-- i am talking about growing the economy. coming out of recession, it has been 3.7%. we have sluggish, and you make growth. -- is integrated -- integrated. we need to broaden the tax base, coupled by the tax code and make it about economic growth. we went growth back to the three and a half percent. the deficit pictures with dramatically smaller by comparison because for every 1% growth it generates $100 billion mr. williams: artest could be a provision. -- our tax code needs revision. -- ever since the

1940's, if you look at the treasury department, every time we have a tax cut, we have left revenue as you would expect. tax cuts are not the answer. we need to do really fair tax so that people at the upper and that has all the money paid for -- like the rest of us regular americans. andan pay for our deficit start bringing the debt down. that is the real problem we have, that the republicans want to cut taxes. -- that wouldxes hurt everybody. we will talk about that later. moderator: you mentioned to those entitlements with includes social to -- security.

what changes would you make in the funding of those , changes in the benefit payments and eligibility? sen. thune: i do not think you -- test their way out of your way out of the problem. what we need is faster growth. you have more people working and paying taxes -- you with this one thing that has been talked about that does not contact anybody retire today or nearing retirement age is we can gradually phase and an increase for workers. retired or 55 and older, you would not be affected by that area for medicare and social security, we have people living longer and more productive lives.

in respect to medicaid, i would like to see more medication to this. i think they should test man's -- customized programs. people trust their state government but do not trust the federal government. mr. williams: first of all, for social security, it is just to take the artificial caps off the payroll tax. the payroll taxes capped at -- people who pay that are .ard-working south dakota and we took that off and put social security on for the future. he says that we should raise the age for social security. in a manualworked

labor type job. if you spent your entire life out there swinging a hammer and working hard, by the time you get to 62, your back is 85. raising the age of social security is not a good thing for the regular, hard-working people. i am not in favor of that. we can make everybody pay their fair share. inat leaves -- broad terms, where is the federal government spending too much money and where is the federal government funding to little money? sen. thune: of that there and about oneft, you have third of the pie last and one and thethat is defense military.

right now, we have to to rebuild our military. i would like us spending 4% on our military. weird -- we live in a increasingly dangerous world. underfundingically american military today. you can talk to any of the one you talks, any to you in the military today will tell you the same thing. in terms of other places you .ould find saving proliferatings and driving up the cost to do business. it is making it harder to grow the economy. there are a lot of things we can do about that last third of spending. we can look for the -- right here in south dakota, certain

programs are right with fraud. our federal representative should be paying more attention to the federal funds to come to our state make sure there is no fraud in them. we have the best military in the world. putting more money and it right now is not a good idea. our military does not have the means to be audited. shockingly, trillions of dollar in army expenditures cannot be accounted for. that does not mean it is stolen, it does not -- a means they have not -- do not have a way to audit the military. we should be auditing that military spending to make sure there is not a lot of fraud and waste. i am a military veteran. there are things that are wasted in our federal budget in terms of military. how would your proposals for taxation for

federal spending and any changes in government regulation, how create jobs and promote prosperity? sen. thune: it does not matter where i go in south dakota, small town, big town, ranches, the mall businesses, financial services, the thing i hear the most is the cost of federal regulation is like a wet blanket on the economy. it is causing more and more each day to comply with regulations. hundred major new regulations and last eight years. ager regulation to find is a regulation of $100 million a year and -- impact or more. we need a process where if you create a new one, there ought to be one in one out. we should require congress to

vote on every new major regulation. every regulation has $100 million impact on the economy or more. about a trillion dollars or $2000 per family. mr. williams: he talks about regulations. we still do not understand what regulations are. they are the way the administrative branch of the government carries out the laws handed down by the legislative branch. when congress passes laws, we will have regulations. those regulations do not happen by accident. there is a lot of time and energy. we really want to grow the economy. we need to use the federal government to use infrastructure projects.

