number one issue facing voters of kentucky and what you would do on the issue in the united states senate. mr. paul: i tell people number one, number two, number three, is the debt. with a $20 trillion debt, we borrowed a million dollars $1 million in his come and it threatens our economy. it is like an anvil slowing us down. for every percentage growth that is lost, it is about a million jobs. we are 2 million jobs short because of this burden of that. it threatens to undermine the country, even the foundation of the country. were interest rates to rise to 11%, that would become unmanageable.

i do not think it is good to borrow for your daily activities. if you are giving advice your kids, would you say it is a good idea to borrow to pay your monthly rent or food? you would try to pay that out of your income. we are paying for our daily existence as a government. it is not just a $20 trillion debt, we also have a $7 trillion shortfall in social security. we have up to a $40 trillion ebt with medicare. deficits matter, and to be a sound country, you have to have a balanced budget. what i have offered is we should have a balanced budget amendment because both parties have let us down with spending.

washington usually raises spending for both. i think we should try to get it in order ourselves, but we should mandate we do it through a constitutional amendment. mr. goodman: i will ask you to comment first on the debt being senator paul's number one issue. mr. gray: senator paul is peaking scare tactics. e wants us to believe that his philosophies are the remedy for everything, and they are not. they will not build the first bridge, the first highway, they will not build the first factory. they will not create a job. i know because i have been there, and it is like dizzy dean said, what he said was if you have done it, then you are not bragging. mr. goodman: the debt is what

concern to you? is it important to move america forward? you have included in saying it s not a major issue. mr. gray: debt tied with equity is what makes business run and what also makes a country run. today investors are making investments in our country through our treasury, through bonds, there being sold at some of the lowest rate ever in a decade. that tells you there's confidence in the u.s. economy. there's a lot of confidence in the u.s. economy. that is why the interest rates are so low. the deficit is at its debt 50% of what it was when ronald reagan was president. we have to work on this, but my formula is to make investments in our country. we have always made investments in our country, from world war ii, the interstate highway system them the space program. mr. paul: we can build things in our country. adding to the debt is not a

great way to do it. we ought to look at and make difficult decisions, and one of the things in washington we need to is we are going to spend it on bridges and roads, which i am for, what should we take away from? we spent about $100 billion on infrastructure in afghanistan. i would take a significant amount of money and build roads and bridges here at home, so instead of building bridges in afghanistan, i would build them at home. >> we have $30 billion in foreign aid. remember the mubarak family in egypt, they are now worth $10 billion that they have simply stolen from the taxpayer. instead of giving money for to foreign countries, let's spend that. the third thing i have offered or infrastructure is

encouragement to american companies to bring their profit back home. here's about $2 trillion in unpatriated profits overseas. president obama voted for it. we brought a huge amount of money back, $2 trillion, and we would take that money that comes home and put it into the highway fund. this is an example of how we could work together. i called president obama on this and he was on air force one, but he took my phone call and said i used to be for it. i am no longer for it. but that is disappointing. if we can find democrats who will work with us to say let's encourage that profit to come home, that is a perfect solution for trying to fix the shortfall. mr. goodman: mayor gray, you've talked about infrastructure, troubling roads and bridges. how would you pay for it? mr. gray: we are a trillion dollars short in infrastructure by 2020.

i've said if researcher is the priority. also advanced manufacturing, building advanced manufacturing, infrastructure, and the middle class. this is the only way we grow. i have sent when you are green you grow and when you are right you rot. mr. goodman: how would you pay for the infrastructure in the nation? mr. gray: let's start with making investment that is going to be federal investment. i disagree with senator paul because i believe the federal government can make these investments. we can also get tax credits for what is called public-private partnerships. we engage the private sector and the public sector, but let's think that in history. after world war ii, after the great depression, we always worked ourselves out of adversity. we build ourselves out of adversity. the country was not afraid to make these investments. mr. goodman: mayor gray, what is your first and most important issues in for voters

of kentucky? mr. gray: jobs. we are not growing the economy the way it should. last month it was announced it grew at a 2.9% growth rate. that is not where it should be. the middle class is the backbone of america. you struggle across the state. there are struggles in coal country. i know a lot about this because i spent a lifetime, a career in the private sector, that employs thousands, that has grown in the factories we have built. more than 20,000 people a day go through the doors of plants uilt by gray construction. we have got to diversify the economy. mr. goodman: if you were asked o serve on a senate committee,

targeted for and about kentucky jobs, give me one recommendation that you would make to put people to work in eastern and western kentucky. mr. gray: i would put another toyota plant in eastern and western kentucky. was there in japan. i quick counting when i have been to japan more than 45 times. there are plenty of opportunities. we need to focus on kentucky rather than running for president. the senator is focused on running for president for the last five years and not focus on kentucky, and the challenges ight have we have in kentucky. mr. goodman: i comment on that and on the jobs program that if you were on the same work-study committee in the u.s. senate, targeted for kentucky, what ould you do?

mr. paul: we have a regulatory and a tax burden so when you travel in eastern kentucky, they understand they have lost their jobs because it is because of barack obama and hillary clinton. obama said he would bankrupt coal. he is for these regulations that have been killing their jobs. you have to repeal the egulatory war on coal and on the farms. he is for new water regulations. we cannot keep federalizing everything. have the highest corporate income tax the world. if we want to keep our companies from taking those jobs overseas, i would lower that. i have a plan to lower it low 15%, but i would vote for any kind of bipartisan movement to lower the corporate income tax.

you got to compete on things that are a cost of doing business. taxes are a big cost, regulations, and the debt is a big cost. mr. gray: i want to comment about bipartisan, because he said that the number of times. the lugar commission said he was the sixth most partisan senator in the last 20 years. it is hard get people to focus on what is essential, which is creating jobs. i have done it all my life. i've demonstrated it. performance and experience is what counts. mr. paul: if you look at my record you will find some extraordinary partnerships i have had with people across the aisle. i have worked with ron wyden. i worked with cory booker on

criminal justice reform. i worked with barbara boxer on trying to repatriate profit here. i have worked with ed arkey. what you will see is i have worked with harry reid on voter restoration. you will see that when i believe it's something i do not let parties stand in the way at all, but i have a strong record of working with people on the other side. mr. goodman: senator paul, mayor gray claims your efforts to dismantle the nation's intelligence is dangerous. donald trump says rand paul is a disaster of military and defense. he quotes john mccain saying you do not have the understanding of the threats of the united states national security. and even governor chris christie said what rand paul has done to make this country

weaker is a terrible thing. how do you respond? mr. paul: one of the most important rights our founding fathers put into the bill of rights was the fourth amendment, and it is the right to be left alone. ustice brandeis said in a case in 1928 the most cherished right among civilized women and men is to be left alone. one of the checks and balances they said is police cannot come to your house. they have to call an independent person who isene. this is the same looking at your phone records. the example of the boston bombers. we should have done more to look at the records. the fbi was tipped off. they did not do enough to look at the records. i do not want to look at everybody in boston's records. you have a right to privacy

nless there is probable cause, unless we individualize the search warrant, and the great hing about search warrants and eparating that police power is it prevents police who might be bigoted in any way on race, color, creed, gender, you name it, it prevents some of that bigotry from happening if you have checks and balances. you say we must do anything, i'm willing to trade my liberty for security, that is a real problem. franklin recognize this at the beginning and said if you trade your liberty for security, you may wind up with neither. you can have security and continue to defend the constitution. i think an oath seriously to defend the constitution. i treat that as a very serious promise.

