point of light -- it is not public. the details of those complaints are not public. this is the second time you have told the voters of georgia that it is not public. >> you are not telling us the details of that complaint. equivalency create is really a stretch. >> thank you both. is all the time for questions. candidates will have 60 seconds for closing statement. >> thank you. ornk you all very much moderated in panelist questions. the great service you will provide.

i got in the race to continue what i have tried to do for 26 years, to try to make a difference in peoples lives by working together and solving problems. i believe that is what we need more of an washington. a collaborative spirit, looking for common ground and bipartisanship. wage. raise the minimum create an affordable pathway to college for students and can tackle the long-term debt if we work together. i hope you will join with me in working together to live out the andgia state mottos, wisdom justice and ask for your vote. >> your closing remarks. >> thank you. during the campaign i have traveled all over our great state, traveling and listening to concerns.

clear,sage is very washington is broken. it is affecting your live and your families life. i believe our country is headed in the wrong direction. i believe we need to turn that around right now. enough with dysfunction and lack of accountability. i am tired from going one crisis to another. i want your voice in the senate to take up your side in congress and get washington working for you and your families again. i want to go to the senate to fight for you. i am asking for your vote in your trust to be the next united states senator. thank you. >> your turn. >> thank you to everyone at home who has taken the opportunity and listen to the debates. i know politics sometimes is not the most enjoyable thing to listen to, but it is so important to get involved and be

engaged. i know it is a rough and tumble business. i have been called selfish for being in this race but i could be doing a lot of different things this whole year instead of going across the state and try to champion the true liberty ideas of individual responsibility. it is so important we stay engaged in the race and really look to individuals in the power and responsibility of true liberty because that is where it lies, not with the government. connected to the right people or your industry does not have the right obvious, you are at a disadvantage in this environment. that is what i am standing up for. >> trying to reach you to please understand the power and possibility is where lies. thank you for being here tonight. i know i speak for everyone and those watching at home when we

say we appreciate your willingness to represent the country. it can mind all voters be held tuesday, november folks. early voting already underway. thank you to the analysts and journalists as well. information and all of the debates their hosting, visit the atlanticpressclub.org. also available at gpb.org. made possible by a generous donation by charles lauper broke. classictuned for the cover the paradise. thank you for joining us tonight and be sure to vote. [applause] [captioning performed by

national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> this is a gpb original production. >> politico has reported on the georgia race. michelle nunn has a difficult political balancing act. she campaign with john lewis yesterday in the democratic stronghold of south the calvert county. she will need possibly as much as a third of the white vote to defeat david purdue in georgia. six out of 10 disapprove of president obama and mr. perdue has tied her to the president during the campaign. campaign 2014 coverage continues tonight at 8:00 eastern. the new jersey senate race and to the debate between cory booker and jeff bell who is an author and two-time gop candidate for governor.

a debate between the candidates in south carolina's race. jim scott basis joyce dickerson and independent joe maki. andhing in using twitter facebook. live in 30 minutes, a discussion about infrastructure in the u.s. with john peabody. he will give the keynote address at the north american strategic infrastructure leadership forum. scheduled to begin at 12:30 eastern time. before we take you there live, discussion from the national education foundation and the efforts during the midterm election. >> we're back with karen white. talking about teachers unions and education. with karen white. is the nea playing this luscious cycle? you can imagine, that

is mostly happening in gubernatorial races and mostly, in u.s. senate races this year, which is unusual. we have got 35 of all television ads running on the issue of education. in states like florida, , and maine, where the cuts were billions of dollars out of public education. those are very public races that matter. we are very engaged in those. of those races where the cuts are a big issue is in kansas. the governor wants to be reelected. how is education playing out in kansas? it hast ha -- guest: been very interesting. he experimented with education

cuts and thought about be good for students and a way to balance the state budget. it has not panned out that we for him. students need textbooks and we need smaller class-size is an parents want to make sure their kids have access to everything possible in the classroom. i am a parent myself. i have three kids in the public schools and i want my kids to have afterschool activities, access to those books, and i want to make sure they have a teacher who can pay attention to them without 45 kids in the classroom who want to -- in the classroom. we want to have a good class-size. i think the voters of kansas are seeing that play out. the claim about the largest cut made out of any state. findsay, the fact meter there is substance at the core of the claim, but the association's version of the events mrs. too much relevant information. the brownback campaign has advanced a narrative that may or

may not stand up to precise scrutiny. the major party nominees decided venture that will not fit conveniently into an advertisement. a log will assign for moving too much of 30,000 for students. it represented the one-time shrinkage in spending highlighted for critics and the governor. emphasize slicing appropriations for education in kansas started earlier but smaller con -- smaller chunks very guest: the fact -- smaller chunks. he madehe fact is, cuts. parents and educators have seen those cuts come home to roost. they see they had larger >> sizes -- larger class sizes. we do not have access to the things they used to peer those cuts make a difference. when doing those cuts in

exchange for corporate tax rates or for tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, that is when voters and parents speak out because they do not believe those are the right priorities we should have for our kids. >> what about north carolina? what sorts of ads are you running their? -- there? neck andey are all neck and everything has been polarized. down to the boots on the ground. we are excited. educators are going door to door . they're making phone calls and doing things like writing personalized handwritten notes, which we truly believe will have an impact in this election. when you come home from work and you see the political mail in your mailbox, would you read that or would you actually look at a postcard written by your third grade elementary school teacher who you know personally

and is telling you why the issue of education is so critical in the election? host: how many of these are being sent out? guest: hundreds of thousands and probably millions in all states. pennsylvania, north carolina, kansas, hawaii, maine, colorado, anywhere where there is a tentative -- a competitive governor's race and senate race. this is in iowa, where there is also a competitive senate race. this happens be a local state legislative campaign, but members are active up and down the ballot because they know education funding decisions and education decisions for students are made mostly at the local level. goal is 40 million. how much have you spent so far? guest: i think we will reach the goal. there is one week to go. you runningare advertisements with one week to go? guest: today, i will, talking

about candidates from the right wing of the party who want to eliminate parts of education, which would also eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars ng for those who need special ed help and additional education. whether you have a child with autism or a child with a physical disability he needs help -- who needs help getting to the building, we need funding. or eliminate the department of education, then you do not have the funding available across the country. instead of moving forward and making sure we prioritize education, she wants to move acworth and eliminate the department of education. i honestly thought those days were over a decade ago. but apparently not in iowa. host: who are your donors? educators, school building employees, but strivers, school nurses,

teachers in the classroom, college teachers, pre-k. some of them give $100. a big number. some write checks like the corporate billionaires do. so we really have to depend on boots on the ground, but also small contributions. host: your donations are dues? guest: some are and some are voluntary. host: if they could opt out? called from a website "teacher unions expose." when they could opt out, they did intros. the number of teachers who dropped out when to 6.8%. the number of teachers tripping in washington plummeted. our members are part of

