the landmark cases companion book. is available for $8.95 plus shipping and handling at c-span.org/landmarkcases. for additional resources there is a link to the national constitution center's interactive announcer: a look at the house race in pennsylvania congressional district between e andlican rick saccon democrat mr. lamb. courtesy of wtae in pittsburgh, this is just under one hour. a local race on the national stage. >> drawn national attention. announcer: a special election for the 18th congressional district. >> i want to help the people of

the 18th district. announcer: republican representative rick saccone. democrat conor lamb. >> i hope the voters will look at my record and look at my family, my background. >> i am running a campaign used on values. -- based on values. announcer: they go head-to-head in the wtae studio. shannon: hello everyone. on behalf of the league of women voters, welcome to our debate in the special election for pennsylvania 18th congressional seat. , forandidates tonight terms state representative from the 39th district, republican rick saccone.

and out of the attorney's office, democrat conor lamb. representative kathleen -- numbers to you do figure out who would answer the first question. mr.'s a you will have the closing word. saccone, you will have the closing word. you will have one minute for each response. time forlow more follow-ups at my discretion as moderator. comesry first question from me and will address the elephant in the room, something we have been talking a lot about over the last few months. we are here tonight because tim

murphy made career ending mistakes. congressman murphy, who is pro-life and voted that way reportedly asked his mistress to have an abortion when he thought she was pregnant. it was also reported that he was hostile and his congressional offices. of being afraid of mr. murphy, citing impossible demands, personal insults and even threats. if you win, what simply you take to simply be a man of your word? behavior you model that you would want to see from your staffers and other americans? this is a question of how will you. manlamb: i learned to be a of my word for my father and grandfather. i had the privilege of growing up in a family that is very demanding.

when i became a little older, i had the honor of a lifetime of becoming an officer in the united states marine corps. when i took the oath for the first time, i thought about the phrase semper fidelis. it means always. some things are nonnegotiable. telling the truth, having integrity and treating people right are basic things that we live by. there is one thing that we say in the marines, officers eat last. literally. the highest ranking officer goes to the end of the line and junior ranking marines you first. you always put your people first eat first. you always put your people first. mr. saccone: i worked in the state legislature where every word you say is picked apart and put on camera every day. all my speeches and appearances

are put up on my website. thatalways very much aware your word matters. people look at that. people in the 18th restrict know i have kept my word from the campaign promises i made years ago. all.ieve i have kept them i am known as the man of integrity and a man of my word, and i will continue that. shannon: the next question goes saccone. kathleen: do you intend to hold traditional town hall meetings in your district and with what restrictions, if any?

the town halls are open to anyone. i field any questions. i have never run away from that. if you look at my record, you will see that i have always been accessible to people. every eagle scout presentation, every fireman anklet, every hundredth birthday party. firemanrocery store -- banquet, every hundredth birthday party. mr. lamb: i believe anyone who wants to hold public office should hold regular town hall, all the time. if you want to represent people, you have to be willing to answer the questions. i have learned the most from the town hall meetings, whether they are small as in someone's living room or in a large church or gymnasium. i have been lucky that people have come to share great stories with the common insight about

the most important issues that we have. shannon: next question comes from rob. rob: president trump says he is going to put tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. for both of you, do you agree with president trump's intentions? our wars good and easy? mr. lamb: our steelworkers have .orked for a long time for too long, china has been making cheap steel and flooding the market with it. i think this is long overdue. see howto take time to this policy plays out. it is not clear who will -- who it will apply to. leo gerard said we should focus on the bad actors, focus on china more than our friends.

we need to stick up for our steelworkers. we also have to use the steel. we need to get this infrastructure built going that ll going that-- bi we have been talking about. i want to get to work on that right away. i believe our steelworkers can compete with anyone in the world, as long as the playing field is level. many of our competitors around the world have slanted the playing field. president trump is trying to even that scale back out. protect jobs in western pennsylvania. i think it is important what he is doing. i'm sure there will be more negotiation and we will see what will happen. bob: there are small business

owners. what do you say to the small business owners and workers rely on alihoods trade for? -- trade war? if you put tariffs on something that's what they are being told right now -- what we are being told right now, that would be miniscule at this point. it is important for us to protect those jobs. i agree it is premature to know what will happen here. we need to give time will be affected and how. we mustcus on china, protect our small business owners and their ability to compete. my opponent has always stuck up for the steel industry because

