their party. this is not the republican party of your father. i will be told, i cannot do it, joe. i cannot get it done. what i am looking what i am looking for in both parties is women and men who have the courage of conviction's who tell me what they want to do and not be influenced by special interests. [cheers and applause] biden: and i mean that. , i learnedgentlemen a long time ago what jason knows intuitively, when i first got to the senate after i got elected, my wife and daughter were killed. i got elected november 7 and i got a phone call from washington saying a tractor-trailer

broadsided the car my family was in and killed my baby daughter, boysed my wife, and my two were not likely to make it. i did not want to go to that senate, but because of guys, and i mean this sincerely, because of these guys, they convinced me, just come and stay six months. just help us organize. because i did not think i could be a father and senator at the same time. and i used to go over to senator mansfield's office every tuesday at 3:00. i'm the first united states senator i ever knew. so, i did not notknow senators did not get assignments from the majority leader, but after about four months, i

realized he was just taking my pulse to see how i was doing, to see if i was ok. one day a walked onto the senate floor and a guy named jesse with a republican bob dole, who is still my best friend, as long as teddy kennedy. they were writing a thing called the americans with disabilities act. [cheers and applause] >> and i was angry. and because i had to go to this meeting, it was in may, with the leader, i did not stop and say something. i walked into mansfield's office, is the point of the story. i walked into his office and i guess i looked like i was very angry and he said, "what is the matter, joe?" i unloaded on jesse helms. i said he does not care about

the disabled and he has no social values. pipe out ofcorncob his mouth and said, "what would you say if i told you that in christmas of 1969, this was 1973, jesse and dot helms were reading the observer and there was an advertisement for a young man with braces up to his hips saying, steel crutches, all they want for christmas is somebody to love me and take me home?" "what would you say if i told you that jesse adopted that man?" i said, "i would feel like a fool." it is never appropriate to question another man's motive, because he don't

know the motive. what is happening today in washington is all about motive. if you do not disagree, you are a bad person. jason gets it. he gets what this country is about. we have gone from crisis to recovery to resurgence. now it is time to restore the middle class. it is the single most significant responsibility we have as a nation. and that -- [cheers and applause] know when you read the press, they call me "middle class joe." that is not a compliment in washington. i am pretty darn sophisticated about how we become who we are. it is because the thing that has held this country together, not just economically, but socially and pu politically, has been a rising middle class.

whenever there is a crisis around the world, there has been chaos, but not here because there has been a promise that existed here. if you do well, if you play by the rules, there is a basic bargain. if you help the enterprise you work for do well, then you do well. well, that bargain has been broken. it has been broken. and ladies and gentlemen, in the process, not only did jason get that the middle class has been hammered. he gets it is not just our economic standing, but our dignity. mty dad had a saying, ever since we moved from scranton, since we moved from scranton, pennsylvania when there was no work down to claymont, delaware. he said, remember, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. it is about your dignity, your self-respect, about your place

in your community. many people, and so has jason and so have you, here in missouri, stripped of their jobs and dignity through no fault of their own. it's about being able to send your kids to a park, and knowing they will be safe. it is about being able to send your kid to a local high school and if they do well, they will get into college and if they do well in college, he will figure out how in god's name to get them there. [cheers and applause] >> but it is also about the community. i was a pretty good athlete in high school and college. i had scholarships to go and play ball. there was one school i wanted to go to. it only gave grants. it did not give scholarships.

it was a small school in new england, but it cost a lot of money. they gave me a grand, but i still could not make it. my dad was trying to figure out how to get me there. my dad ran an automobile shop. one thing about having a debt around in an automobile agency if you always have got a new car for the prom. [laughter] >> in mid-may after a baseball game we had in little town called claymont, i drove 20 miles down to the dealership. i had my uniform on, miky spikes off, i had my 1951 plymouth i bought. i got out of the car and ran into the showroom and said, mary, where is dad? my dad was a graceful man. i walked out this two story. he was pacing back-and-forth. he looked up and saw me and

said, joey, i'm so sorry. this was before cell phones. i thought maybe something had happened to my mom or sister or two sisters. he said, i went to the bank today to borrow money to get you to school. they won't lend me the money, honey. i am so damn ashamed, joey. not only was there no way for me to borrow money at a reasonable rate to get to school, my father's dignity was stripped from him because he looked at a kid who he thought could go to this very competitive school and there was no way he could get him there. there is nothing worse for a parent than looking at their child with a health problem or an opportunity, knowing they can't help. jason and i grow up 1000 miles apart and decades apart, but we grew up in the same neighborhood. we were taught the same values. in scranton, people worked hard.

we went to school in a steel town, and watched the industry die. but i watched my neighbors with a grim determination get up off their backs and fight. and in my neighborhood, you were taught that anything was possible. it could become anything you wanted. what bothers me most about some of the people in politics today is they think the only people who are well-educated have money, have dreams. in my neighborhood, we had the same dreams that any wealthy kid did in any other neighborhood. [cheers and applause] i was taught like jason that i am every man's equal and i am not superior to every man or woman, but i am every man's equal. and may the most important, my dad's mantra was, everybody is entitled to be treated with dignity, the same pride and

respect. dad, mymight add, my dad used to say, i don't expect the government to solve my problems, but god, i expect them to understand my problems. i am not looking for a handout. i just want you to understand what it is and give me a fair shake. ladies and gentlemen, the fact of the matter is that jason's opponent, and a lot of people i work with in washington, don't understand what a fair shake means. look, does anybody out there think that this generation of young people can make it on 12 years of education in the 21st century? what do you think? guys, look. i did this study for the president.

what are the jobs of the future? right now, six out of 10 jobs require something more than a high school degree. workede guy or woman who manually, that same guy who threw coal into a furnace to capacityl as the full to be able to understand technology, work with a machine that builds full or panels -- that builds solar panels, but they need a little help. they need to be retrained. [cheers and applause] >> but the other team does not think that is something government should do. that is not something government showed do. they kind of think that maybe, the neighborhood i come from we are not capable. but you listen to jason's opponent, all of a sudden, guess what? we are all from the middle class now. isn't it amazing.

the boys have seen the lord. it is amazing. [laughter] >> they are all for education now. they are all for opportunity, for child care for women who have to go out and work. they are for all these things we have been talking about. they say they value them. dad has another expression. there is so much to say and i don't want to keep you. when somebody would come up to my dad and say, joe, let me tell you what i value. he would say, don't tell me what you value. show me your budget and i will tell you what you value. show me your budget and i will tell you what you value. [applause] >> let's take a look at the other team's budget. they cut and they voted on this

on six occasions in the house. $6.7cut education by billion a year. we didn't let that happen. we have the highest graduation rates in the history of america now. more hispanics, more blacks graduated from schools. [cheers and applause] cut calwanted to grants. that is a fancy word for saying, makes lesso than $50,000 a year can get a cal grant. it has but 9 million kids in college. [applause] the budget was cut medicaid.

by almost $1 billion. social security to be privatized. guys, look how well maastricht did with other people's money. give them all the money -- guys look how well wall street did with other people's money. give them all the money from other people's funds. medicare. they have a fancy word. it is called voucherizing it. that means you get a hell of a lot less. tell that to your mom or dad who got the pension taken away from them. folks, jason knows, he knows, what real people are concerned about. ow you one example. let's go back to education for a minute. folks, i love my republican

colleagues in particular. some democrats. who talk about, we are all for productivity and growth, right? that is what we are for. we are not as big spending democrats. we are for productivity and growth. well, ladies and gentlemen, what do you think we have? a collective senate amnesia as to how the hell we got where we got? [applause] >> as we say in my old neighborhood, they are full of malarkey. here is the deal. let me give you another example. when ronald reagan was president, there were a total of about $800 billion in tax loopholes, ok? some good. there are some reasons for tax

loopholes. there are some reasons for tax loopholes. they call them tactics managers. there are reasons for them. one, to promote a social good, to get people to be able to own their homes. that is why in your first time you are able to deduct your interest rate from your mortgage. it encourages stability. they never say anything about the second, third, and fourth home. two, it is designed to get you to take a chance. you have a great idea and you are willing to risk it all. it generates when you do it, a great social good. a grows the economy. you should pay less taxes. we should encourage you to take risks. but ladies and gentlemen, now you know how much a year is not collected because of tax loopholes, $1,300,000,000,000. find me a single economist in the world that can justify that any more than 600 billion of that to $700 billion of that generates economic growth. when jason and i say, 12 years every enough, if we had

community college student able to go to community college free, assuming they went to community college and all their credits were transferable to a four yea r state university, that would increase growth by 0.2% a year. that is over $1 trillion in 10 years. growth in the economy. million go from 6 students to 9 million students in committee colleges. -- we would go from 6 million students to 9 million students in community colleges. a year to6 billion make sure everybody could go to community college for free if they keep a b average. that is a lot of money.