the union because it allows them to have a collective voice. when you have people standing together on an arm with each other to make sure they could speak out on behalf of their students, that they can vote in school board and go to their administrator and fight for a lower-class eyes and fight for morph on ning for more tools that they need, that is what makes it powerful that allows them to have the voice collectively. when you have one or two people together, you do not have as loud a voice as you do when you have 3 million. we are in every county in every legislative district, and it allows us to have a powerful voice across the country. host: the topic this morning is teachers and teachers unions. the phone lines are open. -- by the way, the fourth line this morning is for teachers --

let me begin with warren, england nokes, new york. go ahead. i am a retired school teacher for 32 years. team.active in the u.s. we worked very hard to help teachers and students. i believe the charter school movement in new york state is basically an antiunion movement. they do not want unions anywhere near the charter school. the attitude towards labor is horrendous among the charter schools. one comment, if you would look through the country, school teachers in all 50 states, as aers lives are better

result of the union. i am living proof of this. 32 years of teaching, i retired and i do some work in manhattan, and look at my life in comparison to the life of the teachers in the right to work states, like florida, mississippi, louisiana, arkansas, all of these states that are so anti-obama. florida, not so much. they're anti-labor. the labor movement has improved the lives of the worker. one last point here the greatest problem facing our country economically is the eve wrote in middle-class. why is there an eroding middle-class? of the weakness of the labor movement as compared to 1968, 1970, 1972.

host: i have got to leave it there to get in more voices. guest: thank you for your service as an educator for that many years. that is a service. i agree with you that we have eroded the middle-class ability to have a strong and healthy retirement. public2 years of service, i'm glad you were able to do that. i completely agree with you in the middle-class. terms of charter schools, we have to fight to make sure any charles -- charter schools are held accountable to the same standards public schools are held accountable, so they pay the teachers well and they give them benefits they deserve and make sure every student has that to the tools they need to make sure they have a learning experience they deserve. everyoes not happen in one of those schools and you are right about that, but we have to make sure we hold folks accountable for that as well. host: mike in michigan.

i have heard a lot of teachers say that they are very concerned about the union, a lot more concerned than they seem to be with students here my question is i would like to know what measures are in place to ensure that students are not being indoctrinated with union problems? thank you. guest: nice to hear from my home state of michigan and i .ppreciate the call educators are focusing on a curriculum students need in the curriculum. i have a daughter in annapolis, maryland. they focus on a different rhythm that maybe high school government or civics. educators are focusing on a curriculum students teachers, but they are not focused on union membership. there are this he focused on a high standard curriculum or kids will learn the skills they need to graduate and get into the best colleges in the country.

hopefully, they will be able to afford the colleges. the rising level of student debt has been an issue in our field. appreciate your question and hope you have a great day. host: independent, paul. caller: a couple of things. number one is, she said something about, if they did away with the part -- the department of education, the be doing without this and that. no. if you do it without the department of education, from the federal level, and put it back in the state level, then all schools would have more money. you are not sending money to washington, d.c. so some crook could come -- confiscate that my for-profits. be doing without this and that. for profits. i remember school back where i was and i see how it is done. ever since federal government got involved in the teachers

are gettingstudents dumber and dumber every year. just look at the jobs. they cannot add any girl he cannot even read when they get out of school. we have got to do something to fix the problem and i don't care what it is. get our students to work. high-paying jobs. education needs to be changed. guest: thank you for your question. i do disagree with you and i do not think our kids are not as right as you mentioned, but i see students who are members all across the country every day and they have access to a great educator, which thank you for yr question. i do disagree with you and i do not think our kids are not as right as you mentioned, but i see students who are members all across the country every day and they have access to a great educator, which means they have access to a great education. the problem is and the issue really is the cuts to funding education. instead of funding public schools, somethey cannot governe

pennsylvania, maine, wisconsin, michigan, and florida, have decided to give tax breaks to wealthy billionaires. i do not think parents and community leaders and voters and certainly not where teachers and events are very we need to prioritize education. the federal governor's role, that is part of the role and we will always stand behind that. have aaking sure we great public school for every ,tudent, not just for the few but every student regardless of what the zip code is. host: time magazine piece, here is the cover -- some tech people may have been able to findpennsy to change that. this is a quote from the piece. it seems crazy to one of the tech titans they refer to that teaches in california receive tenure.

after less than two years on-the-job and principles are required to lay off the least experienced teachers, in a matter which ones are the best. it is even crazier to him that some take $2000 to fire a teacher who is not doing a good job. the majority of teachers, 98% of every teacher, is doing an incredibly good job under very difficult circumstances. but times have really changed. when you got into education years ago, you did not require kids to fill out a test every single week. my daughter comes home crying every now and then that she has to take a test every week. i check which test it is. it is over testing. misuse of testing. that has really changed the joy in teaching and the joy in learning for many students across the country. we have to deal with toxic testing, for sure. in terms of the magazine

article. they just have some facts wrong. aren't educator who does not have the qualifications to do the job, you have every right to be dismissed and they are across the country. the education association, school boards and administrators, are working hard to see that they can speed the process up and make it the most efficient possible. we also know we have to make sure educators have the ability to advocate for their students. when they go to the school board and say, i have 48 kids in my kindergarten classroom cannot do the job you want me to do without resources, we do not want the teacher to be fired because they came and spoke out against something the administration did not like. that is why it is important to have due process and understand teachers need to have that voice. is the nea helping to fight the legal challenge? could you explain that to our viewers? yes, we are working to fight that, to make sure

educators have the opportunity to have a voice. they are our educators, and not were attorneys, or doctors, or senators, or congressman. school administrators, school secretaries and nurses that know sure a child has a well-rounded education. education make sure has to fight for that and speak up for that. education has to fight for that and speak up for that. they went into the profession because they care about kids more than anything. host: to be clear, what is not right about the time magazine piece? if you have an educator who does not do his job and does not have the qualifications, they should exit the profession and do something else, just like an attorney, or a doctor, or anybody else who may not be doing their job. a quality teacher in every classroom so every student has access to that quality teacher. we will make sure to fight to make sure they have what they need.

to just go tont >> for a month to become a teacher and go into a hard to teach school area. you want a four-year degree, that certification, and you want to understand the craft of teaching and impart knowledge to your students and not just have the technical expertise of science and spanish. you want to have the science of how to teach. that is why it is important that every educator have that background before you get put in the classroom. host: we will delve into this time magazine article tomorrow as part of our spotlight on magazine series. edwards will be here to discuss that tomorrow in our last hour. mike in texas, a republican. i have a couple of questions. since 10% of income owners in america pay 70% of the federal taxes, what exactly is wrong with tax cuts for billionaires

and millionaires? what are they doing wrong? they are job creators, first of all. i am really perplexed why billionaires and millionaires are considered to be the most evil people to ever walk the face of america. thank god for them. it ok forwhy is teachers unions and members to rank-and-file to bully teachers who are conservative? if a conservative teacher were to ever admit to voting for ronald reagan or george bush, they are shunned and humiliated. they are intimidated. i know this has happened.

