this is the heart of innovation, what happens in the silicon valley not only influences the country, but the world. in the shadow of technology, there are serious concerns about a struggling middle class. tonight, two men want to lead the charge, shaping policy for california's diverse 17th district. incumbent congressman mike honda and challenger ro khanna. their one and only debate before the november 4th election. >> good evening, thanks for being with us. i'm raj mathai. welcome to our nbc bay area studios. this is a special night. in just a few minutes, both men will take their places behind the podiums. we believe this race and this debate transcends politics.

this local congressional race is getting national attention, there are many representatives from these national outlets that are watching tonight. curious to see the future of the silicon valley. district 17, where our nbc studios are located, is among the most dynamic and powerful districts in the country. so here's what we're ge going to do. we're going to meet the panel and go over the ground rules in a few minutes. let's begin with congressman honda. a familiar face in the region, the 73-year-old is seeking his eighth term. but his story didn't start on capitol hill, but as a toddler. mr. honda and his family were forced to live in a japanese internment camp during world war ii. a graduate of san jose state and a member of the peace corps, honda had a distinguished career as a science teacher and school principal. some of his key offices, the santa clara county board of supervisors, state assembly and currently one of the house democratic senior whips. and he comes into tonight's debate with the endorsement of

nearly every local, state and national elected democrat. this includes senators feinstein and boxer, minority leader pelosi, governor brown, and president obama. adding another layer to all of this, this election is between two democrats. same party, but as we'll see tonight, both candidates with clear differences. ro khanna wants to infuse a new direction and voice for the silicon valley. the 38-year-old was born and raised in philadelphia, and is the son of indian immigrants. khanna relocated to fremont in 2011. he's looking to win his first elected public office. khanna, an attorney at a major law firm in palo alto is a lecturer at stanford and adjunct professor at santa clara university. his relationship with president obama dates back to 1996 while at the university of chicago, khanna volunteered for mr. obama's state senate campaign. many years later in 2009, president obama appointed khanna as deputy assistant secretary in

the u.s. commerce department. khanna is endorsed by nearly all of the major bay area newspapers, including the chronicles and mercury news. he also has the support of dozens of silicon valley executives, among them, marissa mayer, google's eric schmidt, mark benioff of sales force. what should we see tonight and what is at stake? let's bring in jessica aguirre, alongside ur politicour politic, larry gerston. >> let's talk about this race. you call it the race to watch in california. you've got seven term incumbent mike honda, traditional liberal, challenged by this moderate democrat ro khanna, a high tech agenda. where do we go? >> you got two generations separating these candidates, jessica. you have the old guard liberal who cares for those who have nobody caring for them, the poor, the immigrants, all the people uneducated, versus the young guy who says it is time we

look ahead, we look in the future and think about technology, and how many different ways we can use it. they each have an agenda, they each have an agenda good for the state. the question is which one is more important at this time. >> okay. now, when you talk about these gentlemen, what does each one have to do tonight to really pull away from this debate and make a mark? >> let's start with the incumbent. mike honda has to show he still has it. he's been in there 14 years, 73 years old, he has to show that his experience is worthwhile, that it is a good reason to elect him again, because he still knows how to get things done. ro khanna has to show, you know what, it is not always experience. sometimes it is youth. it is vibrance, it is energy, it is all these things that people need in order to get things moving. how to get things done, get things moving, they're both important qualities. one says he's been doing it, the other says he can do it. we're going to have to see which one comes out ahead. >> both men need to bring it tonight. >> they need to bring it. >> thank you, larry. we're ready to begin. back to raj mathai.

>> we are live and we are ready. a full house tonight in side of this studio. mr. khanna and congressman honda are at their respective podiums. they have agreed not to use any electronics or preferly written notes. they can, however, take notes during the debate. we're happy to be co-hosting this debate with huffington post, san jose university and kqed. it is a team effort and we're looking forward to discussing some important topics. let's meet our panel, the washington post bureau chief for the huffington post, ryan grim is with us. ryan is our lead panelist. looloo amante of external affairs at san jose state, a junior, majoring in advertising. thuy vu is the host of kqed newsroom and grew up in san jose. and finally, melinda jackson, associate professor of political science at san jose state. here are some of the key guidelines and rules of this debate. 75 minutes in length, 90 second responses, and 60 second rebuttal. there is a possibility of 30