there go those democrats again. remember i told you about that $1.3 trillion in tax loopholes? --and just eliminated one by the way, i am one of these guys who think rich folks are just as patriotic as poor fo lks. eliminate one loophole, it is called stepped up basis. if you go back on google with my financial disclosure, you will find the first time i did my financial disclosure as vice president, the "washington post," said, it is probable that no man has ever us in the office of vice president with fewer assets than joe biden. [laughter] >> my family was not so thrilled with that. i would never own stock or bonds

for fear of a conflict of interest. i have kept my promise all these years, unfortunately for my family. but here is the deal, guys. [cheers and applause] joe biden: i did not know what stepped up basis is. if somebody goes out and has the wherewithal to purchase $1 million worth of stock, five years later it accrues to $2 million and they are going to sell it, they have to pay a capital gain which is less than their tax rate on that $1 million gain. but if god forbid, you are hit by a truck and pass away and it gets left to the child, and they sell at the very next day, they pay no tax whatsoever. they make up .4% of the taxpayers.

they are already very wealthy. the last thing they need is another made up tax break beyond the one their parent had. but you know how much that costs the treasury every year? billion every year is not collected the otherwise should have been collected. i ask you, in terms of productivity and growth, fairness and equity, is it better to put 9 million kids in community college for free, cutting in half their four four years of education, or give another $17 billion tax cut. i can pay for every single, solitary kid in school and eliminate $11 billion from the debt. [cheers and applause] joe biden: i mean, i might be a lot older man, that we are the same. we have the same state of mind

here. folks, all we want is just a little bit of fairness. just an even shot. let me conclude by saying that, you know, when i was that 29-year-old kid, everybody talked about me as the idealistic, young senator who was so optimistic. i can say, i give you my word as a biden, i am more optimistic today about america's chances than i ever have been in my whole life. ladies and gentlemen, remember some of you older folks out there remember back in the late 1980's when japan was going to eat our lunch and own america. i remember going to the university of pennsylvania and debating someone from one of the conservative think tanks, and saying there was no possibility of that happening. anybody worried about japan right now?

ladies and gentlemen, then we heard about how the european , with 384 million people a juggernaut of economic power, was going to eat our lunch. ladies and gentlemen, raise your hand if you are worried the competition is from the eu? i want them both to do better because we need the world economy to grow. and now you hear from these guys about how china is going to own us. ladies and gentlemen, china does not have enough energy, or enough water. they have a $2 trillion project to turn around the two major rivers to flow on the plain to provide water for the vast majority of their population. they have real problems. we want them to grow for stability. but ladies and gentlemen, as i say, the rest of the world is in a patch on our jeans terms of our economic

capability. naming a product that has revolutionized the world. name me a new technology that was not made in america. name me on. [cheers and applause] joe biden: folks, it is time we lift our heads up, understand who we are. americans never bend. we never bow. we never break. we are resilient. we always get up. we never fail. that is who we are. that is what we do. that is what he understands. ladies and gentlemen, let's get up. it is time to take back this country. god bless you all, and may god protect our troops. go get them! [cheers and applause]

♪ >> our campaign 2016 coverage continues next with a look at some senate debates.

first, the race in illinois between republican senator mark tammy duckworth. then, chuck schumer faces long. then, a debate from earlier this evening in kentucky. > c-span's "washington journal," live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. tuesday morning, former justice department prosecutor talks about the hillary clinton e-mail investigation. and the recent actions by james comey and other investigators looking into the case. then, patrick merrick, director of the political communications center at the university of oklahoma talks about the history of political advertising and where it is today.

and jason roberts, associate professor at the university of north carolina at chapel hill, talking about north carolina's role as a key battleground state. march "washington journal," live beginning at 7:00 a.m. eastern tuesday morning. join the discussion. ask in newation you president, with america have its first foreign born first lady since louise adams, or will we have a former president as first gentleman? learn more about the influence from america's presidential spouses. gives readers a look into the personal lives and in fact of every first lady -- lives and impact of every first lady in american history. it features interviews with the nation's first ladies and historians. fromve archival photos their lives.

paperback is," in now available at your favorite bookstore, and also as an e-book. >> republic senator mark kirk is running against democratic congresswoman tammy duckworth. they met recently at the university of illinois in springfield to debate veterans issues, immigration, education, health care and other topics. this is one hour and 20 minutes. good evening at the university of illinois springfield. i am the moderator of tonight's debate and anchor of news channel 20. welcome to tween the debate between mark kirk and tammy duckworth. this debate is 90 minutes long and is cosponsored by the university of illinois springfield and news channel 20. we asked the audience to please stay silent throughout the debate as he want to give all

the time and attention to the candidate's answers. we ask you to applaud now. we begin with the incumbent, mark kirk. [applause] >> and please welcome democratic congresswoman, tammy duckworth. [applause] >> and now, let's meet our panelists. bernie schoenburg. [applause] andim leach, the news program director. amadaeus.n have [applause] >> now, both candidates have agreed to the following rules. we will ultimately who speaks first. the first candidate to respond look at 60 seconds and the

second candidate will get 90 seconds to respond and then 30 seconds of rebuttal for the first candidate. we begin our debate with 92nd opening statements and after the coin toss after the debate, senator kirk will go first. >> i would ask that the people of illinois sent me that for another six-year term so i continue giving the bipartisan service to the state that includes my record of saving the export-import bank of the united states, which is responsible for over 40,000 jobs here in illinois. i would say that i have laid the groundwork for making sure we have some of the best environmental protections to protect the source of the drinking water for 30 million americans.

ip. duckworth: you know, as traveled the state, i see so many working families like mine. my dad was laid off in his 50's. so many working families here the economy is getting better but they see the economy shutting down. people getting laid off. to go tog and trying college. i am fighting for working families that are just trying to catch a break. can toto do what they get ahead to make sure their kids have a better life than themselves. means we need to work to get jobs here instead of overseas. we need to make sure working

families trying to catch a break, if they are not willing to give up on themselves, we should not give up on them either. i want to fight for everyday hard-working illinois families that just want to make sure that their children past lives are better than their own and frankly they don't see that right now. they do not see that future in front of them the way they did when they were growing up and they felt they had a better life than their parents. send me to the united states senate. i will work hard every day for the working families of the state. i know what it is like because my family went through it. i went to it. they can. therator: a question from panelists, first will be answered by congresswoman duckworth. thank you. political reality says either hillary clinton or donald trump will be the next president. given factors like wikileaks and access hollywood, which of those do think is better to the president and how will you work

with them if you're elected? senator rep. duckworth: it is clear hillary clinton is one of the most qualified nominees and our nation's recent history. i voted yesterday for her. regardless of who is president of the united states, we need to work together across the aisle to do things like having a hearing for the nominees of the nominees for the supreme court. we need to make sure we work to bring jobs back here to the united states, to our hometowns. to illinois. get thewe can government working again is to make sure we put aside partisanship. we put aside anger. the work on the things most important to us. both hillary and donald truly do love america. moderator: thank you.

sen. kirk: i have served as the glue between republicans and democrats. you are as partisan as my opponent, i worry she will go to war. republicans, you cannot get anything done in the senate. . we have to make sure we do criminal -- criminalize. -- we have to make sure we criminalize gun violence. moderator: rebuttal if you so choose. duckworth: the first act i passed was a bipartisan bill to help veterans with mental health issue. i am cosponsoring,

whether it is college affordability or bills to cut down gun violence, arrow bipartisan. you move ahead by working together. i intend to do that. respond tosen. kirk: the next question first. tosenator kirk, you point 2012 stroke and question whether you're up to the job. not the physical effects whether it may have contributed to controversial comments. can you explain where you are in your recovery physically and mentally and how you will handle the rigors? sen. kirk: when you suffer something as difficult as a stroke you are going to fight fight fight for the people. moderator: is a senator's self a legitimate issue in the race? rep. duckworth: no. sen. kirk: we agree on one more core point.

