move forward with comprehensive immigration reform. it can't just be the dream act. it can certainly be a piece of a humanitarian issue, a national security issue, and an economic issue. we have to work at the 12.5 million people can come out of the shadows without fear that they will be ripped away from their shut that in their that they will be ripped apart from their families. we are working right now on bipartisan conference a reform. we have to talk about a humanitarian issue that is an economic issue for them in their districts. it is also one of those things we frank we currently have to step up as a humanitarian, economic, immigration reform. >> if i could pick one piece of legislation to put on the floor tomorrow for those, it would become because of immigration reform. it would include a pathway to citizenship, take care of the dreamers, make sure we secure our borders. i was proud ton

introduce in a house in 2013, a companion to the senate in the same year. the only reason that bill did not become law is because the republicans in the house and the republican speaker would not allow any immigration reform to come for a vote. i believe this legislation came -- if it came to the vote it would pass overwhelmingly. i will only support a person for the suit -- for speaker of the house next year who pledges to bring cumbre hence of immigration reform to the floor for a vote. mr. dole come i think you should do the same. >> we joy to respond? >> i think what you're finding and what we see over and over again is that my opponent will take a partisan tap on everything. this is not how we solve problems. this is how we saw an education move forward or a highway bill or how we solved or pay doctors who take care of seniors. move truly are going to forward if we break through the gridlock, it will be with bipartisan support. that's why every single news has endorsed me as the

bridge builder, someone that is going to put the country first, not politics. >> thank you very much. the cost of a college education has outpaced inflation by double the last 30 years. it is estimated 40 million americans are well over a million dollars of student debt . >> i think we absolutely have to make college more affordable. it is the key to a middle class lifestyle. price ofuched on, the college has increased, putting the dream further out of reach for too many families. and i was in congress, i thought hard against the effort to raise to interest rates from 3.4% 6.8%. i worked on legislation that would allow students, after

graduation, to restructure their loans as interest rates go down. i believe we have to work to help students who graduate and go to work as teachers in our urban communities or doctors in rural communities, to give them it -- give them an opportunity to pay down their student loans. is not just the debt they are require. we have to reduce the debt to make college more affordable. >> there are ways -- we are giving $4 billion a year in subsidies. instead of giving it to the oil company's, let's give it to students. >> education is the building blocks for everything that we want to do. if we want to cure cancer, education is the key. if we want to do and solve poverty, education is gone to be the key. as we look to higher education, it is something that i have led we have to make sure we are reducing people

student loans. when we look at $1.3 trillion in student loan debt, i offered a piece of legislation that would enable employers to pay down that faster. we are encouraging employees to orable to plug to a 401 k help in retirement, but they can't and we don't for college debt. that is something we should rectify. abouttely, it's not just college, we have to talk about career education as well. for those who want to become a skilled welder or become a carpenter, we have to make sure those opportunities are available for them as well. of sight.lutely out too many people believe colleges out of reach and that will harm our country and ultimately economic liabilities for us long-term. >> you have the opportunity for a book -- for rebuttal. should we look at education in a different way? >> i think there are many avenues for education. introduced -- we have

600,000 to 800,000 manufacturing jobs that go unfilled every year. industry and colleges to make sure curricula foride skills people need these jobs. veterans coming home from war, with great skills that are specifically tailored for the manufacturing environment, if these young people are not right for classrooms, and that's why they went into the military, allow them to use their g.i. dollars for imprinted ships -- for apprenticeships. >> the candidates will have an opportunity to ask each other questions. you get 30 seconds. ago, every single editorial board took the unprecedented step of asking the voters to send you home and replace them with me. across thegroups spectrum, from the largest gay rights organization to the washington post that has called you out for lying to voters.