i since the great depression. a lot of that was due to the made for were education. it is not billionaires and millionaires. they are funding a lot of these campaigns, but there is no attack on them. so i disagree with you on that. in terms of bullying, i have never seen that happen. candidates who support public education. republican, democrat, or independent. moderate republicans who have

supported it has waned. we are working hard to ensure that we educate them on issues that matter most to kids and parents. who wante any of them to focus on important education issues. host: arnold, maryland, you are next, matt. independent. caller: i agree with a lot of stuff you're talking about. think we areg, i forgetting a huge point that i recognized throughout my travels throughout the united states, being a navy guy. parents are not taking responsibility for their children's actions and they are pushing education and learning versus the schools coming home and creating an environment of learning and love and education. disheartening because the

schools are getting the brunt of the blame from parents when their kids act up for school. they attack the system in the school instead of correcting their children and making sure they are molding them into being successful in the educational system. , yourkaren white thoughts? guest: i appreciate you taking the time to call in this morning. obviously have to be engaged in education. we work very hard. educators across the country are in or with parents and pto's. this happened recently in seattle where we are knocking on doors to get more parents to attend pta meetings so we could explain things happening in the school year. educators and teachers are working as hard as they can to engage more parents. i could not agree with you more, but it is hard when you are a working parent and have kids at

multiple levels of school and you come home and you do not have a text look because of the cuts that happened. so you have to get your child to the library to get your child online. it is harder to be a student then to be a parent currently in this country because we are not getting our priorities straight .or funding education karen white has worked on 25 campaigns in 21 states leading in democrats parties grass-roots campaigning and get out the vote efforts. scott on twitter has this -- guest: we should be arguing for smaller class-size is. evidence has shown the more one on one time that you have with a

student as a teacher it will the student. we absolutely should be fighting for lower-class sizes and ensure that we're doing it together and that happens all across the country. if you think about it and you walk into a country of second graders and there are 42 kids in the >> and one student may not have eaten breakfast that morning because they do not have the ability to do that, one student may have come from a family that has a mom or dad who works all night and makes sure they are going to bed on time and getting their homework done. one student may not be able to read the backboard -- the blackboard. teachers deal with that every single day in the classroom. and we want toed make sure students have everything they need to get the job done. if we are dealing with 40 children who are six and seven years old and they have on,erent issues to focus

that it's very hard. a classroom of 20, it is easier to give them the attention they need and deserve to get the quality of learning they deserve. good morning and thank you for all that you do for us. in new mexico, we are being driven by a teacher evaluation system that uses a lot of corporate data model. in that model, it is driving many teachers out of there because we are spending 2-3 hours a day on data. you filing a lawsuit on our behalf but what do we do about the corporate reform bringing the business model to public education? greg, thank you for your service as an educator. and i appreciate you taking the time to call us today. schools are not businesses. they are communities of learning where our children come and expect to be safe, cared for, it taught. texting has gone out

of control in terms of the love of teaching and the love of learning. a lot of that is german by corporations trying to corporatetize we should not be trying to make money off of our kids. we should be doing everything we can to provide our kids with the tools they need to succeed in life and go to a good college and good it -- get a great job. that will help the economy grow. when teachers make money, they put money into the economy. with you. that model, that business corporate reform model is not at all what we need and we have to keep fighting to make sure that we are fighting for learning and for high standards for our kids and not about making money off of every student. we go to our line for democrats.

james is watching in fort worth, texas. caller: thank you for c-span and think the unions. we have to look at education as -- the havetem spent the last 40 years unionbusting every industry -- i amthey are looking a first generation baby boomer and i spent 30 years taking a class someplace. because it's a great place to improve your self. i have children and grandchildren who are teachers. we have to look at ourselves as room within the same every other middle-class human and american. the forces of greed are taking it away and they're trying to

see the education system as a place to make profit. please keep up the work. thank you so much. >> thank you, james. there is a lot to do. there's a lot we need to do to continue to fight on behalf of our students. i have three kids. , have a junior in high school a freshman and a third grader. i see what happens in my classroom every single day. i see how they are able to get the skills they need. i see how qualified their teachers are. if we were to take that model and turn it on its head into a corporate model, it would not be in the best interest of our kids. we want major we are making decisions based on learning and student achievement and what is best for our students. communities need to be supportive of that. we appreciate everything you are doing.

we appreciate your service. thank you so much. host: michael on twitter -- guest: is this michael? michael, we will probably spend in the $40 million range. knocking onclude doors, on calls, advertising certain states like michigan, maine, pennsylvania. making sure voters understand what the choices are around public education. we want to support candidates -- they want to support candidates who have cut billions of dollars from education. we have seen school closures, class sizes, stints go hungry without the free and reduced meal programs. at the expense of corporate tax

breaks or tax breaks for billionaires. those are the wrong priorities. i believe that's why we will have a new governor come january. host: the tight senate races are keeping democrats's hopes alive. it could come down to the democrats get out the vote effort. tell us how the mechanism works. how do you go about getting your teachers out? guest: targeting is very important. you want to make sure you are getting out the vote, those you believe are going to be voting for your candidate. we are able to do that through sophisticated tools and models. their voices are very respected. if someone comes to your door and says i'm karen, i'm from the local republican party versus high, i'm karen, i'm a teacher and i like to talk to you about the importance of this election.

you are going to listen to that in a way that i believe is very different than you would somebody from a campaign or for a party. the boots on the ground will be pushing and advocating for us. the door knocks, the personal one-on-one touch. talking to parents, talking to community leaders. matterow that elections and they do have an impact on our student achievement. host: can you tell us what your thoughts are on the ground game in states like north carolina and iowa? are doing a lot in both of those dates and a lot in the states i mentioned earlier. literally having hundreds of thousands of educators out knocking on doors, talking to

importancet the edu of education. one of the things we have seen this year that has been unprecedented is the ads focused on education. 35% of all ads have been focused on education and the interesting thing is they want educators to be the messenger. whether you are running an ad for a republican candidate or democratic candidate or a third-party, everybody wants an educator talking about what matters for kids. our members love doing that, they love being able to talk about the facts. they love being able to lift of their voice up. we talked about budget cuts. what other issues are cropping up for education voters? guest: class size has become a huge issue.

in washington state, they will decide on whether or not they want to reduce class size by funding public education. you have to have more buildings and more educators to allow for smaller class size. it's a ballot measure. people are already voting. they are going to vote to reduce class size, which is very interesting because in washington state, they are 47 out of 50 in class size. toir state has not been able put their priorities into public education funding. their class-size continued to grow and grow. you will see some things like that on the ballot. we are fighting in places like montana against voter fraud and voter roll back of access to voting. the same-day voter registration law is at stake could we want to make sure that you can vote at any time.

