work a full-time job, at the minimum wage, it in no way is enough to meet the minimum basic needs of her family. it is a good time to raise the minimum wage. we are america. nobody should work full-time and find themselves under the poverty line, having to go to food banks and rely on public assistance just to make ends meet. it is a good time to do the right thing. in fact, it always is. >> that is typical of why we have a jobless recovery. the minimum wage, even if you like it, is redistribution. it takes money from one sector and gives it to another. it has nothing whatsoever to do with fixing the economy and creating new jobs. >> let's look at some statistics as long as we're talking about jobs. the jobless rate in new jersey is 6.5%. which is .6% higher than the national average. but newark's jobless rate is 11.3%, camden's is 14.3%. and i think most experts, and you probably would agree, to

say that the jobless rates are really much higher than that because of all the people who have stopped looking for work. economic recovery or not, jobs tops the list of most voters' lists of concerns. what kind of program would you support or for that matter create to bring jobs to new jersey? >> well, it's not what i would do but what i've been doing for last 11 months is working hard on that fundamental idea. is how do we get people back to work in new jersey? that's why i fought to support our community colleges with programs now bringing back millions of dollars to link them actually to industry and to jobs that exist. when i go around and talk to manufacturers, and other businesses here, one of the biggest things they tell me is hey, we don't have link -- links to qualified leadership. we need everything from machinists to other technical positions. and so bringing back resources to train our workers for today's jobs is so important. i've talked to businesses that sate biggest inhibitor to growth for them is often access to capital or making that happen. i've talked to some of our major industries and they say

one of the biggest problems we have is a tax rate that's not low and fair and puts them on competitive footing. and i've been working with others across the aisle to lower our corporate tax rate. and finally, we've been doing everything possible to make sure that we have a fair economic policy in this state. that means that a woman that works a full-time job and does a same job as a man gets the same way. these are things that would help drive our economy because when consumers have resources, we can grow our demand and grow our middle class from -- grow our economy from the middle class out. >> mr. bell. >> everything that was just mentioned involves an expansion of government programs. some of them may be good programs. but we've had six years of trying to stimulate the economy from 2008 to 2014 by increased spending, printing more money, the economy hasn't been stimulated. we don't have as many full-time jobs today as we had at the end of the recession. there's a few more part-time jobs. this is not growth. this is not stimulus.

it is failed. and he agrees with president obama's approach. spend more government money and print more money to fund that spending. and it hasn't worked. and if you want to try something different then you're going to have to vote for me. >> are you saying that we are not in the midst of an economic recovery? >> it's a jobless recovery. the g.t.p. has gone up lambert but it's the weakest recovery in economic history and the reason is that small business hasn't been able to expand because of the federal reserve's zero interest rate policy which is going on for six years in which president obama wants to continue indefinitely along with the fed chairman. that is the single biggest reason why small business can't expand. the banks, the little banks that normally lend to them are on the sidelines because they can't make any money, even with a good loan. >> and my next question is for mr. bell. and piggybacking on jim's question about jobs i want to turn our attention now to atlantic city. we know that a third of the

casinos there have closed. many of them are nearly bankrupt. nearly 8,000 jobs have been lost. what will you do to create more jobs in southern new jersey and to make sure atlantic city thrives once again? >> the first thing we have to do is stop the hemorrhaging and i'm totally opposed to the idea of having a casino in northern new jersey. having another casino or a set of casinos will solve no problems and it will make everything in atlantic city worse. we need to have atlantic city remain at least for the state of new jersey a destination. that's why i don't favor sports gambling on the internet. if we're going to have sports gambling, if it's upheld in the courts it should be only in atlantic city and perhaps a few racetracks. we have to stop the hemorrhaging. i was in atlantic city two days ago at a forum that senator booker chose not to attend. and the whole idea of starting businesses and diversifying, there's a cup put on top of that, a cap that says you can't

start a business without enormous problems of regulation, taxation, permits, and you can't get the bank loans, the lines of credit needed, especially for a new business. that's the first thing we have to solve. atlantic city and the rest of new jersey are suffering heavily from a national problem. >> mr. booker, what will you do to create more jobs? >> thank you. and i disagree with my opponent and the first thing we need to do is stop the hemorrhaging by opposing a casino in the north that's past discussion stages. help the people in atlantic city. months and months before the casino closes i sat down with the republican mayor of that town, born in the federal department of labor and others to say if these casinos should close let's be proactive. and make sure that we get grants to help those folks to bridge and train to other jobs. let's make sure we help our veterans that are involved in some of these layoffs. to get those special programs that veterans can get. you see, my opponent says he opposes federal government intervention. well, if that's the case, why is he going to washington? i'm going to washington to bring back resources to help

people like the folks in atlantic city. and i believe that some of the things that can help them are us investing in infrastructure again. that's why i support improvements to the atlantic city airport that will bring people there and make it more easily for people to travel. i've worked with republican governor christie on this. as well as the airlines. i believe in doing things for south jersey like expanding patco, light rail that will bring lots of business and economic growth. it's smart strategic solution that is always begin with first and foremost having a senator that's going to be there for people in trouble. >> it may be in the discussion phase, and only in the discussion phase, but will you support a casino in north jersey? >> under no conditionly support a casino in northern new jersey if it will underminor hurt atlantic city. >> that's a subjective -- >> no. >> judgment. >> the reason i say it's not a judgment is there are some people that saying that atlantic city could share in some of that revenue. so before i make a universal recommendation against something the key thing here is to help atlantic city.

that city is a great new jersey city. >> one more time. will you support a casino in north jersey? >> i will not support a casino in northern new jersey if it hurts atlantic city period. >> do you support legalized sports gambling in new jersey? >> i'm with the governor on this. right now, it helps to bring revenue in the state. this is an illegal activity that's been going on for a long time. let's regulate it, tax it, and get the benefit here in new jersey. >> mariela saigado, a question for mr. booker. >> going back to immigration new york city announced a municipal i.d. card for undocumented residents, to bring them out of the shadows so they have a better relationship with police and they get some small benefits from the city. would you support a single federal i.d. card system for undocumented families? >> i do not like the idea of a universal i.d. card. the social security card is close to being that. but i think it's making a big mistake to go in that direction. especially with the surveillance issues that we've had during the obama

administration and earlier. i do think that that is an illustration of why we need to attack the whole problem at once. comprehensive immigration reform. that erects a legal system to replace the illegal system and the mess that we have now is the only way. those little steps like new york city, i wouldn't necessarily repeal it. but it isn't the answer. the answer has to be negotiation between republicans and democrats in a serious effort to achieve comprehensive immigration reform in the next congress. >> mr. booker. >> right now, we've driven undocumented immigrants into the shadows. and it hurts actually american citizens. i've talked to mayors from patterson to camden that have stories about immigrants being victimized by crime because criminals think let's prey on those people. because they're not going to go to the police and report it. we need to have a system that brings folks out of the shadows. that we know who they are. and can work with them on a pathway to citizenship. right now the system we have is unacceptable. and so we need a comprehensive plan to do that. and in order to do that, that

plan is going to have to come from washington, d.c. and voters are going to have to make a choice. who can best actually get into the trenches and negotiate and bring people together to bring about that kind of solution? with the tea party has proven time and time again that they are a block toward broad based coalitions for change. my tea party candidate, would make what's wrong with washington worse. i'm going down there to work with my colleagues to find a real solution that -- >> i thought all we needed was an executive order, sir. >> you don't have to interrupt me when i'm talking. we have to make sure that we have civility back in washington. not the kind of aggressive tea party attacks that we're seeing from my opponent. >> do you support giving them driver's licenses like other states have? >> i would support first and foremost finding a comprehensive system to doing this reform and i think we're on the verge of doing that if we can get the tea party in the house to step down. >> the executive order is what he said is his solution. yes, it is a solution that comes out of washington. but it's something that will completely foul the move for getting this program, this problem out of the way.

with a comprehensive solution solution. i'm a negotiator and worked with liberal democrats to try to achieve immigration reform in the bush years. we failed but it was a major good faith effort. he agrees with president obama that no negotiations are needed. just issue an executive order. that's not my idea of bipartisanship. >> let's move on. >> we have the next question that comes from matt friedman and it is for mr. bell. >> mr. bell, you've spoken out against guy marriage. we've had it for a year now. legal in new jersey. and it's about to be legal or is legal in the majority of states now. do you believe that any harm has come from this? and even though you do support a federal amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman, do you think that guy marriage's expansion and yufrlte in this country is inevitable given the way the political winds are blowing? >> i don't think anything is inevitable. in a democracy you have to have a debate. new jersey denied that debate.