you will yourself out as a small business owner, champion of small business, and voted against mall business 70% of the time. he flip-flopped on the iran deal and now supported to save your own political skin to you voted with nancy pelosi against the interest of local school districts. how in the world can voters trust anything that you say? >> you have been distorting and lying about my positions and records this entire election. iran is a perfect example. i looked at the deal last summer. i saw that there were gaps in the deal that would make it harder for us to enforce it. we both came out against the bill last year. in spite of our opposition, the deal went into place. my position hasn't changed. but i recognized the simple fact that the iran deal is a fact. it is in place. the sanctions have been provided. the rest of the world is doing business with iran. you lie about me flip-flopping, but you take the same position

as donald trump that says let's dismantle the deal. it's walk away from it. that would leave iran and not -- on the threshold of a nuclear plan. the worst thing that could happen to the region, to our allies, like israel, to the rest of the world's first -- is for iran to get a nuclear weapon. >> a brief response. >> you didn't tell the voters why you should be trusted. it is the outside voters that lyingalled him out for can he has not been transparent because he has not released his household excitons -- tax returns. he calls the media for exploiting a loophole. ultimately, he's exploded a loophole to bring in 30 times the legal limit allowed for dirty money or dark money in your campaign. this is someone who can't be trusted. schneider, your

opportunity to pose a question to your opponent. as athink we can all agree nation that we need to do something about the scourge of gun violence a flicking all of our communities. you said you are a cosponsor of y, legislationbu that would make it hard for someone on the no-fly list to walk into a store to buy a gun. yet you refuse to sign a simple petition that would force speaker ryan to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. not had reason we have a vote on this or other legislation is because the speaker will not allow it. why will you sell that -- sign that petition? >> i have led in regard to gun violence. what is interesting to me is that the legislation that mr. schneider is talking about -- i cosponsored it when i first got to the united states commerce. i cosponsored it again when i returned. when mr. schneider was there, the same piece of legislation was offered and yet he didn't cosponsor this piece of legislation. i worked with robin kelly, a chicago and, on a bipartisan

compromise to move forward on moveg the no-fly/no buy forward. we don't need a didn't let it go vote. we need actually to move the needle forward. people are dying in a communities today. frankly, it is unacceptable. we just crossed the 3500 shootings in chicago alone. this isn't about being political. this is about solving a problem. the only way we solve it is by building a bipartisan consensus, something i demonstrated an to do, something am working right now with members on the other side of the aisle. but don't take my word for it. take jaffe -- take kathy gibbons were for. she said i'm a champion for bipartisan gun solutions. these are political votes. tell it to the families of the victims in san bernardino, the families and friends of the victims in orlando. all they are asking is to allow this legislation to come to the floor for a vote and you

continue to block it. you continue to distort the record. you say i haven't released the taxes. this of the fact is my taxes are on the internet. you can find it. every single page of my tax returns are there. let us know where we can find yours. >> you both talked a little bit about gun violence. let's get into that topic a little deeper. it is an issue that has national resonance. no place louder than here in chicago where there has been more than 600 homicides already this year alone. we are on pace nationally for about 1300. year.are 13 rather, this do you think there should be different gun control laws -- there are 13,000 rather this year. are you think there should be different gun control laws to make us safer. i've been working in a bipartisan way for commonsense reforms to be able to reduce gun violence. one of the things i tried to do, not just with this legislation,

but with others, is try to say where is the common ground. i think the common ground is that we all want to reduce gun violence. we see what is happening in our streets and certainly in the city of chicago as we just crossed 600 homicides this year. that's unacceptable. i do believe working with groups like heavy giffords' s group making sure that we have universal background checks is something that is a huge step forward. keeping guns out of the hands of known or suspected terrorists is something i support. that, if there is a weapon involved in a domestic situation, the potential for death throes five times. we need bipartisan solutions in order to solve this problem, not partisan ones. >> this is not just a political issue, but a personal issue.

the first speech i gave before the house was about reducing gun violence. i called for return of the assault weapons ban. i believe we have to make sure we have 100% background checks. we need to make it hard for people to get access to these large capacity magazines that allow someone to go into a theater and shoot off 70 rounds in less than a minute. but it's not just restricting the access to guns from people who shouldn't have them. we have to deal with mental health aspects of gun violence. of the 30,000 plus people who will die in the country this year from gun violence, more than two thirds will take their own lives. in addition to mental health, we have to deal with the aspect of economic challenges in so many cute and it is so badly afflicted with gun violence. i was proud to introduce evidence of been legislation in the house of death -- house of representatives. again, the only reason that legislation can't come to the floor for a vote is because the republican speaker won't allow it. i will support only someone who will allow it to have this vote.