make sure you can vote early or vote on election day. we are fighting that as well. there are a couple of minimum wage ballot measures like in arkansas and other states where we want to make sure that we can raise the minimum wage to a fair wage. some people in arkansas make seven dollars and $.50 an hour -- $7.50 an hour. we want to support those issue measures as well. host: mike is a republican. i hear all of this about increasing the minimum wage. it is not a career. it's to get you started in life. classroom anda you have 30-40 students. give each student a teacher. i have three kids who went to school who graduated. i grew up and did good in

school. you sound like you're a democrat. they need to cut a lot of things. if you don't agree with them, you are a racist. what do you want? you want to put one teacher with every student in every classroom? guest: thanks for your question. great point is a for starting in life. it is great for my son who works at a local bargain center and makes minimum wage. that is fine for a young teenager. mom or a dad or a grandparent taking care of a family and you are 20 years into her career and you still don't have the ability to make more than the minimum wage, you can't

provide a safe home or enough food. you can't close your children. a lot of our members filled backpacks every friday to make sure their kids have food over the weekend.

for giving me the lifestyle i have now after retirement. notve friends that are lucky enough or were not lucky enough to be an organization that gives them a lifestyle after they get done working and 70's back to work in their , making minimum wage for their income to make it. to get by in today's standard. we theas job creators, people are job creators. the more money we make, the more you spend and the more that has to be made. the more that has to be made to stuff on the -- shelves again. >> thank you and thank you for

your service. think the viewers understand the importance of the work. -- safeeep school self and healthy and clean to have the best learning environment possible. i am glad you are able to retire and enjoy your family and friends. that is what should have been after 32 years of hard public service. we want to make sure everyone who works hard has the ability to retire and a healthy age where they can enjoy retirement. thank you for everything that you did while you were a custodian and that you continue to advocate for now. >> please take your seats. thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you very much.

good afternoon. thank you for participating in the sixth american infrastructure leadership forum. we really appreciate your enthusiasm. it is my honor to introduce to you all, major general john peabody. general peabody entered military service in 1980 upon commissioning as a second lieutenant in the corps of engineers. career as at of his combat engineer. major general peabody is a graduate of the united states military academy at the bachelor of science degree. a graduate of the command and general staff college, army war college with a masters degree in strategic studies and holds a master of public administration from harvard university and stuttered and -- studied international relations and psychology at a homes bed

scholar in mexico city. he holds a professional engineer license from the commonwealth of kentucky. that, he is a tremendous individual. we appreciate his taking the time to come speak to us today. he will speak about the competitive advantages of the u.s. waterway system and tying a vision to a plan. please give him a warm welcome. [applause] >> anytime you need me to fill in for vice president biden, you can count on me. >> i am very glad to be here. this is a tremendous opportunity. presentation so i will blow through the slides quickly but what i'm trying to in a way thattory

is faithful to reality and yet captures your imagination. so i hope i am somewhat successful. what i am trying to do is make thergument that vision is defining difference between those who succeed and those who do not. that vision requires an understanding of the natural advantages that one has, the obstacles that one faces and facing the reality of one's situation and determining a plan to carry forward the division of successful outcome. i will try to demonstrate how i believe it has been it has been accomplished in history. first, advertising. looking at the bottom line, there are three numbers. the right to are the one that counts. these are the values that the delivers toineers the nation as a result of all the infrastructure and missions

we have managed for you. the middle column is what we call national economic development, how they value -- measure the value the court delivers. almost net $90 billion. 17-1 return on the annual appropriation of $5 billion. to insurancenues claims that do not get paid. disaster relief if it does not happen. thisis a tremendous value directly contributes to what the court does. itterms of qualitative value is difficult to discuss. so i am nott credit accused of plagiarizing. an article written by george

freeman, the ceo of stratford, to political advice company. he has a realistic view of the world. he wrote an article maybe three or four years ago. he called it the united states called it the inevitable empire. map is from the article. in the article he makes an argument there are several realities that contribute to the inevitable greatness of the united states. those remark on two of characteristics. this gets to the water resources aspect of the country. terms, this isle the continental nation. the continental nation. there are other continental nations, but not like ours. they do not have year-round access to port on oceans. they do not have a waterway system that penetrates deep into

the hearts in the united states that is naturally the most navigable in the world. this combines with what the corps and others have made in the course of history. more miles of navigable waterways than the entire rest of the world combined. these arean argues natural geopolitical realities. they give you enormous advantages. not necessarily the tax rates. not necessarily their labor rates that make us so competitive in today's world. the innovativeness and ability to move goods -- goods cheaply. he also overlays that with i/o cultural productivity. they do not have soil that is conducive to agricultural development and the normal -- enormous seasonal variations of

makes it more difficult to develop the land. this is a quote from him. to not theit , butssippi water shed upstate new york. you can read the remarks. he is not the visionary, a dreamer. he sets the idea. never advances the dream personally. not that he did not have more important things to do in the day. emerging colonies together. building a country with whiskey rebellion. he said the dream -- set the dream for us. when you look through the history, it started my view in terms of the development of water resources with jefferson. jefferson had the guy of developing the west.

a lot of scientific experimentation in their day. jefferson alternately is the guy who bought the louisiana purchase. the louisiana purchase is what enabled the expansion far beyond the appellation mark -- mountain chain to explode. he did not buy it for the westward expansion alone, although that was a benefit he saw. it was really the threat that the port of new orleans would be bought from spain into france and the recognition that those settlers in the ohio river area needed to get their goods back to market the most reliable way was down the mississippi watershed that compelled that. the secretary of the treasury in 1808, he published a report on public roads and canals, and he

made the argument that we need to build a transportation infrastructure that enables the commerce and economic activity and made a fatal flaw and said it needs to be funded by the utter. that was very controversial at the time. of theon's own purchased louisiana territory was not something he was certain he had reasonable -- reasonable constitution to do. said iernor of new york cannot sit around and wait for the federal government. i will build it by myself. does this sound familiar to you all. we have the port of miami moving forward. the port of savannah that has signed an agreement to move forward with advanced funding. this debate is not new. it is 200 years old. role of federal

government, the proper proportion of federal funding that needs to happen. 1841 a little town of vermilion, ohio. for a very brief moment in was the that port second busiest in the world. how can a port on the south shore of lake erie be the second busiest in the world? it is because the erie canal opened up access to what was the west and reduce transportation costs by 95%? . 95%. an explosion of commercial activity in suit. i will fast forward through the development of our history. what wery of characterized as the nationbuilding phase of the infrastructure development is

the story of the 19th century. it kind of transitions in the 20th century. do not have a there is the folks who built the continental railroad, which is hugely important. teddy roosevelt and the prominent fixture below. the same model and tried to transplant tomorrow panama. circumstances were very different and did not work. roosevelt finished the job in the early part of the 20th century. once we build out the nation and salt the build -- big problems of enable the goods and economic activity, now we have the problem of securing. -- security. this also gets to what we characterize as economic efficiency. the earliest 20th-century is the story. this is when we started as the