southsouth dakota has a lot of d but cannot harness that wind power because we do not have the infrastructure. if we spent federal money on infrastructure, we could grow the economy and create new jobs. we would have a much better world and a cleaner world area that is something we need to do with clean energy. we need to be to clean energy immediately. it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. moderator: your platform regarding foreign policy and international security. specifically as it relates to the middle east, the threat from a, and the humanitarian crisis in syria, iraq, and elsewhere. sen. thune: there are so many missteps along the way in the last eight years. the premature withdrawal from iraq, not enforcing the red line in syria, and agreeing to a bad nuclear agreement has put us in a place where we do not have good options. what i will tell you is, and we have tofeat isis

take the fight to them. there is a fight going on led by . coalition partners hopefully, they will be successful. .e have to defend the homeland we have to vet people coming into the country. we need more aviation security measures. that is something i've worked with. to give our intelligence community that told they need to find these people, root them out . that is what it will take to defeat this enemy. there have been many missteps in the middle east. those missteps began with president george bush, who decided it was important to use our military to invade iraq.

that was at a time when iraq had a bad dictator. that i cannot do anything. had him totally contained. the republican president decided he should invade that country. our military did it. after that, more mistakes. the government -- the administration decided to use its own people instead of iraqis to be billed iraq. we have to adjust it. we have to address what is going on in the middle east. we are doing a great job right now. we are working with coalition members read we are providing air cover and drone strikes. isis is being pushed back. it was president obama who got osama bin laden. you brought up military spending, let us take a closer look at that.

what is the level of military ensure weeeded to have the proper strength and readiness for military forces? a good benchmark is 4% of gdp. if you cannot protect the think that's not just in the middle east. -- china ishe verge increasing -- increasingly provocative. there is going to be a serious threat. there are threats all over the world. the world is a dangerous place. united states half to be prepared -- has to be prepared. american leadership is essential. the world looks to us to lead.

have the military capability to lead, we will not be the leaders of the world -- that the world needs. military readiness is a critical issue, especially now when we live in a increasingly dangerous world. so williams: i am a veteran i watched the navy pretty close. we have the most powerful military in the history of the world. a lovingnavy, we have carrier attack groups. three of them are deployed around the world. three are on the way to relieve them, and the other five are our and our. a very strong military right now. a lot of our military spending has gone from weapons -- weapon systems that are wasteful. spending isilitary not a good idea. we do live in a dangerous world. we have to spend our resources

on the cia and undercover guys going out and finding out what is going on in the world. we cannot send in aircraft carriers to the middle of syria. -- planes weans could send in. our military is plenty strong to defend us. you both agree this is a dangerous world. how worried are you about the increase and read of nuclear weapons? sen. thune: very worried. that is why i say we have to modernize our nuclear disability. the triad, a lot of our nuclear weapon delivery systems -- we need the next generation bomber. they are currently working on that today and the dull -- developmental stage. we have to be permitted -- prepared to use that as a deterrent. it has to be a believable the

terms. -- deterrent. creating nuclear proliferation in the middle east. everyone will want one. north korea, firing nuclear weapons. we need to be worried about what is happening with the threat of nuclear weapons, and we need to be prepared for that. the spread of is probably the most serious threat we face today. the last thing we want to see is a terrorist group get a nuclear weapon in their hands. just a few years ago, everyone was saying iran would have a nuclear weapon and one year. the head of israel came and talked to congress and said iran

would have a nuclear weapon and one year. the u.s. negotiated with iran and got them to give up that nuclear capability for 10 years. he's -- if i had done that as a nibble officer, i would have been court-martialed. iran is not going to have a nuclear weapon for at least 10 years. after 10 years, after negotiating with us, i think you'll find that iran will be our friend and will not have a nuclear weapon. he went after me. this is a bad deal. we gave $150 billion in sanctions relief to the world's leading state sponsor of terror. iran is on the way to acquiring a nuclear capability, make notes is -- no mistake about it.

i was a bad deal. the reason the letter went was because the president did not want to go to congress. he went to the united nations. this president wanted to circumvent congress. he went to the united nations before the congress. iran -- its: we gave is not a bad deal. it would have been a bad deal if we did not have a bit -- a deal. that is not only we should do things. what is your assessment of u.s. trade policies, specifically the north free trade agreement and the trans-pacific partnership? member, we deal

with these issues on a regular basis. we deal with trade relationship with places around the world. that have been negotiated in the past, we have negotiated those. -- litigated those. ,hen we negotiate these deals agriculture have a seat at the table. it is critical to american agriculture that we open up markets, increase our exports, and get the prices back eddie that are level for farmers in south dakota. that means good deal negotiated on the front end. disengage from the global marketplace because it is too important. agree.liams: i iselieve that the tpp -- good. south dakota. i think that is good for us.

