and the government of liberia. this is a permissive environment. liberians like americans. liberians. this is not afghanistan or iraq. we have, depending on where you are in the country, defendant -- different roe in terms of force protection. terms of ebola, it is

discipline. every morning, i take a malaria pills. that is my biggest concern. we do not shake hands. i wash my hands a lot. we step on chlorine. we do not shake hands. we keep our distance. soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines are not in contact with those inflicted with the virus. they are not and are not going to be, aside from the public health services. if one of the health care workers came in contact with that. that is our force protection for the ebola piece. we feel comfortable. ago,i came in here 30 days and i was flying in, i was talking to all my cdc friends read trying to find out the kind of environment we would be operating in. there was light here. this country is not hunkered

down -- there is fight tell it vitality here. the country is not hunkered down. people are going about their lives. i would not say there is no risk, but there is risk that can be tempered it down if you take the discipline and use protocols established by cdc. >> that is it for questions. do have any closing comments you want to leave us with? >> no. like to say we appreciate the assistance the military is bringing to the fight here. we are altogether working very strongly and well together to support the plan. we are going to get on top of this. however long it takes. we are hoping it would be faster

and sooner anyone would like. it will happen, it is just a question of when. >> i would like to add to her comments that the department of defense -- more than just soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines -- there are also civilians on my staff. we are part of a greater team. we are here to fill the gaps identified for us with the government of liberia. we are glad. it is a noble mission and we are proud to do it. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] and theead of the cdc testifiede nih about ebola. you can watch it all on c-span starting at 9:00 p.m. eastern. >> the 2015 student can

competition is underway. this competition will award 150 prices totaling $100,000. create a 5-7 minute documentary on the topic, the three branches and you. entries must be submitted by january 20, 2015. grab a camera and get started today. this year past midterm elections, we are bringing you more than 100 debates from house, senate, and governor's races. you can follow us on twitter. like us on facebook. one of this year's debate is florida. in the debate, governor scott

initially declines to walk on the stage as the debate was scheduled to begin. here's a look. peculiare an extremely situation right now. overnor charlie crist. [applause] governor rick scott. the incumbent governor and republican candidate for governor. she is in the building -- he is in the building. governor rick scott, we have been told that governor scott will not be participating in this debate. now, let me explain what this is about. asked to have has a small fan placed underneath

his podium. the rules of the debate i was sayn by the scott campaign there should be no fan. somehow there is a fan. for that reason, i am being told that governor scott will not join us for this debate. ladies and gentlemen, ladies and gentlemen, this is a debate. what can we say? [indiscernible] [applause] >> wow. yeah, it is. >> we are not -- we are not asking you a question.

i am asking rosemary about the situation we find ourselves in. >> governor crist, to the rules say there should be no fan? >> not that i am aware of. >> the rules they just showed us that say there should be no electronics -- >> are we really going to debate a fan or are we going to talk about education and the environment and the future of our state? i mean, really. [applause] there are serious issues facing our state. it is like funding education appropriately. protecting our environment. making sure we have ethical, honest leadership. if he is going to give it to me, i am going to take it. >> this is not a platform for one candidate. we are hoping governor scott will join us. >> that would be great.

>> i am told he will join us. i was shown a copy of the rules that said there would be no fan on the podium. [applause] [indiscernible] >> did they get rid of the fan? >> my understanding is governor scott will be coming out. >> unimaginable. have you ever seen anything like this? >> no, i have not. a trivial issue, no matter which side you believe you're on. >> we are placed in the awkward situation of having to decide this. i dodo get is our role --

not think it is our role -- [applause] >> thank you. ladies and gentlemen has to be the most unique beginning to any debate. >> i don't think we will forget. >> not only in florida but anywhere in the country. let us start. >> you can watch the rest of the debate on www.c-span.org. otherwith more than 100 debates from house, senate, and governor's races. iowa's opente for senate race. ernst willy and joni meet for their third and final debate in the race to replace tom harkin. here's a look at some of the tv ads in the race. >> i am bruce braley and i