because supreme court judges said this is a civil right, the founders wrote it into the constitution in 1789. that's a ridiculous thing to say. but even aside from that, i think it's -- if you're going to have social change, it's much better to debate it out and have an honest debate and have a vote on it. which governor christie favored. but he was overruled. every new guy marriage state has been imposed by either state or federal judges. i think that is one of the most unhealthy things i can imagine. and it sets up a repeat of roe v. wade which expanded the abortion issue, prolonged it for over 40 years. it's a terrible idea. d i've been very honest in saying that i believe it's a self-evident truth that marriage includes a husband and a wife. and that's my position. but even worse is the idea of imposing this by unelected judges. >> but do you believe any harm has come out of it now that we've had at least a year --

>> taking the word husband out of the legal definition of marriage is a terrible mistake. especially at a time when we know that intact families, a mother, and a father and kids, that is the greatest income program there is. and it's the greatest anti-welfare program there is. it works. and taking the word husband out is going to just increase the breakup of the traditional family. >> my opponent clearly has different views, not only than me but the majority of new jerseyians. he wants to take us backward to a time before roe v. wade and take away a woman's right to make her own medical decisions. he wants to take away the right for two people who love each other to get married and to be together. i'm telling you right now i would not be here right now if the rights of african-americans back in the 1960's were put up to votes for what's best and what's right. fundamental rights are just that. we have a constitution, 14th amendment, that says equal

protection under the law. you can't have a law that discriminates against one group in favor of another or discriminates against anyone. we are a nation that is going to get so much further if we understand that we all are equal under the law and need each other to be successful. i'm not not going to go to washington or new jersey and demean any group and deny them basic rights. we should let people who love each other have the right to get married. >> next question comes from jonathan tamari for mr. booker. >> mr. booker, the department of justice hags named 55 colleges under investigation for the way they've handled sexual assault complaints. that includes in new jersey princeton university, some of the stories have been shocking. that have come out. is this an area that congress can influence and should influence and how or is this best left to the institutions? >> well, obviously we have a problem. like we have right now in the nation. colleges and institutions are not doing enough. and i'm tired in this country of us not taking sexual assault

and domestic violence as seriously as we should. congress has an obligation to make sure we are seeing fairness and justice play out. and in this case it's not. as you said yourself, these stories are egregious. and so i for one have joined with other of my colleagues, many of whom are on both sides of the aisle, in saying that we must do something about this. and so i'm going to fight for -- against domestic violence and fight against sexual assault. and i'm going to find concrete ways to do it and one example of that is we have a system right now that while the nba and the -- and major league baseball don't have tax exempt status, a lot of other sports leagues do like the nfl, golf, and others. i want to eliminate that tax exempt stat us and take that savings and invest it in the kind of programs that protect and affirm women's rights. like domestic violence prevention. >> this is the obama-booker vision. which is if anything needs doing, it must be done in washington. and after the last couple of years, when we've had the

i.r.s., the c.d.c., the secret service, letting people into the white house, and the director having to resign, all of these institutions failing under president obama whom is senator booker supports in almost every area, and he thinks that even something as obscure as rules in the local colleges will be better handled by washington. of course there's a problem, senator. but don't you think that just once in a while you should let normal people and local government work it out to the best of their ability? they have a better track record than washington. >> may i answer that question? >> you can respond. >> look, when new jersey residents come to me with a crisis or a problem, i want to foined a way to do something about that. it doesn't always mean legislative actions or things like that but it means having a senator to be there to stand up for people. college campuses have not been dealing with this problem. and so it really hurts me to think that there will be a potentially senator going down to washington with extreme

views on women and on gays and others when folks come to him for help to get him involved even if it's picking up a phone and letting the president of the college know this is wrong and we will be watching, i will be one of those united states senators when new jerseyians come to me with a problem, sexual assault, domestic violence, i will step up there and be there for them. >> as we mentioned earlier the candidates have agreed to one round in which they ask each other a question. and we're going to start with mr. booker's question to mr. bell. >> well, i want to stick with that subject and we keep coming back to. you consistently shown that you want to deny women the freedoms and rights to make their own health care decisions. even in the most extreme cases, somebody is raped or a victim of incest. i want to know and understand, why don't you trust women in those extreme cases when they're victims of such violence and rape to make their own decisions? why do you believe that men like you should tell women what they can do with their bodies? >> certainly women have bodies

and i respect that. they need to take care of them and have the right to preserve their bodies. but unborn babies have a body, too, senator. they have a full complement of d.n.a., the human genome, things that we have found out since 1973. cory booker was once a one cell zygote and normally a one cell zgygofe grows up to be a human being and even a u.s. senator which i give you credit for. but i would have a hard time looking a woman in the face and saying even though you became pregnant through a rape you should carry your child to term. because it has a body. it has its sown life. but i would find it even harder to go to the most recent ms. pennsylvania who has worked for rape victims, but who herself was the product of a rape and tell her you don't deserve to live. >> all right. now, mr. bell, you have a

question for mr. booker. > senator, the watershed authority's problems during your administration have been coming up a little more frequently lately. and i just like to ask you a simple question to clear things up. which is on channel five in new york, last week, you said -- this week actually on wednesday, you said that the $700,000 in six individual payments, $689,000 to be exact, came as a result of -- you took your ownership with you and it was a buyout and they didn't have the money all at once. document is there a in writing that specifies what that arrangement is? >> so my opponent has spent a lot of time down in virginia the last 30 years and hasn't been taking attention much and that's why i appreciate him playing catchup now. but he's a big supporter of businesses and so when i was a

private citizen, i helped to grow and make a functioning business that actually had a lot of value in it. and so when i was growing to run for mayor i decided i would stem down from that business and take my ownership stake. i agree with my partners that would be at alue a certain amount and it would be a lump sum and they didn't have the lump sum and agreed to pay it over the course of time of and it was vrblely as well as a document. >> can you provide it to the public? >> that has private financial information on my partners. >> so you don't think the voters of new jersey have any right to see a document that gave you $700,000 in annual payments over six years, is there some kind of privilege that you have that the voters do not share? >> no. i think the privilege that i have is for you not to miscon -- misconstrue the facts. $700,000 in annual payments is not what happened. i made clear through ply tax

records and show the public what i did. what i say right now is if we are looking at levels of transpatterncy of the two men standing here, nobody is giving -- i've exposed 16 years of my tax returns and let people see my private financial document. i'm not going to subject people to my law firm from that. you about you haven't even matched my level of transparency with your own financial records. and i invite you to dot same thing. >> my tax returns are online. yours are not. none of them. >> three years of your tax returns, sir. go back 10 or 15. >> why are your most recent tax return you only let people see the first two pages and they can't see the sources of your income? >> we set a level of transparency that's not been met by any candidate running for washington in 30 years. meet the same level of transparency. >> we have a lot of ground to cover so let's move on. >> yes. >> mr. bell, some disturbing statistics from the vera institute of justice. you may be familiar with them. the united states represents 4% of the world population.

it has 25% of the world's prison population. the united states spends six times as much on prisons as it does on education. and in new jersey, the state spends $18,600 per public school student. nd $a 54,800 per inmate. is this fix scompble if so, how? >> jim, i am not an advocate of using dollar amounts to say how well a given problem is going. this country did have a big success story which is the crime explosion that we had in the 1960's and 1970's was checked. yes, an overuse of prison might have been part of that. but i think we have to be very careful about letting people who were accused of violent crimes out. they may have pled to a nonviolent crime. most prosecutors don't go to court to get these convictions. but i would very reluctant to see a drug dealer or somebody who pled to a lesser charge even though what he was accused

of originally was a violent crime get out scot-free. >> mr. booker. >> i'm sorry. this is an utterly broken system. think about that. we are only 4% of the global population but we have 25% of the globe's imprisoned people. and i believe like my opponent, violent people should be behind bars. but please understand over 07% of those people are nonviolent offenders. this is an incredible failed drug war. the overcriminalization and in fact it's so bad that only -- if you go to jail drug addicted only 20% of those people with drug or alcohol addictions actually get help. what happens when they get released? they come right back. there are common sense solutions that could relieve taxpayers of the extraordinary burden. we're spending a quarter of a trillion dollars a year running a broken system. money that should go to our schools. should be invested in our infrastructure. and so common sense reform, and that's why when i went to washington, i want to solve this problem.