mr. goodman: mayor, you said in one of your commercials you will do what it takes to defeat errorists. what is it that you will do? mr. gray: one thing you do not do is what senator paul did in his first budget proposal which was to cut defense spending. you noticed he did not respond to your question. about what these other colleagues of his within his own parties had said about his ecord. he did not respond because he knows they are accurate. he recommended reducing the military budget by $150

million. when he started running for president, he change. three years later he change, and then he decided to add to the military budget. terrorism is a threat and it takes money and funds to fight these threats at home and abroad. when we pulled from foreign

aid, which he has suggested, from our allies, that compromises our defense. we will not have economic security and opportunity if we

do not have a safe america. i would encourage our intelligence community, our defense. that means smart intelligent investments i have learned from toyota. the system teaches you continuous improvement. this is what we should apply to every spending in government. r. goodman: under what circumstances should the u.s. centric into the middle east onflict? the claim that you had defense spending is false? >> someone else proposed, not me. look at the absolute numbers for my boinls for a five-year period, military spending grew. >> last comment on this.

mr. gray: there are hotbeds everywhere, and we got to be careful. but sending advisers, committing ourselves to advisers like we have in iraq, going into mosul today, that is a prudent and wise investment in america is a for us to be safe at home. mr. paul: the biggest thing that separates us on national security is he has endorsed hillary clinton and her foreign policy and national security ideas. i think she is a danger to the country. clinton's lack of defense in benghazi is an excuse me that is inexcusable. >> senator paul has mentioned hillary clinton three times. he is still obsessed about the presidential campaign. he is still think about the presidential campaign. he is not think about kentuckians, the needs, challenges and problems. i'm committed to serving kentucky. he has not even agreed he will serve a full term. senator, where will you serve a full term in the senate if you're elected? >> people come up with these things, it's like, mayor, are you going to serve a full term as mayor. you're running for two offices. if anybody up here is

distracted by running for two offices, it's you. you have an enormous hole in the middle of lexington. you have been there for eight years, you're talking about something that doesn't exist and here you are running for two offices. do your job adds mayor. you could keep busy for another eight years with a hole in the ground. >> you ran for president, you created a law that -- >> but a hypocrite would be somebody who criticized someone while doing the exact -- >> i have performed in my job. you talk about budgets. i had a deficit, i made six years of surpluses out of it. i had a pension reform, $300 million under both pension. i had health insurance, $40 million and we were budgeting $20 million, i fixed it.

you have had 134 bills and none of them have passed. >> i had 490 bills, i'm proud of that. i have introduced legislation as an active senator. i had 40 votes on the floor, more than any senator from my class of 2010. we have been very active. the last six months, we got the expanded doctor role in passed. the heroin we were able to stop a million dollar on all the cities around lake cumberland. we also got the census bureau to count our soldiers in the census count for hopkinsville and other cities. also made 90% of my votes. i made 96% of my votes. someone said i'm the hardest working senator up there, and it is probably too. mr. goodman: you're watching kentucky tonight."

what are your stances on the growing debt crisis? mr. gray: it is a shame. there are more than 40 million people and are country who have student debts. an average of $40,000 per person. that is a shame. at minimum those with these loans should be able to refinance them at a minimum. an education is the framework for the rest of your life. it provides a framework. i have run into people across the state. one woman in louisville a month ago said she had gotten a master's degree, still has not gotten the job, and she has a six-figure debt. younger people in other locations across the state -- mr. goodman: is there a role for the federal government in the debt crisis the face so many students?

mr. gray: this is the thing we need to recognize that we have got to work on problems like this. and get through this gridlock and through the dysfunction hat has represented so much in washington, that despite what senator paul has just described as the reaching out across the aisle, that is not his history. it is my history. i have worked with republicans and democrats to get problem solved in lexington. mr. goodman: is there a role? what could or should the federal government do to get involved usually in a state program like tuition to go to a state university or private school? mr. paul: one thing we did was come up with a bill to allow students to deduct not only the principal, but the interest. many people are excluded because of their parents' income, they can only do it over a certain time. we expanded the eligibility of

those who can deduct the principal and interest on their student loans. i look at a student loan as being a work expense, and you should be able to deduct it during your whole work for, but for your entire career. the problem is if you have a $50,000 in debt, but you make $35,000 a year, you often do not have the income to deduct the $50,000 in a year or two. you may need 10 or 20 years to deduct it. my bill would do that. that aside the question, everybody talks about trying to help them pay it, you talk about price. prices come down with competition. president obama has had a war on private colleges. we have many private colleges in kentucky, and they tell me that the war on them is difficult. we are suing them every day, putting new roadblocks. they put roadblocks in the way

a private schools but they do not put in the way of private schools. we're closing them straight down. someone in the administration retard and bought one of the universities after they drove the price down to almost nothing, so they are making money off their war on private colleges. we have a lot of private colleges in kentucky. that is part of the answer, having more colleges to drive the prices down. mr. goodman: if you are asked we had a response from you on both of those. steve, for the incumbent, what happened you a compass in the past six years that you would like to come if we elected you, and for you, mayor gray, what could you a conversation your first or the incumbent failed to achieve in his first term? mr. paul: the oath of office we take is to defend the constitution, country, protect and defend the constitution against all enemies.

debt is an enemy and we need to keep working on that. there are bipartisan bills and democrats are willing to spend too much money. only go to war when there is declaration of war by congress. hillary clinton, whom my opponent has endorsed, she took us to war in libya. i call it hillary's more on libya. he did it alone. they want to do it willy-nilly with unilateral presidential authority, that is not a good way to go to war, and it leads to things that have untoward consequences. and wanting to eliminate gaddafi, we now have isis controlling 1/3 of the territory. hillary clinton spent $250 million training 60 fighters,

$4 million a fighter or more. they sent 10 of them to work him and i have said to people, what kind of president sends 10 people to war? they were captured in 15 minutes. we have done that. after 9/11 we were unified. after pearl harbor, we were unified as a country. one thing we need to do better and i will continue to force votes on is whether we should continue sending arms the countries that are allowing the arms to go to a cyst. clinton was aware according to the podesta e-mails that arms were going from saudi arabia to isis and she did nothing about it. that is one more thing why we should never let her get within 10 miles of the white house. mr. goodman: mayor, what could you accomplish in your first term that the incumbent failed

to do? mr. gray: senator paul talks a lot about balancing the budget, and he never got it done. he never came close to it, even though it is at a 50% level of when ronald reagan was president. i have balanced budgets. i have had to i created five years of surpluses. i would work on doing it and getting it done. at the very beginning, i would sponsor national legislation for infrastructure. it is essential that we put our infrastructure at the top of the list. by 2020 will be $1 trillion behind. the national society of civil engineers has given us a d-plus ranking. that has got to be done. what it will do is it will stimulate economy. that has been proven over and over. mr. goodman: a couple follow-ups, on that one first.