-- votedways wanted for the use of foreign steel. people who rely on the union for the hard work that they do -- we say we stick up for our steelworkers and our steel industry, we need to actually vote for it. nonsense.e: that is i have always stood up for our workers. the leaders of the democrat party support people who are against our workers. they are the ones driving jobs out of pennsylvania. our workers want to work. they want jobs. the democratic party drives them out with overregulation. that is why they vote for me in droves. shannon: the next question will go to mr. lamb.

elaine: renewed calls for a ban on ar-15's and the age requirement to buy rifles and a ban on bump stocks, most other proposals. where do you stand on each of these proposals? a ban on ar-15's, a raise in the to purchaseto 21 rifles and a ban on bump stocks? believe what is happening right now is unacceptable. we have had too many tragedies with no action from congress area did what it -- from congress. children are afraid to go to school. i had a mother taught me that when she was in the drop-off line, she became physically ill when it was time for them to get out of the car. everything it takes to make our children feel safe and make parents feel safe sending their children to school.

oft is on the issue background checks. the secondport amendment, but he has called for the elimination of a background check in pennsylvania. i call for universal background checks. no loopholes. us most important thing for to focus on is to act now. if we could get agreement on any proposal, we should. we are hearing agreement on one thing. shannon: i will ask you to actually answer her question about raising the age to 21. mr. lamb: i am open to it, but i do not support it right now. we should talk about the bills that we know can pass. we need to get it done. shannon: representative saccone. mr. saccone: i want to focus on school safety at some point because i think that is the important thing. the ban on air 15 come we did that in 1954.

we had a band for 10 years -- ban for 10 years. it did not work. the department of justice looked at it and it had no effect on crime. of banning matter those weapons. disarmument is always to law-abiding citizens, but i think we should allow our people to exercise their second amendment rights. raising the age to 21, you run into the argument of us sending 18-year-old and 19-year-olds to fight for our country area did they come home and they are not allowed to buy a gun? is that what you want? -- country. they come home and the anonymous to buy a gun? is that what you want? kathleen is next.

her question goes to representative saccone. pennsylvania uses non-mandated options in the medicaid program to provide community-based care to hundreds of pennsylvanians who are elderly and disabled, who would otherwise be deprived of their liberty. the currentotect levels of medicaid funding to pennsylvania? would you protect the use of medicaid for optional community-based services? please explain your answer. mr. saccone: yes. i have always supported people with disabilities, especially those who want to stay in their own home. we should be encouraging people to function in their own home and not be institutionalized. i have always been an advocate of that. it is good for the people and the taxpayer. it is much less expensive than

trying to institutionalize people. it is morally sound because people want to help themselves. the government should help them first. it is an optional service and not a mandated service. that is the issue. yes i will. mr. lamb: the most important thing right now is that there is a budget on the table in washington dc right now, in front of the united states congress. it cuts $1 trillion from our medicaid program over 10 years. if you cut $1 trillion out of program, it will make these services suffer. it is not right. this is no longer a chapter in paul ryan's book. this is serious. awaiting a vote. i will vote against that. i will refuse to allow that cut to our medicaid program on

behalf of our seniors, disabled and children. he will say that he will but the leadership of his party to go against that cut. shannon: the next question is .rom bob mayo you would each get a chance that rebuttal. the first part of this question goes to mr. lamb. bob: you accepted plea bargains that got criminals off. what are your specific answers to the accusations? mr. lamb: there is not a person watching the debate tonight who is not in the garbage that my opponent and the people on his side have put on television about me. they lied about my record. it is like a comic book version of a campaign. people are laughing at you, rick.