by working across the aisle with rand paul suspect others to design legislation that's agreed on in a bipartisan fashion to reduce our prison population. make our streets safer. and better invest taxpayer dollars or guess what? we'll return it to taxpayers because all of this spend annually hundreds of dollars to support a broken system. >> what are the comments -- common sense solutions? >> getting drug treatment to people that actually have addictions. helping them had they come out it get connections to work. receipt now we have a system that has a resism right or correction system doesn't correct. so there are states like mississippi, the red state of mississippi, which has been dramatically lowering its prison population through common sense solutions and what's happened to their crime? the crime has gone down. you see, these are the solutions we can do if we work together across the aisle. that's why a major piece of legislation endorsed by people on the right and the left, with rand paul, to address these issues. safe taxpayer dollars. create safer streets. and elevate human potential. >> ok. >> judging from his endorsement by normal, the pro legal

marijuana group, one of of those common sense solutions in his coming term if he's re-elected is going to be legalization of marijuana. >> i would love to talk about that. if you throw that out there. may i please talk about in? >> go ahead. >> my opponent doesn't even support the common sense thing here in new jersey of medical marijuana. where we actually have sick people in new jersey who can't get access to a drug that would help them their families and their children. so i do support strongly re-examining pot laws. but not to legalize marijuana. but to do things that will help families in new jersey that i've talked to, that are going through terrible trials. because they can't even get medical marijuana. and i'll add to that. >> i thought you said we had it. >> i did put -- no, it's being slowed down and slow walked by the administration. but i'll tell you what -- >> by governor christie? >> yes, sir, by governor christie. and i'll tell you another legislation that i put in on marijuana. with a republican rand paul to say that the federal government in states that do have marijuana laws, like colorado,

and washington, that we shouldn't be using our federal dollars to prosecute people that are abiding by the laws of their state. and so this is a chance for us to in a bipartisan way to do common sense things to make our streets safer, save taxpayer dollars and something i thought my opponent would like and better invest in things that we need to grow -- >> i have to cut you off because we have to move on. my next question goes to you. i would like to pivot to the fatal shooting of michael brown in ferguson, missouri, and the chokehold death of darren gardner in staten island and these two cases reignited tensions between police and the minority community. and really just exposed deep mistrust with police. there is a recent gallup poll that shows 64% of blacks have very little or no confidence in police. what can you do to help bridge that divide? >> well, first of all, i want to express my sympathies to the families of both of these men that died. their deaths were tragedies. and i know their families are mourning right now. as many people in those

communities. i stand here right now because our country has made a lot of progress on race. people understood that black or white, we don't have different destinies in this country for different groups. we have one common destiny. i believe there are common sense things we could do in criminal justice reform to actually repair that problem. take marijuana what we were just talking about. there are no differences in marijuana usage for blacks and whites in this country. the last three presidents admitted to smoking marijuana. in fact, maybe the exception one did not inhale. but the reality is that blacks are almost four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana usage than whites are. these are things we have to have an honest conversation about. and work together to correct. we live in a nation that has an interwoven destiny and as your united states senator, i'm going to be working on those common sense solutions to get beyond rhetoric to do things to make a fairer criminal justice system. >> i have to say that i also

mourn for those families for their losses. and i do think the police have to do a better job of reaching out to the community in communities where they are not doing that. but i also am worried about the militarization of police departments. if that is the best we can do as a way of preventing or stopping crime, i think we have a problem. i believe that william bratton, the pless -- police commissioner of new york, revolutionized law enforcement with his community policing idea. being opposed to the broken windows, even though it's a small misdemeanor, it leads to much bigger consequences. a disrespect for the law. and i believe that hands on policing is the way to go. rather than tanks and things like that. belonging to plids. -- to police departments. >> we have to tighten this up and get a few more questions in.

mariela for mr. bell. >> i want to continue on education because on the topic. new jersey is one of the worst states in achievement gaps and we're talking about minorities. nearly 75% of black and latino students in new jersey are not proficient when it comes to math pour reading. is there anything that you plan to do to help this minority to close this gap? >> we have to get education back to the state and local level. washington got into this in something called the national defense education act in 1957. when we enacted that, the first federal intervention in education, supposedly to stop the missile gap or have our own sputnik. it really had nothing to do with that. washington just needed an excuse. and in the entire period that we've had federal involvement in education, education standards have declined. all over the country. now there's a common core program that is going to try to put everyone into a cookie cutter. it doesn't let teachers teach. it stops spontaneity and it

dumbs down the entire curriculum. instead of that, and instead of bribe programs, legal bribe programs, like race to the top, which is, for example, bribe massachusetts into dropping much higher standards than the common core had or will ever have, we need to destralingize -- decentralize spending and get the federal government -- yes, i would abolish the department of education. 60 years of a failed experiment is enough. this country developed the first universal education system. by means of popular control and experimentation at the state and local level. we need to get back to that vision. >> ok. thank you. and our next question comes from matt friedman. mr. booker, you want to respond. >> i definitely want to respond to that. this is my opponent who wants to take us backward. i'm looking to go forward. he doesn't think that we should have a department of education, the strongest country in the globe should not have a federal department of education. and things like the e.p.a. and other things, he wants to underwind investment in our kids and unwind protections for

our families. i'm going to washington not to destroy government. i'm going to washington to solve the problems that people say we have in our communities. and this means things like investing in universal preschool because every kid, black or white, how >> for or against the common core? >> i haven't interrupted you and this is an example of civility tkoub in washington it's not going to work. if i can finish my 60 seconds. >> quickly. >> we need to have a person down in washington is going to fight for our kids and invest in things. and even things like affordable college and one of the biggest things i hear from folks is the expense of college education. so from universal preschool all the way to getting our kids to school, this is something i'm going to go to washington not to destroy the department of education, but to make sure that we are investing in the things that matter to new jersey. >> we are nearing the end of the debate. so if we can keep our responses to about 30 seconds. so we can get through a list of other questions. our next question comes from matt friedman for mr. booker. matt? mayor tor, you y weren't

of -- you weren't mayor of newark too long ago so going back to that time, investigating the watershed agency for allegedly illegal payments to its former executive director. that happened dug your time as mayor and while you wrote ex-officio chairman of this agency. you said you tried to eliminate the agency and rein it in but during this time you did not attend any of its board meetings. so i'm wondering if you feel any responsibility for letting this get out of hand. >> well, the fact of the matter is it was out of hand when i got into office and i took responsibility right away by trying to get rid of the agency. we tried to get rid of it legislatively. failed through the council. we tried to get rid of it in other ways and kept failing. we knew it was out of control. we knew it had problems. and we wanted to correct them. and the malfeasance you're talking about we discovered it before the public or your papers were writing about it and we turned it over to the authorities and said they should investigate this individual actor and if they done something wrong they should be held accountable. i will work aggressively, whether it's as did i when i was mayor when i was a united

states senator to root out the problems and try to solve them. like i did. >> mr. bell, how long did you know about the scandal before you disclosed it to the public? >> may i answer that question? i knew about it for probably moments. as soon as we discovered it. >> moments. >> moments. >> ok. >> our next question comes from jonathan tamari for mr. bell. >> we talked earlier in this debate about gun laws. you have talked about your support for the second amendment. last year the senate could not pass bills to expand background checks or tighten other gun laws. there was opposition from republicans and democrats both. if thieves bills cannot -- these bills cannot pass and you oppose them what other steps can be taken to address gun violence? >> it should be addressed primarily with increased penalties for those who use firearms in the commission of a crime. i think that's been a much more successful approach. as to the gun show amendment, that was defeated, i think a big reason it was defeated is

that a lot of veterans would be deterred and others would be deterred from seeing psychologists because having received psychological care was under some interpretations would have been made an inability to have weapons to -- in the cause of self-defense. so these -- these things having washington more involved, more and more involved, they always have their hidden consequences. and deterring people from seeking psychiatric or psychological help when they need it quoff been one of knows consequences i'm afraid. >> mr. booker. >> a copout on the actual question, over 90% of new jersey gun owners, 90% of the people in our state believe that we should have comprehensive background checks to prevent people from illegal folks from getting their hands on weapons. and yes, to prevent spousal abusers and people who are mentally unstable. the kind that have been causing so much violence in our country. my opponent who lives in virginia actually has the state that actually has the most weapons coming into our streets.

