live coverage of the texas book festival in austin. it continues live starting at on lectures and history. the modernization of businesses and households. reagan's a time for choosing speech. our television schedule at c-span.org and let us know about the programs you're watching. or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation, follow us on twitter. senate candidates recently met for their only planned debate. a democratic senator jeff merkley is up against republican

monica wehby. this debate is courtesy of ok kobi tv. evening from the nbc studios in downtown medford. craig craggmullin-- i am smullin and i will be your moderator this evening. two candidates running for the senate. tonight, they will debate the the studio. one-hour live u.s. senate debate begins now. >> live from the studios of kobi oregon, a u.s. senate debate featuring jeff merkley and republican challenger dr. monica wehby. aarp.t to you by discover your real possibilities.

the oregon association of realtors, protecting your piece of oregon. and working always to better the communities where we live. and now, your host and moderator for tonight's debate, news smullin.grecraig >> oregon voters will decide who will represent them in washington dc and this is the only schedule debate. the path to capitol hill goes through our studios tonight. i like to thank you both for joining us. before we begin, let's meet our candidates. she is a mother of four in portland. the granddaughter of a lebanese immigrant, she was the first woman to graduate from a medical school program as a neurosurgeon. a leader in her field, she has been involved in health care policy for 30 years and is the former president of the oregon medical association and the portland medical society.

born in myrtles creek and is the first u.s. senator in 50 years to hill from southern oregon. jeff was the first of his family to attend college and worked as a nuclear weapons analyst for the pentagon and later headed portland habitat for humanity. he was elected to the house of representatives in 1998 and later served as speaker of the house. he successfully ran for the u.s. senate in 2008 and today lives with his wife mary and his two kids. have three panelists joining us asking questions. we have nbc anchor natalie heard . the editor of the mail tribune. td president of kobi elevision. the audience has been asked to save their applause for the conclusion of the debate in the rules and formats have been agreed to by both candidates. each candidate will receive 75

seconds to respond to the original question followed by a rebuttal from the opposing candidate. the candidate receiving the original question will get an additional 30 seconds to respond. at the conclusion of the debate, each candidate will be provided at closing statement. wehbyermined earlier, dr. will have a opening statement and receive the first question. we will alternate from that point on. you have the floor. years ago i had a little boy with a brain tumor and i took his tumor out and he came back and gave me a thank you note. it said, if we are not here to make life better for one another, what is the point? is, after six years of policies, things are not getting better. more oregonians go on food stamps and find a job. in medfordt is 9%

and that is not even including all the people who have just given up looking for work. and what has the senator done about all of this? nothing. he hasn't even worked to try to get the pembroke communities back to work. i want to make life better for oregon families. washingtonith bureaucrats 98% of the time and i will stand with oregon families 100% of the time. much.nk you very i am delighted to be here in southern oregon tonight, particularly since i come from a small meltdown in southern oregon. i live now in a working-class neighborhood and i fight for the working class in the u.s. senate. i have taken on the big banks, the insurance companies, and tobacco companies. they are not happy about that. that is why the koch brothers have come here to spend millions of dollars to elect my opponent.

they want a senator that signs onto an agenda for the wealthy and well-connected. not a champion for driving families and a growing middle class. the first two words are we, the people. the first three words are we, the people. there is a significant difference between where i stand and where my opponent stands. i look forward to debating those differences tonight. question.st >> last sunday, the oregonian newspaper said it can't support either one of you. you, dr., they question your judgment and self-control and senator, you said your weakness a highly partisan record. without faulting oregonians, please respond to this. >> i have to say that i'm not a career politician and i think at this time that's a good thing.

the first time to run a campaign for me and things have not gone totally perfectly with the campaign and i think a lot of their criticism focused on minutia with running a campaign. i think they are accurate with senator merkley and that he really doesn't represent the middle class. he claims to be the champion of the middle class but all of this that has happened over the last forcears our labor participation, is the lowest it's been since we've been recording it. one in five oregonians are on food stamps now. downe-class income is $3000 her family. it doesn't sound like this is really working out well for the middle class. that he'sso extreme even too extreme for oregon. that willmebody