i was proud in the u.s. attorneys office to do my job, to take as many drug dealers off the streets as we could for as long as possible. ads,pecific case in these .e took over $300,000 in cash he was one of 45 people in an operation called operation payday that we took off the street. we went down to the police barracks. people were telling us great catch, we have been after these people for years. shannon: time is up. representative? i have put only positive ads out. his campaign is running negative ads. i only have three ads out there. his as are all negative against me. he purports that i am the one doing the negative ad campaign.

thoseot accountable for outside groups also doing those ads. he is the one doing the negative campaigning. i do not buy into it. shannon: what do you think of the ads being put out in your name attacking conor lamb? mr. saccone: he let some drug bargain.ff on it's a i do not think we should be doing that. i think we should be giving the maximum sentence, not letting people off. mr. lamb: can i rebuttal that? you know that is not true. 10 years is a serious sentence and we are proud of it. when outside groups go after things that are not true, their candidate sarah -- should go against it. you should say that it is false. you have been targeted in some ads. there is an ad for despising your spending as a long --

criticizing your spending as a lawmaker. -- why is that spending justified and would you be willing to pay any of it back to taxpayers? mr. saccone: it is another deception of his campaign. i give back money every year. i spend less than i am authorized. than my predecessor and i have less employees. this is a deception from the other side trying to make eight years look like an overspending when i have saved money. mr. lamb: those are optional payments. those are records from the office of the comptroller. he took more money than most legislators in harrisburg. orid an event last night

someone talked about how he has meals paidlls to ban for by lobbyists. i was at a meal with rick, paid for by lobbyists. he has had a lot of meals paid for by lobbyists. the first question was about the hypocrisy with tim murphy. we will see more of the same with rick. mr. saccone: this is the kind of nonsense the left puts out. lobbyists and legislators have dinner. they have been doing it for years. many did not think there is anything wrong with it. when i got to harrisburg, i said there is something wrong with this. we need to change the culture in harrisburg. i put legislation out to change that. support.partisan the only legislation that the government reform caucus actually endorsed, yet they try to demonize me for trying to

change the culture in harrisburg. shannon: next question from elaine. do you support spending billions of dollars to build a wall along the u.s. border with mexico? is the how important border wall compared to spending on the opioid crisis, education and roads and bridges infrastructure? please rank them in order of your spending priority. mr. saccone: it is not an either or. budgets are large and there are many priorities in there. results of what they have done there. walls and other countries have worked. we need to secure our border. i want to spend a lot more time on that. it is very important and we need to work on that. it is a different answer to a different question. i would say we need to do both

of those things. elaine: rank them in order of their importance. infrastructure, education and the border wall. mr. saccone: they are all important. we will get them all done. mr. lamb: to answer your question, i would vote for infrastructure first. people on both parties are saying we only have $3 trillion worth of infrastructure program and -- programs that we are behind on. unfortunately, my opponent is someone who has voted against this very programs at the state level, even when they are backed by republicans. highways and bridges, everyone gets to ride on them, no matter what party they are. in the next five years, we could people toe 300,000 the opioid epidemic. me, would be next. we cannot continue to cut our

public schools. the border wall is $25 billion in expenses. entry thatorts of need the most defense. you have kate airport needs -- jfk airport needs security that. shannon: this question comes from facebook. name three specific issues where you see yourself voting outside .he majority of your party line offers specific examples or say nothing at all. mr. lamb. mr. lamb: one issue would be the issue of health care. health care premiums are too expensive. we need to have health care affordable for everybody. there are those of my party that want to transfer to a medicare for all system. i do not think that is a great idea. many like the plans that they have. natural gaswould be

drilling. i support it. it is great for national security. it can be done better. we need to meet -- make sure it is being done right. the third would probably be on the issue of leadership itself. i said i did not support nancy pelosi for any leadership position. i also do not support paul ryan. hasne watching tonight who seen the negative ads, i do not support and -- nancy pelosi. you talk about -- younon: is there room, if are going to have a seat in congress to talk about other sources of energy in western pennsylvania? nationwide, we need a manhattan project for clean energy. china is doing it already. and are paying scientists buying up fleets of electric cars.