we believe the next governor should use a -- [laughter] duckworth: i think the senator's perfectly capable of doing his job. my concern is he is not doing his job. he met with american garland but nothing has happened. it is october. i wonder about a senator who calls the president a drug dealer in chief or back in 2007 he said one of the best things we can do to combat illegal immigration from mexico is to send contraceptives free to mexico. these are not solutions that help and frankly even his recent vote, he voted against the equal pay act for women and called it the most sexist legislation ever. he voted against allowing

students to refinance student loan debt and trouble to china and told chinese not to invest in america because we're not a good bet. these are not a hallmark of a person who is looking out for the people of illinois. the people need someone to fight for them every day. let me to you something, when i met was still workers in granite city laid off two days after christmas they did not want to hear that there senator had gone to china and told the chinese not to invest in america. they wanted a senator to bite for them every day. i will be that person because i've lived their lives. i have lived on food stamps. i'm still paying a student loan debt. i know what that is like. we need a senator who does his job. sen. kirk: i would say, when we talked about drug dealers that i the 400 mane dollars ransom payment the president made in cash to the iranians even after he certified they are the state sponsor of terror.

drug deal words are not mine, they are the words of the european union. remember the european union canceled the printing of the 500 euro note because they said most dothe $400 million -- if you the math, 800,500 euro notes were in that payment. they canceled the printing of the 500 euro note because -- and this is quoting directly, the note was too involved in the drug dealing there. congresswoman duckworth will answer first next. >> you are facing a lawsuit right now from former employees who worked under you when you are director of the department of veterans affairs, they claim there was retaliation after claims of corruption and abuse were brought to light. you claim this is politically motivated. why should voters trust you can be an advocate for veterans after that? duckworth:: by the time i woke up in my hospital bed in

walter reed i have been working on veterans issues. i met on-senator barack obama who is on the veterans affairs committee and i was calling him senator durbin saying, you're not doing right. you need to do more. everyday i wake up i look in the mirror and i do what i can for veterans. i will always honor the sacrifices my buddies made to save my life. i will continue to work on my programs. ending better and homelessness. greater outreach to female veterans. i started the only veterans for metal health hotline. even before the ba had theirs. i open up the ovens for online communications do outreach to young veterans. you know, veterans are my life work. i will never leave my veterans behind because my buddies did not leave me behind. i am not going to let political stuff stop me from doing what i truly feel is my calling. taking care of my veterans.

>> senator kirk, his is a political stunt? sen. kirk: no. i would say the record of my opponent and serving veterans is really questionable. we see right in the front row quiteeveral who have been critical of you. not in my words, their words. people who directly serve you. to make sure, after 22 years of service in the veterans administration, she spoke up when the director of the facility went down to the public ask anybodyfice to who wanted to work for veterans and eight convicted felon was invited and even after being convicted. toreduced that veteran tears. these brave women said, we cannot let this person into the -- into the veterans

administration and they should be commended and applauded not crushed. you fire them directly just because they said you were doing badly. i think that should not have been done. rep. duckworth: you know, senator, you and i both know that is not true. it has been blown out at least two times. sen. kirk: let's not lie. the lawsuit has not been thrown out. the plaintiffs are right here. i just met with him this afternoon. they said they rejected the settlement. get myckworth:: do i time now? sen. kirk: when you're lying you do not get your time. -- roe: rep. duckworth:: reclaiming my time. been thrown up. sen. kirk: the litigants are right here. it is important not to lie

directly to the people. >> let's give the congresswoman a chance and we will never be in a moment. duckworth:: as i said, the less it been thrown out of court two times daily. it has been settled. of the deleted settlement. as i said, again, i am proud of my record for veterans will stop i will not let the threat of lawsuits or political commercials keep me from doing right for veterans. from the first woke up in walter reed, i have been working for veterans. they are my life's work. you can threaten to sue me as much as you want but if you do not do your job and you are a government employee, i will come after you. moderator: thank you. let's move on. -- kirk: >> senator kirk, you have committed past mistakes.

including your admission you may not have been shot at while flying in intelligence missions over iraq and an overstatement of the case when you said you commanded the pentagon war room. as evidenced by your news conference with these women today, their statements about bad treatment of patients, veterans issues are a key part in this race. given this, what would you say to voters concerned about your past misstatements. : my pastirk misstatements have been small and salvage and i only have myself, i did not a lot of who hadike my opponent veterans die while waiting on the waiting list. if you would like to know the people who witnessed that, they are right here. duckworth: [chuckling]

i am proud of the fact that we added beds. perhaps folks in chicago do not pay as much attention to what happens down in central illinois and further down south in southern illinois, but it was important to open those 80 beds to take a veterans here in central illinois said they had a place to go because there were long waiting list. i think with the people of illinois needs is a senator who will work with them. was going to serve them. was going to get up everything within work to make sure that working families have a shot at the american dream and they can also stand by our veterans. one of the problems we have this country is that when we send our troops to war, we don't talk about the fact that we will be caring for those veterans for the next 60 years, if we're lucky. that is a cost of war that should be talking about. and if you send me to the united states senate, i will be there everything will they remind my colleagues that when you go to work and make these decisions, we are making a lifelong

commitment to our veterans. that is why we need to make sure when they come home of jobs for them. that is why we have to make sure they do not and upon the streets. the very same streets they defendant. which is why i worked on homeless veterans. something need to remember, women are veterans to. they are my life's work and i will be doing this long after i served in government and as long as i'm breathing, i will advocate for my vets. mr. leach: 30 seconds, if you choose. sen. kirk: i'm very honored that as the chairman of the v.a. subcommittee i put together the pending legislation in the history of the country. 71 point $5 billion to take care of the 25 million veterans in this country. in my work i was able to put together the naval hospital

along with the north chicago veterans administration. because of this joint facility, i would argue that it is now the best country. if you look at that, looking at the corruption out there, you have the department -- i didn't have problems ever, like my opponent had when the inspector general of the veterans administration went after her when she wasted one .5 minute dollars on a treatment program to make sure that the outreach could be there. mr. leach: that's time. sen. kirk: no one showed up for her program. mr. leach: thank you, senator. jim? mr. leach: i want to move from veterans issues to act of duty military. as america battles is as america battles is modest -- as america idols the islamic state, -- battles the islamic state do you support the , increased use of american boots on the ground in places like iraq and syria? what would your strategy be for the defeat of isis? rep. duckworth: they are an enemy of the united states. they are butchers and they are criminals. i support the use of drones and some smart airstrikes.

but i do not support further sending american troops to foreign lands to fight isis a must the american people have authorized it. one of the problems that we have are now as american troops overseas that americans don't know about. do you know that there are 5000 americans on the ground in iraq right now supporting? it's an important job at the american people need to know about. the men and women in uniform new to have the full support of the american people behind them. i want to make sure that our allies do their part. their policy is part of a creative isis in the first place. all of our allies should be

taking the lead in that will be my focus. >> thank you. 90 seconds, senator kirk. sen. kirk: the best way is to use iraqi troops with boots overground. serving with the air force of the iraqi government. as they move, i hope when they enter pockets of the opposition, the united states will be taken care of. easiest with islamic troops that speak arabic from the area, i think that with the current policies that is it. >> congresswoman? rep. duckworth: i think he just called for the use of more united states air force. over these areas and my concern there is that having been a down behind enemy lines fighting for my life, i know when you send additional aircraft you also need additional pathfinders on the ground. you need additional search and rescue on the ground and logistics if we're going to do that. it's not a decision that congress can make on its own or the the administration can make

on its own. we need to do this with the full knowledge of the american people on the decision we think we need to do. >> this will be senator kirk, first to respond to jordan's question. >> last week and the army sergeant was killed by enemy forces and couple. u.s. a stark reminder that foreign policy in middle east continues to have effect on america. isis is not our only problem. what do you think the american influence should be in the middle east. sen. kirk: there's a long-term policy to support the elected government of iraq, to make sure that we do it the troops overground. i understand you need people who are called j-pack to hit the right target.