>> please talk about mental health. >> mental health is a huge crisis today. i was working and leading in the congress to make sure we brought mental health legislation the first conference of piece of mental health legislation since 1962. this is impacting every corner at community. we are losing 22 veterans a day to suicide, not to illnesses -- mental illness is a huge component of that. things, like the cook county jail -- it is the largest mental health facility we have in our country. that is a problem. 100,000 bets short, 30,000 physicians short, and that is something that, scan stand up and tackle. >> people are concerned about social security and rightfully so. in 1960, there were five workers for every person retiring. currently, fewer than 3 p.m. how do you plan to protect search -- social security and medicare for our district?

>> we have to work to strengthen both social security and medicare, not just for this generation, but for all generations to come. it is a part of our social --tract that makes sure that before social security, 50% of our seniors live below the party line. now it is less than 10%. how we do it matters. we can't but the burden on those who least afford it. the minimum age -- adding three years before they retire would limit their retirement benefit by a third. >> so what do you propose? >> we have to make sure that we -- we can expand the cap. andamentally, someone making million dollars should pay the same rate into social security as their employees who make $50,000 or $70,000. while we shouldn't raise the mandatory retirement age, we should increase incentives for

those who are able to work longer to do so. we should privatize social security -- >> thank you very much. increase social security and the cost of living? >> social security is something that people expect to be there. what is interesting is, when i talk to young people, they don't think they will see any social security. one of the things we were able to do in this congress is extend social security disability insurance, which was set to run doubt if we did -- run out if we did not do anything. ultimately, we need to make sure it is around for future generations, not just for folks who are in the system now. if we want to make sure that happens, we need to have a bipartisan solution. that means we will have to focus and put everything on the table to make sure social security will be solvent, not just for five or 10 years, but for 75 years. -- they caping to was just raised from 118 to 127. the new b 127. it may have to go up from there.

things offng to take the table. but someone on the ways and means committee, you want me there. >> thank you very much. our time is winding down. we will move on to closing statements. again, it is an honor to be here and i'm asking for your vote on november 8 i want to go back to congress to continue the work we started, continue the fight that matters to the folks here at home. i'm proud of my 100% record fighting for women's rights to make her own choices about her body and endorsed by pro-choice america and the national organization of women. i'm proud of the fact that i have been a champion of the environment, continuing to make sure that we give our children the legacy that is worthy of their future. that's why i'm happy to have the endorsement of the sierra club. i'm proud of my 100 percent voting record on the quality -- i'm proud to continue to work for -- to fight for working families, to make sure we are

growing our economy, so that everyone succeeds. all boats,tide lifts not just for those at the top. this is the most important election in our lifetime. the stakes are higher than anything we have ever seen. i'm asking for your vote on november 8 to continue to work for you and to protect the legacy of our children going forward. >> thank you for being here. this will be a critical election. we need people that are willing to break through the gridlock. i demonstrated an ability to do that. the's why a recent on nonpartisan organization has ranked me as one of the most independent and bipartisan members in the united states congress. every newspaper that has taken a look at this race has endorsed me over my opponent for various, obvious reasons, because there are big differences between the two of us. i'm going to work across the aisle to find solutions to problems and my opponent is going to take a partisan approach. we need people that will put

country first, not politics. we need bridge builders in washington, d.c., if we are going to a compass things. this election is meant to be an important one. i asked for your help, your support, but more important, i am asking for your vote to go back to washington to continue to fight on your behind -- your behalf, for you and your family. >> thank you for being here. our candidates in the 10th congressional district senate debate. remember to get out and vote. ♪ >> c-span's washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up this morning, we look at the integrity of the election process and accessibility to polling places on election day with john fortier, democracy project erector of the

bipartisan policy center. also, the atlantic's american futures writers james fellows and deborah fallows. report onnt joint immigration and migrant communities in the u.s. and how the current political debate is affecting these communities and the immigration issue overall. columnist ann coulter joins us from the north to talk about the 2016 election and her latest book "in trump we awesome" aboutce donald trump's rise to become the gop nominee can's washington journal live beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. join the discussion. >> bobby kennedy's last words before he got off the stage were "on to chicago." the next day, he was due to go to chicago to meet with richard daley. bill daley, chief of staff to , tells me there

was a 70% or greater chance that his dad would have endorsed bobby kennedy for president. ye discusseslarry his book "bobby kenny, the making available icon." >> america would have been a different place. some of the issues we are revisiting today of racial tension and international discord might be a little bit different if we. >> had>> tried to address them 50 years ago tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q&a. >> now a debate in the u.s. senate race in pennsylvania be training, and republican pat toomey and democratic challenger katie mcginty. this debate was held last monday on the campus of temple university in philadelphia. it's about an hour.