infrastructure crumbling. how would you pay for it? is there a plan you would use? mr. gray: we would work with the private sector, public-private partnerships, and we would provide tax credits when appropriate to private companies who are investing in infrastructure. but the federal government must also make an investment. this notion that you must shrink yourself the greatness does not work. it is essential we get our arms around this problem and work together to find the solutions come to is not happening. senator paul has been part of that problem. mr. goodman: under declaration of war that he is asking in many of the areas -- mr. gray: i would agree with senator paul that congress has that authority and it is appropriate that the congress and -- mr. goodman: let me move on to another issue that you are too familiar with. he scourge of the opioid

epidemic that has spread across the nation and is so well entrenched in kentucky. it is a complicated issue with many facets. give me one specific program you have seen that has worked in the state of kentucky, and gives me one that you think we would need to do that might require more funding in fighting the opioid disease, one program that you have seen that has worked and one that you would like to institute that would more than likely require more funding. senator paul? mr. paul: we visited a lot of different places trying to help people overcome addiction. at teen challenge, one of the things i liked was that they combined abstinence with work and also with faith. i think you have got to fix the whole person. people are addicted to drugs

because they have a broken spirit. i think a religious element, a faith-based element to the care is imperative. i think also work is important. many people have never worked, they are idle and at home. part of the cure is as we get them off drugs, show them what it is like to work and learn how to get up in the morning, show up to work, stay all day, and do a good job. one of the things that got included in opioid bill that i felt strongly about was the federal government was limiting how many patients could get the replacement treatment that comes with detoxification. some can stop cold turkey, but others have to do it step-wise to get off heroin. it is devastating. we have more people dying from heroin car accidents in kentucky, so it is a devastating problem. was pleased i was able to work with democrats in

massachusetts and get that included in the bill. president obama agreed with me, and i don't often agree with president obama. when i do, i am happy to say so. in that case, we had a bipartisan coalition and the president ended up signing the bill. mr. goodman: two programs, one that you have seen networks and one you would like to institute that might wear more funding. mr. gray: i have seen this firsthand as mayor. in kentucky, 1200 deaths from heroin opioid abuse just last ear. i created a heroin task force to bring all of our agencies ogether to try to address this issue in a meaningful way. ur first responders were given narcan and naloxone, and that has been helpful. but what we need is more support from the federal government.

fortunately, the comprehensive addiction and recovery act was assed by congress, and senator paul voted for it, but he voted against funding which would help us in cities across the country and states across the country. would like for him to explain why he voted against it, why he voted for the bill and against the funding. we need these funds. this is a scourge. as you said, more are dying from opioid overdoses than are being lost in traffic deaths cross the country. he should explain that. mr. paul: i voted for cara, the opioid bill, and i'm happy to vote for the appropriation for it. what happened is what has been happening in government for the last 20 years. the funding was in enormous bill. no one read the bill and had any idea what is in it, and

there were no reforms. the bill was passed, 2000 pages, there continued to be no reforms. it is a rotten way to run the government, it is why the deficit is so bad. what we need to do is pass individual appropriation bills, and then cara when event in individual appropriation bill, which i would have supported. but i cannot support more of the same, because i ran for office telling people the debt is a big problem. i disagree fundamentally, i think the debt is a problem and we have to do something about it. it is going to stand up against demagoguery, people who will say you are opposed to something you're actually for. because we have to fix a spending problem. we cannot just continue to vote for bills that -- we are approaching $20 trillion. if you come into my office, we have a debt clock spinning literally out of control.

when people say deficits don't matter, we don't need people like that in office. deficits do matter. they really are a big problem. there are slowing the economy down. mr. gray: he goes on with these philosophies and theories, and he is continuing on it. the debt as a percentage of the gdp is at one of its lowest levels today. 1.2%. those are big numbers, it is a big economy. it is clear he has never run a business, because i moved from a small family business into a business making more than $1 billion a year in revenue. you don't do that by being casual or not understanding debt and equity and return on investment. we are about return on investment for our country and making investments that will give us the opportunity and the next generation the opportunity to actually have a better life and a leg up in life. that is what he does not get. mr. goodman: you accept his explanation on why he did not vote for the -- ? mr. gray: i do not accept it because it is obtuse, nonsense.

he says he is for it, then he goes against it because he says there are 2000 pages. mr. goodman: there are two questions here, one question for each of you on the presidential candidates. george in frankfurt asks senator paul, are you supporting donald trump? and james in louisville asks, does mr. gray still support hillary clinton after the latest news about her emails? mayor gray? mr. gray: i have been a democrat all my life because democrats are for the working man and woman. that does not mean i'm going to support and endorse every idea of a democrat. i have said that every democratic idea is not a good one, every republican idea is not a bad one. i support the nominee of our party. i am the democratic nominee for the senate, and i support the nominee of our party. mr. goodman: can you give me one good republican idea? mr. gray: the bourbon bill couple of years ago. and i believe senator paul voted against it.

mr. goodman: senator paul, supporting donald trump for president? mr. paul: yes, and the reason is i think he would be better for kentucky. when you compare them, hillary clinton was quite explicit in saying that her policies -- and i presume the mayor will continue to support these policies -- the power plan -- power plant regulations, stream guidance rules, state pollution roles -- all these regulations that have come to us from hillary clinton and barack obama, who he supports, have killed our jobs. we lost 15,000 jobs in eastern kentucky. when you travel there, some of the counties, one third of the people are not working. they're not collecting unemployment, but they are not working. it is sad, and it is because of this regulatory war on coal. donald trump said he would repeal the war on coal. they want to increase taxes. donald trump says he wants to lower taxes. if you look at the wars that have been fought overseas, donald trump says we should not declare war.