represent all of oregon, not just one segment. he was rated the most extreme senator in the entire senate by the national journal. we are.not who we are much more independent-minded than that. >> as speaker, i sought to undertake and creative problem-solving environment. i created something where if two democrats into republicans had a bill together, they are guaranteed a hearing and a chance to pass that bill through the floor of the oregon house. the result of that session was an agenda in which many said was the most problem-solving and best session of the oregon legislature in decades. that sameen problem-solving approach to the u.s. senate. i reach across the aisle all the and taking on secret law rand paul to end the war in afghanistan. way to cutommonsense

red tape for our truckers, farm truck's going to market, and to take on the employment nondiscrimination act. it is this problem-solving teamwork approach that has enabled me to pass several dozen pieces of key legislation. those are pieces of legislation that have done things like the teaser rate mortgages that have been haunting the housing market and restore homeownership as a powerful factor for middle-class families. dr., your chance to respond. >> for all this talk about bipartisanship, senator merkley has a way of trying to silence his opponents. he was one of seven democrat senators who wrote the letter to the irs asking them to investigate groups based on their political beliefs. i don't think oregonians would be proud to know their junior senator used a federal agency to silence his opponents.

>> most of the central and southern oregon has been dependent on natural resources as a job ace. and yet those jobs have been steadily vanishing the past two decades. can you tell us what you have done or will do to help oregon's earl economy echo -- rural economy? >> i lobbied for the irs to stop using political groups which is something i think oregonians believe with. i have worked hard to create a strategy and partnership with colleagues in which we would have a tenure stewardship plan to provide for the mill. we were able to hire or they were able to hire 20 additional full-time workers. it's a big deal in a small town. the small towns to be able to increase clean water supply and wastewater treatments so their

economy can grow. it's why took on the rural energy savings plan because it creates construction opportunities for our industry to make them energy-efficient. have taken on and succeed in $15 million for our small ports to make sure the infrastructure for small towns is not overlooked. this battle is something i have done from one end to the other including taking on saving the post office and i will continue to fight for role oregon -- rural oregon as u.s. senator. >> there are several pieces of legislation regarding onc lands. to try wyden has worked to get sustainable use of our forest and senator merkley has refused to sign on or help out , because iegislation do think walden's plan is

superior to wyden's plan, senator merkley has not ouricipated in helping get forrester's back to work. plan, thelden's timber industry needs to know there is a certain amount they can cut, in cut -- income they can have and protection from once the timber is starting to be cut. i think what important is that every time there is a problem, senator merkley's answer is another big government yurok receipt. another big piece of legislation. oregonians want jobs and want to get back in the forest. independent, not dependent on a government program. i am certainly working very closely with senator wyden in order to bring the community together and get out of the

courts and into the woods to create more jobs. we need to give incentives to have all the private timber not going overseas and to be mailed here in oregon. my opponent put out a jobs plan in april, and never mentions role oregon. from rural oregon and i fight for it. commissionerabor says the state's minimum wages not keeping pace with the cost of living and says he would work to increase it. do you agree? >> i think the minimum wage is an important safeguard for our workers, but i do think all economies are local. here in oregon we have chosen to have the second-highest in a moment age in the country and i think that says something about our state here. i believe that we do have to keep in mind that the most important thing is jobs.

there is concern raising the minimum wage may decrease the number of jobs. senator merkley's policies have , where anry difficult entire percentage point higher than the national average. senator merkley is really a zero because there is no jobs here. the timber industry jobs he is refusing to help senator wyden not ahead, those are minimum wage jobs, those are good paying jobs. >> i strongly support the federal minimum wage. $10.10 based on what it takes for a family of three to stay out of poverty. work full-time in america, you should not live in poverty here in america.

and this minimum wage bill creates an index like we have in oregon. you might say it is modeled on the oregon plan. it creates a level playing field across the country and lift millions of workers out of poverty. and the largest percentage of those are women. at many of them are women raising children. talking aboutt helping adults, but creating a better foundation for parents to raise their children. is why i strongly support this minimum wage bill and my opponent said in the primary that she thought there shouldn't even be a federal minimum wage. that is beyond tea party off the cliff to the right. minimum wage? that would cast people in many states across the country into the other bottom earning almost nothing. i support a strong federal minimum wage. >> you know that's not true.