we need to stop this flow of illegal weapons. and one of the ways of doing that is comprehensive background checks. that the overwhelming marmingt of new jerseyians -- majority of new jerseyians support. >> mr. booker, when your opponent ran against bill bradley in 1978 they debated 21 times. this is the only debate that you have agreed to. why so stingy? >> a couple of things. one debates -- i'm happy the viewers are tuning in. but not the only way. you can run around the state north to south and east to west doing town halls and community forums. meeting with business leaders and the like. and that's what we wanted to do is get directly to the people. my opponent is playing catchup. i'm not sure if many people know he moved back into the state by january or february. and has been now trying to run around the state and pretend like he knows the problems of our communities. and so i'm going to continue having direct contact with the voters until the very last day. because i think that's the best way to get the message out. >> mr. bell. >> you know, i hear a lot of specific questions put to senator booker. and the way he usually responds

is by saying he has meetings. he has meetings with sympathetic people, with people that he's trying to help. but you still don't know whether he favors the north jersey casino because he's had a lot of middle eastings in south jersey and listened to all those concerns. and apparently he thinks going to meetings with friendly audiences, and he is a celebrity, and people like him, and i don't blame them for liking him, is a substitute for actually debating the issues. i find that really disturbing. >> and mr. bell, i actually want to get this question in because again we are close to the end of this debate. you have lived in virginia for the past 31 years. and just this past year, you rented a home in leonia. how can you convince voters that you one, understand their issues and this you're going to fight for them? >> senator booker has reminded everyone that i was away for 30 years. and it's not exactly a gotcha point because i start every speech that i give saying that i've been away for 30 years. and that it is presumptuous for me to come back and ask to represent the people of new

jersey. after that kind of an absence. and the reason is that i couldn't get anybody in congress or federal candidates for president and otherwise to take up this disastrous zero trait -- interest rate policy of the federal reserve and move to a different policy. the wheels have fallen off the system and the fed is so powerful it's running our entire economy, retarding small business growth, and retarding job growth and not letting people have returns on their savings. and i couldn't get anyone to do it. it was a last-minute decision. >> i have 20 seconds. i agree with him. it is presumptuous to come back just a few months ago and run on a single vanity issue which is taking america back to the gold standard. something that was debunked in the 1900's. as something that would gut jobs and hurt the middle class. >> ok. >> i have to say that -- vanity issue is about the stagnation in our economy. i have a solution to it. your solution is keep doing what we're doing. under president obama. >> ok. gentlemen, thank you both.

we have reached the end of our question and answer segment and now it's time for the candidates' closing statements. >> and the order was determined by a random draw. we begin with mr. bell. >> i really want to thank the league of women voters and the moderators and the rotters. i think it's been a lively discussion and i want to thank senator booker for his willingness to debate even if this only one time. and i also above all i want to thank the voters of new jersey. yes, i did consider it somewhat presumptuous. but the voters of new jersey have shown they are open minded. and willing to listen to an idea that is off the charts. and make their own decisions about it. not by taking a head count of economists that senator booker has given as his only argument against the gold standard. or saying that it's an old system. but by simply listening to the merits, making arguments for or against it, listening, and having a reasoned debate. it happened to me before when i ran on the kemp-roth tax cut and even though i didn't meet

bill bradley he and i worked together in a bipartisan fashion on the tax reform act of 1986. i'm proud of that record. i'm happy that i came back to the state of new jersey. and i really am sacredably grateful to the people of new jersey for hearing me out regardless of what happens on november 4. >> mr. booker. >> i want to thank the sponsors as well as the moderators. a very clear choice between -- before the voters in new jersey. before -- before going back to programs that are broken and haven't worked or going forward to growth and prosperity. my opponent wants to take us back on women's rights. to restrict access to birth control, taking away a woman a right to make her hone medical decisions and opposing things like equal work for equal pay. he wants to go back and take the federal government out of supporting our local schools and even doing common sense things like making college more affordable. he wants to go back by having the federal government stopping investing in things that we who live in new jersey know we need investment in. like infrastructure with our roads crumbling and new jersey

transit being inadequate to meet the demands that are there now. and yes, he wants to take us back to a 19th century idea universally. ed i want to take us forward and not be a tea party person who doesn't work with things but work with democrats and republicans together. all of us here in new jersey one destiny. to bring ourselves forward as a state. >> i hope i get a chance to be your senator for a full term. >> gentlemen, thank you. and that concludes today's debate. we would like to thank the candidates for appearing today and we would like to thank you for watching. >> and also thanks to our panelists, mariela saigado, of wxti univision. matt friedman of the "star-ledger" and jonathan tamari of "the philadelphia inquirer." i'm jim gardner for action news. >> i'm sade baderinwa. and we leave you with the final words of the league of women

voters of new jersey. >> i'm toni zimmer president of the league of women voters of new jersey. thank you nor watching today's debate. by taking time to learn about the issues today, you are helping to preserve and protect our democracy. for more information on voting, please contact us at 800-792-vote. ltvjisit us online at www. .org. vote on november 4 and polls open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. 0 be part of c-span's 2014 coverage. follow us on twitter. like us on facebook. get video of key moments from our politics team.

c-span is bringing you over 100 debates. for control of congress. stay in touch and engage by following us on twitter and liking office -- liking us on facebook. >> in south carolina, senator tim scott is running against george dickerson and joe bossi. bossi.l >> this program is made possible in part by aarp south carolina. with thesociation morning news.

the sun news. tonight, candidates for u.s. senate. , dean of massator -- unication and to ask me questions -- the candidates during us are kim scott and a joystick or ersos and jill bossi. have 90didate will questions.respond to if necessary i will out a 32nd rebuttal. names with the

candidates arrived for the order . >> good evening. thank you for hosting tonight's debate. i am grateful the people of south carolina afforded me the opportunity to serve them from county council to the statehouse, and now the united states senate. it is one of the greatest honors of my life. i'm here tonight because life has not always been easy. i have learned important lessons and met remarkable people, and have benefited from the strength and blessings of the great state of south carolina. our nation faces many challenges today. i prefer to see them as opportunities. i believe the best is yet to come. my commitment to you is simple. i will work day, afford south carolina's opportunities to succeed. i focus on education and jobs.

i believe we will have the tools necessary to succeed. god bless you. >> thank you and good evening. .y name is jill bossi i am not a democrat, i am not a republican. i am an american. out of manynum, one. we need to take control of our government from career politicians like my opponents to take their orders from special interests and big money. tonight you have the opportunity to interview all three candidates and determine who is the best candidate for the role of u.s. senator. i hope to demonstrate that i am not bound by party, money, radiology. and i public servant, hope to demonstrate my ideas of what is broken in america. i want a better america for our future, a strong economy, strong military, term limits, campaign

finance reform, and tax reform. i'm asking for your vote and i hope tonight you will make a decision on the person and not the party. thank you. >> good afternoon. thank you for having us. we are so grateful. i am running for the united states senate because i believe that this is a humbling opportunity for me to present to the people of south carolina a new idea, new person who will always be there for them, who will stand for them, who will want to serve them in every way they possibly can. i am focused on our seniors, i am focused on our veterans, and i am focused on women's issues. those are the main issues i will be focusing on tonight. i believe this is the greatest opportunity for me to represent the people of this state and the nation. i am here tonight to ask for the people of south carolina for your vote and for your support

on november 4. thank you. >> let me start with you senator scott. you have a free pass to the senate. you didn't have to run the state and now you are running statewide for the first time. why should you have the benefit of incumbency? >> i don't think i should have -- i don't think the benefit of incumbency is what it used to be. i have spent monday through thursday in washington, i come back home every weekend to go to my own church, hanging with my grandfather, take my mom to lunch. these are the reasons why i serve. i look at my nephew and say to myself i can prepare a future for him. up with thei came opportunity agenda that focuses on education, skills in the workplace, and focuses on allowing people to earn while they learn. people that like washington are

very few. it wasn't for relatives are not sure we would be popular at all. the truth of the matter is incumbency has major negatives. to not running on the fact that i am in office running on the fact that i love south carolina. i have benefited from being a n.uth carolina me, anding strong with forcing me to look in the m irror and take responsibility. i am running because it is an opportunity to continue to serve from my days on county counsel, being elected twice to congress, and now having opportunity to ask you for your vote to the united states senate. >> let me ask a different version of what is essentially the same question to the two of you. senator scott has the tenuous

hold on incumbency. but he does have one thing to experience that you don't. why should south carolina voters give that up? >> i think what we have to understand is that a lot of the voters these days don't like what is going on in washington. they are asking for something to change. it doesn't matter whether they are on the right or left. i think the majority of americans are somewhere in the middle. what we have seen the one in washington with the gridlock, with hyper partisanship, with of fighting, it is not short untenable for us as citizens to accept that this is what we are paying our representatives to do. but we want our representatives to do is go to washington dc, sit down, negotiate, talk, find withto fix what is broken america. we've got a $17.6 trillion debt.