we can be a national leader. we have the scientists, the universities, the people who want to do the work. i would like to see a big investment in that. we will have you about rebut theon -- question. i have a long record of voting outside my party. reformo fight to get passed. i kept fighting. i did not stop fighting. you just voted through a constitutional amendment to change property tax and how we fund schools. i voted outside my party and kept pushing for that. i amoted for it, so i know

in line with what you are thinking. tried to push a $5 billion tax increase. some of my party was going to go along with it. we stopped that $5 billion tax increase and made a budget with no tax increase. to the: i'm going to add question from facebook and talk about your party a little more. , talk abouthe seat korea and the president and his approach to career so far. you set -- korea so far. what is the one thing you want to tell president trump about how to deal with that situation? mr. saccone: my purpose would be to advise the president on how to resolve the situation. it does no good to criticize. it would be had we find our endpoint.

i am the only one has the skill set to do that. my opponent does not know the difference between north and south korea. i have successfully negotiated with south koreans. i have written two books about it. there is a path to dealing with north korea. it is very narrow, but i believe i am the only one with the skill set. shannon: mr. lamb. you can respond. mr. lamb: it is amazing the length they will go to on the other side to say things that are not true. we agreed that negotiation is necessary. unfortunately, we have seen a lot of people leave the department in this administration. we do not need another vote against korea in congress. we need someone who will stand up to the leadership on both sides, post the cuts to medicaid

and pass a budget that is for our people, that gets infrastructure done. that is what we need in congress. shannon: kathleen has the next question. kathleen: health care. do you believe that health care is or should be a civil right for americans? do you have a personal vision for how health insurance should operate in the united states? i do not think it is a civil right, but we should make it affordable and available to everyone. there are a lot of reforms in the health care system. buying across state lines is one of them. of freehave a lot market solutions that have not been tried. some issues have taken health care out of the emergency room and to a clinic. i have used those clinics myself when i am sick.

usse people that can help without eating up emergency room time and money because we know how expensive they are. there are a lot more solutions to the health care problem. mr. lamb: when your child is sick, you should be able to go to the doctor and it should not break your bank account. that is not happening for people right now. we need to redouble our efforts. need to get back to bringing people onto the roles. we need to bring the premiums down. people on wall street have enough money already. it is not in their interest to make premiums go down. we need to look at things like putting the teeth back into the affordable care act. do you think that health care should be a civil right?

mr. lamb: i think it is absolutely a civil right and everyone should have it. bob: do you believe social orurity is a benefit something americans have paid into and are owed? would you support or oppose any type of cut to anyone's social security benefits? mr. lamb: i know social security is something that people have paid into and have earned. people are telling me when they he started working when he was 12 years old and started paying social security taxes. he took out his key ring after you told me all this, held it out and he had his dog tag on their when he served in korea. he said do not break your promise to me. stick up for these programs.

he paid for them. social security is a promise we made to our people. i will keep that promise. mr. saccone: social security is a promise we made our people. in a couple years, i will probably be on it. he has lied over and over and said that i plan to cut social security and medicare. never advocated and never would advocate cutting social security or medicare. these programs are going broke and we need reforms. we have to look at overpayments to drug companies and some of the fraud going on there. we have to refine that so that we can save these programs. that is what i have advocated for. respond? can i i think it is time for him to stand up and say that he opposes

the $250 billion cut to medicare that is in president trump's budget right now and the cut shall social security staffing. he has voted against programs like unemployment insurance for construction workers that are also programs that people pay into that get cut. shannon: i will let the representative responded to that. mr. saccone: the biggest cut to medicare was obamacare. $715 billion drained out of that. his party was for it. it was drained out of medicare. i will not support that. i will say that again. i do not support cutting social security or medicare. shannon: we will move on to a question from a lane. elaine. elaine: recreational marijuana