i never said there shouldn't be minimum wage. i did say all economies are local and it should be left up to the states where they would like to put it. fighting for a minimum-wage economy instead of getting our economy growing and getting better paying jobs. the aca that he supported has moved the full-time work week from 40 hours to 30 hours meaning that people have to find more than one job to feed their family. >> in the wake of a variety of school shootings, many have called for gun control changes. what changes, if any, would you support in the nation's gun laws? supporter ofong the second amendment because it is a constitutional right and i do think the problems that we , every time we see one of

these massive shootings, it's a mental health issue. i care very much about that. i think we have the find ways to determine who is at risk for these heinous acts and try to find a way to stop those. support further legislation on law-abiding citizens, but i do think the key is to curtail violence based on mental illness. of course we do want to keep guns out of the hands of criminals as well. proponent ofong the second amendment as an individual right. i'm also a strong proponent of common sense which means that we have the sort of background checks that keep guns out of the hands of criminals and out of the hands of the mentally ill. have inexactly what we oregon. oregonians adopted this by initiative. in the u.s. senate, i have supported this kind of

commonsense extension of the oregon plan. my opponent has been endorsed by the nra. as she just said now, she opposed any new federal legislation that would provide the same background checks we have in oregon across this country. furthermore, they supported her because they believe that she would vote against sonia sotomayor and elena kagan as justices who support the same kind of commonsense controls on guns that we have here in oregon. i do believe we have the right answer. the oregon answer. it is background checks to keep and thet of criminals mentally ill. >> i think we have adequate laws on the books, we just need to be enforcing the ones that we have. >> i gave to questions in a row so we will send the next two to you to get back on track. >> you have been described as a

progressive champion and a close ally of massachusetts senator elizabeth warren. you have been linked to the koch brothers and conservative wing of the party. are you guys comfortable with these labels? >> i am comfortable with the label of progressive if it means are fighting for working families to get a fair share of the wealth. absolutely. if it means you're fighting to enable students to refinance their loans to take advantage of the current low interest rates. if it means new student loans will be at the same low interest rates that the federal reserve pays when they borrow or the big banks do when they borrow from the federal reserve -- we should view our investment in education as a public investment, one to be promoted. not a situation where students are afraid to go to college for fear of a mountain of debt. so whether it is fighting for good investment in

infrastructure, good investments in education, fair loans, and therefore a fair shot for everyone in our society, call me a progressive. >> i am a very independent and i can't say the same about my opponent here. -- senator merkley votes 98% of the time with his party. that is not who we are. we are very independent minded people. agree with anybody 98% of the time. to be voting with one party means we are not representing all of the state. with two a red state blue islands of portland and eugene. we have to look at all sides of an issue and i think it is something very important to do. if you're always voting along with your party, you're not always doing what best for oregon.

i will look at each issue as it comes up. i will listen to the patient, listen to our state, look at the data, and make a diagnosis and do the treatment. i will do was write for the state, not just what right for my party. lovea job today that i that makes a difference everyday. be a rubber stamp her. i might as well not be there. >> are you not comfortable with that label? >> i am a very independent minded person and i will do it right for oregon. >> i will take that as a no. >> she says she's independent-minded but we have seen over the course of this campaign she is turning to our right wing kitchen cabinet. she lifted her health-care care plan from karl rove virtually word for word. she proceeded to take a tax plan from mitt romney that makes a cheap year and easier to ship jobs overseas.

she took the rest of her economic land from the koch brothers. they are one of the biggest polluters in the country and want to have it set up where the clean air act has got it so you can't control pollution. these are certainly extreme advisors, extreme sets of policies, and it is not oregon values. this campaign is really between oregon values on one hand and coke rather values on the other hand. i will take the oregon values. >> we began with the senator. that's ok. can address it later on in closing statements if you like. >> in three weeks, oregonians could legalize recreational marijuana under measure 91. do you support 91? why or why not? supporting 91.d

i'm concerned about the access of marijuana by our young folks in terms of potentially different products. we need to do everything we can to make sure that these products are available only to adults. i am also concerned about the huge amount we have spent in the criminal justice system. i think on balance, those funds could be much better used. >> as a pediatric neurosurgeon, i have some concerns about the effect of marijuana on the developing brain. it is linked to difficulties even iq brain, some say points dropping is much as eight points. it's related to an increase in motor vehicle accidents and makes it very difficult for our to knowrcement agents who is intoxicated and what level they are intoxicated. it's not like with alcohol where