we've got an economy that is struggling along. we need to restore the middle class. they have been eviscerated by the great recession. we have got to work for our veterans. we have to work with our military. i have three of my four children served in the military or are serving in the military. we have a lot of work to do. i have two sons who are still in active duty and could be called at any time. there is a lot of work that needs to be done. much on hows too long they have been there. i am a big supporter of term limits and campaign finance reform. that is why i am here. >> same question. >> i am here because i believe in the people of south carolina. i believe it is time for change and people are looking for a person that will have their interest. i am here because people have asked me as i have traveled all 46 counties in,

this state, i have listened to the people, i have heard them talk around their kitchen table, saying how they are having a hard time making ends meet. i'm hearing people say they are kicked off their insurance. i am hearing people all over this county talk about what they need and how washington is broken and how we need to fix it. for new peopleg with new ideas, to go there, to help them be their voice, someone who will listen to them and take their interest to heart. this is why i am here. this is a great opportunity to go to washington. is a great scott person but it is time for a change. it is a challenge i look forward to and i'm happy to be here tonight. i believe that i will be the best choice to be the voice of the people that the state of washington,na in

and that is what i'm here to make sure their interests are being served. i thank you for the question. >> i've heard each of you allude to the notion that washington is broken. a lot of americans have that perceptive and -- perception. i have not heard how you would approach fixing it or correcting it, changing that perception that a lot of americans have. could you address that? that this doesn't work terribly well and you are running for an office that may not be held in particular high regard. >> thank you. one of the reasons why i am running as a member of the american party of south carolina is that unlike many americans i felt disenfranchised. i felt like both parties have left me. i was almost ready to go on the towel. i found that term limits addressed my desire to see things change. as i looked into that more i came across the american party

and the census project. if you think about it, if there 3-7anywhere between independents in the senate, the u.s. senate is the only body still elected by voters directly. if the majority is denied to both democrats and republicans and there are enough independents backing caucus separate from the democrats and republicans they can begin to create a dialogue that will move us toward what can be compromises, negotiation, and discussions so we can start to fix the problem and come up with justions instead of fighting and kicking the can down the road. i have four grandchildren. i don't want to leave them worse off than im am. i want to make sure that we do what our parents and grandparents did for us. therefore i think that part of

the reason why we should change. they should all go home and we should start over. it could be any worse. the fact that at we used to have between democrats and republicans, there was a good opportunity for dialogue. 2009 when the tea party rolled up and when that tea party rolled up, they began to stand in the middle of democrats and republicans and basically what happened was the democrats and republicans could no longer sit down to the table. there was a divide which hindered us from having a dialogue. if we delete the tea party people that are there, i believe we will have a better opportunity to sit down and have a great dialogue again between democrats and republicans. i don't believe in term limits.

i'm saying that i am hoping that i will be able to open the door so that many other people can come through and have the greatest opportunity that i am having to say to south carolina i believe that, they want me to vote, to take a woman's perspective from south carolina, which at this point we do not have, and i'm looking to represent this state and this nation, and do it from the perspective of a woman. i believe i am a very strong woman to do it. >> thank you. washington is broken. the fact of the matter is what we do is work for you, the people. it is not about democrats or publicans. it is about putting americans first. we can see the brokenness of washington. .17.6 trillion debt annual deficits of $700 billion.

in that environment we come up with something that will not work, obamacare. newbury regulations like dodd frank that only create more pressure on those who would create jobs. they are paying the highest corporate tax rate in all of the world. washington is broken. sense offer is common from south carolina. common sense starts with personal accountability to the voters here at home. that is one of the reasons why every weekend i come home to spend home -- spend time talking to voters so that i can understand issues that impact folks today. i went through and did many jobs. i went on public buses. i also waited tables. i took the time so that i can understand and appreciate what people are going through today's that i could take their ideas, my best ideas are mine. find its way to

washington dc's we can fix a broken system. >> yankee. -- thank you. how should the united states conduct itself in the world affairs? should we have a more hands-off approach? i think knowing the situation that we are dealing with 2-d -- today, that our borders and to be protected at all times, it is important and it is that we have hands-on with the national. i am comfortable with the fact that we should have people to contribute, and we should be hands-on nation so that we can have the greatest dialogue between these countries where we can work together so that we can feel safe in our respective

nations. i believe that we should have a hands-on approach. what we have seen and what we need to see from america is america first. we should involve ourselves in the world as long as it includes our national interest. the back of the matter when you look around the world, and america is the only superpower left on earth, withdraws itself from the world, we seeing absolute fertility -- we see absolute volatility. iran, the middle east, the push towards a nuclear weapon, we should stand strong and use our influence to help the world find order and structure. we do that by looking at our allies. i start with israel. i believe it is very important es understandably are

with them and our enemies fear us. we should not spend money we do not have buying influence we are not doing well with and doing things inconsistent with their best interest. if we are one to be successful and effective at helping the need to focus, we on what is our national interests, how do we impact the world for our own best interest. how do we recognize and protect our allies who have come to the table with us. how to we make sure our enemies respect us if not fear us? if we don't do those things, our involvement will only lead to more chaos. but we have seen so far is leading from behind, red lines that don't count. >> thank you senator. >> thank you. for me this is personal. thatnternational decisions refers to isis or isil could

impact my children. i want to make sure we are using diplomacy first before we ever talk about using any other kinds of means. america is the greatest nation on the base of the earth. i agree with america first. that is the slogan of my campaign. we need to take a new look, a containment much like the truman doctrine that was done doing world war ii. as the debt with communism. -- with thekless radical islamic terrorists we have to do the same containment and begin to require that the minimize and we have to ask all of the countries in that area the most impacted by these issues to stand up and take their rightful place in the forefront. whether it be iraq, iran, syria, turkey, egypt. they do take their rightful place and take care of the

problems that are existing in their area of the world. i agree with senator scott. we need to stand with israel. woman's always be there ally and protect them no matter what comes. at the same time want to make sure that we are following a path of diplomacy and we are using our economic might. as we become energy independent we are going to be able to do so. isis atould you tackle this moment of the ministrations response? >> i will tell you that all of us have relatives that are in the military. it is important. you see three dedicated americans that care about this country. y brothers served. my dad retired air force. i believe that when we look at isis, what we have to do is assess our responsibility and create and coordinate a coalition of forces that starts

with those who are most imminent danger among living in the middle east. i think we have done well in our airstrikes. we have done well in the collaboration, the coalition building we have seen from countries around the globe, seeing isis as a global threat to all nations. this has been an important step. but we must continue to do is make sure that the boots that are on the ground are the boots that live in the middle east. it is very important for us to make sure that our middle east .artners are leading the way we can provide air cover. we can provide the intelligence said that we know exactly where to strike and how to push back. that has been effective. but we cannot do, what we have lead from behind.

>> as i said before, i will say it again. i agree with some of the things scott said. the people in that area of the world are the ones taking the responsibility for the boots on the ground. i applaud his brothers' service. as a mother of an active-duty marine and the mother of somebody who served in the international guard i want to make sure i am not sending my in harmsybody else's way. we have done that before and america cannot be the world policeman. we need to use our diplomatic might. we need to use economic might. we need to use airstrike strategically and our strategy and technology to format that strategy within that region, to help them battle. i go back to the idea of a

doctrine of containment. we need to work very carefully with the countries in that area. we are starting to see that in the way that turkey is beginning to stand up and take on a greater role in the area. i think we need to insist that happened. there is a lot of work that needs to be done before we would ever consider going any further than providing the strategic airstrikes. as far as what the current administration has done, i think .hat it is too little, too late we need to keep a focus on it and we cannot let it go. we cannot let that stand. >> i do agree with both senator scott and ms. bossi. i am the wife of a veteran. am very concerned about the situation in the middle east. israel is our strongest ally, but i believe

those nations need to take more responsibility for their own actions. we have been over there for a long time great almost 14 years. , theyns in the military have been there, and it is time for our troops to come home. i think airstrikes are the best wayyy to resolve this at this point infuse to have more troopn the ground in those countries because we are putting our troops in harms way. our borders need to be protected. the only way we can is to have a very strong military presence in the world. yet we are a superpower. we are looking at as one of the leaders in the world. we n that dialogue showing that we are a strong nation. i do support my president because he is doing the job that

he was put -- to make sure our borders are protected. one of the things we have to understand from my perspective, i do not have the privilege of having the intelligence that president obama has. >> i want to change to the economy. we have the 1992 presidential campaign to think for one of the political catchphrases. the economy, stupid. it is about the economy. it is all about the economy. what are your priorities? how do you achieve them? >> thank you. aristotle said the most perfect political community is one in which the middle class has control and outnumbers the other two. i believe that is a very accurate statement. as i said earlier the middle class has been in this rated. they are the most important part

of our economy. we need to bring good jobs back home to america. i believe we can do that. there are initiatives going on now in corporate america that can bring good jobs back here that will create middle class jobs that provide good pay and benefits to those people that are qualified and have the training necessary. we have to have a lot better education system, not only for pre-k-12 but into our post secondary education so that we are training people to take those jobs on. we have 4 million jobs that go unfilled because we are lacking that experience. we have a lot of opportunity to create jobs, to innovate and america, to look on a global scale and make sure that we're doing what is important not only from america but to create the answers that we need in the business community that will address our health care issues

and ola dress our economic issues, and that will address our immigration issues. as we look at those things a sound economic policy can help bring us back out of the doldrums we are currently in. >> economic priorities? >> to strengthen the middle going around been the state, sitting down at tables, talking to people who are suffering, who have lost their jobs. speaking to students who are have higho student that. i believe that if we can strengthen our middle class, bring back jobs, open the markets of people can go back and get those jobs that have gone overseas because we have given some a tax credits to people to take those jobs overseas and cause the middle

class to decline, if the middle class declines the world is on the decline. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. if we do not sustain our middle class i believe this country is going to have a great downfall. that is the backbone. the middle class is the backbone of america. when you remove that status you are going to have problems. ways throughat education, one of the main things, to make sure we retrain workers to go into the workforce. that is most important thing, educating our workforce. >> senator scott. >> our economy needs two things for it to grow and prosper. we need certainty in the workplace and predictability. business owners will hire people when those things are there. they can deal with that policy. i was an employer.