believe in free trade. we have to work together. the trade policies we have in place today, global extreme poverty has gone from 30% to 12 -- 10%. it is a good thing. i am in favor of free trade. the question i have, if president obama negotiated the it that it hass not been approved? the reason is we have a dysfunctional congress that will not get along. i am for free trade. it should have been approved. let us take a deeper look at agriculture. you are generally an agreement on trade policy.

what is right and wrong with other u.s. policies and regulations regarding agriculture, which is our state's largest industry? thing i woulde argue, pertaining to the .uropean and asian that is my beer negotiating these agreements. there are various put in place. -- barriers put in place. 90% of the crops in south dakota use gmo see. there is nothing offensively wrong with that, but we have countries around the world in europe and asia to block american exports over that issue. of what ie example -- therel a nonferrous -- barrier.

the trade agreements are to open markets for american producers and businesses. we already have the most open market in the world to other countries. that is the purpose of all trade agreements. are in generale agreement on trade. we have had things happen that have been blamed on trade. we rescinded that, we do not have that anymore. i think most people when they go to the supermarket and look at the beach, they see that these from brazil or south dakota, they will choose south dakota. they will do that because they know when they buy these from south dakota, they know the quality they would get. they do not know the quality of brazil. united consumers in the eight should be allowed to know the difference. those are the things we have to

make sure our trade called do not affect and a net -- in a negative way. i am for to -- free trade. is global warming a real threat to our planet? is it a uncontrollable act of or could it be addressed with environmental and energy practices? the climate is changing, it is changing all the time. it has been changing for thousands of years. the question of whether or not human activity contributes to that, i do not know what level, but it -- at some level it does. the question then becomes what do we do about it and at what cost? in my view, the best way to get a change in behavior is to provide incentives to change behavior. we have tried through a lot of

energy policies as been involved with. a are trying to move in direction where we are less dependent on fossil fuels. not support the national energy tax. it would he -- particularly in the midwest, it would increase electricity costs i 50%. that is not the right approach. mr. williams: we have another disagreement. he is not sure what humans are doing to cause global warming. sciences andl the the world every we are doing something really significant. starting in 1900 the today, we have warmed one centigrade. that is a lot. that is continuing to go up. the last three months, september

august were the hottest months on record. we have to do something about it. we have to do something now. it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when. it will be more of that and harder to do. it is great president obama is trying to address this issue. the worst thing we can do it say just wait. we are about halfway through this debate. we will reverse the speaking order. we will let mr. williams answer first. should construction of the dakota access type when be allowed to prop -- received underneath the missouri river? do you for see a peaceful resolution to the protest and standoff near the standing rock

indian reservation? i foresee a: peaceful resolution. i think the protest are a hallmark of the united dates. the dakota access pipeline is annexed symbol of fossil fuel that we do not need. we can move that by trucks or rail. some people say that is more dangerous then moving it by pipeline. if you put a pipeline underneath the missouri river that -- and there is a week they do not think the dakota access pipeline is a bad idea. i think we should stop construction of it and concentrate on infrastructure that will take us from fossil fuel to clean energy. that is the future of our country. that is where we have to be. anything else -- that is my of his -- my position on the pipeline. sen. thune: the pipelines are

safer than rails and trucks. they are the safest, clean it, and most efficient way to move this product. we will not get rid of those products overnight. i'm all for moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels. for the foreseeable future, we need those. if you are going to bring a pipeline to this part of the country, you will have to go under a river. there are 100 pipelines under the missouri river. there are millions of pipelines in this country today. it is safer, more efficient, more cost-effective when you're moving those types of product. with respect to what is happening up there, i hope they resolved peacefully. hope they can deal with this in a way where people are respectful of the right to alsote -- protest but

respectful to the laws of the land. how do you assess the condition of indian country, and what do you see as the federal in dealing with sovereign nations and their people? mr. williams: this is one of the major issues that faces us in some. the nine tribes in indian country, we have two counties in south dakota. that is not right. that is not how it should be. the federal government has been trying to do with this forever. since i was in high school, they have been trying to deal with it. they are not find a way to do it. what we need is to get rid of the traditional politicians, the career politicians running our congress today and put in guys like me can bring new ideas and new ways to relate to our native