you can do a breathalyzer test. this is a big concern. as a scientist that i am that we wait and see what happens in colorado and washington and let them be our test cases and be our pilot study and see how things work out there before we push this ahead. i'm goings. senator, to take whatever oregon decides and defend before the federal government. that's what i've done with medical marijuana. you have plenty to do with drug gangs and so on and so forth. on don't try to infringe what my state has decided to do with medical marijuana. i will take the same approach defending what our state chooses to do in terms of the current initiative. we want our viewers to know as much as possible about both of you. andwould your friends

family describe your idiosyncrasies? >> it's funny because my daddy just called right before i came out here. he always said i was mule headed. i was very stubborn and very determined and i think that is true. my friends will tell you that i am very kindhearted and a very caring and loving person and that i tend to put other people above myself. my children will tell you that they can't believe all the nights i would get up in the middle of the night, go in and take care of patients. one thing i have always remembered is my father telling thaten i was a little girl you have to use all your talents and abilities to make the world a better place.

you didn't, when you were older, you would regret it. sound kind of hokey but that's who i am. i have always tried to do the best i could with the gifts i had. it's why was a pediatric neurosurgeon and have just always had that drive. my friends would say i'm tenacious and determined and sometimes taking on things that seem a little bit crazy. two years ago i decided to try to do an ironman length triathlon. and as a middle-aged man and a little bit overweight, it seemed a little crazy but by the end of the year i managed to complete it. in 2009 when i became a u.s. senator, several people came to me and said someone has to take on the big banks because they are using our taxpayer subsidized deposits to run a big casino putting the entire banking system at risk. what a crazy thing for a

freshman senator to take that on. i decided they were right and i would try to take on these very powerful groups placing our economy at risk. and every now and then when you take on something that seems impossible, you actually succeed and i did. we passed the volcker rule and past taking out the teaser rate mortgages that were haunting american homeowners. a little bit over focused at times, but sometimes to good effect. >> any rebuttal? that when iust say was trying to decide whether or not to run for senate, i had a conversation with senator tom coburn about this and he's another physician in the senate. and i said, how did you decide to leave your practice and go and run for senate? monica, we need you.

it you can make a difference and you are doing it for all the right reasons. and that since my heart was in the right place, i didn't need the job, it meant i could really help out. the endangered species act criticized as a job killer. >> the endangered feces act has done a lot in a verily rapidly changing world to protect critical populations but there's a lot we can do in anticipation so it doesn't obstruct our economy or ranching or farming. i meet with the local leaders every year and one of the things that keeps coming up is the sage grouse. get a sizable

group of funds to help run pilot projects and figure out what actually works and what doesn't in order that we might be able to get ahead of the game in oregon. better to work on the ecosystem on the front and and protect the population in ways that are harmonious. other than being caught later on on the brink of extinction. >> i did hear a lot about the sage grouse as well. it was theelling me spotted owl of the ranching industry. a lot of concern about what sort of devastation can be caused to our ranching industry if the sage grouse was to be listed as an endangered species. i think we need to revamp this law and look at it.

my understanding is they don't really have a good way of tracking when a species comes off the endangered list as so many times these get on and are just never taken off. wayink we do need to find a to where we can tell when we are achieving the goal we are trying to achieve. i also think it's important whenever we are going to list a , that we do an economic assessment and see what on theect is going to be economy and on the people as well. you am struck today that see bald eagles and blue herons that were virtually completely gone when i was growing up. to now we have been able take the bald eagles off the endangered species list. wolves are coming off in different parts of the country. it is a situation where if we can work together in

partnership, we can find ways to create ecosystems and a portion sure these to make species survive and we can celebrate the great diversity of life on this planet but without doing economic damage that would harm ranchers or farmers or our industry in other ways. >> of fewer wants to talk jobs. why has job growth been so sluggish? and what, specifically, would you do about it? >> i've talked to hundreds of small business owners and people that work in these businesses over the last year and all through the primary. always ask them, what is it that is making it so difficult for you to grow your business? the first thing they tell me is uncertainty. they say there is uncertainty about regulations.