i think that is the best way to do it with a minimal united .tates force i have not heard that. tammy, you oppose the president's policy? i did not know that. >> congresswoman? rep. duckworth: the u.s. needs to have a leadership role in the middle east. we must force allies to do their job. holding the iraqis accountable. bite --ing the right -- and leading the fight in mosul is incredibly important. other allies need to step up. these are some of the greatest fighters i've had the privilege to witness. our turkish and nato allies, attacking them from the rear. we need to hold them accountable. this is where we exert influence but don't need to be sending troops over there right away. any type of engagement that we participate in, for example,

removal ofclude the assad. he is a butcher who has killed and murdered scores of innocent people. we cannot do that on our own. i want to be in the senate. my family has served this nation in uniform. i have bled for this nation. i still want to be there in the senate when the drums of war sound because people are quick to sound the drums of war. i want to be there to say, this is what it costs. this is what it takes to do. let's make sure the american people understand what we are engaging and and let us hold our allies accountable because we cannot do it all. >> three seconds to rebut. sen. kirk: i forgot that your parents came all the way from thailand to serve george washington. >> moving on to the third

question. congresswoman duckworth, first respond. mr. schoenburg: you are welcome to take some time if you would like to respond to that, too. rep. duckworth: members of my family have been serving in uniform going back to the revolution. if you go to mount vernon, illinois, you will see a statue put up by the daughters of the revolution next to molly pitcher, one of the first women to pick up her husband and take her husband's position during the revolution. i'm proud of both my father's side and my mother's who is an immigrant. she became an american citizen in her 50's and i am proud of that. mr. schoenburg: let me get to my question, here. to congresswoman duckworth, the u.s. allowed over 20,000 syrian refugees into the country in the past year. during the past year, in including the correct number, if any, in jordan those alternative

locations are in war-torn syria. there was some regret after world war ii that more refugees from the nazis admitted to the united states. should that color how we look at policy towards refugees now? rep. duckworth: what should color our opinions are the values in the constitution, the bill of rights, and what we stand for. frankly we are not a nation that turns our back on children drowning in the mediterranean. we do not turn our back on families that are fleeing pictures. we need to deal with the directors of the fbi, cia, and homeland security say we need to do, which is invest more money in the refugees who are coming here. but once they are here we should embrace them because what makes america great is the

diversity. i witnessed doing right by the vietnamese boat people after vietnam and i think we can do better. and moree can lead importantly, i am not going to leave people to grow up in refugee camps to grow up to be the next generation of insurgents shoot down american helicopters like the one that shot me down. we are endangering americans when we say that we would turn our back on the weakest and vulnerable and do not uphold the values that we espouse. and yes, the values that my family fought to establish in the revolution. sen. kirk: i would say that there is a big difference between congresswoman duckworth and i on syrian refugees. i would note that the director of the fbi, james comey, said he cannot support fbi agents throughout the syrian war to collect intelligence on all the refugees. they have also said there is no database to check these people. congresswoman is going to tell

you something about how the administration got on top of their guys and said, you have got to say that there is. haveven these brave people said there is no database to check against the syrian refugees. recommendhe policy i is similar to the policy the president adopted with regarding iraqi refugees. when they found the refugees in bowling green, kentucky, were leading an effort to become a terror cell, the president wisely decided andelay the iraqi program find out more about these people. it's basic common sense. we should know who's entering the united states. especially after 9/11. rep. duckworth: i will quote the various newspapers who have said the senator is misquoting the fbi director. he actually said that we can fully vet the refugees, with homeland security and the department of state for

vetting refugees. but more importantly, one of isis's biggest tools in propaganda on the internet tells the world that america hates islam and we will turn our backs on people from islamic countries. and we simply cannot feed into that by turning our backs on people just because of their religion. and we can do better, we can do more, but we cannot turn back on who we are. >> thank you to both candidates. we have reached the first breaking point in the debate. let's take a brief timeout. we will be back in just a moment. stay with us. >> welcome back to the 2016 senate debate. congresswoman tammy duckworth, senator mark kirk. our second segment with a special block of questions from students that have written these questions themselves. we begin with will, a senior here, political science major and student ambassador. will, your question? will: i'm the son, nephew,

cousin of current and retired police officers. a young, african-american male myself, i'm conflicted everyday with the problems between the the officersty and that serve and protect our community every day. what do you believe you can do as a senator to help resolve this problem. moderator: we begin with congresswoman duckworth. rep. duckworth: thank you so much. i was the first candidate who put out a criminal justice reform plan. i think we need to include a multiple of things, including getting rid of mandatory minimums for nonviolent first time offenders. let's take a look at those. they are actually used to intimidate people into having records for the rest of their lives that they don't deserve. they need a second chance. i also think we need to work on gun violence legislation. equally important, we need to work on economic justice.

what we see in black and brown communities is a lack of economic opportunity, and when you are in that kind of despair it's hard to look ahead. i want to say that this will take a lot of work. from all aspects. it's not a single issue problem, but we have to look at it economically. and we have to make sure that we will look at the community itself. sen. kirk: i would say i have been quite critical of the ferguson police department and think they are too militarized. when you train local police as in french read they begin to regard the taxpayers and voters on the other side of the street as the enemy and that is an inappropriate civil military relationship. i hope we always remind the place that the people on the

other side of the street are voters and taxpayers and not the enemy. moderator: rebuttal? rep. duckworth: my opponent recently met with police officers from other jurisdictions and said the office lacks the capability to improve police community relationships. i think that's the wrong position. i think we need to build capacity and improve. there are things that can be done on more grants for community groups to make sure that you improve those relationships. i promise you that if you elect me to the united states senate, not only will we make sure that we have the capability, we will make sure that we take a leadership role in improving those relationships across the country. adam: thank you, congresswoman. our next question will be answered by senator kirk and comes from breanna rodriguez, a freshman here and member of the leadership for life organization.

breanna: my grandparents came to the u.s. legally, 37 years ago. my mother is a first-generation immigrant who came to the u.s. seeking a better future for their children. even though they studied and dreamed along my side. they were the dreamers, the ones that loved this great nation as much as i. that their parents fought so hard for. what is your position on immigration reform, specifically as it relates to the dreamers who love this nation as their own? sen. kirk: [speaking spanish] i have voted for comprehensive immigration reform. the kirk amendment is part of top transit immigration reform

bills aimed at the military. if you get a combat infantry badge that shows you are under fire, you automatic become united states citizen under the principle. if you fight alongside us, you are one of us. it is not just a pathway, it is a rocket path. that is important to bring the support. to bring the 525,000 people who are undocumented and the state out of the shadows. to lay down permanent roots. to build a new life for their families knowing they will not be deported. we have time to rebut we will give you time. 90 seconds, congresswoman duckworth. rep. duckworth: i fully support it. you need to make sure it is practical and fair and also that it is humane. separating families like the way my family was separated when we moved back to the states when i -years-old.

my mom could not come with us. she was not a citizen. they were separated for six months. it was a to have time. i can only imagine what it is like to be six-years-old and you are thrown into the foster care system. it has to be practical. donald trump's idea of building a wall and making the country of mexico pay for it is not going to work. it has to be there. those that come here illegally should go to the end of the lot -- illegally, pay fines, fees, and penalties, and work towards citizenship. i think that immigrants make the nation stronger. we have passed comprehensive reform. the study show that as much as $1 trillion to our economy over 10 years will be the benefit of having immigration reform. i have also written legislation in the house that has to do with -- it would allow kids that don't want to go to college but who enlist in the military, as soon as they enlist

in the military they get permanent status and when they serve a full enlistment, they then get a permanent residency status. the problem with my opponent's idea is that the combat infantry man badge is only available to men in the infantry. only recently were women allowed to serve. they are leaving out 60% of the population. adam: thank you, congresswoman. sen. kirk: one of the reasons i endorsed donald trump is when he said the mexican american judge that was in charge of the trump university case could not possibly render a fair decision because of his mexican-american heritage. i did not endorsed donald trump because that showed he did not understand the basic idea behind the whole concept of americanism. to give everything for the country. donald trump did not even understand that and that is why de-endorsed him for president.