i was ceo for 13 years. if i had certainty and predictability i hired more people, invested more equipment, and brought back an economy. do, ahe government can couple of things. cut taxes and regulations. we have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. we have seen burger king and other companies looking to move their businesses out of our country so they can avoid the highest tax rate in the world. regulations, dodd frank, obamacare. they added pressure that reduces the number of employees that could be hired. if we want to see a robust economy we have to deal with certainty and predictability. we have to reduce taxes to make ourselves competitive. when you think about it that the corporate tax rate is 10 points higher than the rest of the world, i would say my

opportunity agenda focuses on education, on skills in the workplace, provided people who want to go into the workforce the skills to do so, we would have done it well. from bowling to michelin, south carolina is a great place to do business. regulators and taxes are right. i rebut?er but -- may i hear this all the time. as i travel around the state i have heard people say i don't want that obamacare. what we need to understand is that bill is not obamacare. it is the affordable health care. we need to make sure that that is the message that is taken and not say that it is obamacare great that is not what that bill is. >> i would like to rebut on the issue of taxes. one of the problems we have with our tax code is that it is so highly complex, it allows for

companies to look at -- we had apple moving to ireland. the irish have changed that law. we had burger king looking to move to canada. but we have to do is simplify our tax system. i agree when he to bring taxes down. not only for corporations but also for individuals. flat taxo get a fair that simplifies the tax code, reduces the amount of our iressa allows business to generate a lot more jobs. >> i've heard you talk about helping the middle class. presumably even the working class. what about the minimum wage? what would you do to change that? to try and perhaps contract the wealth gap between the wealthy and the less so? likes that is a very personal thing with me. --i stated earlier, i heard

our center is a selected senator and not the elected senator. i heard him say earlier that he went around to various places doing minimum jobs. did he ask them whether or not seven dollars 25 cents an hour was a good wage for them? class are declining because people have to work 2-3 jobs, 20 hours a week just to try to make a balance wage so they can put food on their table, educate their kids, and take care of their families. we are living in a crisis when a person loses their job, their whole livelihood goes down the tube. supportwe should raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 an hour. i'm hearing that is going to cause us to lose jobs trade we

stats to prove that. raising the minimum wage, i will stick with the fact that we need to seriously raise the minimum wage so that our people can have a decent lifestyle. like senator. >> absolutely. when i talked to the folks i the one common denominator that was glaringly obvious is that the educational achievement has major impact on your lifetime earnings. when i was struggling in high school as a freshman, about to drop out, if the kid dropped out as a freshman in high school they lose more than $1 million in income. what i learned was that so many of our folks are begging, interested and hungry looking for ways to improve their

education. i have suggested in my agenda we do it two ways. on the is to focus four-year college. the other one, shop. giving people real work skills so they can go into the workforce. i visited companies in south carolina who have done that so well. if the program were they can earn and learn the same time. what i would suggest that we do is make sure that we focus on poverty. we can eradicate poverty, the best way to do so is through increasing the educational achievement. this will actually help us have the same challenges on the top-end as we are talking about today on the minimum wage. we've had great success stories. they are almost set full employment. the wages are going up. that is very important.

>> one of the things that jesus said is we will always have the poor with us. always be there. wage, i'm in between. i believe the minimum wage has not been raised since 2009 and our economy has faltered and stumbled. it is an important thing we need to reassess. will being jobs back we able to create jobs that the middle class workers that are trained and have the skills can take, that will create a supply younger people who want to supplement their income, for people who would not. full-time to support their families. minimum wage is not a living wage. we need to recognize that. i also believe at the same time,

as the look at the educational opportunities it is important to recognize it's not just hyperbole. it is not just what we talk about, it is about what we do. we have to be able to support our educators from pre-k through high school. we have to create trade and technical schools. all of those things are going to be important to help us adjust the minimum wage here. >> senator scott. you voted against the immigration reform. what solution do you have for the immigration issue? >> the reality of immigration is it is important for the workforce and we should find ways to make sure we have the workers we need to come and

build the best economy in the world. first, the legal immigration process, my sister-in-law who came here from korea and spent 10 years getting her citizenship. she learned about this country, she focused on the success and the opportunities, and she seized upon it. for us to create a system that we reward folks in a way because of the way that they came here, it would be inconsistent with what we want to accomplish. the ways we start a process of immigration reform starts with our borders. we must secure our borders. by doing so we need basic parts, more human capital on the border. we need physical obstructions to stop them from a crossing, and technology we can use 24/7. they are today a national security issue. imagine if you saw terrorist coming across our borders.

we would find ourselves in a serious position. you fix the visa system. i believe after we secure our border we can absolutely increase visas. in order to make sure we have the workforce we need in the future. >> how would you address immigration? >> the first thing is we have to secure our borders. we have a big problem. we have 11 million immigrants that are illegal in the country. we have to address that long-term. we have to redo our immigration legislation. and make sure that the requirements we have our sound and strong so that the people that should stay here are able to work their way toward legal citizenship or legal alien status. i think it is important to note that not only have senator scott

voted against immigration, but he voted against the budget, infrastructure, equal pay, minimum wage, military justice. so many things he has voted against. little he has focused for. that is part of the problem we're facing. we have to work on solutions. whatever the solution is there are very smart and intelligent people that can sit down together and come together, and to find a solution that will create a good plan and policy for the united states level secure our borders and will not end up costing billions and billions more, and at the same time create that pathway to citizenship that so many people strive to have. if i go back to the idea of building the middle class backup, if we do that we can potentially create global jobs which will keep the people at home because that is why they are coming here. >> mrs. dickerson.

>> we first of all have got to protect our borders. that is one thing we are going to agree on tonight. senator scott, i think we would have had a better economy if senator scott knew the word yes on some issues. as she has stated, he has voted show up-- he did not for the vote when labor talk about refinancing student loans. i know this is not a border issue, but i know that when we talk about securing our borders, we have got to make sure the immigration persons that are here, that we make sure they go through the process, and that we make sure that they get legalized and go through that process of they can become legal citizens in the united states. there are costing american jobs. because they are taking away jobs from america i think it is reported that we make sure that they get this process straight

like we all have done. go through the process, get legalized, and work for it. i believe we had a better working congress with people working together to try to resolve problems rather than create problems, then we will , and ourre secure immigration problem will be taking care of. >> i want to make sure i clear up the fact that i voted to reduce the interest rate on student loans when i had an opportunity to. >> we have two women, what is your stance on reproductive rights and ensuring equal pay for equal work? ms. bossi'sat is

term. >> quite honestly i think the issue of reproductive rights has been addressed in america. i wish that we would stop pushing that so hard. and start dealing with the problems that we do have. we talk about reproductive rights and yet we don't take care of our children. how many children do we have that are hungry, that are theless, that are lacking ?asic needs that they have we have to do with the issues that we have and stop worrying about what people are doing. i am a woman and i stand for a woman's right to choose pre-i know that my god has given me the right to choose whether or not to believe in him. therefore i believe he is give me the right to choose on anything that i do with my life and how i conduct my life. i have to believe if the creator of the universe is give me that choice he has also given me the ability to make the choice on reproductive rights.