american population in south dakota. finded to go in and leaders in the native american population and help them find the kind of projects they can get behind and champion for the rest of us, like going from fossil fuels to clean energy. the long-termll, solution -- live the way, i consult with the nine tribes here in south dakota multiple times a year. i meet with tribal members and leaders. the thing that will change the way of life on reservations, improve the quality of life, is a private economy. we have to have a private economy that creates jobs and allows people to create wealth. right now, there is not much of a private economy. there are a few is this is on reservations, but by and large,

andre talking about -- by large, you are talking about an economy completely dependent on the federal government. that does not work. meantime, honor treaty obligations with health care, education, the best bridge for the future of kids on a reservation, trying to get kids into higher ed. and like i said before, we have to have security. people need to be able to live safely on reservations. there are elderly people and kids on reservations today who are constantly living in fear. moderator: what aspects of obamacare, the affordable care act, should be retained, and what should be scrapped? mr. williams: the affordable care act is really a major milestone in the united states. since 1948, we have been trying to get a national healthcare policy. finally, with the passage of affordable care act, we did it.

does it need improvement? the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement, including too much -- according to my high school band instructor. but the worst thing we could do is repeal it and start over. the affordable care act is using private health insurance to implement health care, and it has done a lot of great things. you cannot be on your health insurance and get really sick and suddenly find that you have lost your health insurance. pre-existing conditions do not exist anymore. it has done a lot of great things, but there are things that need to be done, and we can certainly do them. we need to work together to improve the afford a cold -- ofordable care act instead repeal it, repeal it. that is one of my problems i have with the congress. sen. thune: this is a problem of liberal economics, simple planning by government. we are going to the fine would insurance coverage is for the entire country, and it has not

worked. there are still 30 million americans without insurance. the goal was everyone gets covered, and there are still 30 million americans today without coverage. now more are losing coverage because of obamacare. blue cross blue shield pulled out of individual covers in south dakota. i spoke to people losing their coverage just last week. bill clinton has said that obamacare has doubled premiums he says it is the craziest thing i have seen. and the liberal governor next door in minnesota said the affordable care act is no longer affordable. this does not work, folks. that is why we need it repealed and we need to put reforms in and makedrop the costs it insurance coverage in this country more accessible and more affordable. moderator: what is your stand on u.s. immigration policy, border security, enforcement,

deportation, and amnesty? mr. williams: i would like to make a quick, devout the afford will care act. 15 million more americans have health insurance. it really is working, but it could work better. in terms of immigration, we are a country of immigrants. that is what makes us great. we're heterogeneous. we have people and religions and cultures from all over the world, and they join together to make the greatest country the world has ever seen. so immigration is a good thing for us. do we need to make sure the emigrants that come here are not wishing us harm? of course, we do. people whoused by were not u.s. citizens, but they were here legally. what we really have to worry about is the hate now being festered up in the united states. that is the real danger to us. hatein kansas last week, a

group was going to blow up an entire somali community. that is a real problem. so immigration is a good thing for the united states. sen. thune: my grandfather and great uncle came here in 1906. so this country as a nation of immigrants. we have always been a welcoming nation. i know that people who come here need to follow the law. that is why any discussion of immigration has to start with enforcement first. we cannot talk about people who are here illegally until we convince the american people that we can secure the border. so it is security the border, creating a biometric exit/entry program so that the people who are here are on visas so we can track them. and we have to have a vetting system for people, particularly the refugee population coming in, that can certify that there are people that will do us harm. it is enforcement first. i know a lot of people here are

employers, and we want to have an e-verified system in the workplace. we are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants, and we have to figure out how to strike that balance. you have to enforce the laws on the books first. moderator: looking at refugees from the middle east, including from syria and those caught in the humanitarian crises around that region, including what is happening in aleppo. mr. williams: will you repeat the question for me? moderator: certainly. what about the acceptance of middle eastern refugees? mr. williams: well, we are a nation of immigrants, and refugees is a strong tradition of the united states. in the 1956 republican presidential platform, president eisenhower, one of the planks