>> testing has shown that students have fallen behind on median standards set in the program. what is your position on common core? what do you think the government can do to improve public education? adam: congresswoman? rep. duckworth: i think there is a lot that the federal government can do. i am proud to have voted toward the law changing the rules that came under no child left behind. i think that one of the problems we had was common core. it's important to have a standard across the nation. i mean, i want to a young person graduating from louisiana having as good of an understanding as breanna does. but we need to make sure also that there is local and put. i think at the federal level we example.ead by

when i heard that it was going to be cut across the board in terms of funding with students for special needs, i cut back my own pay. i turned back $10,000 of my own pay. a handful of us did it. i can tell you that my -- the senator did not do that. it does not matter. it is about making sure we live up to what we say we're going to do in terms of leadership. adam: senator kirk, you have 90 seconds. sen. kirk: i do not support common core. i have strongly backed for funding for the special education program under the idea act. i have groundbreaking legislation to encourage the schools that want to to go to all of your schedules in the state of illinois. we have a number of all-year schools in chicago. those schools with the same number of minority kids will outperform the other schools with an all-year schedule.

you can expand the academic calendar so we have just as many schooldays as kids in other countries. rep. duckworth: investment in our education is just as important as investment in our military. in fact, i think that our competitors on the global scale -- germany, japan, south korea, they are making these investments and we are not even investing in the buildings, let alone our children. we can do better. that is why i think if we have problems with common core, we can change the things we need to change, but let's get more input from the educators in the local communities. there is some flexibility there. he will support on a federal level. adam: the final question comes from nathan, a political science major. he is also the student trustee illinoisiversity of board of trustees.

nathan: how can the federal government work with students to pursue a secondary education such as a community college that is more affordable. do support those urges congressman rodney davis that would afford college graduates the same opportunity to pay off their student loan? sen. kirk: there is a key difference between me and my opponent. my opponents primary spending plan is to offer stuff like free college. when the chicago tribune asked her how much her plan cost, she did not even know would cost $60 billion. remember, it only costs $60 billion. duckworth: i think college education is critically important to our nation's future. i went to college on student loans, programs, and waitressing.

we leave people behind and leave our nation behind if we don't invest in college. it does not cause people a dime to reduced in her loan debt and to make american kids start up their post-education careers with 30,000, 40,000, $60,000 in debt they are not saving toward their mortgage. my opponent voted against allowing students to refinance loan debt. that is just a giveaway to the big banks. it is why i introduced the into the red act. i do not think of free college is a giveaway. we will pay for it by closing tax loopholes at the top 1%. we make companies to send jobs overseas pay taxes for doing that. let's invest in our kids and communities. when i travel around the state, does not matter where i am. their place are worried about where they can send their kids to school. globalot compete on a scale. when we asked manufacturers,

what is the one thing keeping you from expanding your market share duea? lack of a trained workforce. we're mortgaging our future. afford to do that. i do not think it is a giveaway, a handout, or an entitlement it is an investment in a future. crack senator, you have 30 seconds to rebut. sen. kirk: she wants to spend more in tax war. i want to spend less and tax less to make sure we can fix this economy. when you do not even know how much her signature spending program costs, it is an example of everything that is wrong with washington. we as citizens of illinois have a duty to protect the people of this country from the kind of economics that is going to collapse the economy. we have got to make sure we run our government and a way that there is no financial graft. students: thank you

for your questions. we now move to the panelists. congresswoman, you will be first to respond. >> the obama administration generated controversy with federal roles requiring schools to let transgender synergies restaurants and locker rooms that correspond with their gender identity. what should federal law mandate regarding protection for individuals with transgender? >> we should protect all transgender. both on sexual identity and orientation. this is something i have been working on in my house district. we have a young transgender change ino wanted to the girls locker room and she was afraid to change in the boy's because you is afraid of being bullied. the students, and the girls parents and the school and the department of education which has guidelines came to an agreement to resolve the situation.

the problem is, there are conservative forces out there not even involved in the school district to her trying to opposes. our kids all vulnerable. we should provide equal totection under the the log everyone regardless of race, gender, religion, orientation. let's live together in the invest in each other. we all deserve protection. crack senator kirk, 90 seconds. my record.y proud of very unusual for a republican to get that feature. act with the senator from on, surely equalize the number one civil rights act of our time. >> congresswoman, 30 seconds to respond. rep. duckworth: i have a record

with hrc. my opponent only has a zone new 6% voting record, just barely passing. the year before when he was not a four he had a voting record in the 30's. you can vote on him to write the -- but the right way when it is an election year but the rest of the time he votes along a straight line with his hearty. i have a 100% voting record with hrc and i am proud of it. sen. kirk: she is so arrogant. >> you can use the time however you want. growing pains of according to health care.ma for expected to increase in the double digits but millions of people now have health insurance and popular aspects of the law are things like allowing

dependents to stand coverage told they are 26 and covering pre-existing conditions. what do you think needs to be done with the affordable care act and if you want to replace it please explain with blood. sen. kirk: what we should replace it for would be to make sure we have reform. lawsuit reform would dramatically change things. buy car insurance from a green gecko in northern virginia you should be able to buy house insurance from any state. we should have complete competition in every state. myt was: i do not agree with opponent who just said he wanted to end the affordable care act. there are problems we need to fix. some of those. we need to look at some of the bipartisan solutions on the table right now. there are folks who can drop it

after the grace. even after having a major surgery so people are signing up knowing they need gallbladder surgery. having it during that 90 day time and then dropping it. one of the things you can do is say if you have a procedure, keep insurance for the whole year. what i am not willing to do is put people on the street to fend for themselves with health insurance companies. it is not acceptable. women should not pay more for their health insurance and they do not under the aca. i have a pre-existing condition, we should not have to fight to be average. you know, my opponent is all about sabotaging and privatizing. medicare as you know it that put senior citizens like my mom out on the street with a $600 voucher to find her own health care. that is not the solution. let's fix the problem. there are bipartisan solutions.

if you send me to the united states senate, i will work in a bipartisan way to fix it and i've already done so in the house. : the clinton said the obama care was crazy and he was correct. we had a 60% increase for people .n illinois and much more if we're raising cost and lowering choice, we're heading in the wrong direction. >> congresswoman duckworth will respond first to the next lesson. from television as that the array on nuclear deal has been a point of tension in the race. what is your opinion of the deal for what is best for the national security of the country. rep. duckworth: i voted for the iran nuclear deal because of the evidence shown to me. it was a pre-nuclear state. within a few months, gaining nuclear power and capability and the iran nuclear deal stopped that.

theave to watch out for increased funding that iran now has and bulk up our support include ourorism to support for our greatest ally in the middle east which is israel. where we have to come up with a bipartisan solution. i voted to increase funding for the arundel program for example. e. the iran dom a deal to undermine us with the ayatollah. he's said it would bounce off their turbans. these are not the words fitting of a united states senator at a time when we are dealing with a potential nuclear crisis. kirk one of bipartisan achievements has been building the bipartisan consensus. i took the senate to two votes on a rant.

i got the vote of every single democrat including bernie sanders. without the sanctions there would've been no reason for the iranians to come to the table to negotiate. the worst thing we can do is condemn the next generation of americans to cleaning up a nuclear war and the persian golf. we see what happened when the president sent to over $30 million to the iranians. the first thing the iranians did of announce the creation their own foreign legion to destabilize yemen and lebanon and iraq. if we look at the future of our policy there, we look at a researching and dangerous iraq. when you see the state department, right after the money showed up they issued a warning to americans in some iranians might want to take advantage. we should run our policy in the way that there will never be a price on the head of the american. you should be able to travel to any country you want.

rep. duckworth: i do not understand the incumbent's policy. he says he does not want a nuclear war but he voted against the deal that would prevent iran from becoming a nuclear state. he wants them not to nuclear weapons but he tried to help pass what would have helped. you we're talking about some but you said he once to get rid of nuclear weapons and around but once to do everything he can to make sure they maintain the capabilities but it is not in the best interests of the united states. jim: senator, what specific steps should be taken to ensure medicare andof like program's? simpson --k: the book plan. i believe when i read it that senator durbin worked so hard. my opponent took the position of

the far left and said that senator durbin voted incorrectly. when you look at the whole plan, it comes across as a plan written by real republicans and democrats and once we get the plan and place, we could remove the big cloud from the future of the country which is the $19 trillion debt. rep. duckworth: you have to understand that plan raises the age for social security. when i travel around illinois, when i am in southern illinois where i see called miners, they cannot afford to have social security age raised. the best way to make sure we preserve social security is to raise the payroll tax cap. right now, people who make $1 million only pay social security on 10% of their income but if you make 30,000 you pay on 100

percent of your income. let's not released the age on the people who desperately need it most but make sure the top 1% pay their fair share. my opponent has voted to make medicare into a voucher program. we need to go after the waste and fraud that happens in medicare. medicare waste about $50 billion a year and that is why i sponsored a bipartisan piece of legislation that goes after waste, fraud, and abuse and medicare. let's get that $60 billion back. a bipartisanin way. parts have passed. i want to path war. to make sure medicare is there for the long term. and probably your grandparents rely on social security and medicare and let's not abandon them. my mother is also on social security and medicare. i think the whole reason for

being a fiscal conservative is to make sure we have enough money to one of the promises we made to senior citizens. if we continue borrowing, every senior citizen america knows when we overspend we threaten their economic viability. policies, taxpt less, but no less, get us out of the red. >> thank you. that concludes our second segment. we will be back with our final half-hour. senator tammy duckworth and mark kirk. we will continue with questions from our panelists. congresswoman duckworth really response was. i'd's republican leadership has been frank in their hearings to close hearings until after president obama leaves office. what kind would you advocate for and how to convince them to hold hearings on a nominee? i ask i think any juror that gets nominated, you have a

brilliant legal mind. that we can evaluate. i would love to see someone who looks more like america. there are some great justices who are asian-american. there is one who is always one of the finalists and she came to the country as a vietnamese by person. a baby. who is in the nomination and who is nominated, the senate needs to simply do its job and have a hearing and have a boat. my opponent checks the box of political pictures and has a meeting with mayor garland but never actually said to ms. mcconnell, and the hearing i am not going to but few as senate majority leader. he said he sent a letter to his calling sent with to demand a hearing but at no point did he send a letter to chuck grassley and say, past the hearing. leadership.