, privateovernment entities in the big band building area. this happened in the early part of the 20th century and persisted. 1927 we had the worst flood catastrophe in the mississippi valley. the worst in our history but the worst in the mississippi valley. 600,000 rendered homeless. .fficially 500 people died may have been as high as two-3000 people. the mississippi river was navigable from one shore to the other for 100 miles. i am talking east-west. a great inland sea because of the levees that had failed. , a of their predecessors much more holistic and

comprehensive plan to manage the river, not just levees but buildout reservoirs, backwater areas, flood ways, cut off and so on to make the river more navigable year-round and more importantly, more controllable to flood year-round. those stories continues into the 21st-century first century. this is the appropriation story. 1920 82 2011. don't pay attention to the colors. is just the program type for the navigation. what we now call flood risk management or what have you. you notice this explodes in the 1930's. sohim closed appropriately during world war ii and picks right back up as soon as the war is over. we are spending anywhere between

75-$50 per capita on core of engineering infrastructure. this is the positive area where we are taming the waterways or trying to tame the waterways, trying to control nature. and limit the damages to our people. this peaks and about 1964. then it starts coming down. primarily because a lot of the programs that we have clans are finished, but then it started coming down because now we are starting to waken up in the 1960's to this problem. this is? what river.cuyahoga my hometown, cleveland, ohio. this was not the first happened happened. the third or fourth time river caught on fire.

fire literally was the spark that took the environmental movement and grab the attention of the nation. we got very serious. we need to preserve the environment for a future. so we propagated a whole series a quiz -- there will be later -- but we propagated a whole series of us to address this. is the see now uc president the bottom there -- you see an emergent focus developing toward and resilience.

our infrastructure is starting to degrade and decay and deteriorate. we have the same fiscal challenges. we are struggling as an agency to manage all the requirements that we have with the resources that the nation -- that you citizens -- are willing to spend. i'm going to fast-forward through some of these -- this the cumulative value -- the appreciative value of all this structure. what you can see is that as it starts to come down in the early to mid 80's, it peaks and then starts to come down. are is telling us that we starting to coast on the investments of our presenters. part of this is benign neglect, we have taken it for granted. my executive officer was born after most of this infrastructure was built.

the problems when something is not have to id face, yet these problems do not end. reflect on a y study to try and understand what is going on. i have a hypothesis -- the hypothesis was that the rest of the world is racing past us. it does not appear that that is actually the case. does appear, however, that catching he world is up to us and surpassing us, but not by a huge amount. us in eless, surpassing newer, se that they have more reliable infrastructure than what we have when we built ours. in the case of australia, their approachin a nutshell is to examine what private enterprises doing and to figure out where the gaps are. then make policy decisions on will fill those

gaps, supplement private industry, and support that in a way that optimizes efficiency of the infrastructure. that is the australian approach. this from the -- from our friends in the port of seattle. the will tell you that canadian approach -- we have they canadians here -- will tell you -- the canadian approach is what they call gateways and quarters. the gateways of the port entry court's other real transportation system. that place, where the thrust ippi watershed into the heartland. bit difficult tle to see, but their craft in the traffic on sws the columbia ports has increased the last six years in contrast to the traffic in the washington ports.

make few things can you direct correlations to, but these are the same coasts serving the same clients in the heartland of north america. our washington ports traffic has declined slightly. now -- now we have china. in the last about decade or so, has been pouring investment from the coastline they were originally focused over the last 30 years or so -- now they are focused on the yangtze river. the three gorges dam is just the most obvious manifestation of this focus. slide basically tells amount of yuan that into the yangtze valley, which is, by the way, just about as long as the mississippi river.

their current five-year plan, which ends next year, says they're going to pour $32 billion into the development of the yangtze river. we have seen the -- the the economic activity explode in the yangtze river basin as a result. anywhere from 500% to 1000% in the last 10 years. of course, the chinese are not paying the same attention to environmental consequences as we did. then we have the panama canal. they were down there for the annual conference. part of my old stomping grounds when i was a youngster in the see articles e being published that chinese and the others -- an estimated potentially $50 billion. the panamanians are saying it is about a $3 billion project maybe double that -- but $50

billion for a nicaraguan canal. will this happen? i don't know. point is this - there are elements in the world who are focused on building way astructure in a big because they see a competitive advantage to doing that. that is the model i'm not going to cover. bit about a little infrastructure -- about the state of our infrastructure today. this is from the american society of civil engineers. i've highlighted in red that they're responsible for. you can see that we would be grounded if this came to her parents. this is a big problem. of the challenge is -- the severity of the problem is only starting to manifest itself around the edges. more older the

infrastructure -- some of the used structure that is not quite as heavily, but we know that this is a canary in a coal mine. it is only going to get worse before it gets better, unless a country make a commitment to invest. look at these photographs. this is some of your infrastructure. let this sink in. congratulations, you own this. if you feel?make if you get a knot in your stomach like i do, join our team. this -- this just as how much are investing per capita and infrastructure. the more ne of important slides because what this tells you is that we are not keeping up. the re not interesting to point that i economic resources enable us to invest.

most of the advanced countries and some of the developing countries -- but the line in orange, that is the united just ahead of greece. how does that make you feel? degrees pass the stress test the other week -- did greece pass the stress test the other week? by the way, this is not very accurately developed. not reflect the multiplicity of issues the administration has on infrastructure, on port -- regulatory streamlining, on change, a climate action, and on resilience. trying to discern -- and i think it is there -- is how this translates into a vision. i see this coming together to to the next stage of this hierarchy of infrastructure

from opment nationbuilding, environmental consequences, and now annotation and future resilience. wrap up g to try and here -- so this is a quote from john f. kennedy. heartland of the it -- the heart of the quote. of see kennedy -- who would have to vision and put the plan to launch a moonshot? no one was even thinking about that. we had a space race, but a moonshot?! this is john f. kennedy. he also had the vision of squeezing out every possible drop of water for the use of our citizenry in this country. really a positivist approach to history and to humankind. we'll take those same qualities if we are to maintain what we built.

that challenge is just as important in real today as it was 50 years ago when he named it. okay, so i will leave you with this. george freeman says that the united states is the inevitable empire. my question is - really? in an inevitable empire? player, not great of the preconditions -- it took our innovativeness, our determination, the vision, the willingness to duke it out on going to resource thinks, and actually make decisions and move things that may that possibility -- that potential -- into a reality. i appreciate your time and i hope i have not gone too far over. thank you very much. [applause]