was to do what we can to accept refugees. i think we need to do that it we do not need to be afraid of women and children, which is what most of these refugees are. and we already have a great vetting program for our refugees. we have not had any refugees that i know of that have done any kind of terror attacks in the united states. so i think it is important that the united states does accept refugees and do what we can to help them. that is the character of the united states, to help those really in need. refugees are people sitting in were zones that are being bombed, and they cannot live in their homes anymore. the united states is a place of last resort for them, and we should do what we can to help refugees. i am in favor of refugees. i believe they should be vetted. sen. thune: we accept more refugees into the united states every year than all the other nations in the world combined. we are developing -- a welcoming

nation. we have to make sure, in light of what is happening in the middle east and in light of what is happening in terms of radicalization of people in this country, that when people come here, particularly from a region of the world with terrorist organizations that are operating and active, that we vet them carefully. department of national intelligence, the department of homeland security, and the fbi director have testified in front of congress that there are gaps in our system. they cannot certify when people come here that we have a vetting system that will ensure that there are not people in that population that will do us harm. we need to make sure that they can certify that and that we are vetting people in a way that we keep the american people away from somebody who might want to come into this country and do us harm. as the cost of higher

education has spiraled in the last decade, student loan debt in the united states has grown to $1.2 trillion. to free public education extend beyond high school, and what, if anything, should the federal government do to address soaring student debt? mr. williams: i first want to attack soaring debt. citibank or any of the large banks, they borrow money at a little under 1% interest. if a student wants to go to college, they have to pay it at 7%. we can first lower the interest rates for our college students today. education,ree public that is another great american tradition. we have had free public education, k-12, forever, and it has a grilli well. -- and it has worked very well. california had free higher

education, and i believe kentucky is starting to do it. i believe a high school education is not quite enough in today's job market, so i think it would be a good idea to consider free public education, at least in terms of tuition, to extend beyond high school. how far? two years seems reasonable to start, but maybe we would go to four years. education is what is going to drive our economy and drive our country into the future. sen. thune: well, you want to make college education really expensive, make tuition free. [laughs] costs will go up -- wait and see. the interest rate on student loans, a result of legislation in congress, 3.76% this last year. i am somebody who came up the hard way, and u.s. earlier about characteristics of yourself -- part of mine is work ethic. i am somebody who appreciates work and effort and earning your

way, and i think those are things that are important about this country. so free college education strikes me is the right approach. anybody who is willing to work anybody who is willing to work hard deserves the possibility of a college education. that is why we have to provide as many incentives as we possibly can. affordable student loans. that is a loan program hope get reauthorized at the end of last year that helped 4000 low-income students and south dakota get up to $55,000 -- $5,500 a year for their education. the idea that we make it free for everybody, i think that goes against what we are as a culture. moderator: if and when you vote on a presidential nominee for the u.s. supreme court, what criteria will you use to reach your decision? if iilliams: first of all, am elected to the united states senate, i pledge that i will

provide the advice and consent that the constitution requires. i will not say we will wait for the next election, as the current congress and senate has done. what i am looking for is a man who is a fair-minded person. i do not think litmus tests are good way to go for a supreme court nominee. you cannot enforce it. once they are on the court, they are on the court for life. tests.not enforce litmus but you can say, is he a fair man? does he listen to the arguments? what are the decisions he has rendered? do those decisions make sense? that is what i would look for in a supreme court justice, no matter whether he came from a republican president or democratic. president -- democratic president. it has not happened with merrick garland, president obama's appointment. sen. thune: when it comes to the supreme court, it is important that we have people that are

constitutionalists. i want to see people nominated to the supreme court who are going to exercise judicious restraint. i do not want judges on the supreme court that are there to accomplish some agenda or legislate from the bench because they are unable to get some these are congress. activist judges are dangerous to the country. i want to see so many that will exercise judicial restraint, that will be a constitutionalist, and some of who will worry about enforcing the constitution and the laws of this country and not become somebody trying to use the court as a way to legislate some agenda. moderator: the right to bear arms is guaranteed by the second amendment. shouldf any, limitations be placed on the ownership and possession of weapons and ammunition? am a bigams: i believer in the second

amendment. i think americans do have the right to bear and own arms. i am for that. but we're not allowed to own anything we want. you cannot own stinger missiles. since 1934, if you wanted to on a machine gun, you had to pay a fairly large tax and register. some kinds of weapons we need to keep track of. unfortunately, that is the position of the nra, keeping it open, and the nra has a strangle hold on our congress. i believe there are things we can do, technology things, to make guns a. 33,000 americans are killed with guns every year. with a little bit of technology, we can maybe cut that in half. i believe guns need to be regulated in the sense that we can use technology to make them safer. keeping them out of the hands of the mentally ill, that is very well and good, but we cannot stop them from stealing a gun