that is hogwash. sen. kirk: i would say was the first republican senator to meet with merrick garland and i urge my colleagues to meet with him. i led the republican conference after my meeting. 12 also met with him after the meeting. we get to see the current nominee answer questions from the current senate is a great way to explore the outliers of the constitution according to the day. unlike my opponent, who is been rated as one of the most effective congresswomen in the lead this effort i actually had 12 of my republican merrickes meet with garland. he was a very interesting man. outstanding legal scholar. insked him about the problem chicago, the gang problem.

we had a good academic discussion about the banks of chicago. congresswoman, 30 seconds if you choose. rep. duckworth: it is not much leadership of your meeting with him in march and it is on over. i think you failed in those efforts. the bottom line, the senate needs to do its job. my opponent, even on a radio interview after he took the pictures aren't told his colleagues to go ahead and mean and took the pictures, and took the pictures, in a radio interview later he said he knew the hearings would never happen so it did not cost anything to take those pictures. you candidates. next question from burning. bernie, your question. ernie: senator kirk, the marketwatch website recently reported that as of 2013 when had the recent figures, the median working age couple had

$5,000 put aside for retirement. what policies would you add to help ensure regular working people can retire with dignity? is akirk: the best program groundbreaking legislation i wrote myself called the 401k it's act. allow every couple to kids account. the government can never take or by from it. i want to revolutionize. so dad can sit down with his daughter to say, this is what we have in stock, this is what we have in bonds. so they can see how successful the policy was. so we could eventually get our savings rate like what china had. i think by revolutionizing our

savings rate, it would really help out the next generation. >> congresswoman duckworth, 90 seconds. my. duckworth: you know, family had savings when i was 13 and 14 and my dad lost his job and we lasted on those savings for about six years until we had nothing. and you have never seen the despair until you looked in my dad's eyes when he asked me for my $300 in my passbook savings cap because that birthday money and tooth fairy money was all my keep keep us from being homeless. frankly, a 401(k) plan is not the way to go. and about 2008 we had the crash. all of these 401(k) plans lost their value. that is why we must save social security. we must reserve medicare. let's raise the role tax cap and make sure the wealthiest 1%, the people who make $1 million pay

on 100% of their income just like anyone else who is paying into social security. we need to make sure medicare remains a program available for senior citizens and not turn into a voucher program and turn them out onto the streets. yes, we should make college more affordable. we should have college savings programs for that. i have one for my daughter who is 23 muslim. i was told i can count once when she hits two years old but she is my baby at 23 muslim. there is to make sure free technical education programs. students should be able to refinance their student loan debt. >> i will go back to something my opponent said. i think we should get away from a racial and gender politics. this andget away from take the best person regardless if they claim to be -- what do you plan to do?

is someone actually hits -- [indiscernible] >> this question will be answered by congresswoman first.th >> both have come out against the transpacific partnership. where do you stand on tpp and what principle should govern the u.s. trade agreement? rep. duckworth: i oppose tpp for several reasons. i think it is good for our agriculture policy and i hope we can fix tpp but right now i cannot vote for it for several reasons. it allows to unfairly treat. the word is that you should not engage in currency manipulation. there will be penalties behind it. to granite city. talk to this 50-year-old steelworkers getting flooded out of their jobs because chinese are dumping cheap chinese steel

and manipulating currency and pushing american manufacturers out of business. we should defend american manufacturers. we should put american businesses first. let's make it a fair trade program not a free trade program. allowing to explain workers, currency, to gain unfair advantage. if you make it a fair ground, i will probably vote for but as long as it puts americans at a disadvantage i cannot vote for. if. kirk: i would say that my opponent says she supports illinois manufacturers but she ignores the illinois isufacturers that say tpp responsible for sponsoring over puttingfamilies and people out of work. making sure we're always exporting. cities.g out of the when you drive the highways and byways of illinois and was into

the farm as of the state they is forll you that some export markets. illinois farmers snow 95% of the humans on the planet are not american citizens. that theld say unemployment that was caused by it by disagreeing with president obama that is for tpp or even need nominee for tpp and would lose a lot of jobs with the duckworth plan. cut off foreign markets from our state. rep. duckworth: in a time that my opponent has been in office in the last 16 years, illinois has lost over 270,000 jobs. caterpillar just built a new production facility in malaysia in anticipation of tpp and that will be jobs leaving you are, malaysia.to go to my opponent went to china and

told the chinese not to invest in america because we're not a good bet. i say made in america is the gold standard and if you make me your united states and i will fight every day for american workers. polle most recent gallup measures congresses approval rating as 20%. people disapproving of the job congress is doing. each of you currently holds a seat in congress. what specifically will you do to improve the trust that people need to have in their lawmakers, and what will you do to improve working relationships in the senate? as the gluerve between the house and senate. after my stroke, i set for a lot of time thinking about my job and representing the state. i would say the senate is like one big national corral. that corral is filled with 50 different wagons third one for

each state. each wagon is pulled by two horses. the illinois wagon is pulled by horse named kirk and a horse named german. if those forces are always nipping at each other, the illinois wagon will not go very far. i insisted that i have a good relationship with dick durbin. we have a good policy going forward. one thing my opponent has just talked about -- i was my transit there. >> consummate duckworth, you have 90 seconds. people need to know their representatives understand the struggle in their daily lives. they have perhaps lived the same challenges they have lived. that is flat think members of congress should lead by example. if you cannot do your job, you should not get paid. increasee should transparency in government.

i think what the people need is to understand that the members of congress understand their challenges. when i travel to stay and talk to fellow dust talk to families and talk about what it is like to answer food stamps and have a high school in the future by me dinner, they get it. i know what it means to be hungry they know it means to be struggling. they just want to know that the people fighting for them understand that, even though they are on their knees, they are not giving up, and their fighting every single day to put bread on the table, to send their kids to college, to pay their taxes come and to contribute to this great nation, and this great state that is illinois. they can't trust in their representatives in their disassembly is a test disassociated with them. the people of illinois can count on me to fight for them every single day, because i know what

it is like. i have been there. i know what it is like to think of my god, how my ever going to pay off that student loan debt? >> 30 seconds, senator kirk, if you choose. sen. kirk: i would pick up on that one train of thought that i lost there. the reason why we lost so many jobs, i would say, is probably because we had a criminal, who -- broadly billion which, who my opponent served under as governor, we've got to make sure we elect honest people to government and not people like rod, your old boss. who go to jail. [laughter] [applause] >> the next question, you ask the question and congresswoman duckworth will respond first. >> each of you have had outside groups run ads on your behalf. there was a democratic leaning veteran political action committee that air ads questioning some funding votes by senator kirk and a group called independent voice for illinois, which had some big republican donors, attacking representative duckworth.