>> this is vote 2016, the pennsylvania senatorial debate. the candidates are republican pat toomey and democrat katie mcginty. and now, live from the performing arts center in philadelphia, your moderator jim gardner. jim: good evening and welcome to the final debate between the republican and democrat candidates for the u.s. senate from pennsylvania. over the next hour, the candidates will be answering questions posed by me as well as question sent via social media and from some members of our audience. speaking of the audience, we have asked everybody here to refrain from of laws or any other interruptions. except for right now as we welcome republican pat toomey and democrat katie mcginty. [applause]

jim: we are so glad that you are here. we look forward to a terrific debate. before we begin, a quick note on some of the ground rules good . each candidate will have one minute to answer the question posed to them, followed by a one-minute response or rebuttal. a personal message from me, i hope to cover a lot of ground to night. i hope you do not think i am disrespectful if i try to hold you to your time limit.

and i will need your help and i appreciate your help with that. the candidates will also have 90 seconds at the end of the debate for a closing statement. by random draw, the first question goes to katie mcginty. ms. mcginty, two issues around pennsylvania stirs passions on both sides around the issues of guns and guns violence and the second amendment. you support background checks, and assault weapons ban, a ban on high-capacity ammunition clips, and a no-fly/no guns list. yet one of the countries most visible advocates up gun control, gabby giffords, has endorsed your opponent. if she were in this room, what would you say to o her?

ms. mcginty: thank you for having us and thanks to all of you for being with us tonight. the first thing i would say to get big if for her service, her witness and her leadership. but you are right. the issue of gun violence is a critical issue, some 300,000 people killed over the last decade through gun violence. i would take a leadership role. i'm proud to be endorsed by organizations like cease-fire pennsylvania. i think there is common ground to be had on this issue. i come from a family where my brothers were hunters, were sportsmen. i don't think that's the issue. coming together on common sense issues, like not letting terrorists by guns in this country, i think we can get it done. but to get it done coming have you have to done, stick with it. senator toomey lent his name to a bill and said let democrats take the lead. i'm ready to take the lead on this issue. sen. toomey: thanks, jim. it is great to see you back on the seat. thanks to temple for hosting this.

i want to thank my family and friends who came down from the and greater philadelphia to be here. i approach this issue as someone who is a strong believer in the second amendment. i think that is a very important personal right and it is properly enshrined in the constitution. it never occurred to me that a three-minute background check to prevent somebody who has no legal right to a firearm, that that in any way infringes on second amendment rights. so i got together with joe mansion after what was probably the most painful meeting i had when i sat down with the families of sandy hook, parents who's little babies were massacred. those families, the warrant -- they weren't asking us to ban a whole category's of guns or do anything unreasonable. they said can we make progress i background check? we have three votes on a bill. i still support that and i intend to reintroduce a because we have to be able to firearms

-- able to give firearms out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them. but a mcginty is -- has a tendency to politicize everything and prevents us from finding common ground. jim: because a woman is running for president, has a profound issue of importance, which is equal pay for women. but pennsylvania is now the fourth worst state in the country when it comes to gender equity and the gender economic economic forumd puts the united states number 25 in the world. five times, you have voted to reject the paycheck fairness act. are we to think that that accurately describes about a woman's right to make as much

money as a man? sen. toomey: the fact is i have grown up and been blessed to have a family with strong women that i admire a lot, starting with my mom. my sisters have all worked very successfully. my wife had a career before we were married. and i have a 16-year-old daughter. you better believe that a want her to have every opportunity and be compensated as well as my sons might be one day. the fact is the legislation you alluded to was ruled by even the washington post editorial page as a boondoggle for the trial lawyers and not something that would actually make progress. i have supported legislation that makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of the gender of a worker. i voted for legislation that makes it illegal for loyal's to employers to retaliate against workers who share information about their pay. and i feel very strongly that

women ought to get a reader opportunity and the same level of compensation as men. but i will to you also, people -- jim: i'm sorry. ms. mcginty. ms. mcginty: i believe this country was founded on a basic bargain. you work hard coming get ahead. get you work hard, you ahead. but the truth is family and women are working hard, to jobs, three jobs, but a are not keeping up what the cost of childcare, the cost of college, and basic needs that every family has. i believe we need to honor hard work. yes, i am for increasing the minimum wage and enabling families to provide for themselves. and i am for ensuring that a woman doing the same job as a man is able to bring home that same paycheck. these are critical issues. i do disagree with senator toomey. it is not enough to have platitudes or say that i think highly women. families need income survey can -- incomes so they can support