when it comes to equal pay, this is something that is personal for me. as somebody who work their way up, i started as a single parent in a minimum wage job. i worked on my life to get my college education and take on new and harder jobs. i knew every single job but there was a man earning more than i was. i believe it is $.82 on the dollar. we have to correct that. it is not an easy answer. much an issuey close to my heart. god gave us a choice from day one from the garden, when he said that he put all those trees in the garden, of all those trees that you could eat of it except one, so god gave us a choice. i believe in choice. i believe that a woman should have the right to choose. i had a series problem -- series problem when the five justices

voted in favor of hobby lob by, and it is an insult to charge women more for insurance just because they are a woman. women and girls deserve to have the same opportunity as men. they did that with contraceptives but didn't say a word about viagra. i feel strong about that. i support choice. i think a woman should have the right to choose and that should be between her husband, her god, and her doctor. as long as those three are in agreement that i think that is the best choice. as for wages and equal pay, i think the problem herein lies, we talk about $.82. some are different. hispanic, it is cheaper. african-americans is lower. there is a big span. ix this to f

issue. >> i am pro-life and i think the -- y lobby decision was i will tell you what she has taught me about the issue of equal pay. 1962 itnow that since has been illegal to discriminate but it hasn't stopped. in her research, a very important conclusion. the seniority system as we know it today actually benefits men and discriminates against women. the fact of the matter is when a woman decides to leave the workforce, to have a family, what happens is when she comes back into the workforce because of the signatories system, because of longevity, that

people get paid more. no matter how hard she works, no matter how well she performs, she does not catch up from where she was. if we eliminated the seniority system in america and went to a meritocracy where we pay people based on how well they did their job, women with their much better in the workforce. this is a silver bullet. i look forward to focusing much of our time in the future on addressing the challenges that we face. i am thankful that she was willing to come to south florida. >> i have two hands up. >> thank you. as a woman, i'm very glad that senator scott has finally decided to investigate the issues that women deal with. i will be very honest in terms of saying that it is not just the fact that women go out to raise their children.

that kind of equal pay discrimination happens. i'm the breadwinner for my family. i never stated home with my children. that is something my husband did for our family. i was discriminated against job after job after job. it meant moving positions to increase my salary. do not go with the old wives tale, or old husband's tale that it is because women have to leave their jobs to have families. that is malarkey. >> i would like to concur with what she said. when i seesturbs me a woman who is having a baby, who worked almost to the day she had the baby, and after she had the baby she is back on the job within a matter of a few days. for someone to use an excuse that women have to leave the

workforce, we do more work while we are there than the average man because we are always there 24/7. i have a problem they say we leave the workforce. we do. >> it is the balance between federal and state responsibility , the specific thing in mind is something that is relevant to south carolina. the split is 40% federal and 60% stake if i have that right. i would like to know are you for down is this a fair break between state responsibilities, and what you're willing to do to achieve that. idea.s is a wonderful that is one of the reasons why i am so against drilling on our shores. expanding our shores has been

the greatest thing for south carolina. it is going to expand tourism. south carolina is one of the greatest economic things that we have in south carolina, that we have great tourism. our borders are so important. i am all in favor of expansion. i know it is going to bring more revenue into our state. it is going to assimilate our economy to have more jobs coming here. good news.ery i support 100%. i do think this is a great thing. i will not be in favor of anyone drilling on our beautiful shores. i support it.

i think it is a great idea for the economy. >> the balance between federal and state responsibilities? >> i'm not sure if i agree with the split. but the fact the matter there is a split. aside $300 million to have the money necessary to -- the water bypassed for provided more money to help that happen as well. there are $40 million need to figure out along the way. the good news from my days on one out of every seven jobs in south carolina is connected to the port system. it is a major economic engine. one of the things that we celebrated, the success of the inland route that provides more ways to get the goods from upstate to the port which is very important for us.

when i was in the statehouse come when we were recruiting, one of the things that we saw that was a major asset for us was the port. the good news for south carolina is america support is in south carolina. there is the harbor maintenance be used to fund the charleston port, the jackson port, the georgetown port, and would allow us to have a vibrant competition and meet our goals of doubling exports from this country. >> i agree with both senator scott and ms. dickerson at the charleston harbor project is absolutely essential. i am in favor of it. the 6040 split is what we have to live with. obviously the state has plans for a.

the federal government has plans for it. let's get it done. the longer we hold off higher the cost go. the cost of going high while we have been talking about it. -- i havemake sure we traveled all over the state. our highways sting. my brains have been rattled by how many potholes we have on 77 and 95 and 20. we have the more money into our infrastructure all over. that is our ports, harbors, roads, bridges. they are all essential. we need to find a way to do it. not only will that help us as citizens, but able start the people back to work in good, middle-class jobs. that is important. i'm it -- i am a big supporter of the harbor. abelieve the split is fair one. the that investment is down

return on the cruise line through shipping lines, through trade that comes in, they are going to pay off handsomely for the state. >> the hour is waning. i'm going to ask for a shorter response to this question. things on folks minds is medicare. had we keep it going, how do we sustain it? no doubt, for your grandchildren. how do we sustained for the future? >> thank you. one of the first ways we sustain is to keep a look at obamacare. billions of dollars siphoned from medicare to encourage people to buy insurance. i don't think they should be subsidizing the young americans.

the other thing, you look at medicare. four waste, fraud, and abuse is 9%. if we look for ways for us to reduce waste and fraud and abuse, we would see a path forward. the health care costs -- >> thank you. >> as far as health care in general, we need to protect medicare. 1915 inarents were 1922. they were depend on medicare. it is a good program. when you to strengthen it and keep it going. i think that we need to look at the holistic issue of health care in america. whether you call the aca or obamacare, we need to look at that. we need to look at our veterans. they deserve not to be homeless, to be hungry, to have health care that they deserve.

when you look at it holistically, bringing everybody together, bring the experts to the table and come with a plan that provides the kind of insurance that all america needs. lot have been hearing a about medicare. one of the things i'm hearing is the privatization of medicare. this is something i don't think is on my mind. i believe that we have got to really make sure that we protect our seniors can protect them. some people call the entitlement. entitlement,all it but i believe when i got my paycheck, when senator scott got his paycheck, we saw that they deducted that from our paycheck. how can you say that is entitlement? you aren't it. you deserve it. i will support medicare and make sure we protect it. >> this is the last question. you get one he seconds to

answer. if elected you only get a two-year term, the unexpired term that senator jim demint lepton. what have you learned about the process that you would address differently next time? >> term limits and campaign finance reform. million, from the student south carolina and all the rest from outside. our country is being bought and paid for. we have to change that. that is what i would focus my first two years on to implement term limits and campaign finance reform. one dollar for every registered voter. >> my lesson is term limits is not a good thing. when you are in office, some people -- it takes a lot of time to get projects taking care of. term limits would not work for me. i don't know about campaign

finance reform but it is going to take a lot of money to be me with none. >> common ground. our nation is the greatest on earth. we are exceptional. if we do what we are supposed to do we will see the most amazing thing happened. i have learned quickly that working together creates major opportunities for success. i have for my conservative friends, and we have one thing in common. we put america first. >> thank you to all of the senate candidates. thank you to andrew shane for being with us pray for more information on all the upcoming debates, keep tabs on what is happening process and don't forget to vote next tuesday. good night.

>> in north carolina, incumbent senator kay hagan is in a close re-election against

republican tom tillis. we spoke to a reporter about the contest. races is out of north carolina. jim morrill joins us on the phone. where does the race stand? .aller: good morning thir about even. there are two polls who have showing a dead heat. we have seen more tv ads -- showing no signs of letting up in the last week. host: what is driving them to the polls in every state across

the country. north carolina, what are the issues? caller: it depends on who you talk to. on the republican side, trying to make president obama the issue. the threat of isis and threat of ebola. hagan is trying to assemblyation, federal the issue. it's like a mirror image of each other. host: you have this headline from one of the recent stories. hillary clinton and kay hagan make appeal to women during a recent charlotte rally. why women? are a big factor in this race. enjoyed the gender

gap favoring her. women vote more often and more regularly than most people here. they make up a bigger share of registered voters. that could make a difference host. host: what about older voters in north carolina? when impact could they have? caller: they could have a pretty significant impact, too. the early data i've seen from early voting says the average age of voters was a bit older. older than it had been during the presidential race. which would tend to favor the republicans, i think. although more democrats have voted earlier this point. typically favor

republicans. host: and white voters. what about the white vote? thom tillis is going to win that. showed -- kay hagan needs more than that. this race is going to be out the margins. women and older voters, african-american voters and young voters. yet to get those people out of the margins. kay hagan has had hillary clinton. perry.llis had rick will that have an impact? caller: it fires up the bases.

you had. and our governor -- you had rick perry and our governor. today, he is in charlotte with senator mccain and lindsey graham. tomorrow, mitt romney. kay hagan hasthat is firing up c base. host: what are you watching for in the closing days? surprises.e october thedoing a story about campaign within a campaign aimed at african-american voters on the radio. there are some pretty inflammatory ads on both sides in that area. host: we will be watching.