he does not agree with the iraq war. i think you will find that on every front, the rural farmers, the regulatory war, where they want to federalize all land-use and every farm in kentucky would be controlled by the federal government, trump is against it. hillary clinton is for it. if you endorse hillary clinton, you disqualify yourself. i don't know how you can represent kentucky, because everything she stands for is against what we need in kentucky. all of the jobs -- how can you be for jobs when she is for job destroying regulations? they don't seem to make sense, how you can endorse hillary clinton and still pretend to be in favor of kentucky jobs. mr. gray: i am with donald trump on this, give somebody else a chance. he has had six years to fix this and has done nothing. he has also created a war on coal miners. he is against the coal miners protection act, which would give

coal miners and fulfill the promise made to them in 1947 -- retired coal miners -- it would give them their pension benefits and their health benefits. i know a man named frankie clayton from western county. he is 70 years old, retired coal miner, and just last week, he got a notice in the mail that he was going to lose his health insurance at the end of december. there is a bill in congress today that cannot get out of the finance committee of the senate, and senator paul has said he is against it because it is not perfect. he is always letting perfect get in the way of good. this is a big problem. it is a problem for our country when you have this kind of spirit that perfect is going to get in the way of good. mr. goodman: why are you against that bill, senator paul? mr. paul: i'm for the concept -- when there is excess money in the reclamation fund, i'm for using that to help with the coal miners' pension. however, you have to look at,

why is the pension failing, and will that fix the ultimate problem, or will we be back here a year later? the pensions are bankrupt because hillary clinton and barack obama's war on coal that my opponent supports. the thing is, if you are not going to end the regulatory war on coal, how will you shore up the pensions? the companies have to survive. if you had 10,000 workers paying pensions and 10,000 retirees, you might be able to take care of them. so what if you go from 10,000 workers to 1000 or zero? why did that happen? because of the war on coal. i am for the bill, but i want to attach to it regulatory relief. that is what being a legislator is about -- trying to make a bill that will actually fix the problem and not be windowdressing. i want to fix the problem, and that is coal companies have to be able to make more money.

they have to succeed, and there have to be more workers employed paying into the pension for it to succeed. the only way to do that is end the regulatory war on coal. we have to convince democrats on this, because we have one democrat that will vote with us on this. there are no other democrats in washington that will vote for regulatory reform. mr. gray: senator paul has declared coal dead. if it that coal is a dirty form of energy. i believe coal is part of our future, and i believe we should support the miners in this act. he has said he is against it. he is coding it in different ways -- it is not sufficient for everybody. but he is not going to support it for those the promises have been made to. everybody in coal should know this and recognize it. >> you are watching the debate tonight. this question from carolyn in

lancaster to senator paul -- will you allow the supreme court nominee to proceed under a hillary clinton presidency? that would be merrick garland, who has been nominated and not acted on. mr. paul: there is a profound constitutional debate in our country over whether or not the president can act unilaterally to write law. a philosopher that our founding fathers looked to said that when the executive begins to legislate, tyranny will ensue. that is what is happening now. we have a president who thinks he is king and can write the law. he did this and immigration and changed the law without the authority or assent of congress. the court finally said recently that he went too far. on the powerplant or utility regulations killing the coal industry, he also wrote that without our permission. we never voted in congress. the arbiter of whether he is acting constitutionally will be

the supreme court, so it is going to be very difficult for me to vote for a candidate coming forward saying they want to abuse the constitution -- abuse the people to allow power to gravitate toward the presidency that is unconstitutional. so i can't imagine voting for a clinton nominee, unless she were to appoint somebody who were someone who believed in the separation of powers, as the founders wrote into the constitution. mr. gray: i'm very practical about things. senator paul quotes french philosophers instead of answering the question. would he vote for the nominee? would he take up the nomination? constitution is pretty clear on this. the president makes a nomination, and the senate then takes up the nomination through advise and consent process.

real clear on it. i think the senate should have done its job, and i don't know why it did not do its job. i think the people in america do not understand, except it is an illustration of the dysfunction in our system. it looks very practical to most people, and it does to me. mr. goodman: senator paul, if hillary clinton is successful next tuesday, would you support any nominee during her term in office that she would bring before the senate? mr. paul: i will support any nominee that pledges to uphold the separation of powers doctrine of the constitution. i will interview them, but they have to believe in the constitution. my oath is to defend the constitution. if she appoints somebody who believes in the separation of powers, that the president does not get to write the laws, i will consider them. that is really the problem. we have this fundamental, philosophical difference in our country between one party, who believes in excess power gravitating to the presidency

and the president can do anything, and those of us who believe in constitutional restraints that allow for checks and balances. some people can call it gridlock, but basically checks and balances trying to get unanimity to move things forward. instead of president obama just saying, if congress will not do it, i will. i have my pen, i will do what i want. those are the words of an autocrat, not somebody we should be aspiring to return to office. mr. goodman: the murder rate in kentucky's two largest cities has increased. what measures do you support that would make it more difficult for dangerous people to get guns in kentucky? mr. gray: i have said i would support the terrorism loophole legislation that senator paul opposed. that would provide that terrorists, criminals, and the mentally ill would not have access to guns. i think that is a minimum what

should be done. i see this issue up close. i talked to mothers and fathers who have lost their children. as a mayor, you don't ever escape it. i would support that legislation. i would support universal background checks. i grew up in a culture, like most of us in kentucky, a culture, where guns and hunting was part of everyday life. i respect and i endorse the second amendment. and i believe that we should put our arms around this challenge in this problem, because it is way more than something we should ignore. that is what has been done in congress for far too long. mr. paul: i don't think we should ignore the immigration law. there are certain cities and

rumors of certain cities that basically ignore the immigration law should be removed from federal funding. -- basically ignore the immigration law. i am for kate's law, which says any city that chooses not to enforce immigration law should be removed from federal funding. i think that is a pretty important thing, and i don't think we have gotten much support across the aisle on this. i was pretty sad about what happened to kate, because she was a beautiful young woman in san francisco killed by an illegal immigrant that had been deported five times. we have to do a better job. once again, that was professor obama looking at the immigration law and saying, we don't really care who comes, we are going to open the doors. that was coming from president obama without any congressional input. when we tried to pass kate's law to say that cities like san francisco, you can't ignore the law and you have to transfer people to custody, you cannot just release hardened criminals -- that would go a long way toward making our city safer. mr. goodman: mayor gray mentioned closing the gun show loophole. your comments on that?

mr. paul: we have background checks, and i support background checks. if you look at where the crime is coming from, the vast majority is coming from guns bought illegally. we have to look into that. we have to police our cities. we have to look at whether criminal should be being released so easily. one of the things i favor with nonviolent crimes, trying to get them out of prison so we have more space for the violent criminals to stay longer. when they do this in california, they found that releasing some of the nonviolent people, they had much more room for violent criminals. before they're getting early release, but they were able to keep them in prison longer. i think we have to look at what we are doing with violent criminals and keeping them separate from the public. mr. goodman: this is a question from alan steinberg in louisville. how does each question feel about raising the minimum wage? mr. gray: i am for it. in lexington, we passed an increase in the minimum wage. i think it represents the backbone of our economy in so

many respects. it represents more than 80 years of history, and regrettably, this is another example where the congress through his -- through its dysfunction has failed to act. a city like lexington and louisville had to act and had to do its job -- had to do the job that congress should have been doing. my understanding is senator paul is not only against an increase in the minimum wage, senator paul is against the minimum wage itself. i think that is wrong. i think it is a denial of so much of the history of our country. a progressive movement more than 100 years ago that recognized the minimum wage was essential in a functioning capitalist environment and society. mr. goodman: senator? mr. paul: the congressional budget office, which is nonpartisan, looks at these issues and strive to figure out the consequences of things.