senator merkley's answer to everything is more regulation, bigger regulation. this is like a noose around the neck of our businesses. it makes it entirely difficult -- them to grow so many businesses tell me they would never be able to start today a business that they started 20 years ago because there is so much paper and so much regulation. my staff spends more time dealing with paperwork and regulation than they do in patient care. the next thing that's a problem is taxes. we are one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world. the highest in the world. that takes money out of the pockets of our business owners. they can't reinvest in their businesses and hire more people and grow. finally, the aca, the health care law makes it very difficult for them to provide health

insurance. weighted finance water infrastructure because rural community says it is so important and a way to create a savings program to put our construction industry to work. what folks told me is that first we need to reverse the effects which left ourd shop classes behind because we need a track in which people can learn to work with their hands and be part of the manufacturing enterprise. to create an extension of the small business act and subsidized loans for small businesses to strengthen community banks. i wrote and passed the crowd funding act that will unleash a volume of new capital to rural industries and small businesses across oregon. the third thing they said is we need a level playing field with china. we can't compete if we are competing directly against an economy with very low wage

standards and environmental standards. i have partnered with senator wyden to take on the dumping of solar panels and i am working to highlight the problem with currency manipulation which operates as a tariff against products and subsidy to chinese products. in all these ways over keep fighting to create strong jobs and roll oregon. we would ask for specifics and what you would look to do. >> rein in excessive regulations and have more congressional oversight of these regulations. lower our business tax rate and fix these employer mandates with obamacare. one man told me he owns assisted-living facilities and he had to shut down three facilities because the cost of health insurance for his employees was going to put him out of business so he just sold those three businesses in all those people lost their jobs.

>> the oregon association of realtors submitted this question. a person's home is typically the largest investment they make in life and also the greatest wealth creator for the middle class. what policies would you propose to strengthen homeownership and make it more attainable for the middle class? when i was director of habitat for humanity, i worked directly with low income families aspiring towards homeownership and i continued that work. that is why i was so disturbed by the deregulation of mortgages that led to the two-year exploding interest-rate mortgages that went from 4% to 9%. and they proceeded to have a couple features. it won was the originator was getting an undisclosed kickback in order to steer people from a prime loan into a subprime loan. the other feature was a penalty that meant once you were in the

loan, you're not able to get out of it. ipass at the oregon house, the senate said that it should really be done at the federal level. they were right. i took that on and stop those predatory mortgages so that homeownership would again be a source of enormous wealth building for the middle class rather than a predatory enterprise. we are going to have to keep working together to find the right balance and flexibility. we are working to examine the strategy under which the families of modest means are and there isomes potential progress to expand the realm of homeownership. >> a lot of the problems with homeownership or some of these new financial regulations have come into place specifically with dodd frank. our large banks and small blanks -- small banks should have to play by the same

rules. when senator merkley ran against gordon smith, he was railing on him about the wall street bailout. but several weeks into his tenure, he voted for 300 and $50 billion of bailout for wall street. all these regulations have made it very difficult for our smaller banks and our credit unions to make mortgage loans and small business loans. don't know ifnks they are going to run afoul of any of these regulations making it more difficult for them. workedank has not because now things have gotten worse. six banks control two thirds of the financial assets. and the volcker rule that went from four pages to 963 pages, even volcker doesn't supported anymore.

opportunity when i was elected to lobby for a tremendous amount of money to be moved out of wall street and indirectly help homeowners. i got a commitment in writing from the new administration to move 50 to $100 billion out of wall street. that is the type of involved and engaged advocate that you want to have. a champion that says less for wall street and more for homeowners. i push the administration very hard to create a homeownership program that would work well. they didn't take many of my ideas but they kept -- but i kept pushing. >> you have taken heat over allegations that your health care position was plagiarized from other sources. what you tell us how your positions on health care reform differ from your opponent? >> my campaign already addressed this issue but i have been involved in health policy for over 30 years, involved with the

texas medical association, the oregon medical association, the washington committee. i have been a trustee for the american medical association. i have been working to try to provide quality and affordable health care for 40 years and specifically for five years with obamacare. in 2009 talking about problems with obamacare trying to change these before they came through. i worked back when it was on the board. the idea that all of us that work in health policy know will work. all of us that work together