second follow-up questions. we have shared the topics of the debate with both men. but our specific questions have not been revealed. we also instructed our studio audience to hold all applause until the very end, no cheering, booing or any other reaction except for right now. we want to officially welcome congressman mike honda and mr. ro khanna. [ applause ] it is nice to see you and have both of you inside of our studios. >> thank you. >> nice be to be here. >> we agreed prior to the debate, coin flip, first question goes to mr. khanna. this is a polarizing district. you know this very well. so much wealth and innovation. but if you simply cross the street, there are a lot of people and families struggling just to keep ends -- to make ends meet. if elected, realistically, how can you serve both sides and what is number one on your goals? >> well, thank you, raj. thank you, nbc. thank you, congressman honda for

participating. raj, that is the question of our time, income inequality. what we need is real solutions about how we're going to create opportunity for folks to go to college, afford college, and how we're going to bring jobs back to the bay area. you know, as an economics instructor, i've had the opportunity to talk to many folks about the economy. i talked to students, or working really hard, involved in all these activities, but worried about the debt that they're going to have when they graduate. i talked to so many employees who have great skills, but will tell you that for every one application online, there are 150 applicants. these folks get that we're living in a global economy, changing intensely competitive. and yet congress seems to have no real leadership or ideas. and it is stuck in the past, dysfunctional, slow moving. so tonight i ask, imagine if we

had a new standard. imagine if our elected officials were as hard working and entrepreneurial as the people in this district. that's the change we need. that's the new congress we need. and that's why i aspire to represent this area in the united states congress. >> mr. khanna, to be clear, the question was number one on your goals. what with a thll that be? >> how do we get the people the skills to compete in a new economy. automation and globalization are changing things. you go to flex tronnics in milpitas and it is like being in a science fiction movie. you have to know how to operate 3-d printing and robotics, even to drive a taxicab, you need to know how to operate programming. that's why i have called for specific skills teaching coding in the classroom, helping women get opportunities in science and technology. >> thank you, you answered the question, thank you. congressman honda, your

response. you have 60 seconds. >> thank you very much. i was a sharecropper and now a congressman. i understand the disparities. no one who lives in silicon valley who works here full time should live in poverty. they should have a living wage, enough money to be able to put food on the table, send their children to school, put shelter over their heads. so i think in the last few years i've fought for minimum wage in the stay of san jose, 62% they agreed with me. bought $900 million money to make sure we have a link between warm springs in san jose. $900 million, permanent jobs. the number one priority is jobs and the economy here in this valley. and to make sure that youngsters are going to get their education, $8.6 billion for universal prekindergarten and $1.7 billion for rock robe, youngsters having trouble in high school so they can get

their ged. >> big topic around the country and right here in district 17 is citizenship. with that, we bring in our lead panelist from the huffington post ryan grim with the question for congressman honda. >> thank you, raj. congressman honda, if republicans take the senate this year and manage to pass meaningful immigration reform that does not include a pathway to citizenship for those here without papers, would you vote against it? and would you urge the president to veto it? >> certainly the cir we have now, i worked on it for over ten years now and i think the cir we have currently is a wonderful package of disparate communities who came together. chamber of commerce, labor, cultural workers, owners, we have all these folks that have a combined package. it is not the bill i would have written, but it is much better according to president obama also. he said this is better than what is going on for the 11 million people living in the shadows.

the question is if we lose the senate and then senate comes back with the package that is -- has no citizenship, he has a pathway to legalization and if there is no citizenship, i would be hard pressed to vote for it, but i have to look at the whole thing and see if we can get the first step and get it passed and then work on the next step, which is legalization. and citizenship will be undocumented. just look at the dreamers. 40% of the dreamers in the state of california are asian-americans and they're under the california college system also. they need a pathway to citizenship and they should have a shorter path to citizenship because they have accomplished everything we owe the citizens to be able to do, productive, being able to give back to the community, they should have citizenship, in my opinion, the day that the bill is signed. >> mr. khanna, your response.

>> ryan, i appreciate the question. i share the congressman's values. i'm getting a path to citizenship, for dreamers and for those that are undocumented. but the question was, how are we going to actually get something done. one of the things i hear when i'm knocking on doors, frustration is that congress adjourned after eight days in session, two months in recess to campaign. people have been talking about immigration reform for the last ten years. and nothing is getting done. and here there is an honest difference with the congressman. i would work across the aisle with a republicans in the mold of someone like tom campbell to have a piecemeal approach to getting something done on immigration. because i get it is important for our competitiveness. now, we may not get everything. we may have to do something piecemeal. but we need to get something done and that's what people are so frustrated about in washington. >> yes, ryan with the follow-up.