and using it. we have to use technology. sen. thune: too many people are less to gun violence in this country, and many of them are suicides. it is still way too many. we have to make sure we're doing everything we can as a culture to address the fundamental problem. mentioned-- jay mental health, and that is something we agree on. in many of the cases of mass violence, these are mentally deranged people. you will not find common ground on all restrictions. i think that nobody that is a suspected terrorist, anybody on a watchlist or no-fly list, should be able to buy a handgun without the fbi having some say-so about ap but that there are things we can do in the area of mental health. that is where we should focus. i think this is a second amendment right. it is guaranteed under our constitution, and people in this country have a right to defend themselves.

we should not trifle with it, to address the financial problem, and that his mental health. moderator: the first amendment protects freedom of expression. is the bill of rights too permissive in along with some people consider to be offensive, hateful speech and unpatriotic forms of protest such as ?lagburning mr. williams: i do not believe the bill of rights is too permissive. i believe it is a fundamental part of america. this fundamental rights have to exist. one of those things is the right to protest. even though it may not be likable to me, like i do not like to see somebody burning a flag, but i believe they have the right to do that kind of thing. our country is based on the from thethat we get first 10 amendments of the constitution, the bill of rights. the second amendment, i agree on that. the first agreement -- the first

amendment, i agree on that even more. thefree press that we have, idea of trying to sue journalists for doing their jobs and that sort of thing, i am against that. i think freedom is what we are all about, and the first amendment is the first of our basic freedoms. not have, you do unlimited freedoms to yell fire in a crowded theater, but you have the right to do his will protests. is whatne: i think that another amazing thing is about our country, the first amendment, the right of speech, expression, free press. those are things that make america the model and the envy of the world when it comes to our democracy. yeah, i think we need to make sure that people will protest in a nonviolent, peaceful way. we need to make sure that law enforcement respects the right of people to protest. those are both things we need to ensure are happening in this country.

but there are some things, for example, flagburning, i have worked with the vfw and the american legion for years on an amendment to the constitution that would ban flag burning. i realize it will be very hard to make happen, but that is something that is so sacred to the people who have defended our country and our freedoms. that is an area i think could actually be a restriction. moderator: both of you have been vocal critics of donald trump, yet john thune, you have said that you will still vote for mr. trump. jay williams, you have been an enthusiastic supporter of secretary clinton. how does your choice online with your values, your policy positions, and your vision for the country -- how do your with your values? mr. williams: secretary clinton spent her entire adult life working for secretary clinton --

working for children. she has been secretary of state under president obama. there have been seven or eight investigations of the end --the tragedy, two of 9/11 there have been seven or eight investigations of the benghazi tragedy, two of 9/11. vilifyve tried to secretary clinton. after all of the investigations, they found nothing. senator thune said that fbi director comey said his underlings recommended the indictment. quite the opposite is true or the fbi investigated secretary clinton and found she did no wrong. there has been a lot of vilification of secretary clinton. i believe she is a principled woman, and she is not donald trump. [laughter] said there was

reporting that there were investigators and the fbi who disagreed with that decision. clinton, is, hillary whether you think she is a role model or not, did destroy 33,000 e-mails after they had been subpoenaed. she literally took a hammer to two of her blackberries and crushed them. fbi director comey was extremely careless with classified information and no other normal person would do the things she did -- fbi director comey said she was extremely careless. she has lied over and over again. a characterwill win contest. it is about whose policies will be best for south dakota. on that issue, hillary clinton would be terrible for south dakota when it comes to economic policies and judges she would put on the court, and these are

the choices we are left with. moderator: these are divisive times in our nation. are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of these united states? regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, are you hopeful that the polarized will will acceptte and unite behind the new president? mr. williams: as you probably can tell, i am an optimist. i am optimistic about the united states of america, which i love and think is the greatest country in the world. polarization, that is the crux of the problem. our congress is populated entirely with career politicians. that is what i am not. i the opposite of that. i have never been elected to a political office. but i am here offering myself to go to washington to try to change that gridlock that exists there. that is a problem, when we polarize, and it is both sides, when we say my way or the