approved this message. >> take a closer look at joni ernst. in the state senate, she sponsored an amendment to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape or insist. ernst even wants criminal punishment for doctors who perform an abortion. >> the providers should be punished. >> joni ernst. radical ideas wrong for iowa. >> expecting her to propel -- fulfill campaign promises. >> she was to shut down the department of education and abolish the eba. that is -- epa. that is why the extremist koch brothers want her in washington. >> joni ernst. to them too extreme for us. the league of conservation

voters is responsible for this ad. >> i get very upset. >> are you ready to apologize? >> the individual had no call it education. >> i find it ironic that -- there is hardly anybody -- i get very upset. >> there is no towel service. >> a farmer from iowa who never went to law school. >> you don't have a masters or phd in health care policy. >> one of the most important places i go is to the house jim. -- gym. it have you published any articles in a peer-reviewed journal? are you ready to apologize? i get very upset. tonight, the iowa senate debate between was bravely and

joni ernst. we will have that live tonight on c-span at 8:00 eastern. tomorrow night, a debate from isconsin where scott walker running for a second term against mary burke. governor walker was first elected in 2010. in 2012, he survived a recall vote. we will have the debates tomorrow night. live on c-span. of campaign 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter. like us on facebook. debate previews from our politics team. we are bringing you over 100 house, senate, and governor debate. share yourtantly reactions to what they are saying. stay in touch and engaged by following us on twitter, and liking us on facebook.

ernor mike isov yearsimited after eight in office. running to replace him are asa hutchinson and mike ross. rock, andom little election special. the arkansas gubernatorial debate. this is presented statewide. channel seven's scott. universityide the theater, we welcome you to the 2014 gubernatorial debates. i'm your moderator.

importantu have an decision to make. four weeks from today is election day. will be helped by the debates. who will be governor of arkansas for the next four years? two of the men who want that job are here tonight. let's welcome to the stage former congressman mike ross and former congressman is a hutchinson --asa hutchinson. [applause] it is obvious we have a lively crowd. the university theater holds about 650. we do want to take a moment for you watching at home and live in

our audience to go over the rules for the debate. the candidates will have two minutes for their opening statements tonight. the order determined by a coin flip. consists of three question and rebuttal segments. followed i what we are calling the spin room. give the representatives us their analysis of the debate and tell us how they think the candidate performed. the candidates will have one minutes to answer questions. the opponent will begin in 30 seconds for a rebuttal. the questions and rebuttals will be timed. the candidates will be stopped if he goes over the allotted time. that will be my job as moderator. despite what my mother told me about not interrupting people, i

will have to do that. candidate willch have a two-minute closing statement. please welcome angela tyer. robie. [applause] we also want to remind you, if you want to follow the action, you can follow us on social media. #argov will do the trick. the winner of the coin flip is asa hutchinson. he will get it started. >> thank you. i appreciate the sponsors and this venue for hosting the debate. this is an important debate for arkansas's future. i am delighted to be joined by

my wife susan. we have been married for 41 years. the preacher made a prayer when we got married and said, i hope they have enough struggles to keep them close to the lord. his prayer has been answered. we have had enough struggles to stay close to the lord. my mom and dad were married during the depression years. they understood struggle. susan and i have understood struggle. today, we have a struggling middle class in arkansas. they are trying to make an's meet. working to bring jobs summed -- working two jobs sometimes. running for is what governor is about. how we can focus more development and job creation for the middle class. i have a plan that will help address the job creation we need. better playing jobs.

-- paying jobs. it starts with a competitive tax system. fewer regulations. a more business friendly environment. computer science and every high school. these things are essential for moving our state forward. i think it is important we bind us together -- i have been blessed to live in northwest arkansas and central arkansas. i think that is what unites us together. today, i received the endorsement of the national federation of independent business. they endorsed my candidacy because they see me as someone as governor that can move the state forward in job creation and economic growth. >> thank you, mr. hutchinson. mr. ross? >> i would like to thank channel for hosting this

debate. i have never run for statewide office. if you do not know me, i would like to share who i am and why i want to lead the state. i am a fifth-generation lifelong arkansan. the grandson of a farmer, homewormaker, and nurse. my parents were school teachers. i have been married to holly, who is here tonight. honey, i love you. she has given us to bring wonderful children. -- two wonderful children. a former small business owner. i understand local government. rural arkansas. i spent 10 years in the arkansas state senate. and 12 years in the congress. if you think you are so fed up

with washington, i was so fed up i did not run again. with the partisan bickering to read that of last thing we need in arkansas -- with the partisan bickering. that is the last thing we need in arkansas. i have a history of bringing people together. that is what i will do as governor. i have a positive vision of the future of the state. my parents were schoolteachers. they taught me the power of education. to be thed i want education governor because that is how we create more and better paying jobs. that is how we grow the middle class. i want to put an end to domestic violence in arkansas. if you are listening from home, thank you for tuning in. thank you for caring about the future of our state. >> thank you.