is legal in nine states. what is your best argument for or against congress legalizing recreational marijuana? mr. saccone: i listen to the andrts on medical marijuana it is a tendency to turn into recreational marijuana. the people in my district do not want that. i would not vote for making it recreational. i did vote for making it medical marijuana. mr. lamb: i support medical marijuana as it exists right now. too many doctors have told me that their patients need it. too many parents have told me that it is the best treatment for their kids, especially kids with seizures. people on both sides agree on that. next question comes

from kathleen. kathleen: gender equality has been an issue in legislation. the 115th congress will have opportunities to impact policies. have you identified any changes that you would push for related to gender equality issues, sexual harassment or gender and the-- gender identity in military? mr. lamb: i stood up with victims both men and women who were afraid to speak up against superiors in uniform. we got justice in all those cases. we have to listen to the victims of sexual assault and harassment wherever they come from. we have to oppose attempts at congress to cover up these settlements that they use taxpayer dollars for. we have to shine a light on all

of that. as far as gender equality in the workplace, i support measures for that. paid family leave is something that i support. colleagues of mine in the u.s. attorney's office would have kids and have to take all their sick leave to raise their first. . i do not think that is right. mr. saccone: i think it is important that we never discriminate against anyone and that everyone feels welcome when they come to work. they should not be sexually harassed. soneed to empower our people that if they feel mistreated, they can step up and say something and their claim will be heard and investigated thoroughly. i like what is going on in the state to pass a bill to have a separate panel for someone has a complaint to have an interested party listen to their complaint.

i am a father and grandfather. i have been surrounded by all my legislative/-- legislative staff, who are women. for policiesrd that are supporting that. we want to empower people. i will follow-up on that. is there room for legislation, a legislative bill that you would put forward to advance that if you win? mr. saccone: yes. i would take a look at what the house just passed because i think it is a good bill. we could add to that. i have not looked at additional legislation at this point. mr. lamb: i would like to see legislation for paid family leave, especially for federal employees. shannon: next question from bob mayo. bob: the families whose loved

ones are fighting opioid addiction deserve publicly supported program help? or is it on them alone? mr. saccone: in a state legislature, we have learned -- we have had hearings on this. i have been 20 of the and of them. -- i haveard experts been to many of them. we have heard experts. i have done my long. -- ride alongs. this is an all hands on deck problem. we have past 12 bills in the state legislature dealing with opioid addiction. we are trying to do our part in the legislature. we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. we have to have the industry become involved, and they are

becoming involved. we have to have the churches involved come the schools involved, our parents involved. everyone has to be on deck to solve this problem. it is a societal problem. bob: the question was, is there a place where publicly supported programs for these families or are they on their own? if you are a lawmaker, do you support taxpayer-funded programs to deal with the impact on families of the opioid crisis? mr. saccone: yes, but it is not just government. the entire society has to be involved to solve this problem. mr. lamb: there is a huge role for the government to play against saving our people. the first case i worked on as a prosecutor was a young man who

finally got into a 30 day rehab program after years of struggling with addiction. he came out after 30 days and died on the 31st day. the experts tell us it does not take 30 days, it takes 90 days. we do not have enough programs right now. a judge can send anyone to jail. only the government can fill beds with -- and get qualified staff. medicaid is the program who provides programs for those suffering from addiction. the current budget kit -- cuts trillions of dollars from medicaid. this is a really big issue and we will stay on it. i will let the representatives say something else. mr. saccone: everything is a big

government solution. treatmentsfective better than methadone and other rehab programs are the faith-based programs. sony 5% to 80% effective and they do not cost the taxpayers a dime -- 75 to 80% effective and they do not cost the taxpayers a dime. shannon: we have the best medical research mines in the world. how much government money should spending? on -- we be mr. lamb: we should spend whatever it takes to solve the problem. there is a gold standard here. 90 days in treatment and years of outpatient treatment afterwards. medications people can take to help in the back. caroline is a monster. it changes the brain. is a monster.