>> general peabody has time for there three questions if are any questions. stingy with my brilliance? good afternoon, how you? >> doing good, how are you? >> the report card kind of sticks in my mind. as being the ee problems with that report card? to do with e processes within the corps of engineers? with it have to do appropriations from congress from a monetary or budgetary standpoint to implement these if a structure projects? question, if you will, the recent passage of the has an esources bill

extra r in it which stands for reform. the s just wondering where corps is at related to the reformed is that bill. >> a series of questions and their. will try to focus my answer. we appreciate the partnership the port of everglades and moving that forward. i think we will have the chiefs report in the next two or three months. to me, it really boils down a simple question, which i tried to make an argument for in -- in my slide presentation. which is a commitment to build that the structure nation needs and environmentally sustainable. would argue going forward, in a future resilient matter. that is what is really about. i think we tend to focus too much on some of the details and

the corps of engineers resource our natural agencies or whoever, we want to say they are not resourcing it. the truth is -- the federal agencies, all of us, we are trying to carry out the adjudicated by the is directed by policymakers that you, the country, have asked for. and bureaucracy that we like to complain about is really just a consequence of the modern conflict world that we have to deal with and all various deals and consequences that we're trying to do with, as well. have an easy t answer for how we're going to solve the problem. this is an issue for

our political leaders in this country, both in the administration and the congress. trying to stake out doing in the en is past and make an argument that we make decisions that the infrastructure we have and remain competitive in the future. regard to the legislation -- the corps just finished its legislation. that to series before take an all the concerns and recommendations from partners. we continue to encourage you to send cards and letters. you can go to our website for a place that you can do that. i cannot get into the with ion-making associated the actual implementation because that is all pre-decision, part of the administration's responsibility. we are intensely going through and as ocess next week we -- as we make our

recommendations to the administration, the will take them on and when they are satisfied, propagate the decisions -- the policies and how we will implement it. thanks. >> any other questions? one of the questions i had has to do with -- we heard that you thinking about a p3 initiative. just wondering what your scope might be? >> i am not putting on timeframe to it right now, norm. year or 18 he last months, we have been working to advance this public/private partnership approac. h developed several pilots -- i think we got those down to about eight or so -- to use those pilots

with ve discussions potential business partners, with stakeholders, with with the administration -- and the idea that we have is that we are what the figure out boundaries are and what's -- doable under current policy. the initial feedback is probably not a great surprise boundaries are pretty tight. think we forward -- i were at is most of these, we have developed to a point where what the big picture challenges are and we understand where the possibilities are. now we have advanced to the are exploring those possibilities with a little greater fidelity. a timeline nt to put to it because i think it is very important that when the forward with these initiatives, they need to be successful. we are working within current

statutory and policy, you know, requirements. to move forward like we have seen the department of be able to do and some the ts installations, residential community initiatives, we are going to need some statutory changes is that the reality have initiatives did

greater statutory support than what we are able to do with her current challenges. it is probably going to come sooner or later. we will formalize or organization and at some point, once we get to the point where we can actually push forward multiple projects, then that organization will become a little more robust. but i do not want to put a timeline on it because i'm concerned that when we move it forward, it has to be successful. at this stage, we are taking all the input we can get and we are moving forward. so that we can be confident that when we push forward, it will work. >> i think we have time for one more question. thank you very much, gentlemen. >> thanks, everyone [applause] again at 2:00 pm and we have -- just a second -- have to track a, canada's p3 and why it works.

in the colonial ballroom, we have value engineering and physical infrastructure. so again, thank you very much. enjoy your coffee and dessert and we'll see you at 2:00 pm. [applause] maj. d you can find the gen.'s remarks online, we will that up on our website. new jersey senate race begins at 8:00 pm tonight. and then o'clock p.m., a debate between candidates in south carolina. incumbent republican and first-time senator kim scott faces joyce dickerson and independent joe bossi. you can weigh in using twitter and facebook. tomorrow at 8 o'clock

eastern, the louisiana u.s. senate debate. this morning, we talk to a reporter who is covering this race. from louisiana this morning, elizabeth crisp. news bureau apital of reporters to talk about the democrat ce between incumbent mary landrieu and bill cassidy, the republican. independent o the candidate, rob maness, who is running as well. the louisiana senate race, latest usa o the today poll, is headed for runoff. do you agree? looks like what it right now and that is the kind the ame plan that i think campaigns are taking. rob is that the incumbent, but running in incumbent race.

the next debate is tomorrow night. one of two debates he is participating in leading up to this. it is going to be very interesting. >> i misspoke before, rob is a republican, as well. is going on -- what is happening with the incumbent senator there? >> louisiana is very different. it has what we call a jungle primary, so everyone -- actually next week is the primary -- everyone runs is the r in the

primary -- everyone runs together in the top two vote getters go on. it looks like, senator landrieu, he will get the vote -- she will get the vote, but nobody is going to have enough to crack into that 50%. it looks like it is headed into a runoff. it is interesting the way the campaign has been going here. we have had tons of -- you cannot watch tv without being bombarded with the campaign ads. it is really interesting. a lot of it is -- senator landrieu being a democrat -- a lot of it is on president barack obama. we are seeing a lot of campaigning tanker to mr. obama's record. >> has that been impacting her ability to get over that 50%? or is it her record as a senator?

>> it is certainly. it is certainly obama. -- the cassidy campaign and the rob campaign. there is a debate that cassidy did not participate in, but it was senator landrieu and rob maness. time and time again, barack obama came up. >> the former president bill clinton was in louisiana yesterday. something for senator landrieu, asking voters to get out and vote. in the closing weeks? >> that was actually less monday. i'm sorry, i misspoke. >> that's okay. it was less money that he was in town. it is the second event that he has been out here. was in baton rouge just had to ow, he go -- you had to go and rsvp. it was packed. they got 1000 people there, little more than that.

they have been pulling out the the week before that. i guess we will see how much -- much attention it gets. is ht now, everybody -- that of of it, about 200,000 people have really voted at this point. >> abc seven eyewitness news

presents vote 2014 -- debate in the race for u.s. senate. >> good evening. welcome to the race for u.s. senator of illinois. the debate is presented by univison chicago. our candidates are dick durbin and mr. jim oberweis. asking questions of our candidates tonight is charles thomas. odriguez,r enrique r and lauarra washington. your responses will be limited to 60 seconds for each question and 30 seconds for each follow-up.