that will conclude the opening statement portion. we will go into the questioning. the first question comes from -- and is for mr. hutchinson. >> you have expressed support for the minimum wage proposal on the ballot to raise the minimum wage to $8.50 per hour. tell me how you came to the conclusion of wanting to support the proposal. did you feel low income workers needed the raise? did you feel like this disorders could observe the hit? >> i have always supported, since i was first asked in 2012, an increase in the state minimum wage. thedebate has been about process. i will be voting for the amendment. i think it is important not just to focus on the minimum wage. folks move up the economic ladder. it's about better paying jobs,

not minimum wage jobs. that is what i want to focus on. mr. ross talks about being independent. an opportunity, when there was an amendment in yourttee, if you like health insurance, you could keep it. he did not cross party lines. he could have done something for arkansas but declined to do so. that is an example of where there has been partisanship in washington. i have demonstrated the ability to work together across the aisle. i look forward to doing that. >> you have 30 seconds to respond. >> i have been a consistent supporter of raising the minimum wage. congressman hutchinson, i can tell if he sounds more like a lawyer or d.c. politician. he has been both. he has opposed raising the minimum wage. he was against the ballot initiative to raise it in arkansas before he was for it.

you have to make decisions not based on what public polling tells you. based on the heart. i can to you this. people who get up and go to work every day and earn minimum wage, they need serve better. that is why i have been a consistent supporter. [applause] >> the second question will be directed at mr. ross. pre-k both support funding but with varying levels of commitment. >> i think we have to start sooner and finish stronger. if you are a parent with a four-year-old and you want them in a pre-k classroom, there should be a desk. regardless of your income or zip code. congressman hutchinson consistently opposed pre-k programs as a congressman.

he said my plan was the wrong direction for arkansas before he decided he was for more pre-k. he says one thing and does another in washington. in prescott, arkansas, we do what we say and we say what we do. >> thank you, mr. ross. 30 seconds to respond. misrepresent my positions. he said i consistently opposed to raising the minimum wage. false. he should also recognize there is a distinction in terms of what you support in congress as a national initiative versus a state initiative. as governor, i support expanding pre-k when it comes to those households that need it the most. those below 200% of poverty. we have an existing program for pre-k. i support that. to 300%han expanding it

of poverty which is what mr. ross does. went to fund the existing program first. -- we want to fund the existing program first. for the thirdy and final question. committed to tax cutting proposals. what is the biggest difference between your planning your 's?onent >> mine is doable. he will not say what he wants to do in the next session. he says, as we have revenues that come in. he was so do almost $600 million in tax cuts over eight years -- wants to do almost $600 million in tax cuts over the next eight years. his is why in the sky. mine is workable.

our directives are also different. minus to lower the rate. i want to lower it to 6% and 5%, starting with the middle income. let's lower it from 7% to 6%. competitive and create jobs. the and objective -- the end is to create jobs. let's focus on the middle. [applause] >> 36 to respond. -- 30 seconds. >> i have never been accused of hollering before. i have a plan for lower and fair taxes. a single mom earning $34,000 a income taxhe same akingas someone m

$340,000 a year. there is nothing fair about it. wasaid governor beebe making an empty promise. 40% of the people who go to work every day in arkansas are not enough for his tax cut plan. >> we are going to cut it off there. [applause] >> stay with us, more questions to come. and don't forget the spin room. more the debate from the campus in just a moment. we welcome you back to more of the debate between mike ross and asa hutchinson. we will pick up where we left off. turn.angela taylor's >> the attorney general has

interpreted open carrying in different ways. nra.m a life member of the i have earned and 80 rating. i have a concealed carry permit. -- an a rating. i have a concealed carry permit. theerms of open carrying, legislators that passed the law say it was never their intent to have open carry. no one is more pro-gun than i am. but i think we have to be careful on this. i will work with the legislature to see what we have to do. i have concerns talking to mom's. they are concerned about, they are out shopping and someone walking in.oun county sheriffs have addressed my concerns.