if you raise the wage above the market wage -- whatever the market would set -- the greater the differential between the market wage and the government wage, the greater the unemployment. they predicted if the minimum wage were raised to $10 an hour, 500,000 people would lose their job. there were 98 studies i saw a year ago, and every one of them found that. it is particularly bad in the sense that unemployment among people with the least skills or least chances have more obstacles. actually, black teenagers have suffered more from raising the minimum wage than almost any other category. what i would like is to see wages way above the minimum wage. i have traveled kentucky. this is one of the things that has impressed me. in the last six months, i have done 130 town halls.

i have been to industry after industry. the main thing they're telling me -- it is not that they are paying six dollars an hour, they are paying $12 an hour. they said they are having trouble getting people to work for that. the main problem, they say, are they need people with work ethics and people who are drug-free. there are complicated problems that we have in the country, but if you raise the wage above the market wage, the people trying to get started in life are hurt by this. i have three boys that all work minimum wage, and they have all learned what it is like to deliver pizzas and work as a host in a restaurant or in a call center, and frankly, that is how i grew up. mr. gray: i think it is good for the country to have a work ethic at a young age. i'm a businessman, and i worked through the minimum wage myself. nobody in our company today makes the minimum wage, but a lot of people do. he is dead wrong on this.

just like he is dead wrong on pay equity for women. most of the people who earn minimum wage today are women. that is who is struggling, and that is who is suffering. either he is missing it, or he is denying it. mr. paul: all of the economists disagree. they all say raising the wage above the market wage leads to unemployment. congressional budget offices, 500,000 jobs will be lost. a good way to look at it is, let's say minimum wage is $7.25 and you make it $15. if you double it and mcdonald's has 20 employees, what happens? you think they hire more people are less? we already said -- we already saw with obamacare. they said it was going to help poor people. the rates are going through the roof, but also, they said if you work 30 hours, you have to get obamacare, which is the cost of doing business. if you work 32 hours, a lot of people got moved back to 28 hours. the congressional budget said

obamacare, they love obamacare -- 2.2 million people have lost jobs because of this. mr. gray: he is going to take health care away from 20 million americans and 400,000 kentuckians. mr. goodman: let's move onto another issue as we wrap up. according to the most recent kids count report, for the first time ever, more than one in four kids in kentucky live in poverty. will you give me one recommendation on the way you would tackle that if you're either returned or go to the u.s. senate, and how that program would work? mr. gray: i think we have to start with education and the investment we make an education. this is why jobs are so critical and so important. growing our economy at the level where everyone has a chance allows us to grow out of poverty conditions that are plaguing us. we have got to have jobs. this is why i have said it is

number one. some will say that the senate is not a place -- a senator does not have anything to do with jobs. that is dead wrong. it is like saying a senator does not have anything to do with education or poverty. we have to examine all of these issues carefully and thoughtfully every day, get our arms around them. mr. paul: it is under president obama, who my opponent supported, it is under hillary clinton -- 30 years of hillary clinton that these policies have been enacted leading to this anemic growth. how do we grow faster? we are growing at about 1% right now. historically we have grown at least 3%. ronald reagan lowered taxes are -- lowered taxes dramatically and had one year of 7% growth, so we can grow much more rapidly, but we have to have a debate. that is what this is about. it is about what policies are better -- raising taxes, raising

regulations, debt doesn't matter. or that maybe we should run our government the way you run your family. do have to balance your budget, can't have too much debt, taxes should be low, and the regulatory burden needs to be lowered, because what is happening is the policies are killing our economy. mr. goodman: 30 seconds on this final question from tyler of daviess county. what has been your biggest regret during your political career? mr. paul: the time i have had to spend away for my family. we try very hard to stay together into as much, but i spent a lot of hours in airports traveling. time away probably is the most difficult thing, but i have been married for 26 years, and we have a family life that we tried to keep our kids involved in church and sports and athletics.

mr. gray: we have a lot of ambitious goals, and in my time as mayor, we have had a lot of aspirational goals, and we have achieved a lot. that is because we focused on getting our financial house in order and getting things done. i'm very proud of that, but sometimes i'm called a perfectionist, and i want to get it all done. mr. goodman: thank you very much for being here on kentucky tonight. tune in friday night for comment on kentucky with bill o'brien. we will discuss the election. i am bill goodman. good evening. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] announcer: there is more debate coverage to look forward to this week. on wednesday, the six candidates running to succeed retiring senator david federer will take the stage in louisiana. watch live at 8:00 eastern in c-span. later from new hampshire, the final debate between kelly ayotte and maggie hassan.

that is at 9:00 eastern. on election day, november 8, the nation decides our next president and which party controls the house and senate. stay with c-span for coverage of the presidential race, including campaign stops with hillary clinton, donald trump, and their surrogates, and follow key house and senate races with our coverage of their debate and speeches. c-span, where history unfolds daily. host: joining us from kansas city with a look at the missouri senate race is dave helling, a reporter and columnist for "the kansas city star." democrat jason kander challenging republican senator roy blunt. why has this race become so

competitive? dave: couple of reasons. roy blunt has been a senator from missouri for six years. he is in his first term. he remains a popular figure in missouri, but he has some flaws. he has been in washington for a long time. he is 66 years old, so he is well-known to people in missouri going back to the 1980's. this is not a year to be an incumbent. it is a tough deal to defend government or washington than it has been in past cycles. jason kander is a fresh face. he cut a very well known ad where he assembled someone to help him with rural areas of the state. a smart campaign, plenty of money, in a year in which incumbency is a problem. i think roy blunt has also run a smart campaign, so it is a one or two point race as we head into the final week. host: according to real clear politics, it is within the margin of error. in the national race, donald trump is ahead in missouri. what impact has his candidacy

had on the race and the weekend developments involving hillary clinton impacting jason kander? dave: it is interesting that trump is running ahead of blunt in missouri. in most states, senate candidates are ahead of trump because he is a controversial character. the fact that roy blunt trails trump in kansas suggests a problem that roy blunt has, which is that he is not universally popular among republicans. blunt was heavily involved four years ago in the controversy surrounding todd akin and claire mccaskill -- you remember the so-called "legitimate rape" interview. it left a bitter taste in the mouth of missourians about roy blunt. that shows up in his poll

numbers where he trails trump. if trump can move farther ahead and win missouri by eight or nine points, then i think roy blunt will be ok. mitt romney won missouri by nine points in 2012, so it shows you how it trends presidentially. as i say, if trump gets close to that, then i think roy blunt will be fine. if it is a two or three point trump victory in missouri, then i think blunt is in trouble. that is how the weekend events play into missouri, to the extent they cost secretary clinton in missouri and help trump, i think that helps turn out and helps roy blunt. host: who is jason kander, and how did he become the nominee? dave: he is the secretary of state in missouri. he won a statewide race two years ago, relatively unknown in the party until then. he had served in the state legislature but never sought public office -- or statewide office before. 35 years old, a veteran of the

war in afghanistan, well regarded here, smart, raised money, did a lot of things that a candidate would have to do. he has run a very good campaign. but as recently as a month ago, he was unknown by about 3/5 of he was unknown by about 3/5 of the voters of missouri. he is not extraordinarily well known. a part of his challenge has been introducing himself and to try and ride whatever waves might come from the problems that donald trump has with the general electorate. as i say, he has been smart about his campaign and aggressive. he has challenged senator blunt on personal terms. senator blunt's family are all lobbyists. jason kander has made much of that in his tv commercials.