you 11 opportunity to ask a question of each other. we will have one minute opening statements and by random draw, we begin with senator gurdon. durbin. >> thanks. it is great to be with you again. i want to say first a good political campaign focuses on the future. that is what we need to discuss. primarily come of the future of working families across the state of illinois. we need to strengthen the families and give them hope for the future which means writing a tax code that will keep companies here in america. also, provide incentives for good companies in america to grow good paying jobs for families across illinois. secondly, we need to get every family the peace of mind of affordable quality health care coverage. we know now that some 7.2 million people across america benefit from obamacare as some call it. we want to make sure those in illinois have the opportunity for the peace of mind. we have to make sure that future

generations have their chance to succeed. that is why i favor renegotiating college student loans so the students have lower interest rates, able to pay off their loan sooner and get on with a good productive life. together, we can make this a stronger working-class. >> thank you. >> good evening. the senator will be talking about an array of issues like minimum wage, reducing interest rates on student loans and equal pay for equal work. you will be avoiding talking about his failed economic record. i want to keep calling attention to that because i think that is one of the most important things. he is a 32 year career politician. he spent 32 years in washington. he is a very smooth talker. it theto ask why is average illinois family today earns $5,000 less than the earned just six years ago? are we experiencing the

worst economic recovery in the history of this nation? why are so many poor kids trapped in failing schools? will offer a different way forward. a way to create more jobs and better paying jobs. a way to help get the kids a better education through better schools. and, an opportunity to discuss these issues -- i'm looking forward to that very soon. >> thank you. over like to start with a question about washington gridlock. bipartisanship has become a dirty word in washington. dysfunction has become the norm. polls show that less than 30% of americans think this country is headed in the right direction. it is never measured a lower level of trust towards the federal government. if you go to washington, how can you change that? >> i have spent two years serving the illinois senate. if you ask my colleagues, you will find i have tried very hard to work with the other side. i have not deviated for my

principles. received a 100% rating for my voting record and from the small business group. but, i have been able to work with the other side. we were able to pass legislation to increase the speed limit on illinois highways. i was told it had no chance of passing. by sitting down with my colleagues, talking logically about the bill and getting them to work with us on a bipartisan basis, we were able to get that passed. will tell you while i won't compromise my principles, i certainly will make every effort to work with the other side to stall things in advance. ronald reagan ansett o'neill had different issues but they were able to work together. that is my role model and that is what i will try to do. , what wouldnm you say to voters that say you are part of the problem?

>> what it comes down to is this -- my spirits in the senate has helped illinois bring good pairing jobs -- paying jobs. it is no accident we are receiving a larger share of federal funds for highway expenditures and then we have in the last 15 years. i use my position in the senate to bring federal dollars home and it is no accident. illinois won the national competition for the digital manufacturing effort in this state. we believe it will create 75,000 good paying manufacturing jobs in the near term. we are engaging the whole state in this effort. experience, that simon washington has resulted in better results for families across the state. thisn't achieve any of without bipartisan cooperation. senator john mccain was my partner in reform. senator l'amour understand alexander bringing business all across the state. i work with republicans and we get results. the senate could change hands

in this midterm election meeting the gop would control the house and senate. how will that change the landscape in washington? >> that is a great opportunity for our legislature to work, the congress to work. if that happens, we will have a real opportunity to pass the 380 bills that have been blocked by senator durbin and senator reid. congress can then pass those bills, go to the president so he can approve them if he likes them or veto them. be forcedhat we will to work with the president going forward to get the best legislation. i believe a bipartisan legislation is the very best legislation we can pass. worked together on bipartisan basis to create a comprehensive immigration reform bill and passed by 68 votes in the united states senate. the house of representatives refused to call the bill. it took them three years to pass a bipartisan farmville which every farm group in illinois supported and i voted for.

we signed legislation that will help businesses across that were bottled up by the tea party and the house of representatives. >> we will go for a question and follow-up. >> the possibility of a republican-controlled house because i think -- senate, i am sorry -- that would affect how each of you might legislate if you should be elected. particularly, to use senator, as the republican-controlled house repeatedly votes to repeal the affordable care what would be your strategy is a leader in the senate to send obama care particularly if your party should lose the majority. the affordable

care act, almost 700,000 people in illinois have health insurance in the first year and it's bringing down health care costs. it is not going to work. if they want to sit down and make it a better bill i'm ready to do that and we should do that, we should do that on a bipartisan basis. and just for the record, any appeal obama care is never get through the white house with this president. it is an opportunity and a challenge for us to work on a bipartisan basis to make it a stronger bill. i wouldn't want to impose additional costs on senior citizens and exclude 125,000 young people in illinois.

>> kimi and young adults on their parents policies until they're 21 makes sense. i think it's important that we find ways for us to be able to buy insurance across state lines because that will help to bring down costs, but i believe this was rammed through by the democrats without one single republican vote. i believe in bipartisan legislation and are working with the other side. i would like to see a replacement of the biomarker that will provide better cover with more choice. if you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your health care plan. those are his words. that didn't turn out to be a good guarantee. me a thumbnail ben of

how you replace obama care, what would you suggest would be the way to do that? >> i think we can bring down cost of health care by avoiding frivolous lawsuits and allowing the reimportation of american drugs. and to make a plan that will be available to the three market without the government telling us, this is the plan you must buy. i believe people should have the opportunity to choose their and their health plan instead of the government telling them what healthcare they should buy.

>> could you envision the democrats using the filibuster? audio is gone so >> mr oba wise during the campaign there's been a controversy about your wife you little tiny in florida, and you have used that status to dodge taxes.

>> absolutely not. a year and ix months works in florida and has a life down that and i visit whenever i possibly can but i don't think we need to tell her that she is not allowed to do that, in fact my tax bill went up when she made that decision. when he said that i wanted to eliminate health care for the workplace, all i want to say is i want to equalise it. have a ual should deduction for it. sure everybody is covered, it doesn't have to be directly through the workplace. >> i satisfied with this answer?

>> i still don't understand it, in the year 2010 my payment decided to give up his permanent residency in the state of illinois for tax purposes. since then, according to the channel 5 investigation he has no permanent home for tax the state of illinois. i still don't know what that means. he may be the first in a night who e senator on records, runs for illinois but doesn't have a permanent residence here. getting a wise, you are a tax advantage with your wife's residency. you are also getting a break on taxes aren't you? >> he apparently does not understand the laws of the state.

if my wife has a home in another state and claims that for home set exemption, i am no longer allowed to have exempted in my home. i have lived in the same home to 37 years, and in fact three of five children lived a few miles from our home. him to say i am not in illinois resident is absolutely ludicrous. you still don't hear clearly, for example, do we know if your taxes have gone down? can you give us the figures? of i have this state illinois taxes which i believe i paid $50,000 in illinois taxes. when i lost my illinois exception my tax bill went up, not down. >> i just don't get it, if i am wrong in anything i said because i quoted him.

he said he did this because the tax advantages are in florida. if you're going to pay more in taxes why are you giving up your rent in illinois? the only permanent residency being claimed by his family is in florida in a penthouse condo. i don't understand why bean body aspires to illinois state senator who is based in florida. >> thank you view, good evening to both of you. let's talk about immigration. they said recent studies demonstrate that the higher earnings of legalised workers revenue and tax

more jobs, yet the federal government has failed to to take over a form. there are over 2 million immigrants who support children who have been deported. senator durbin, and if you are elected again how do we know round you'll be successful, that the republicans will take control of this act?. >> we is true the house are going to see a lot of

economic activity and people will be treated more fairly, i don't know why the republican opposed powerful immigration reform. as legend bill was supported by my us chamber of commerce opponent always comes up with the amnesty on this, whenever you hear a politician used amnesty when it comes to immigration it is pretty clear vote for not going to comprehensive immigration reform. >> maybe latinos have the backing their mind the add 10 years ago.