>> advocates would argue if you give republicans everything they're looking for, you would never get the pathway to citizenship. what would you say to that? >> i would say look at canada and australia. they both have economic priority for immigration. and if it is crazy that we have people here coming who go to stanford or santa clara, we give them engineering degrees, we have a shortage and we say go back home and create jobs overseas. that's not how we're going to grow the economy. let's get a deal on what is going to make this country competitive, and then let's make the case that this is a nation of immigrants and even in most immigrant help strengthen the country, they're going to create economic growth. >> congressman, i know you wanted to interrupt. we'll get to your response in a moment. on to the next question, you'll have appropriate time. we're going to talk about education now and the rising cost of education. there are two major universities just a few miles from the studio. and with that we'll bring in looloo amante from san jose state with a question for mr. khanna. >> hello, mr. khanna. the pell program has been cut to

new lows. traditionally this program helps ensure college remains affordable to low income students. if elected, would you fight to increase, reduce or eliminate the pell grant program and why? >> looloo, thank you for the question. i would, of course, fight to increase the pell grant program. you know, this is not a theoretical issue for me. unfortunately i'm still paying off my student loans. and i have more opportunities than most folks, i worked for the president, i teach at stanford, i had a lot of privilege but i'm still paying on student loans. we need to realize we have a country where we're burdening the next generation almost $27,000 in debt for one student. $1.2 trillion is the federal debt on student loan. i propose three things. we need student interest rate for students that are the same as the banks. if we can bail out wall street, we certainly can get students interest rates to pay back their

loans at 2%. so we need changes right now. a parent's home mortgage, home value is considered part of what they pay. parents shouldn't be forced to choose between going -- selling their home and paying for their kid's education. three, i encourage massive open online courses and we need to encourage that so that the time students stay in college is less and tuition is less. this is an issue that i feel so passionately about. our economic competitiveness is not going to be based on a strong military. it is going to be based on educating the next generation and one of the reasons i'm so passionate about representing this area in congress. >> congressman honda, 60 seconds to respond. >> thank you. i just fight for pell grant increase and we did that and as an appropriator, we immediate sure we increased it significantly. but let's go beyond that. we have to be able to make sure

that we change the bankruptcy law. student loans is one thing you cannot dismiss. we have to change that for the students. now, we can talk about a better interest rate, but let's be more specific. the federal reserve bank receives $600 million from the federal reserves and the bank received this loan at.7%. this is what we should be providing the students. that is going to be equivalent to what would give to the banks and there is a much better investment in the students to keep paying into the coffers much longer than the banks will be. >> and congressman honda, is this something you want to propose when you get back into session sooner than later? >> we have been talking about it, yes, i would. >> our next question goes to thuy vu from kqed, an issue that hits in the silicon valley with all the companies, perhaps more so than anywhere in the country

is h1b. >> in silicon valley there is much controversy over visas granted to foreign workers. supporterers say they're necessary to fill the need for skilled workers. critics charge maybe tech companies are just using this as an excuse to hire foreign workers for less. where do you stand on the program and what changes would you like to see? >> h1b is initiated -- it has problems. it was not portable. people cannot have access to getting green cards. today, that's changed. in the comprehensive immigration reform, we have a package which includes a generous h1b visa allocation, including the trigger that can be pulled if needed more. so just about double the amount and the cir. the skill gap that we're looking at has to be looked at two

different ways. we need to invite and have our immigration laws changed so we can invite foreign students to come here, go through graduation and then invite them to stay longer through an easy process of getting green cards. once they get the green cards, they go on to be citizens. 25% of the ceos we have in this country, in this valley, are foreign born. why do we want to turn that around? we should embellish that and enhance that, we should welcome these people, not look at it as a bad thing. on the other hand, on education, we have to do more on stem. that's why when president obama had the universal pre-k, i put in approximately 6. -- $8.6 billion into universal pre-k so we can start generating the youngsters, the girls, the youngsters we want to see that get involved in stem and that kind of science career.

>> mr. khanna, your response in regards to the h1b issue. >> there is a shortage of scientists. we need many more. we need h1b visas but we need to prepare folks for the next generation of jobs. but the congressman, you know, i respect his career in public service. he talks a lot about things he's proposed or things he wants to do. the frustration people have though is nothing is getting done. the congressman's record and the reason the mercury news has endorsed me and the chronicle is they have said, quote, he's irrelevant on the policy debate because earmarks no longer exist. and he has passed one bill in 14 years. that is in contrast to eric sewol, people said he couldn't get anything done and he got two bills passed. i respect the congressman's public service. the question is on the major