themselves. the senator has voted against it will pay, i guess minimum wage, and agrees with donald trump that the people in this country are making too much. he has voted as many times against college affordability as well. i will fight for those families. jim: your opponents claim that you are hand-picked to run for the senate by the democratic machine in washington and would be a rubber stamp for the democratic leadership and hillary clinton, should she be elected president. i think we all agree that voters like an independent voice. can you tell us about one issue where you disagree with your party for your potential president? ms. mcginty: i do stand with hillary clinton. she is focused on standing up for families and rebuilding the middle class.

i think it would be helpful at this late date in the selection if senator toomey with similarly let voters know whether he is voting for donald trump or not. jim: we will get to that. i'm asking you about whether you disagree -- ms. mcginty: sure. any issue, any idea, does it serve our interest, as a stay in the families working hard in the state? there are issues that i disagree with secretary clinton on. i agree that it was wrong to set up guantanamo bay. we know that that has been a tool that has been used against us by terrorists as general petronius and others have said. but i can't today say that we should close guantanamo bay because of concerns that we have those that would return to the battlefield against us. but i know this. secretary clinton will fight for working families and that's what i am going to do as well. jim: mr. toomey, you have been taking heat for being unwilling to say whether you would vote for donald trump for president. i know you have been waiting for this debate. i know you have been waiting for this moment to say whether or not you will vote for the

nominee of your party. is it yay or nay? sen. toomey: i am not a reflexive ideologue that needs to give support to their party's nominee. there are a lot of things that concern me a great deal about donald trump and i have been public about it. i criticized him repeatedly, publicly, because i think he said some terrible things. i think he has taken some very badly flawed positions. that the nominee of my party is flawed. katie mcginty is blindly obedient to. hillary clinton she can't even ignores the dishonesty that we see from hillary clinton on a regular basis. maybe that's because katie mcginty began her campaign with a lie on her own background, claiming she was the first in her family to go to college, when she knew that her old brother that her older brother had already gone to college and

move back here and gotten degree before she had even graduated from high school. so maybe it is her problem with the truth that helps her overlook hillary clinton's problem with chronic lies. jim: so i guess that means you haven't been waiting for this debate. [laughter] ms. mcginty: jim, i would like to follow-up if i might. jim: i will let you. in one second. ms. mcginty: thank you. jim: senator, you know that there are detractors of yours who will say that you are not completely disavowing trump because you need his supporters to win the selection. -- to win this election. sen. toomey: i have refused to endorse donald trump. katie mcginty says that is supporting donald trump. that doesn't make any sense. the dilemmas this. donald trump is a badly flawed candidate, as i've said. but if he were president, he would probably sign a bill repealing obamacare, which we badly need. it would probably restore

sanctions on iran, which we badly need. so there is this dilemma. if hillary quentin's president, clinton isry president, we will have a doubling down on all of failed policies that have endangered us around the world and that katie mcginty supports. like a lot of pennsylvanians -- i know because i talked to him -- types of them in a regular basis -- we can't believe that we have these two choices and katie mcginty cannot acknowledgment a single flaw. jim: don't you think your constituents deserve to know if you're going to support the nominee. sen. toomey: i don't think my constituents care all that much. they are going to make their own decision. i think the care much more about whether i've got policies that will help grow this economy, whether i've got policies that will help keep us safe. that is a contrast on which the

will make a decision. ms. mcginty: the senator is in a class of his own on this issue. he is the only person running for united states senate in the entire country who has not leveled with his constituents. here is what i want to share with people here. in philadelphia, the senator will say that he has disagreements with donald trump. but in other parts of the state, what we hear from the senator is how excited he will be to confirm president trump supreme court nominees. in other parts of the state, the senator says he thinks donald trump has put forward incredibly constructive ideas. senator, in politics, the definition of courage and character is doing what is right, even if it costs you votes. sen. toomey: this is televised statewide, katie. i'm sorry if you didn't know that. [laughter] [applause] jim: let's move on. mr. toomey, the first american

has been killed in the campaign to recapture mosul from isis. last year, you appeared to reject president obama's guarantee that the war against isis would never require american boots on the ground beyond our current advisory role. -- "we have to recognize that the u.s. military has capabilities that no one else on the planet has. and if we are going to be successful in this command will this, it will take american presence." gorilla be necessary to send ground forces to fight isis -- is it going to be necessary to send ground forces isis? sen. toomey: i think we do need the men and women who have the capability is that the iraqis don't have. frankly, there should never have been pulled out of iraq and then we might not be in the situation. we need people who can help with low just ask, air-traffic, medical evacuation, technology that the iraqis civilly don't have.