whether it is enough to get him over the top, we will not know for a week. host: the statement by the fbi director and development since then. what impact has that had on the jason kidd her campaign? dave: he issued a statement that he thought the private e-mail server was a mistake and he trusted the fbi. both candidates are doing their best to separate themselves from the candidates at the top of the ticket. you don't see hillary clinton or any of her surrogates coming into missouri to campaign for jason kander. i think he is trying to keep her at arm's length, but roy blunt is doing the same thing with donald trump. he said, i will vote for trump, i have endorsed trump, he does not campaign with trump, does not want to be seen in the same photograph with donald trump. each candidate is trying to run his own race. we will see how voters respond. host: on november 8 when the returns come in, what will you be looking for? what will tell you which way this race is going? dave: jason kander will do well in the urban areas, st. louis and kansas city.

he needs to rack up big margins in those cities to have a chance. roy blunt will do well in southwest missouri, where he is from, and in the rural areas. when claire mccaskill won in 2012 and 2006, she also held her own in central missouri counties and even won several. if jason kander can do that, if he can grab three or four counties in central missouri, i think he may be in a position to win. if he is limited only to st. louis, kansas city, and the college town of columbia, i think he may be in some trouble and that roy blunt will be reelected. host: with a look at the missouri senate race, one of a number of competitive senate races, dave helling is a reporter and columnist for "the kansas city star" joining us from kansas city. dave: great to be with you.

brexit good morning everyone. -- >> good morning everyone. we are pleased to have senator roy blunt with us today. a special welcome to all of our employees but also our visitors. we are glad you are here. senator blunt and his team and i had a nice little tour around , and i am always so proud to show off the work that you want to hear. here.k that you all do

that was a great opportunity. to have a chance to chat, and i can see right away that senator blunt shares a lot of the same values that we all hold dear. like a good jobs, strong families, and protection of personal freedoms and a strong national security system, less government, all of those things. i got a strong sense of that today, talking to the senator. i'm glad he is here to talk to us for a few minutes. with no further ado, please help me in welcoming the senator from missouri, roy blunt. [applause] sen. blunt: thanks, all of you. great to be here with you today. hopefully this does not slow down the day so much that you cannot recapture what needs to be done on a friday at work. i'm glad to be here. when i was talking to arnie today, he said one of the greatest things that ever

happened to his family was moving to washington, missouri and getting to raise their kids here like you are raising our family here. one of my favorite towns. i was glad to have come earlier this week, the endorsement of bill miller at "the washington missourian" for reelection. what i'm really glad to have is the opportunity, if things go the way i think they're going to go, to continue to fight for more jobs in less government. we are really at an incredibly important time, where lots of bad things are logically about to happen where we live unless somehow we figure out how to stop them from happening. the world food demand is going to double in 30 or 40 years. i was raised on a dairy farm. we understand where we live, not only are we in the middle of the biggest contiguous piece of agricultural ground in the world -- the mississippi river valley -- the best farmers, the best ranchers, the best ag research institutions, and maybe most

importantly, the best way to get things all over the world of anywhere in the world. i work in washington, i don't work in jefferson city, but i was there talking to the general assembly. there was a five-year highway bill, which we finally got done after 37 short-term extensions under president obama -- can't build roads and bridges, two years or six months or 90 days at a time -- we finally got a highway bill. i said it matters to the country, but it matters more to us because it is one of our competitive advantages. if you look at the highway map of america or the river map or railroad map, on any of those

three maps, if you look at where the map most logically comes together, you are pretty much looking at our backyard. so the things that grow that economy -- if world food demand doubles, that is not just production and agriculture, that is transportation, insurance, i.t., equipment, blasting equipment, things that get inland ports more prepared to do what they need to do then they would be otherwise. we are working real hard, both in the missouri legislature and chairing the- mississippi river caucus, to look at the mississippi river reports as one system. the inland ports are almost always ports where you are selling something to somebody else. they are export ports. nothing wrong with buying things from other people, but it almost always feels better to sell things to other people than to

buy things from other people and create the jobs we have here. anytime our economy returns to an economy where people are growing things and making things -- things like you make right here -- that is always better for the middle of the country. we are closer to the resources of the country, closer to both the international and national distribution center of the country, close to a great workforce. if you are going to make something in america today, the first two boxes you have to can weur -- check are pay the utility bill and does the transportation system work? if not, you don't get to the third box, which is, who has the best workforce and places where you can pay the utility bill and the transportation system works? people want to bring jobs back to this country. we just need to be sure we're not building needless barriers

that stop that from happening. the epa has a power rule that is challenging rightly so whether the epa has the right to do whether they are proposing they can do. what they would do is basically have a war on coal-fired plants for utilities. we are the fourth most dependent state on coal-fired utilities, the cleanest, most efficient coal-fired utilities anybody has ever had. but in our state, if they get that rule through, the average utility bill will double in 10 or 12 years. who is most impacted by that -- struggling families. people who can barely pay their utility bill now, the last people who will get the energy efficient appliances and new windows and more insulation are people who already are having a hard time paying their utility bill. the next thing that happens is

the jobs that would occur at today's utility bill, many of them would not occur. we have got more american energy than anyone would have dreamed possible 20 years ago. who would think the government response would be, let's raise everybody's utility bills? when in fact the government response should be, how can we manage to have a competitive utility structure that leads to more jobs? i think the obama administration, one of the problems we have had the last eight years is they always seem to be more focused on what the world should look like 25 years from now than on whether people have better jobs next month and next year. if people have better jobs, the world will look a whole lot better 25 years from now than if people don't. we need to be doing common sense things. the other will the epa has is called the waters of the u.s.

rule. they have decided that while they have jurisdiction over navigable water, an area of commerce you can move something on, they had decided that means any water that can run into any water that can run into any water that could run into the mississippi river, which would be navigable water -- i mean, the missouri river. in our state, the epa map that the farm bureau believes would be covered on anything involving water. any building permit, any determination to set a utility pole, resurface your driveway -- 99.7% of missouri would be under the control of the epa for those issues. if you really want to slow down our economy, those are two good ways to do it -- raise the

utility bill and put the epa in charge of anything involving water. fighting those regulations, i think i should have to vote on any regulation that has any significant economic consequence. the people need to be responsible for those rules and regulations. i have sponsored legislation like that for a long time. the last couple of congresses with rand paul. by the way, donald trump says he would sign a bill, if we put that bill on his desk. a president that will fight regulators, president that will realize that obamacare is a disaster. you have pretty good health care here, arnie and i talked about that, and your company has worked hard to provide pretty good health care that quicker than you know it might be taxed as part of the cadillac plan. i'm not for that. but i'm also not for families not having choices.