they have concerns about telling the difference between the good and bad guys. carry is goodled because they don't know whether i'm carrying a gun or not and it is a deterrent. >> the legislature amended the law the last session that said you can carry as long as there is not a criminal intent. that is how most prosecutors interpret it. the courts are going to make that more clear. the nra has given me an a rating. when the second amendment was under assault, they protected me to protect -- they hired me to protect the second amendment. it was when the second amendment was under the greatest assault after sunday help, and he said it was time for gun control. we have a different opinion in terms of what we should do in terms of the second amendment. [applause]

roby for the next question. that a newconvinced state prison isn't going to need to be built in terms of the parole problems we have seen? the high profile tragic case of beverly carter?what needs to be done to solve some of our public safety issues, particularly as they relate to parole? >> we clearly need additional prison space. i'm not convinced the department of corrections have looked at enough options in contrast to building a $100 million present. i want to make sure there are multiple options. we have a crime problem in arkansas. we have experienced it personally in recent days, said cases. i have -- sad cass. i have been a federal prosecutor. i have led large agencies

including the dea. there is a parole connection to most of the crime we see. i want to bring my experience to bear to make our streets safer. make sure we have effective parole systems. a more effective reentry program for those coming out of prison. alternatives to incarceration. this is all part of my plan for public safety. >> thank you, mr. hutchinson. mr. ross. rebuttal. 2000 inmatesout backed up in county jails. i don't know if we will need another prison or not. we need meaningful criminal justice reform in the state. smarter sentencing. tougher sentencing. we have to put an end to the revolving door with a repeat offenders.

at the same time, some folks simply need drug treatment. others need a ged or a job skill. i am committed to working with the legislature on this. never deserve to be out of prison. >> thank you, mr. ross. [applause] >> the third and final question comes from angela. >> a lot of women will be watching this debate. both of you have mentioned your wives. your wife will be the first lady. what concert is -- causes will she champion? >> my wife is a pharmacist. she gets up and goes to work every day. health care is a passion for her. we have almost 200,000 people -- we have cut the rate of uninsured in half. we are finally number one in something. she would love to help people

who have not had access to health care how powerful and important preventive medicine is. address that immunization issue so children are not immunized. my mother had polio. she spent more time in children's hospitals than at home. that has not stopped her. she has been a schoolteacher. i am proud of her. [applause] >> i will give you 30 seconds. >> she will make a terrific first lady. she will get to speak for herself as to what issues she wants to address. she has an incredible love and passion for children. she serves on the board for the children's advocacy center. i know that is a passion of hers. she will continue that.

whenever you look at the challenge of domestic violence, drugs in the home, whenever you look at the challenge of abuse of children, i know she and i will work together to reduce that challenge and arkansas and protect our children. >> thank you, gentlemen. we are about halfway home. we have one more question and rebuttal section. let's take another break. we will be back with more in just a moment. we welcome you back to the campus for more of the 2014 debate. if you want to follow along on you can. we might get a few extra questions in. we will start with roby.

>> will you support the private option for uninsured arkansans? willou name one change you insist on in terms of the private option? >> is very simple. ands working well for urban rural hospitals. reducing the indigent care. also helping those without health insurance. there are good things about the private option. as governor, it is important we ask, can we afford it over the long term? is it sustainable? how much will it cost? we don't have the figures and yet. -- in yet. hospitalking to some groups today. they agreed with me. they said it is working but we

want you to consider the costs. i asked them, how do we find to this? -- fine-tune this? some are working moms and dads getting health insurance for the first time. others, we do not know. >> mr. hutchinson, thank you. >> i don't think we got an answer from congressman hutchinson on whether he will support or oppose the renewal of the medicaid expansion. i willbeen clear, support the medicaid expansion, the private option. here is why. it helped save our hospitals. mylost a hospital in hometown in the mid-1990's. one in something. we have cut the uninsured rate in half in one year. insurance committees have announced they will cut 2.2% in