you, on the iran vote and other issues. can or should anything be done to limit campaign or outside spending in politics and how do you get that done? >> i want public financing of campaign, i want to get all money out of politics. i also think in the short term what we can do is support an act that would oppose giving money to super packs until we disclose who they are. it is dark money. my opponent actually is supporting making it darker and less transparent, and, you know, i think the american people deserve to know and get rid of citizens united. in the meantime i think the best way to get rid of citizens united is to have a functioning supreme court, bring in other cases for the supreme court so the individual person's voice is just as important as that of a large corporation. trust me, no one wants money out of politics more than i do, that

way i can spend more time talking to people. my average campaign contribution is about $40, and 90% of my contributions are less than $70 . we're supported by a grassroots campaign. >> thank you, congresswoman. time is up. senator kirk, 90 seconds. sen. kirk: on the issue of campaign finance reform as a congressman i supported the new regulations that are in place. to make sure we got rid of dark money, and moved to the current system, i was one of the only republicans in the house to break with my party even when the majority leader delay said this is the end of us, if, kirk, if you break from the party. i broke from the party and got the reforms through and made sure the current reforms that we have, the reform that we need is to make sure that we have instant disclosure.

once the contribution is made, you should be able to read it on the internet. >> thank you, congresswoman, 30 seconds. representative duckworth: he doesn't support it for super pacs, and i would say the current system does not work. the current system is why we have the problems that we do, and frankly, i am running a grassroots campaign and we need to make sure that the individual's voices are just as important. these are the people who are supporting the likes of griffin who wrote millions and millions of dollars in checks to that particular super pac. >> thank you. 30 seconds is up. next question, first responder will be senator kirk. >> everyone would love to see lower taxes but we must also be concerned about the nation's rising debt. what specific policies do you support, to still generating enough money for government expenditures?

sen. kirk: with regard to tax policy, we should have a flatter, fairer tax. we have about 72 special interest provisions that ought to be wiped out to make sure people with the best lawyers don't pay the lowest taxes. i think a flat fair tax would be the way to go. the big text change i would want to do would be to lower the corporate tax rate so we can bring in that $400 billion and use 10% of that money to fund a new round of transportation spending for the congress. >> thank you, congresswoman, you have 90 seconds. >> we need comprehensive tax reform. i know my opponent is worried about apple being profitable. if we allow them a lower tax rate and repatriate those dollars, let's get it to small and medium businesses that keep jobs here in illinois. small businesses in this state pay at almost a 30% tax rate and

that's not acceptable. if we're going to lower taxes for the top 1% we should be lowering taxes for middle income families and working families as well. my opponent called himself a fiscal conservative. he's no fiscal conservative. by 2019, in just two years our national debt will be upwards of $16 trillion. 50% of that will be as a result of the war in iraq and the bush tax cuts both of which he voted for. in fact, he co-wrote the iraq invasion resolution and went around convincing other members of congress to vote for it. those are the kinds of things we can't afford to spend money on. my tax policies involve closing tax loopholes for the top 1%, closing tax loopholes that allow companies to invert and avoid paying taxes here in the united states and making sure that if we have comprehensive tax reform which we need, we need to make sure that small and medium businesses and working families also get those tax benefits as well. >> 30 seconds, senator kirk. sen. kirk: i would say right now

my opponent, when she was running a republican leaning congressional district she supported bush tax cuts before she was against them so i have no idea what your philosophy is. my philosophy is basic frugal republican to make sure we tax less and spend less, and get us out of debt. that would be the way to go. >> thank you. first response will be from congresswoman duckworth. >> the paris climate agreements go into effect a few days before the election. do you think climate change is real and it's a manmade exasperated problem and what would you support in order to help combat climate change? representative duckworth: well, i am, of course, climate change is real. i support an all of the above approach in attacking climate change. it is everything from moving our country toward being carbon neutral, moving our country toward clean energy, illinois is

uniquely positioned to lead the clean energy revolution, and yet we've not taken advantage of it. it's why i want to invest in illinois manufacturing, especially when i comes to clean energy. we here in illinois produce gearboxes for windmills, windmill towers and yet we only get 5% of our energy from wind power and iowa gets 30%. we have the corn and soybean farmers, we should be leading the world and nation when it comes to biofuels. we need to lead the world in clean energy but we also need to make sure that we provide a consistent policy when it comes to global carbon emissions and getting to that carbon neutral. >> senator kirk, 90 seconds. sen. kirk: i have voted that climate change is happening and it also is caused by man. before i was elected to office, i went to the kyoto climate change negotiations and what i learned is that most emissions will be from developing countries. and that we should -- the best

thing we can do on climate change is make sure that china converts to a more nuclear future to limit, the one coal burning plant coming out of wheaton that we expect. the principle of the kyoto climate treaty, all that matters is the zip code of the polluter. mother nature doesn't care where the pollution comes from and, we need to work cooperatively in our developing countries to make sure they emit less. that's the best way to go and that's why i voted for the clean climate fund over at the world bank. >> thank you. duckworth, 30 seconds if you choose. rep. duckworth: the problem is that my opponent has not been consistent. he voted, depending on whether or not he's up for erection from -- election from the house to the senate or re-election he's either voted for the clean power plant or against the clean power plant. he's switched back and forth multiple times. whatever is convenient for him that's what he votes for and frankly, those who are investing in the technology and the research need consistency in

their senator and in those votes. one of the head scratching moments for many things my opponent has said is when he said he didn't believe in global warming -- >> time is up, congresswoman, thank you. bernie asks the next question, senator kirk will respond first. >> senator, gun violence remains a problem across our state and nation. what additional federal laws are needed? sen. kirk: additional laws, i'm very proud of the f-minus record that i currently have from the nra. that is unusual for a republican. shows how independent i am. in my legislation i put forward with a democratic junior senator from new york, we criminalized gun trafficking to criminal organizations. i want to shut down the the chicago with police department. 515 different kinds of crimes and if we criminalize that

relationship, when i was at the atf, they briefed me that a couple of gun shops seemed to have a close business relation with the gangsters of chicago. i want to shut down that supply of weaponry. >> congresswoman? sen. duckworth: i just participated in the sit-in in the house of representatives with the great john lewis on demanding a vote on gun violence legislation. quite a few senators came over to support us. unfortunately my opponent did not. we need universal background checks and close the loophole for people who -- if you want to pass a background check in a gun store you shouldn't be able to go to a gun show to buy a gun without background checks. that's currently happening. i don't think that you should be able to buy armored piercing bullets. they are not needed to go hunting. they are used for one thing, to pierce body armor.

i think we can certainly get rid of high capacity magazines. again, i'm a marksman. i fired expert in the army at least once or twice here and there, i come from a marksman family of sportsmen. but really, you don't need a high capacity magazine to go hunting. if you need a high capacity magazine to go hunting you're a really bad hunter. there are some basic things that you can do and i'm co-sponsoring legislation to close one of these loopholes, if you go out of business as a gun owner you lose your firearms dealers license. right now you can convert your entire gun store inventory to personal use and sell it without background checks. we need to close that loophole. senator, 30 seconds if you choose. sen. kirk: i believe if you're too dangerous to fly in an aircraft -- you're too dangerous to buy a firearm. that, no-fly, no buy provisions was voted on the senate. i was the only minute to vote -- the only republican to vote for no-fly, no buy. to make sure, if we feel you're too dangerous to be in a civil aircraft you're too dangerous to

buy a firearm in america and that's what we need from our senator. in the case of my opponent she's voted 94% of the time with nancy pelosi, she has a near perfect voting record with the people of california that sent the senator to the congress. >> we move on the closing statements. congresswoman duckworth, you go first. sen. duckworth: i just want to thank everyone for participating in our democracy today. it's why i served in the military and why we have men and women serving overseas right now defending that right. thank you for doing. i want to go to the united states senate because i want to serve the people of illinois. i know what it's like to work hard every single day and not get ahead. that's why i believe so strongly that we need a real investment in this state. we need infrastructure investment. we need investment in american manufacturing. we need to invest in our educational system.