know what works. because they don't meet the essential benefit packages to find a $300 million down the tubes for a website that doesn't work. >> we already knew that my opponent took her tax plan from romney and her environmental plan from the koch brothers, the biggest polluters in the country but i was shocked that her health care plan came from a survey written by karl rove, and extreme right-wing advisor to the failed bush administration. we had a situation where there was so much concern over access to health care. a woman came to me at a fundraiser for ms and said a year ago, if you got a diagnosis of ms, you were in deep trouble if he didn't have insurance. a year ago, if you had

insurance, you might have a lifetime limit and you wouldn't be able to get the help you need. i am so relieved we had the peace of mind that the loved ones today get the basic health care they need. for000 have signed up health care. at least 300,000 didn't have health care a year ago. what if they go through that website debacle? locked out ofere something that was so important to their quality of life. would vote said she to scrap the affordable care act sending cancellation letters to 500,000 oregonians and that does a lot of harm. >> having insurance doesn't mean that you have access to health care. and that is the bigger problem we are facing now. be certain that people actually do have access. remember that this was sold as the lie of the year. if you like your doctor, you can keep it.

your costs are going to go down. increases onighest the west coast. >> isis destabilizing portions of the middle east and a long, drawnout conflict. the uc putting u.s. soldiers on the ground is a possibility? isis is a brutal and barbarous group that would have to work in partnership with our allies to stop. we need to work with allies in europe and allies on the ground. support for the economist zone that will provide an effective counter. the reason they had trouble was isis acquired american weapons.

we can help the iraqi forces and provide essential airstrikes and air cover. what we must not do, and your question, we should not turn this west versus islam. thatll fuel the very fires we are working to put out. and furthermore, the administration needs to come to congress as required in the constitution to get authorization for this new battle. the warrequired under powers resolution after 60 days. it's very important for president on a that require -- honor that requirement. >> we do not have a strategy. it is administration is always being caught offguard by one thing or another whether it is isis, ebola, whatever. and we are always reacting. a lot of these problems happen because we have retreated as a

world leader. it leadership back room -- vacuum that will be filled. jv. called isis the this is the president that makes with militaryons strategist and military leaders on the ground. isis is continuing to gain strength. our president is telegraphing to the enemy what we will and won't do. has saiderkley nothing. just rubberstamping these policies all along. we need safety and security.

>> it is so important that we not politicize this issue. we need to work together to take andhis terrorist threat others around the world. there will be extreme elements today and tomorrow but we must be thoughtful and work in close quarter nation with allies and use the right tools at the right moment and not repeat the mistakes that we have made going to war on false premises. >> one of you is in congress. the other is running for congress. what do you most dislike and like about the united states congress. >> i think the problem we are seeing now with congress is the extreme polarization.

i opponent here is the poster boy for polarization. withtes 98% of the time his party and does just what he's told. i would be a very logical senator, a very rational senator. not one who is just a strict ideologue. rated the most extreme senator by the national journal. you know when you are on one extreme or the other, you're never in the room and the problems are solved because people think that you're so far out there that you can't be part of the discussion. we need somebody with common oregon andill put the united states above their political party and above their own career. that is the problem with career politicians. doing whatlected and

they're told and climbing in the hierarchy. that is why i support term limits. branch, itt symbolizes that we, the people, the first three words of the constitution -- in its best section it can be a thorough place to debate and partner and find strategies that take on important issues. what i dislike most is that it wasn't the u.s. senate that i the 1970's.k in it wasn't even the 1980's. what i found is a deeply polarized and paralyzed institution. the time lyndon b. johnson was first leader of the senate, there was one filibuster. is 281.ry reid, it

it is abuse of the rules, blocking the body to be able to debate amendments and get the final votes and address the problems we face in america. to restore the ability of advice and consent. >> it is funny that senator merkley rings up the reform because that is the one piece of legislation that has caused him thee quite unpopular with senate as we speak now. it allows a simple majority to underwrite the will of the majority. the senate is supposed to be a deliberative body with input from both sides. not where one simply overruns the other. i think you will regret that when they are in the minority

next year but he won't be there because i will be there. >> your opponent brought up term limits. what do you think about that idea? the voters adopted term limits i thought it was an interesting idea because it might create new blood and new turnover. it shifted power from individuals to the lobby. ae courts threw them out as violation of our constitution. and i can tell you that the proper authorities should rest withthe elected, not rest the lobbyists and powerful special interests. my opponent has taken a position that the lobbyists one. they are the institutional memory.