under the current law, starting next year -- that means starting with the sign-up on november 1 -- 97 of our 114 counties will only have one insurance company offering insurance individuals. 97 of 114 counties, no competition, one company. even bill clinton got this right -- making a speech, he said this health care plan is the craziest thing ever. he said the costs keep going up and the benefits keep going down. just yesterday, president obama said, that is not my fault. well, who's fault is it if it is not his fault? exactly. i was sitting by somebody on an airplane flying home to springfield, missouri -- a self-employed, only way to get

his insurance is on the exchange. looked like he was mid-to-late 40's. we talked about his business. i said, what do you do about your insurance? he said in 2008 in 2009, my wife and our daughters were paying about $300 a month our insurance, and it was the insurance we thought we needed. right now, we are paying $1139 a month for insurance, and we have a $7,500 deductible on top of that. if two people in our family are sick, we have to meet the $7,500 deductible twice before they pay anything. everybody here knows that is really not insurance at all for any of our families. you are paying $15,000 in premiums, and if you get sick, you make another $15,000 before the insurance company pays? as then, you may have to pay part of what has to be paid after that. it is outrageous, absolutely

outrageous. when he is going to find is that his insurance is going to go up somewhere in the neighborhood of 40% this year. not only one company offering insurance in 97 counties, but that one company will be offering insurance at whatever rate the state of missouri -- which have not disclosed yet what the new rates are -- at whatever rate they had to give those companies to get them to continue to be even the one company that offers insurance under this crazy plan. we need to be much more focused on opportunity and jobs and more jobs and less government, and also focused on who we have always been. the other day i went to march dale high school. it was the anniversary of the building where i got my first

job teaching high school history. the first person in my family to ever get a job that you had to have a college degree for, because i was the first person in my family to have a college degree. my grandfather's last job had been the janitor at the building. that is not a bad story, but in our country, there are a million stories better than that one. i think the president has over and over again refused to talk about the exceptional nature of who we are. i don't know how long you can have the leader of the country not believe we are exceptional and have people still understand how extraordinary it is to be here. the son of a dairy farmer is a united states senator, and nobody thinks that is unusual because we live in united states of america. the next senate in the next president, more than any senator -- any senate or president in a

long time or for a long time, is also going to define the supreme court. when you are talking to your friends about this, there are lots of supreme court decisions over the last few years that have been 5-4. once you get on the court, you stay there a long time. antonin scalia, who died earlier this year, was appointed by president reagan. he served for 26 years after reagan left the white house, and 12 years after reagan died, he was the fifth vote and many of those 5-4 decisions. we know there is one vacancy. looking at the age of the court, you have to assume there will be two. i would not be surprised if there were three. i would bet three, and i would not be surprised if there were four. all of those 5-4 decisions are going to be decided by the next

president and the next senate. the heller case, the second amendment case, was 5-4. i have an a from the nra, my opponent has an f. less than 10% of the general assembly figured out how to get the f. he had to work hard for that, he worked for it. the partial-birth abortion case upheld the ability of the government to say, you cannot do that at that point in a pregnancy, that was 5-4. the hyde amendment case was 5-4, a freedom of speech case was 5-4 that mrs. clinton says every day she wants to reverse that freedom of speech case that was 5-4. we are at a critical moment. when you are talking to your friends, the one thing to tell them is that while every election is important, this one is an election that is not going

to come around for a long time. it is going to determine who we are for a generation by determining the court, by deciding if we are going to get the regulators under control or not, by deciding that would help care are going to have more choices and more competition for we are going to have a government option. you can't compete against the government, so anybody who says therefore the government option is really for the government takeover of health care. i need your help. i look forward to having your help. one other thing happening in our state this year, we have five state officials up for election -- state offices up for election, people who work in jefferson city. the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, the state treasurer, the attorney general -- nobody that has those offices today is running for any of them.

we are going to make a decision about five new people that are going to be important in leading the state for a long time. we have a general assembly now that constantly has to override the governor's veto. it should not take two thirds of the general assembly to get anything done, so the governor's race matters. it also matters any time you invite somebody to comment your community, speak at a high school graduation or the lions club or cut a ribbon on the opening of a building. we have state officials who believe that the people in our state are bigger than the government, rather than the government bigger than the people. they believe we ought to be focused on finding more jobs for people that they can raise families with and have stronger families, instead of finding more programs -- government programs -- for people to be on. you are deciding that this year as well. one of those people is here. i'm going to let him finish up.

eric schmitt, a current state senator, a guy who i think is going to be an important leader in our state for a long time. he is one of the new voices. all of those offices are going to have somebody new in them. i think we ought to have somebody who agrees with the vision for missouri and missouri families that you and i share. thank you for letting me be here. eric schmitt. [applause] mr. schmitt: thank you. this race here is getting some national attention -- you may have noticed a camera here covering this. it is an incredibly important senate race. the fate of the united states supreme court for the next 40 years hangs in the balance, along with other issues. i have been campaigning across the state. i have never campaigned or worked with somebody who works as hard as roy blunt.

he has a strong voice in the united states senate, and we need to send him back. [applause] mr. schmitt: roy mentioned something that is important, the idea of american exceptionalism. we talk a lot about the constitution and it is important, but before there was a constitution, there was the declaration of independence. really what that document represents is a mission statement for the country, who we are supposed to be. and we are guaranteed not by government but by god the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. those three words -- pursuit of happiness -- were really never used before in the course of human history. it defines what it means to be an american, you can come here and pursue your dreams. your kids and your grandkids will have those opportunities, too. i think what happens in where we -- happens and where we are at right now is it is easy to get

caught up in the back-and-forth and soundbites and who said what and the polls, but what is really at stake in just a few days is whether or not that is the country we are going to remain. like my family, who came over from germany -- there is a lot of german heritage in this town. they wanted a better life six generations ago, so they settled in missouri. when my grandfather came back from world war ii, he started a butcher shop with eighth-grade education. he lived the american dream. my dad worked there, went to night school. he worked seven days a week of the midnight shift. that work ethic that made this company a great company is what defines what it means to be an american. that is true at the national and state level. in missouri, we can do better. there are states surrounding us that are doing bigger and bolder things. every state around us -- except illinois, we do not want to emulate illinois -- is lowering taxes.