it changes the brain. i agree with my opponent that there is a role for the faith-based community to play. the job for the government is to stick up for these programs, to fund them and do whatever it takes to save our people. government funding legitimate. is we need to look at the private sector. a seminar on where they were looking at how to curb the opioid overprescribing. we can do this without expense to the government and taxpayers. --ext question shannon: next question. elaine: what is the one thing that you admire about your campaign opponent?

admire a bill that he pushed in harrisburg that would help people get driver's licenses after they have committed certain drug offenses. that is something i saw as a prosecutor all the time. when they came out, it could be hard to find a job. i would meet with groups of people that would come out of jail. i remember one of them telling me that it is not hard for a felon to get a job. it is hard for someone with eight -- without a driver's license to get a job and keep a job. i think that is a great thing and it was needed. mr. saccone: i like the fact that he is young and idealistic. it is like fresh blood coming in. he does not have a record or any experience in carrying out any of these things, so that is the contrast between us. elaine: you cannot find one thing you can admire.

mr. saccone: he is young and idealistic. ok.non: we will go to a facebook question. she would like to hear your views on the drawing the congressional map. this impacts all of us here. mr. saccone: i have been a victim of gerrymandering. ran against a 26 year incumbent that was gerrymandered. anyway.d i won it does make it more difficult. and i won anyway. it does make it more difficult. the supreme court stepped in and overstepped its bounds.

they vetoed those maps and through their own maps, which are far worse than what they were complaining about. we have a great system in pennsylvania for drawing these maps. i voted on the current maps. there was a bipartisan vote in the legislature. 39 democrats and 100 republicans. the supreme court vetoed them. when i started this campaign i made a promise that we did not have a vote -- voice in washington and i would give us that voice. that is who i would like to serve. i do not care where they draw the lines. we will shake that out in court. the current lines we have are strangely shaped and were drawn by a computer program called .edknapp in harrisburg

i have happy the court has stepped in and taken a look at it. the court has stepped in and taken a look at it. amendmentthe first says congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. what is your personal interpretation of this and have you intend to apply that in congress? my personal interpretation is that when we decide any bill, we have to think about the public interest, not just what one religion thinks. woman's righthe to choose, i support that under the law, even though i am a catholic and i personally oppose abortion. we have one long this country and it is for everyone, no matter what their religion is. i think there is a place for and the public

square. when it comes to lawmaking, we have to get down to the facts and figures. mr. saccone: i have written a book about this. think the establishment clause was meant to prevent any one denomination to be named as the sole religion. -- partalways been part of our public life. it was there when president trump made his oath on the bible . god was there in the beginning and god was there right now. proclaim 25 says liberty throughout the land. god was a part of our founding fathers. they were part of that icon of our heritage, our history. our national motto is in god we trust.

place for god in our public life, but that does not mean that we make one denomination over another. we should celebrate that. spent -- timeon: you have spent making sure that argument was made during your time in state. how much time would you spend moving forward to promote issues like that? mr. saccone: i will always promote things that encourage family values and celebrate our godly heritage. the culture of selfishness and greed that we are pushing back against, we need positive messages from our godly heritage. -- it does chance have an effect as a leader that i promote and celebrate our godly heritage.

mr. saccone: your critics say that takes away time from other topics. your critics say that takes away time from other topics. he has been successful in harrisburg, passing things like loyalty day and talking about in god we trust. it is harder to do the real stuff, social security, medicare and infrastructure. he talked earlier about his bill to ban meals paid for by lobbyists. he did not get it passed and kept taking meals from obvious afterwards. -- lobbyists afterwards. people need us to focus on things that go straight to our decency, looking out for each

other, leaving no one behind. i am running for congress, not cardinal. shannon: we need to let our viewers know that the law is about toughing those -- mr. saccone: i will respond to all that. i am glad he is not running for capital -- cardinal. i have 17 bills going through the legislature right now. signed intobills law last year. he has probably never even read a bill. to say that i cannot get things past, you do not get everything you put forward past. on the investigation of russian efforts to interfere with american elections, do you