>> now a georgia governors debate between incumbent republican governor nathan deal, democrat jason carter, and independent andrew hunt. carter a a state senator and the grandson of former carter.t governor deal was elected in 2010 and is a former member of the u.s. house of representatives. comes courtesy of wsb tv in atlanta. vote. >> it is your voice, yor this is the debate for georgia governor. here is your moderator. >> good evening. welcome to the debate for georgia governor. it is one of only three debates and the final one. i want to thank all of you watching the live stream. usingn tweet questions our hashtag.

jason carter. nathan deal, and the libertarian candidate. these are loose guidelines. gentlemen, thank you all for being here. georgia's economy, you both use statistics to make various arguments about the economy.

will you please right now offer a couple of specific moves that you would make as governor to enhance the economy? >> we have been one of the leading states in terms of job growth over the last several years. we created more jobs than 44 other states. as of tomorrow we will be able to introduce more jobs. we will make sure that we follow-up up on our career initiative programs that can train our citizens with the jobs that currently exist. we are doing that with 100% tuition scholarships for those going to technical schools and be trained for the jobs in our state. i will not raise your taxes, that is the wrong thing to do. we have cut taxes. we have eliminated the estate tax.

we need to stay the course on those kind of policies. >> senator carter, what specific things might you do? >> thank you for being here and your question. i am honored for this opportunity to share with the people my vision for an economy that works for everyone. i am running for governor because i know this state has every ingredient to be a powerhouse. the current leadership has taken this state to the bottom. we are dead last in unemployment. every other governor is doing a better job than governor deal. we are dead last in terms of how fast we are recovering from the recession. every other governor in the country is doing a better job at managing the recession than governor deal. we cannot continue down this path. middle-class families and small businesses are being left out. my plan calls for ensuring those small businesses get the same tax credit and ensuring we build

an economy based on educating people with high paying jobs and not the lowest possible wages. under the governor's plan, the middle class has been left behind. >> your response? >> we have not left the middle class behind. in terms of the jobs created, the average salary is $47,000. we are not doing worse than other states, we are doing better. we have seen our job growth in revenue from people paying taxes and tax withheld has grown by over $90 billion. the other states have a lower unemployment rate have seen their numbers of workers shrink and workforce not grow and they have not created a number of jobs that georgia has had. we are doing a good job in that regard and we will continue. we are focusing on the middle class and that's why we have a 100% tuition for those who will

attain a middle-class economy. >> we will get to you, mr. hunt. >> we've debated several times and that's the first time the governor has mentioned the middle class. the average family makes 1400 less then they did when he took office. our state, last month, lost 15,000 private sector jobs and he is going to brag about 600 being created tomorrow. we need a governor that will focus every day and understand small business create two out of three jobs. he will cut the ribbon but will not support small businesses. we have to make a change. >> we will get to our panel. >> the key issue is the jobs being created right now are not today's job but counted in the future jobs. we need to jobs now and not over the coming years. we are losing mass quantities as mr.

carter pointed out and we have to replace with the jobs now. we need a program where government is not creating the jobs. that is what mr. deal is talking about. we need free enterprise created jobs where there is a level playing field and they do not only go to the large corporations. >> to our panel. >> i want all three of you to answer this question but i want to focus on education. senator carter, you have criticized governor deal on educational funding. you say you will cut some government pork yet you have not been specific. can you give me three areas, three programs or agencies where you see the port you can cut to make up for hundreds of millions of dollars? >> thank you for your question. education has to be our most important priority, every single

year. the governor's record on underfunding education is extreme. we have seen $8 billion cut from our classrooms and 9000 fewer teachers today that when the governor took over and more students. all of you know and can walk into your local school and see some of the kindergarten classes have 26 students. these cuts have consequences and undermine not only our students but our economy's future. education is economic development. we could have a separate budget for education. we can devote that revenue and greater proportion than the governor has. there was $100 million in waste and the food stamps program last week and we have seen other states that have tackled waste in their government by partnering with the private

sector and cut hundreds of millions a year. we can do it. right now, we do not have a governor looking for answers. his position is there is not any. >> can we have your view? >> your question has not been answered. we get the same kind of rhetoric. we have increased education funding to the highest level of any governor in 50 years. the highest level was in this year's budget, $535 million, and senator carter voted against it. he said people will be held accountable. we are holding you accountable tonight with the question lori just asked and all of us are going to continue. you have never indicated how you would do that. these are simply hollow rhetoric

that has no reality. certainly, he knows that. if he thought there was waste, he would've introduced at least one amendment in the budget and he has not done so. >> what you have heard is governor deal passing the buck for his cuts to education. the governor presents and signs the budget. this year, the budget underfunded education by $750 million and the governor calls it an increase. we are not doing right by our schools. i have one issue that has been neglected by the governor is uncollected taxes. right now, there are hundreds of millions of dollars a year that are being lost by taxpayers because we are not properly collecting our state sales tax. the governor had ignored it. you have seen repeated references to the fact that the governor believes there is no waste.

everybody knows that is not true. >> once again, if he thought there was such a waste, don't you think he would've introduced one amendment to point itt? he has not done it. we are collecting taxes and we have acted more people over the period of time. we are doing a very good job of collecting the taxes. what it boils down to is in order to do what he says he wants to do, he will have to raise taxes. he does not want to admit that. the reason he cannot answer that, that is the only source available to do what he claims he wants to do. >> when the hope scholarship started -- >> dr. hunt? >> we heard a lot of discussion about how we get a different money into the education. what we need to look at is how we cost effectively educate the people and educate them correctly.

we have a major issue that both of them want to continue a failed system. i say we don't have common core. i say we have school choice. 70% of the people want school choice whether democrats, independents, or republicans. let's give it to them. let's not have people end up in a cycle of poverty just because of their zip code. the best way to end poverty and through education. we need to do it more cost effectively. we rank 25th in the world but we spend the most. we need to change that. we need to really turn things around. >> staying with education funding and budgets, the georgia corporation is saying the percentage as of 2013 from 34%

when you started to hope is now 25% so it has been a decline of 9%. is the money there to restore the hope to the higher percentage once again? >> i do not think that is the question that needs to be answered. are we being able to fund the programs that hope is in charge of? funded exclusively through our lottery program. we had the highest revenue increased over the past years that will be dedicated to the hope programs in our state. other states have tried to follow the formula of ratcheting up and ratcheting down the amount of payouts have seen disastrous results. they have seen fewer people playing and participating in their lottery and the net result is that there is less money for the education programs that the moderates support. we do not need to do that. we have the most successful lottery program and the united

states and we'll produce with even more money with that successful lottery that is going to our programs and hope. >> dr. hunt? >> we need to ensure all of these lottery funds are going only to the hope programs and we do not have people -- we have special allocations for different and if we want early childhood education that helps working parents and when the child's brain is developing the most, why not include horseracing in the mix? that is our future. once again, poverty, we are going to end it through education. we can have stem schools and that will feed into college and blended schools that feed into our colleges so well.

then have it so people can leave college without debt. >> you have seen the promise of hope be broken. this was the first time in our state because of the governor's cuts to the hope scholarship, the high achieving, hard-working students that earned their way to college, many of them, are not able to go to school because they cannot afford it. that's the opposite of what we need. as a result of governor deal's policies, there are 80,000 fewer hope recipients. 80,000 people. i met one yesterday who was going to be nurse and was going to school and as a result of governor deal's cuts had to drop out.

in her life, she is not getting ahead in the way that she should. that lottery fund is being mismanaged. there are $360 million in it right now that is going unused and wasted and should be maximizing the number of people to go to school on hold. i am the only candidate with a plan to expand. >> do you agree that it is being mismanaged? >> absolutely not. you would not be see the highest return if it was being mismanaged. the statistics he repeats are statistics that the commissioner of our technical school system says is untrue and he continues to say it because it sounds good. in the three years since i came into office, we have seen a 20% increase and those in our technical colleges system will

complete their courses. that is what we want. students will finish so they can get the job. if he was concerned about a young lady, he should've voted for those high demand career initiatives which included 100% tuition for those for a nursing degree. >> governor, the average technical college student in state is having a hard time paying for it. we both know that. what you see out there, the average student is just like the woman i saw yesterday. a 28-year-old woman with kids. if you believe it is getting easier for people to go to technical school, you are not in the state living the life people are. we know it is getting harder. under your watch, the cost is rising faster here than any other state. those are real numbers. we have to do better and we can