highway. that is not a good thing. i'm not beholden to special interest groups. i am beholden to the voters of south dakota. i think if we can elect representatives like me, we can address these problems and make the united states better than it is now, despite the fact that it is the greatest country of the world. unfortunately, the republican presidential nominee does not agree on all of that. sen. thune: we are a great country made up of great people, and with that the right policies, and can be even better in greater. i hope when the smoke clears in the dust settles, we can sit down and work together. i will do that. i have done that my entire time in office. i have stood up two presidents who i thought were doing things that were bad for south dakota. i have worked with presidents when i felt like they work doing things that were good for south dakota. we need people that are willing to build bridges and build relationships and get results. my career has been built around

getting results for the people of south dakota. i have chaired the commerce, science, and transportation committee. the ranking democrat on my committee join me last week, and we visited the underground lab in rapid city. we worked together to pass numerous bills through congress in this last year, and it is because of the approach we bring. the committee could be a model for a lot of other committees in congress. but the challenges are too great, so we have to work together for the good of the american people. i will do that, always have. withator: we end two-minute closing statements. we have discussed 24 different subjects. based on what you have expressed an would you have heard your opponent express, why should the voters of south dakota elect you to serve in the united states senate?

mr. williams: i have to thank you, jack, and the rotary club senator thune. i am a fourth generation south dakotan, a u.s. navy veteran was service in the vietnam war. as a navy pilot, served in europe and in the u.s. i am a veteran of the peace corps. i served in south america. degree from the university of wisconsin and a master of computer science from northern illinois university. as a high-tech software engineer, i work for texas industries in dallas, texas, and for two different high-tech software companies in silicon valley during the computer revolution. ourears ago, my wife and three children and i moved back to south dakota for a high-tech business right here. i have been operating the business and serving my community in various ways.

on the school board, i was actually president of our rotary club. i do love rotary. if you can tell from my experience, i am not a career politician. quite the opposite. i have a lot of background. almost everybody who i need i can find something in common with. that will allow me, if elected, to go to washington and work with other people and to get things done. it is a real problem we have right now, this polarization in our country. i am not beholden to the democratic party, certainly not the republican party. in the 1990's, i was a republican. i am the kind of guy who works with lots of different ideas and thoughts. i can work with people, work together, so that is why on november 8, should vote for me. if you are early voting, vote for me, as well. i appreciate the opportunity. i look forward to another debate with senator thune tonight. thanks again. sen. thune: thanks, jack, thank

you to the rotary, thanks, jay, for the opportunity to discuss the issues. every election is about the future. some of you heard i just had a granddaughter about five weeks ago. it makes you even more keenly aware of the things that we do, the decisions we make, and what we do to shape the future of those kids and the grandkids. elections are also about differences, and we have some stark differences in how we approach issues. the one thing i will tell you is we have great challenges facing this country, on the economic front, domestic front, national security. we are going to need a strong voice and washington, d.c. i have proven in my time in office that i am somebody who knows how to get things done. i chaired the commerce, science, and transportation committee in congress, and i serve on the finance committee which has jurisdiction over health care, taxes, trade, and i serve on the ag committee, our states number

one industry. i put policies and legislation applies that are good for south dakota. we have seen a lot of success. in this toxic environment that everybody talks about, we get past the cable news anchors shouting each other, we passed the first long-term highway bill in a decade, the first freight rail reforms in two decades, aviation security reforms, a pipeline safety bill, technology bills. past the house into the president and signed into law. there is a lot more to do. this economy is stagnant. we need faster growth, better paying jobs. we do things well here in south dakota, and thankfully to a lot of people in this room, we need to take that same kind of common

sense to washington, d.c., and get this country moving in a different direction. i am asking for your vote on november 8. thank you. moderator: for their commitment and desire to serve our state and our nation, please join me in thanking the candidates, republican u.s. senator john thune and democratic u.s. senate candidate jay williams. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] day, novembertion 8, the nation decides our next president and which party controls the house and senate. stay with c-span for coverage of the presidential race, including campaign stops with hillary clinton, donald trump, and the surrogates, and senate races with our coverage of their candidate to bates and speeches. c-span, where history unfolds daily. 's "washington journal