support or oppose legislation to have robert mueller fired? mr. saccone: i do not think that is a legislative problem. you need to investigate that. againstto be on guard them. said red sox are growing. it is not just russia. the legislation is necessary to determine whether or not the president decides the fire mueller. there are signs that that might be the president's attempt. do you view that investigation as something that lawmakers should keep independent? or does there need to be a mechanism to ensure that the investigation would not be short-circuited, if president trump pursues what he might want to do? mr. saccone: i think this whole

thing has been politicized. detect that they are being politicized, we need to act. we need to make sure that they are doing their job properly. mr. lamb: robert mueller is a war hero, a decorated marine. he has a reputation in washington that is unmatched for integrity. he needs the independence, time and space to interview witnesses, review documents, figure out what happened and figure out how we best protect our people and hold anyone accountable that broke the law. i oppose any effort to interfere with his authority. shannon: should there be a mechanism in place to make sure that happens? mr. lamb: to protect his investigation? if necessary, yes. i would support any legislation to make sure that he has the time and space to do what he needs to do. shannon: we are coming up to our

final question. intelligence officials say there is strong evidence that the russians colluded in the 2016 election. do you agree? what should congress do in response to russian interference and one of our most sacred in one of our- most sacred institutions? sameamb: we have heard the thing from our intelligence community and law enforcement. we need to do whatever it takes to protect our electoral system. we need paper backups at our voting machines. people in washington are talking about new funding for more cyber agents, more technology. we need to be aggressive about this. i believe we should dominate that domain of warfare.

shannon: representative? mr. saccone: we need to do everything we can prevent russia or any other country from interfering. we need to find out where we are vulnerable and take action. if it means sanctioning other countries to do that, i support that. ok.non: thank you so much. that concludes the question and answer portion of tonight's debate. each candidate will have one minute to make closing statements. we will begin with mr. lamb. remember it helps to what we are doing here right now. votehave been without a and voice in congress for far too long. i have listened to you and learned a lot during this campaign. people are sick about the bickering in washington. they want someone to get the job done. i have had the privilege and

honor to stand up multiple times to raise my right hand and take an oath. i did that as a marine and prosecutor. i would like to take that oath again as your next representative. aboutis nothing in there anyone's agenda. we have had enough agendas. we need him a ticket to work and do the job. i like hard -- i will work hard every day. i will work for you. thank you very much. mr. saccone: i want to thank the viewers. i hope you learned something here. i want to thank the moderators and my partner for coming here tonight. you know the world is in turmoil and our country is in peril. we need to send the most qualified and experienced person to washington. background inse diplomacy, military, government

and international business. experiencers of life . i have actually passed bipartisan legislation in our house to show that i can get things done. i am endorsed by catholic vote.org. i am that all tested and ready to serve. i am asking for your vote. it is important because we have a country to save. shannon: the recent redistricting debate means that the future of the 18th congressional district is in flux. consider the different counties and towns. different people and families with many of the same concerns. a district that has not had a representative in congress since october. we know the political landscape

is different than it was a year ago. whatever the winner of this election does, the people who win in the 18th district will be following more closely than they ever have before. have never been higher. a big part of the league of women voters is hosting not political debates, just like debates in person this is one of the most important things that we do. one ofg the debate is the most important things voters can do before making a choice and heading to the poll. privilege --nd a it is a right and a privilege. you will be able to rewatch the app.e on our thank you so much for being here. take you to our panel and a special thanks to our candidates.

good night. ♪ announcer: c-span, where history unfold daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service by america's cable television companies. we continue to bring you on ,iltered coverage of congress the white house, the supreme court and events in washington dc and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your sadly or cable provider -- satellite or cable provider. house will meet at noon for general speeches. legislative business begins at 2:00.

c-span2, we join the american israel affairs committee for their annual policy conference. that is followed by a discussion on financial regulation at the heritage foundation. the senate is back in session to consider several judicial nominations. later, we return for remarks from vice president pence and u.n. ambassador nikki haley. next, publishing executive joins other business leaders to talk about current events and issues like health care and regulation. this was part of a conference hosted by the students of liberty. it is 40 minutes.