we do have an appropriate form of term limits called an election. i encourage everyone to vote and way and no matter what their perspective because we need to have citizens participating in the democracy. >> the problem is they get bold and the special interest groups. as senator merkley knows this. is funded by several extreme groups. the founding fathers did not have to put term limits into the constitution because nobody wanted to go. do your to make you go time as a congressman or a senator. because everybody had their own jobs and things going on, the good thing about having term limits is that we bring people

in from different backgrounds. instead of having career aftercians that are year year legislating, we bring people in with different backgrounds. nowe are only three doctors and that's why it's important that i get there. we need people with business backgrounds like senator ron johnson. we need people with science backgrounds and education backgrounds so that they have something to contribute. >> senator, 32nd? -- 30 seconds? that comeshe power from learning a craft whether it is my opponents in surgery or the work that senator whitehouse done on taxes. he has worked to become a master of these rules and he is now the chairman of the finance committee.

without a lot of experience and a lot of study, you would not be able to take on the powerful special interest. >> the pipeline on their land as part of the project. >> if they can be done in an environmentally friendly conscious way, it is good to , and all of the abrupt approach. energy independence is very -- and all of the above approach. energy independence is very important. it is difficult to be dependent on countries that hate us.

they are the ones hit the hardest by increases in energy prices. i think that is the most important thing that we become energy independent. >> we can create hundreds of thousands of jobs through a rebuild america act that i support. it is different. be one outlet on the west coast for natural gas and supposed to happen in oregon.

very concerned about the pipeline strategy. they will pay an amount that means being incredibly generous. i am concerned about the safety of the pipeline. natural gas can help replace coal in china and make the situation better. >> i think we have done an excellent job of doing that with -- i think it is

important we don't that excessive regulations of this one that would at a cost of $1200 to $1700 per family per year. >> it is time for our closing statements. each candidate has 75 seconds. >> you have seen two different paths for oregon and for america. our middle class income has dropped by $3000 a year. more oregonians went on food stamps and found a job.

a very precious baby to take to the operating room, i am accountable for that little life. we held senator merkley accountable for his decisions. we have gotten so used to incompetents and dishonesty and our federal government that we are not even surprised by it anymore. we are told we have to get used to this new normal. i believe we can and must do better. get our economy back on track, get oregon back to work, keep our country safe and secure. we arelike the direction going, vote for senator merkley. if you think we need a change in direction, you need to change your senator. i'm dr. monica wehby. i ask for your vote. >> thank you kobi and dr. wehby.

there are two very different views. do we allow the wealthy and well-connected to write the rules to benefit themselves or do we invest to give every american a fair shot? i am fighting to make the success of the middle class are top priority. that is why i wrote the law that shuts down the wall street casino endangering our economy. that's why i wrote a lot to ban the predatory teaser rate mortgages. i am fighting to reform a broken senate so powerful special interests can't use it as a veto for investments and infrastructure and education. it's an honor to serve as your senator. we made some progress but we haven't gone far enough. college andake opportunity for every single student. companies that ship our jobs overseas. we won't have a middle class in america. of, by,hare this vision

and for the people, not by and for the powerful special interests, i ask for your vote. thank you and good night. that concludes the senate debate. on behalf of everyone here, i would like to thank you both very much for participating. i would like to think the viewers for watching. i hope you join us for a live gubernatorial debate. that is next monday at 7:00 p.m. only on nbc five. a replay of this debate can be line and don't forget to vote in the november 4 election. a good night. >> on the next "washington journal" a look at campaign 2014 and the political fight for control of congress with editor steven shepherd. then attitudes about the midterm elections. we'll talk to college

republican committee chair alex smith and the president of the young democrats of america,. "washington journal" begins live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on -span. >> with the 2014 midterm election just over a week away, c-span's campaign debate coverage continues monday at 7:00 p.m. eastern. the illinois senate debate with senator dick durbin and jim owner wise, followed by live coverage of the massachusetts debate between baker and cokely. then at 9:00 the georgia senate debate between purdue, nunn and swafford. at 10:00, the minnesota senator debate with franken and mcfadden. at 11:00 p.m. eastern, the hawaii governor debate. tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. eastern, live coverage of the south carolina senate debate between three candidates, senator tim scott, joyce