health rates. cubbies are asking for a 18% rate increase -- companies are asking for an 18% rate increase. >> name one thing you will do on day one as governor, either by executive order or proclamation. >> one of the things i'm going to do early on is order every state agency to review any rule or regulation over three years old. to determine if it is still needed. and if it was ever needed. i want to reduce bureaucracy. i want america and the world to know arkansas is open for business. we need to create more, better paying jobs. that is how we do it. my lower, fair tax plan. also by cutting burden some

government rules and regulations. that's what i will do on day one. putarkansas to work -- arkansas to work. >> i'm going to call at least half a dozen businesses and say what you consider relocating to considersay, will you relocating to arkansas? i will also if the mende hiring freeze so we can do the budget under control -- in i will also implement a hiring freeze so we can get the budget under control. we will have reform legislation for the career program to make sure dollars go to the programs that need it. >> thank you. >> mr. hutchinson, the supreme on five decisions

related to same-sex marriage. there has been debate about whether the city should ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. what will your administration due to push for civil rights for gay and lesbians? >> this is a difficult issue. the people have spoken on it and the courts are reviewing whether that will be sustainable and constitutional. the supreme court has said, it has left up to the states. they have not given guidance. ke it clear that i have supported the constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. [applause] that is my believe. it is also what the arkansas people have spoken through the constitution. now, the courts are going to have a ruling on it. we need to wait and see what

that is down the road. the arkansas supreme court is looking at it. i hope they leave the discretion to the states to determine what is the proper definition of marriage in our society. >> mr. ross, 30 seconds. >> i believe marriage should be between one man and woman and that is how i have voted. but let me be clear. i will not tolerate discrimination of anyone in the state of arkansas. [applause] >> thank you very much. back to angela. have becomes increasingly shrill. should there be more restrictions or regulations of third-party advertising to make it more transparent and truthful? what would you be willing to do on this front as governor? >> i am tired of all of this out-of-state money.

they have spent millions and out-of-state money, mis representing the facts and distorting the truth about me. not live in the state of arkansas, you should not be able to contribute to a candidate for governor or any other office in the state of arkansas. >> mr. ross, thank you. >> there is such a thing as the constitution. the supreme court has ruled there is freedom of speech for these groups. is important candidates take responsibly for their own ads. our ads have been positive throughout the campaign. i am proud of the ads we have offered. talking about response will government. we are proud of the message. yes, there are outside groups

that come in. i am responsible for our ads just like he is responsible for his ads. i am not holding you accountable for what you're allies in washington with president obama have spent attacking me. [applause] questionor one more before the closing statement. >> mr. hutchinson, we have seen a debacle with the teacher insurance situation. from a lot of contact teachers asking me to ask both of you how you would fix it. >> it needs to be fixed. when i see a teacher that comes up to me that shows the paystub of $3800, $1100 deduction for health insurance, that causes the family to struggle.

the legislature took some action to fix it. it is not completely fixed. we have more work to do. i will work to protect the teachers insurance fund and make sure it is stable and affordable for teachers. we have to look at different options including bringing school districts into the equation to make sure they have need.ex ability atehy a mess under the affordable care act. a middle-class families, families across arkansas are getting hit with high insurance payments. it is the high deductibles they are getting hit with as well. we need to change the affordable care act and to make sure we have affordable health insurance for teachers. >> mr. ross, 30 seconds. >> they need to be focused on teaching our children. not distracted and worried about

whether they will be up to afford health insurance. what the legislature did was a band-aid at a best. i'm committed to working with democrats and republicans to fix the problem once and for all freed we have to look at funding. who pays what. most teachers have won $50 a month paid for insurance -- have insurance.h paid for everybody has to have skin in the game. you reduce costs. we have to get everybody back in the pool. thingt is the funniest that happened to you on the campaign trail?

>> i was doing a meeting. question.d a teeth fell out. continued to ask the question. tracker was following my pickup truck. i took a long time. turn.ng caps on a bike path. if anybody sees it and what that is whathis, happened.