my time in the senate, we overrode the governor to pass the first tax cut in 100 years. we have got a lot more to do. there is a lot at stake. we need a state treasurer who is going to invest more in main street and less than wall street. we need a treasurer it going to loan money to local banks that did not get that money on the street, the same way my grandfather wanted to start his business. that is what will make our economy grow. we have talked about some of the charges in front of us -- obamacare is one of them. higher taxes, fewer options. when we run for these state offices, they don't get as much attention, but one of the differences between me and my opponent -- my opponent did not just vote for some semblance of obamacare, my opponent was picked by president obama to implement obamacare in missouri. she is not talking a lot about that on the campaign trail, you

might imagine why. there are very big differences -- somebody trying to lower your taxes versus somebody trying to implement obamacare in missouri. all of these races have consequences. as roy said, we have a generational opportunity that has not come up in almost 25 years to pick new leaders for -- leaders for the state so that we can grow -- to pick new leaders for this state so that we can grow. if we are going to double the people we need to feed, missouri is as poised as any other state to seize on that and do well. it is going to take leadership and people who understand how hard you work. we need to get government out of the way and create an environment for more jobs. i really appreciate the opportunity to be here. make sure you go out and vote. i appreciate any support you might give me. [applause]

mr. schmitt: i will let him say get back to work, i don't want to be the one to say that on a friday. >> grab some cookies first. thank you all for being here. [applause] [no audio]

[no audio] >> in the final days before election day, voters in missouri are seeing several political ads from senator blunt and jason kander. here's a look. >> we have a family business just like roy blunt. his wife and three of his children are all lobbyists. he does not see what is wrong with that. sen. blunt: i don't understand why that would be a question.

everybody's family does something. >> lobbying bought his $1.6 million washington, d.c. mansion. he does not even live in missouri anymore. after 20 years in washington, maybe he should just become a lobbyist, too. >> i am jason kander, and i approve this message because we won't change washington until we change the people we send there. sen. blunt: i am roy blunt, and i approve this message. >>'s kander lies about roy blunt because kander is to blunt destitute liberal. -- jason kander has taken millions. even his life was listed as a lobbyist. but now jason lies about that. jason kander, another line -- another lying, liberal politician. when i came home, i relies

the western politicians were not ignoring what we needed in missouri. they put their parties and their pay raises and their political careers ahead of what was going right for our country. i have worked to clean up state government. i am running for senate and i approve this message because we will not change washington will -- until we change the proof -- -- changed the people we send their. >> hillary clinton's first stop was jason kander's headquarters. she gave half $1 million to help him. she knows he supports her bad ideas like expanding obamacare. amnesty for illegal immigrants. if hillary clinton is president, jason kander will be a blank check. no wonder he keeps lying about roy blunt. the pay is good. roy blunt: i'm roy blunt and i approve this message. announcer: vice president joe biden campaigned along side

jason kander. this is just under one hour. [cheering and applause]

>> how are you doing? [cheering] >> how about kathy? [cheering] >> all right. so, this is the vice president. [cheers and applause] >> yeah! [cheering] >> thank you all for everything you are doing. you know, there is 11 days to go. did you know that? [cheering and applause] >> i thought you might. in the army we would refer that to 10 days and a wake-up, but we actually have to work for the whole 11 days. he ready for that? [cheering and applause] >> i thought so. you know, i wanted to start by telling you a quick story because this campaign has really become a conversation about whether or not there is promise

in the next generation. i want to tell you a quick story. it is a story the veterans here will understand. raise your hand if you are a veteran. give these folks a round of applause. [cheering and applause] >> so, the folks who raise their hand know when you're getting ready to go overseas, one of the things that happens is people tell you, people training you, that when you get over there you're going to have a good stuff. for me, they said you're going to have armored humvees. there is a mean fellow on top. i see you are nodding, right? a mean looking fellow on top of a machine gun. that's what i was expecting. this is about my first few days in afghanistan. i am getting there and i'm thinking i'm pretty top. -- i'm pretty tough. like, i thought i was g.i. joe in the flesh. i had my battle rattle, my pistol on my hip. a pretty tough guy. within the first few days it came time for me to go the very first convoy of my whole deployment to the camp when i was stationed.

i was still feeling tough. it rolls up in the convoy is not armored humvees. there was no mean looking fellow on top of the machine gun. it was a midsized unarmored suv. seriously. just like what you driver of st. louis. but we were about to drive around afghanistan and i suddenly felt the opposite of tough. [laughter] >> i was starting to get queasy and that in an addition to being physically scared, i became very concerned that i could end up getting sick and being known as the guy during my whole deployment as the guy who threw up on his coworkers the first day and i thought that would be bad. fortunately, we safely got where we're going and i did not get sick on anybody. but if you fast-forward, i'm standing in the exact same spot but now i am a convoy commander. i am telling folks what to do if we got attacked. who is going to be in charge if i am killed. i see this kid staring back at me. 19 or 20 years old and clearly feeling what i was feeling months earlier because he is

turning green. like, the color of the letters on your shirt green. and, i know what he is feeling, i know when he is thinking. i am watching him for what he would do. we load up the vehicles. the reason i remember this is because he ended up sitting right behind me and i remember thinking, i really hope this kid does not get sick. he is right behind me. the reason i tell you that story is because up until that moment in his journey, he had all these decisions to make where he knew what the right thing was, and he knew what the easy thing was, and he knew they were not the same thing. and he chose the right thing. he chose the right thing when he decided to enlist. 2006. he knew that meant he can end up in a place like afghanistan. then he chose a job in the military that could put them in the scene right behind me. -- put him in a seat right behind me. and then he when he was turning green and everybody knows going

on, he knew he could say, maybe i will go in tomorrow's convoy. but he did not do that. he got in the suv. and the reason i am running comes down to my overwhelming feeling that what we need in congress right now are more people that make a choice. more people that will get in the suv. more people who look at the right thing and be easy thing and choose the easy thing and -- the right thing and the easy thing, and they choose the right thing, and they know it is not the same thing. [cheers and applause] sec. kander: because when i signed up for the army i didn't out of a desire to protect the entire country. i promise you i did not go to afghanistan solely to protect the wealthiest 1% of americans. i did not. [applause] sec. kander: and i know that just like that young man knew they you need to do the right thing, we need to do right by the middle class and that is not what senator blunt is doing in the united states senate. [cheers and applause]

sec. kander: because for far too long, congress has put millionaires, billionaires, special interest who can afford access to politicians ahead of everybody else. i had a folks working multiple jobs. 15 years ago, there were making more money working one job. they're putting all of those folks behind. and the truth is working americans, they are not actually looking for a handout. they are looking for a level playing field. because we know -- that's right -- the reason you're here, the reason i am here, the reason the vice president is here -- [cheers and applause] sec. kander: -- is because we know that america is at its best when our middle class is at its strongest. [applause]

sec. kander: and we all know that we need more people in congress, in the senate, who understand that college has to be more affordable or middle-class families are going to struggle under that debt for generations. and we know that the middle class needs a tax cut before a multi-national corporation needs another tax loophole. and we know that it is wrong when women are paid less than men for doing the exact same job. [cheers and applause] sec. kander: so, over the next 11 days, here's what is going to happen. the folks who have made an investment in senator blunt,