when you do not support >> i believe very strongly and support legal immigrants and i don't believe it is fair to give advantages all move people to head of the line who have followed laws and applied for a proper immigration in this country. i understand people are looking for the american dream. immigrants are risktakers with entrepreneurial types and i don't fight with those people, but it is important that we do in a way that follows our law. he is very smooth, but democrats have total control of

congress two years and yet didn't pass immigration reform. to elieve they sent me have a better chance. >> what would you differently this time around? >> it did have a part of and a better part was available. his pponent has changed position now. when he says is, has seven immigration reform put these new people on the front of the has read the bill. it will be 10 years before they can get itgreen card and line go to the back of the to get assistantship. >> does it make it right as all these undocumented students but not their parents? >> we generally don't believe in penalising kids for their parents mistakes.

when it comes to parents, we do not want to break up families and i believe that we can provide them with a non-immigrant visa which will allow them to stay in the visa legally, and paid taxes, and return home and come back or legally, i think that is a reasonable middleground position that we can bring people together on. >> our next question comes from charles thomas. >> this is your third run for the u.s. senate. your two previous campaigns failed. in the state at statewide illinois

voters have rejected you repeatedly. what is new or different about him over why is that makes you think now, you can win. >> let me point out that all that i have run, the voters have continued to campaigns on different levels. i have made mistakes and i have admitted i've made mistakes entrepreneurs, learn from their mistakes. i have learned that it is very important to carefully communicate your positions, because people like senator durbin and much smoother talkers than i will ever be. was ve never said that that not my permanent address but under the law i was only allowed to have one home exemption.

regardless of what the senator says, he can smooth talk things but he can never change the facts. >> senator durbin what you think about some comments that you have said about him? >> i take every campaign lost a few i've campaigns, i respect those who step forward o just candidate, i would say this though, it is the tea party that is wrecking capitol hill and my opponent has embraced that. crystal lake n this year, he was at the tea party saying i want the tea party to take over. the tea party ith is one he needs to put behind him. it is not constructive and it is is extreme and its positions.

my opponent seems to change his spots with every political campaign. when it gets right down to it rear looking for someone who is dedicated to helping working families moving forward. my opponent will not do that. >> have you embrace the tea party? >> i am absolutely disgusted that the senator would use that is the language, here situation where we had the senator involved in the middle the irs scandal -- i'm coming to that please. he use it to attack political opponents and in fact i think it is disgusting that he would do that. words six is own years agoagainst people use complaints against their opponents. the tea party goes, his cabinet about

takeover -- mr durbin >> mr durbin your response? >> he had booed incumbent centre of the state and said it is time for the tea party to take over the illinois party. he seems to be very comfortable with the tea party until he has to answer for their positions in these debates. >> senator did you say that the illinois tea party should take over the republican party? >> people were complaining to me that they didn't have a voice in the republican party. i suggested to thembecome a party.

your views are more widespread than those of other republicans, you will take over the republican party, and i stand by that 100%. sit there ed, don't and complain. be committed and work. if you are good enough to take over the party, so be it. >> i am going to stick with the democratic party but i think what is happening with the two part in washington should be an indicator to the people of illinois. is taking extreme positions. they want to eliminate the federal law, and you know what the will mean to us in chicago regional area? it is just one demonstrator of the extreme positions they take. my paintings to embrace them. >> our next question and follow-up.

>> you know the va has been management and has caused problems across the state. leader a we have a new of the va who is a successful businessman accepting the invitation to lead the la. here is a fundamental problem. veterans are served in iraq have come home and served disability claims. those, gulf war syndrome we just found the va overwhelmed, we just have to do better. if you're too far away from the a facility you can go to hospital near you and that is at least a temporary approach that will solve the problem, but whether we're talking that

illinois across the nation we have to keep our promise to their ns, if they risk lives for america when they come home we will be by you. >> i believe our veterans who have risked their lives we owe a great debt of gratitude. now he likes to talk about the veterans but this is the same senator who talks about a military with our the nazis and pol pot, this shows a total disregard for people who really care about serving our country and who have risked their lives for our country. if the va hospitals are available, they should continue to do that but if they do not

for our veterans to have access to good health care. >> we would like to hear little bit more on both of you about specifics, about the quarter veterans are homeless because billions of them have not been able to get adequate services. going forward, what reforms, what new programs, what new you address will this issue? believe in inglewood. really know why many veterans are home address, we need to them a helping hand and to give them a safe clean place to live, i support that. i think we need to continue with these homeless spectrums and do everything we can in washington.

>> we are talking about additional funds to create more models like this, would you prefer additional funds? >> we won't be satisfied until it's reduced to 0. in two years we want the city of chicago to not have a single's homeless veteran on the streets. i will do anything i can to provide the resources to make it happen. >> all of us want to make sure that our veterans are taken care of and not made homeless. what makes us think that he problem in the future? he is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. >> what would you do, what would you propose specifically? >> senator durbin is very free to throw about taxpayers money will. i have actually use my own dollars and have gone to mexico to help build homes for the

homeless. we've got the same programme that we can do in the united states were approximately $10,000 a home. and my wife has gone with me. >> you wouldn't recommend additional funding. >> i didn't say that at all, we have to fix the problem. i think we should do it privately first but absolutely the government stepping in when necessary. women can and two legally marry. a federal law ort that puts forward same-sex marriage. please answer yes or no. >> i think that is well established.

said that it has been approved and there's no arguing for it any longer so at this point i would say yes. i would prefer it to be determined by the states but we're past that stage. >> marriage equality is something i supported, my opponent announces canting densely against marriage equality in springfield illinois. why he chose that, he can explain. loving couples should be able to marry in every state. historically it has been a matter of state definition. now we're finding there are certain constitutional rules here that do not allow it. i want to see us move to all states and reach that same conclusion. i would support it.

>> obama believes the equal protection clause does in fact guarantee same-sex marriage without federal mandate. your view on that? >> we didn't get a transfer a rebuttal. very again the centre is loose with fax. facts. and continues to throw those facts out that. as a state issue, i was raised as a catholic and i believe in traditional marriage but i think we're past that. i support the law and i support our constitution. >> you look at it differently at the federal level? >> i believe time has passed and i believe courts have said that is the law.

i also believe when it comes to this issue we have to do more as elected officials to offer acceptance and tolerance in this country. whether it is hispanics or african-americans or of those that fferent orientation, is what america is all about. >> thank you, we have now reached the point of this program gentleman where you to h have the opportunity question the other. >> thank you cathy, the senators says he supports women but he pays woman 11% less in his office, he's refused to return $80,000 of campaign contributions linked to the

of sexual harassment in the state. senator, i would like to see tonight if you will release that in turn report that was generated so we know it is not a whitewash. >> there was no allegation of sexual harassment. we took a close look at it and took it very seriously and when i heard about some of the things, we set new standards. men and women knew what those new standards would be. we have in the top 10 paid positions in our office, women. women on our staff make $4000 more per year than the men on my staff. i have asked