>> closing statements. tuning inou for tonight. thank you for your love and support. congressman hutchinson has spent millions trying to convince you i am something i am not. i am a conservative, pro-business, pro-gun democrat. i'm not ready to be governor for the democrat or republican party. i am running to be governor for the people in the state. i pledge to work with anyone and everyone who will work with me to make the state a better place to live, work and to raise a family. me growing upht in the values of faith, family, hard work, and personal responsibility.

those values have served me well for the last 53 years. i want you to know the same values will serve as my moral compass as i do my best to hopefully leave the state. i love the state. i believe in arkansas and you. i know we can do better. i'm proud to have the endorsement of the governor. he has been one heck of a governor. i want to build on the foundation he has laid in improving education, cutting taxes, creating more jobs. i want to be the biggest economic ambassador the state has ever had. ur doctors to earn the same pay as our sons. women earn $.77 for what every man makes an arkansas. as governor, i have a plan to address it. finally, we are going to send a message that domestic violence will not be tolerated. my name is mike ross and i ask

for your vote. together, as democrats, republicans, and independence, we can do a lot to move itself forward. >> -- arkansas forward. >> thank you, mr. ross. [applause] and thank you for participating. >two minutes for you mr. hutchinson. >> i want to thank everybody who watched the debate. and mr. ross as well. we have similar backgrounds in some ways. but we come from if and perspectives when it comes -- from different perspectives when direction of our state. i was blessed to be appointed by president reagan. i learned about his hope and optimism for our country. found myself fighting the conservative cause in congress and otherwise. i have seen mr. ross on the other side. s.o many time

we need a governor that understands the importance of tax cuts for the middle class. the opportunity for computer science every high school. growing the private sector of our economy rather than the government sector. these are things that are differences between us. i have served and not only in the legislative branch also some of the toughest executive positions of our government. in homeland security and head of the dea. in the private sector, i understand running a business and tightening your belt. i want to bring those skills to our state as governor. my wife and i have been blessed with a family, and a passion for the state. we want to serve the state because we believe in its future. as ronald reagan was the mystic about our country, even though we have challenges and struggle, i am optimistic about the

country and most optimistic about arkansas. and solven be united problems together. make this the best place for our children and grandchildren. i ask for your vote. thank you. [applause] >> that is going to do it for the debate portion of the event. we thank mr. ross and mr. hutchinson. i will give you one more opportunity to get behind your candidate and say, thank you for the debate. mike ross and asa hutchinson. [applause] >> be part of c-span's campaign 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter and like us on facebook. debate previews from our politics team.

we have brought you over 100 senate and governor debates. you can instantly share your reactions to what the candidates are saying. stay in touch and engage by following us on twitter. and liking us on facebook. >> c-span heads back to iowa for the third and final senate debate to fill the seat of tom harkin, who is retiring. we will hear from bruce braley and joni ernst. they are in a close race that is called a tossup. the debate will begin shortly. first, some of the voters -- ads i will voters have been seen. >> i am bruce braley and i approved this message. >> take a closer look at joni ernst. she sponsored an amendment to outlaw abortion, even in cases

of rape or insist. it would have banned common forms of birth control. she even wants come the punishment for doctors who provide abortions. >> they should be punished. >> joni ernst. radical ideas wrong for iowa. to fulfill campaign promises. >> her promises shutdown the department of education, hurting iowa students. that is why the billionaire koch brothers want her in washington. ernst. promises to them tpoo extreme fr us. upset.t very are you ready to apologize? that individual had no college education.

i find it ironic there is a big push to shut down the house gym. i get very upset. there is no towel service. a farmer from iowa who never went to law school. we are doing our own laundry down there. one of the most important places i go is to the house gym. have you published any scholarly treatises? a farmer from iowa who never went to law school. i get very upset. >> we will be heading live now to iowa for the final debate between democratic congressman bruce braley and republican joni ernst, part of c-span's 2014 coverage with more than 100 debates for the control of congress.

brailey was an washington, d.c. today for a hearing on ebola. he then headed back to i to participate in tonight's debate. we will be bringing you that hearing on the ebola crisis in about an hour. first, the debate in iowa. this comes to us courtesy of nextar broadcasting. and whose high school football team is going to make it big? city is the the focal point for political power. who wins in november could determine the balance of power in washington. has taken iowa by storm with strong backing from the republican party. trulym honored and i do hope to have the opportunity to fight the good fight. >> democrat bruce braley, a sitting congressman, anointed by the democratic party. >> i have