and we must absolutely defeat isis. this iran nuclear deal, which endangers all of us unbelievably, and the katie mcginty fully supports, what iran poses now is a very, very serious nuclear armed, ballistic missile-capable regional threat that runs from afghanistan to the mediterranean. jim: we will talk about that. what i want to know is do you believe that americans should be deployed to the front lines to fight isis at some point? sen. toomey: as i said, i think it is the american contra vision on the ground should be that of -- contribution on the ground should be that of special ops. the bulk ground forces need to come from the kurdish fighters,

sunni arab states that will be necessary to secure the peace afterward. american provide logistics, leadership, and technologically sophisticated capabilities that there don't have. ms. mcginty: it's imperative that we defeat and destroy isis. i believe that means one, and our airstrikes supporting local troops, not our combat troops. i think it means, second, that we have to cut off the financial lifeblood of isis, including their access to oil assets. and third, we have to take them on in cyberspace as well. what's very troubling to me about senator toomey's record is he hasn't shown up for many of the key hearings and meetings. in fact, the senator has missed some 90% of the key committee hearings and meetings on our critical national security issues. when the senator has shown up, his votes have been in the direction that takes down and security instead of enhances security. for example, the senator voting against legislation that moved forward in closing some

loopholes in error visa waiver programs. critical legislation. the senator voted against not once but twice legislation that would close the loopholes that allows terrorists to buy guns in our country. jim: thank you. a question for you on the economy. there is a frightening prospect for something called a new normal in the economy. an economist said that the long-term economic growth in this country could actually settle at 1.5% for years to come. a new normal. that would mean slower economic growth, fewer jobs, workers wages, living standards would increase more slowly or even fall in absolute terms. should you be elected, would -- what would your specific

blueprint the for fighting the new normal? ms. mcginty: i think we need to ensure that people have training, job training and apprenticeship or gram so that we can put people back to work in jobs like rebuilding our infrastructure. it is part of the reason though that we do need to pay people a decent wage and enable people fully to engage in the workforce by helping them with a cost of childcare, for example. that's why senator toomey's proposal holds back economic growth. small businesses are the engine of economic growth and job creation. that's why learning that senator toomey had launched a bank, his bank has foreclosed in predatory behavior against small businesses right here in pennsylvania, killing jobs, hurting those businesses. that senator toomey's own banks practices are considered illegal and predatory in 30 plus states. that is a track record, yes, the senator working for himself and his own profitability.

but he has hurt the small businesses that were creating jobs. sen. toomey: i want to talk about my small business background that i have with my family and how we get this economy going. but i can't let pass -- jim: no, we have to -- sen. toomey: she just said something of shocking hypocrisy. she was talking about a legal device called description of judgment. she has gone on tv attacking me because the bank uses this. those as would taken down today because they're so blatantly dishonest across the state because of the lies in this. it is worse because the fact is, when katie mcginty was the secretary of the dep, she used the exact same divide on their own credit extension. so she has the nerve to attack me for what a bank did, a bank that i was an investor in, when she was using the exact same device herself.

this is what people are disgusted with and politics. when people like katie mcginty will be so hypocritical and just want tell the truth. -- just won't tell the truth. let me get back to the economic -- jim: you run out of time now, sir. [applause] so hopefully, there will be an opportunity. jim: maybe katie will respond as to why she -- jim: here's the problem. i want to ask a question about your role as a member of the banking committee and your equity in the bank and i want to ask a question about your expense with energy and energy in the charges leveled against you. so you have taken time away from an opportunity to answer that question and i don't have time to answer the question on the economy. so maybe you will find a way to put that in later in the debate. mr. toomey, in june of this year, the pennsylvania house approved a bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy

instead of the currently for. the opponents of the bill say it of the current 24. the opponents of the bill say it is necessary to prevent fetuses from feeling pain during abortion. opponents say it is a relentless effort by a republican-controlled legislative body that is 82% male to limit a woman's legal right to an abortion. what do you say? sen. toomey: this is a really tough issue and there are really good people on both sides of this issue. good people that i'm very close to on both sides of this issue. the reason it is tough is because it gets two competing pits two competing values. on the one hand, there's personal autonomy that is important to all of us. on the other hand, it is the sanctity of the human life. when those two class, for me, i come down on the side of life. so i'm pro-life. i accept that under particularly excruciating circumstances like

rape, insist or the life of the mother, there can be exceptions. that is so, tough. there has long been a consensus on a couple of things. one, you don't perform an abortion on a baby that is about to be delivered. a seven-pound baby girl kicking in her baby's womb. by katie mcginty is vertically -- is perfectly fine with that. we don't use taxpayer funding for these abortions because of the difficult of this issue. but again, katie mcginty disagrees with that. jim: thank you. ms. mcginty: i do stand for the right of women to make a incredibly difficult decisions and that are medically complex privately with her family, with her doctor and in conversation with her god. but you know, the senator paints gruesome pictures. i got a call just a couple of weeks ago from a gentleman from

southwestern pennsylvania. that gentleman shared a story that underscores for me this is a decision for parents, for families, not for politicians. the room was painted. the baby furniture was purchased. the teddy bears were purchased. and it was very late in his wife's pregnancy when a terrible condition with the baby was understood. and there had to make an excruciating decision to terminate the pregnancy. so no, this should not be about politics and your position on this has been decidedly out of the mainstream, joining with donald trump in saying that women or their doctors should be jailed for having to make these excruciating decisions. that's not right. jim: thank you very much. [applause] we will take a one minute break. [applause] we will take a one minute break

and we will be back from temple university in 60 seconds. jim: welcome everybody back. we are back live at temple university for the debate between twomey and mcginty, one of the highest profile senate races in the country. we invited our candidates to come off the podium for the segment. one has an one has decided to stay. sen. toomey: i will join you, jim. jim: thank you, sir. we are going to start with a question sent to us on twitter. and we can start with ms. mcginty.

how will you proceed in a future stalemate to fill a supreme court seat like we are right now? ms. mcginty: i would start by doing my job. the constitution says clearly that it is the job of the united states senators to consider, to advise consent on judicial nominees. unfortunately, senator toomey has joined the cabal. the longest extent of time that a nominee has been hanging out without an appropriate hearing. this is not the first time that center to me has been harshly and determinedly partisan about a position that needs to be above politics. not long ago, he single-handedly held up for some 400 days [indiscernible] and recently put president obama

on notice about another nominee, rebecca hayward from allegheny county. the senator won't even meet with her, won't even allow her to proceed toward a hearing. i would do my job. let's get to work. the hearings in the review of these nominees that we're supposed to do. sen. toomey: this is another one of those -- she was a first in her family to go to college stories. i've supported judge -- through the proceedings. this a print core, prior to the passing of justice scalia, was

roughly balanced. -- the supreme court, prior to the passing of justice scalia, was roughly balanced. with his passing, the question arises will the court be imbalanced or will it swing to the left or the right. in the heat of an election, with a new president coming in in just a few mons, this is an opportunity to let the next president decide. that is my judgment. that's exactly what we should do. but i will take a back seat to no one for the work i've done in confirming judges to the federal bench. senator casey and i, working together in the six years i have been in the senate, we confirmed 16 federal judges. 16. those are mostly democrats because that is the nature of the arrangement when there is a democrat in the white house. but i worked with senator casey to recruit, vet and confirm 16 federal judges to the bench. jim: we have some questions from students at temple university. bayer video questions. the first one comes from morgan in boyertown. morgan: college debt is a huge concern of mine and for college students across the nation. how would you plan to reduce student debt? sen. toomey: college debt is a big problem. i grew up in a blue-collar, working-class family.

we couldn't afford the tuition for college. we did what a lot of families do. it was a common nation of hell grants, student loans, and working my way through school. that is how my brothers and sisters and i were able to go to college. i think the accommodation is what makes sense. i supported pell grants and i voted for legislation that would put a cap on student loans. i think it has to be a shared responsability. the most important thing we can do is make sure that a graduating student has great job opportunities. katie mcginty is doubling down on all the failed policies of the obama administration, don't create the kind of opportunities that allow students to have the income to pay off the student debt.