educational system. not just because it's good to support students but because it's a piece of our national strength. one of the reasons that i got into public service was because i feel like i owe. i owe for all of those folks who took care of me when as i kid, hungry, and i wasn't sure i would be able to go to college or graduate from high school but there was a high school there that i could graduate from that was free and public and it was in my neighborhood. there was a state college that i could go to, so that i was able to use pell grants and student loans and graduate so when the army came calling and asked me to serve i was ready. but if those things had not been there for me i wouldn't be in front of you today running for the united states senate, and how many americans are we leaving behind. all across this great state who don't have that opportunity. how many senior citizens are wondering, am i going to have to work for the rest of my life? we can do better. we're better and if you send me to the united states senate i'll work hard every single day to represent each and every one of you to the best of my ability. thank you. >> senator kirk? sen. kirk: i would say in my

years of serving, i've tried to go in there and be the glue between republicans and democrats and be the personality that most advantaged my state. i worry about any opponent. -- my opponent. she's so partisan, she would go to war with the opposite party which is no way to get anything done in the senate. you can't go to war with anybody in the senate because you will absolutely run aground there and i want to make sure that my record of building bipartisan sanctions on iran and saving the export-import bank of the united states, which is responsible for 47,000 jobs right here in illinois, is one that motivates you to support a moderate, that works between the two parties and is effective, and is not rated as the most ineffective congresswoman in the house and not with a 94% record of voting with the people of the state of california. >> thank you, thank you to the panelists for 2016 senate debate. [applause] >> have a good night. rep. duckworth: thank you,

everyone. [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] >> after that debate, senator -- representative duckworth posted this photo, saying might mom's immigrant, and my dad and his family have served this nation in uniform since the revolution. the kirk campaign later apologized, writing sincere apologies to an american hero, tammy duckworth, in gratitude for her families service. this week, on c-span2, we're featuring political radioprogramas with national talkshow hosts did tuesday morning from 6:00 to 9:00 eastern, politics with a left-leaning perspective on the bill pressed show live from washington dc. on wednesday, also from washington, conservative talk show host is live from 6:00 a.m.

until 9:00 a.m. eastern. author and progressive radio host thom hartmann, and on friday, from 9:00 a.m. until noon, a conservative political perspective on the mike gallagher show him alive or new york city. all this week, live on c-span2. >> i first came up with this idea -- first i did research information, because this case there was a lot of pieces that will be done for this competition. antal illness is especially complicated issue. it is not black and white, and it is so multifaceted that i had to research to get a base knowledge of what i wanted to talk about in this piece. obviously, there was a lot of -- it is so complicated that i cannot talk about it all in seven minutes. first to decide what i wanted to talk about. >> it is a broad topic, and i had to have a focal point that i wanted to focus on. i started invalid -- interviewing my parents, and

went to the internet before i started shooting. i talked to pharmacist and my dad's pharmacy. i talked to my mom and her colleagues and coworkers. research tointernet find more like facts and data and statistics about employment and an -- develop mental disabilities and to see what was really going on. the information that i got from the internet came from government founded websites, so that is how i knew that the information that i was getting was legitimate. >> this year's theme -- your message to washington, d.c. tell us, what is the most urgent issue for the new president and congress to address in 2017? our competition is open to all middle school and high school .tudents grades 6-12

students can work alone or in a group of up to three to produce a five to seven minutes documentary. the $100,000 in cash prizes will be awarded and shared between 150 students and 53 teachers. the grand prize of $5,000 will go to the student or team with the best overall entry. this year's deadline is january 20, 2017 varied archer calendars and help spread the word to student film makers. for more information, go to our website, studentcam.org. democratic senator chuck schumer is running for reelection in the art against republican when the long. the two met this past weekend for a debate that focused on the economy, financial regulation, the supreme court, and health care. the candidates were also asked about the decision by fbi director james comey to disclose information about the investigation into hillary

clinton's private e-mail server. this is one hour. ♪ >> hello and welcome to our exclusive debate between new york senate candidates. i am liz benjamin. lewis, and we're coming to live from inside the historic memorial at union college here in schenectady. candidates, please come to the stage. crowd, please join me in welcoming the cap d'este two candidates debating tonight. senator charles schumer, democrat from brooklyn, seeking a fourth term. and wendy long, a republican.

[cheers and applause] mr. louis: attorney wendy long is a republican from manhattan who also ran in 2012. [cheers and applause] ms. benjamin: now we have to lay out the rules that the candidates agreed to. each gets one minute for an opening statement and one minute for a closing statement at the end of the debate. we will ask a series of questions of state, national and international issues and rebuttals will be limited to 45 seconds. further responses will be allowed at the discretion of the moderators. we will limit these to 30 seconds. halfway through, we will have the candidates asking one another a question. responses are limited to one minute. mr. louis: let's get started. the order of opening statements was selected randomly earlier today. first up is mr. schumer. mr. schumer, friday's letter --

opening statements come first. mr. schumer goes first. senator schumer: let me thank you and union college for having this debate. i fought my entire career for the middle class and those trying to get there because that's who i am. my father was an exterminator, my mother a housewife, my father-in-law a cab driver. and i remember vividly my father pacing the floor at 2:00 a.m., worried about how he was going to pay the bills. so i have worked really hard to bring jobs, good jobs, to the middle class and those aspiring to be there, whether it's alcoa, the four kraft plants, the laser lab in brooklyn. i brought many good jobs here. when there is a crisis, whether 9/11 or sandy downstate or the horrible snowstorm in buffalo,

or the floods in binghamton i'm , always there for new yorkers. if you give me the honor of re-electing me, i will work really hard for the middle class and those trying to get there, raising the minimum wage, making college affordable, a major infrastructure bill that will employ tens of thousands of people in good paying jobs. ms. long: i want to thank union college and those involved in the debate here for a beautiful job and beautiful setting and welcome all of our friend. i want to thank our veterans and active military, our law enforcement, firefighters and first responders, who are here in the audience and those at home. you really do the public service and we are in debt to you all for the work you do for america and for civilization. i think that this election is really a big turning point in our country. we face a big choice. do we want to go along with more

of the same, the establishment, the status quo in washington that's produced record low economic growth for a decade, that has put so many new yorkers out of work and have had incomes stagnating. and many people have a corrupt pay for play, rigged it system in washington. and many people feel that my opponent sits at the apex of that system. we need to change that and i have a lot of ethical reforms i would like to propose and hope to in the course of this debate. mr. louis: mr. schumer, we saw a letter issued to members of congress to the f.b.i. director james comey in which he announced new information to hillary clinton's use of a private server that has triggered reaction including demands for more information and calls for comey's resignation.

do you think the timing and content of his letter was appropriate and should he step down or be fired? sen. schumer: i was appalled by what director comey did. i know him. i have worked with him in the past. we worked together about cleaning up the u.s. attorney's office when alberto gonzalez was politicizing them. that is what makes what he did all the more surprising and appalling. you know, there is a tradition in the u.s. attorneys' offices in washington and justice department and goes down to the brooklyn d.a.'s office that a prosecutor always avoids interfering with an election, and the fact we heard today that comey had to issue a search warrant for these emails means he doesn't know what is in them. yet he goes ahead and writes a letter and he knows what was going to happen. what he has done is wrong and both donald trump and hillary clinton have called for the emails to be made public.

i believe that's the right thing to do. mr. comey ought to make them public and second, he owes not only hillary clinton and the american people an explanation for what appears to be an appalling action. mr. louis: were you in that first round of letters that were sent by the f.b.i. director? senator schumer: i was not. ms. long: well, it's hard in 60 seconds to unpack everything that has gone wrong from a prosecutorial standpoint in this sorry mess about the clinton emails. it is a tangled mass. i was pretty unhappy with what happened when f.b.i. director comey sort of took a path, if you will, on the evidence that he had uncovered. and i think the reason for that was the great impropriety of bill clinton going and meeting with loretta lynch. she said i'm going to defer to whatever director comey said.

director comey is supposed to be gathering the evidence. and she's the one who is supposed to be the prosecutor to making the decisions. that visit from bill clinton completely removed the ability to make a proper decision. it would be one thing if hillary clinton came in and gave the evidence she was required. we are in this mess because she failed do do that. mr. louis: does mr. comey deserve a reprimand? or more severe punishment? ms. long: i don't know. his actions have been so puzzling to me that i wouldn't dare to comment on that. ms. benjamin: i believe the majority leader suggested in a letter today that perhaps the f.b.i. director perhaps violated the hatch act? do you agree with that assessment? senator schumer: i haven't seen his letter. i wouldn't comment on it. ms. benjamin: do you believe the director can continue to serve? senator schumer: the first step

is he owes an explanation and he has a big big burden of proof to speak that goes against the tradition of prosecutors at every level of government. when i heard about it, i found it hard to believe that comey i thought had some degree of integrity to do this. >> it doesn't go against prosecutorial conduct if you find new evidence if it comes to light, in this case, your friend, anthony weiner, who would have thought it turned up there. when something like that comes to light, it's the duty of the prosecutor to evaluate it. so i disagree that it should have been just ignored just because we are farther down the road. senator schumer: i have talked to a lot of prosecutors. for instance, if a grand jury is convened a month before an