that is something we've got to change. ms. mcginty: it's an interesting story from senator toomey. however, the record is quite different. there are things we can do right now, today, to bring down the cost of college. we got low interest rates. let's let families refinance their outstanding college loans. senator toomey voted no. senator toomey, glad you benefited from pell grant spent however, you agreed to cut $90 billion out of that program. even though your own constituents depend on that program. middle-class families are struggling out there. bipartisan legislation that enabled an extended middle-class tax cuts so that families could afford college, you voted against that critical against that critical legislation. is an important piece of a -- college is an important piece of a neighboring families to have the skills and the opportunities may need.

we can get this done. i worked with senator -- with governor wolf to restore funding. you get more state money. you have to put a lid on the cost of college. jim: our next question comes from eagleton, pennsylvania, a freshman majoring in bioengineering. >> my question for the candidates is the big question we have in this election. how do we make sure that hard-working americans who do their hard work and their fair share will have a job in the future? and how can we make sure that our economy is doing well and that he continues to well for future generations? ms. mcginty: thanks for the question. i think we have huge opportunities out there. i meet with ceos and small businesses and big as this is. may save the need skilled workers today. but we've gotten away from things like job-training and a punisher programs. i would step up and support that. i proudly stand with secretary clinton in saying that community college should be part of the

high school and extended certification and job training experience. i support making community college available, another step that families can afford college. to have those skills, was proud, when i was secretary of environmental protection, to put those skills to work. we produced 3000 jobs in manufacturing. he worked to kill the tax credits to 3000 jobs. follow the money. one of the single biggest recipients of big oil money in the united states congress. sen. toomey: yeah, follow the money. the 3000 jobs katie mcginty brags about his because she because she funneled pennsylvania tax dollars, your money, to a foreign company to set up a subsidiary and the rewarded her handsomely. she became a millionaire by sitting on their board. then she closed up shop.

every pennsylvania worker lost their job. taxpayers lost their money. but it worked great for katie. she became a multimillionaire. that is not how you grown economy. another way you don't grow on economy is by repeatedly raising taxes on the mill class. -- on the middle class. she has raised taxes on the mill class in every position she has had in congress. it was the biggest tax increase since the creation of income tax. the fact is we know lower as we -- the fact is we need to lower taxes. that is what i have been working on since i went into public life. we need to cut back on the crazy overregulation. that will create jobs and get the prosperity we are waiting for. [applause] jim: john harris is a freshman here and majoring in secondary education. john: what are you going to do to bring green energy to the state of pennsylvania rather than focusing solely on fossil fuel energy?

sen. toomey: my view on energy is whatever makes economic sense is what we are to have. if it makes economic sense to have windmills. and in some parts of the country, it actually does. then that is what we have to do. but katie mcginty's strategy is to use massive taxpayer subsidies to subsidize inefficient sources of energy that just make no economic sense. that makes us poorer as a country. even all the upfront cash isn't enough to keep them going. she wants you to have to continue an ongoing subsidy to these companies. it's called the wind production tax credit, the forces your tax dollars to go to people who cannot produce energy efficiently. taxpayers lose. the economy loses. everyone in pennsylvania has a higher electric bill thanks to katie mcginty because she forces -- when she was the epa secretary, to buy expensive sources of energy. that doesn't make sense. as technology advances, we will

have the ability to generate ever more electricity from the sun, from the wind. as that happens, it will be available and we will buy it. but in the meantime, we should stick to low-cost energy. jim: thank you. ms. mcginty: it's interesting that the senator should say that these companies need to make it on their on when he is one of the biggest defenders of billions of dollars every year of tax breaks to big oil. i don't know about you, but i think exxon mobil can afford to pay a few bucks in taxes. as his whole campaign has been, based on things that independent fact checkers have repeatedly chastised the senator because his ads have been untrue, false, misleading. here's the real tax record for senator to me. so far out of the mainstream, senator toomey has said repeatedly that his view is that the answer is that we eliminate all corporate taxes.

it is a 473 billion-dollar giveaway to his buddies in big business. they've rewarded him handsomely as he is one of the single largest recipients of cash from them. but who pays the bill? the senator's would increase taxes on new class families by $3000 a year. even as he has voted against tax cuts for middle income families and for college. jim: thank y