issues of our time, who is going to lead and who is going to get the job done. >> mr. khanna, if i can step in here, we hear from a lot of first time congressman they go to washington, d.c. and say i'm going to go there and work across the aisle, it will be really together. but then they get there, they realize they can't. what makes you different? >> one is the approach we had in this campaign. honest difference. i sat down with the san jose chamber of commerce. congressman honda refused to meet with the san jose chamber. here's why. the san jose chamber opposed the minimum wage increase in san jose. i am supportive of the minimum wage increase. i think it should be indexed to inflation. congressman and i share the same values. the difference is i'm prepared to meet even locally with people who disagree and i'll take the same approach and get republican co-sponsors when i get to the congress. >> congressman honda, 30 seconds for rebuttal if you choose. >> certainly. in 2003 on a bipartisan basis i passed $3.7 billion technology

innovation bill that produced results even today in technology. in 2011 we got $900 million for parks extension. and on just a couple of weeks ago we passed a bill, bipartisan, and went on to the senate. and being an appropriator, i can make sure that bill that is going to create regions of excellence and research, wririg down the line, once it passes the process, i'll be there to be able to prepare the way to have that placed here in the valley, just like i did for the u.s. patent office. on top of that, i -- darrell issa and myself passed the data act that requires the government agencies to tell people where the dollars are spent, how much it is and to be transparent about it. i think that works. >> we're going to talk about

immigration, always a big issue here in this district, including across the country. we're going to bring in melinda jackson from san jose university. the question goes to mr. khanna. >> mr. khanna, a recent field poll found that 58% of california voters believed the u.s. should offer support to increasing number of uncompanied children who are now entering the children illegally from central america while decisions are made about their long-term status. what do you think should be done with these immigrant children who are now in california and what role should the federal government play in addressing this problem? >> thank you for the question. it is a humanitarian crisis. and my heart breaks as does anyone's for the kids that are coming over from guatemala, honduras, el salvador. we have to treat them with due process. i think the president's plan to have refugee applicants in the home country is a step in the right direction so folks aren't taking the treacherous journey here.

and i do think we need to work with the local governments to reunite those kids with their families because ultimately having them apart from their families isn't going to serve their interests or humanitarian interest. but we certainly need to give them due process. i did want to refer to the congressman's point on b.a.r.t. i give the congressman credit on his role in b.a.r.t. but two things. one, relying on something that no longer exists, earmarks, two, the real heroes in that were the santa clara taxpayers who paid for two tax increases, and it took 14 years. now, here's the challenge. i hope it doesn't take another 14 years and two more tax increases to get b.a.r.t. to santa clara. the point is, in a new world, i respect the congressman's service in a world of earmarks. those no longer exist. in a new world, we need leadership where it says, you know why we need to extend b.a.r.t., not because we want to bring back ports but we don't

expect b.a.r.t., america will lose its competitive edge. we'll lose out to china and germany. that's the leadership we need from silicon valley. >> your response, and if you can please address is the initial question about undocumented children. >> undocumented children. i was a peace corps in el salvador. before i went to texas to visit to see what was really going on first hand, i called some of the folks i knew that were from that area and to confirm the situation. it is a terrible situation where kids are being threatened. if you don't join the gang, we will kill you. i think the $7 million we voted for to help at the borders is being well spent. i got there, i saw there was a contradiction at the -- at the border, at the gates, and there was nothing there afterwards to process. now there is and there is processes in place where they're going to be able to get processed and be reunited with their family. but the whole thing is that if

we pass the comprehensive immigration reform, and john boehner allowed us to have that vote, allow us to fail or succeed, we wouldn't have to deal with this. it would be a much easier problem to deal with because it is very comprehensive, takes in all the kids. >> congressman honda, next question to you, i'll ask it. talking in the last few days, a lot of talk and things written about possible ethics violations on your staff. internal e-mails were leaked by your staff suggesting possible violations when it comes to campaign fund-raising. you have acknowledged this. my question to you is are you an ethical congressman and how can you prevent this from happening in the future if re-elected. >> i am a very ethical person and my policies and my ethical standards is very clear to my staff. i know my opponent has made quite a bit of media attention on this, but i have a different responsibility. these are real people we're talking about. and i want to make sure that they're going to be taken care

of, but they have to also answer to the issues. and so those who work for me, and work with me currently in the past, they understand where that line is. so anything beyond that is a personnel matter. i would like not to stress the personnel part. but i want to say this, the high ethicdgthical standards have bee clear. my policy goes beyond the legal boundaries and legal expectations. but my chief of staff did not meet those expectations and she misstepped and i was disappointed in it. but she's apologized publicly and to me that it will not happen again. i think that this kind of a situation needs to be acknowledged, dealt with, and all the legal complaints that surround this, i think this should be moved forward and let that process take its place and

i'll be perfectly willing to cooperate in any way i can to see the end of this. >> mr. khanna, 60 seconds to respond. >> i think congressman honda is a good man. i admire his life story. but nobody is perfect. and the serious allegations here of an epic pay to play scandal that the mercury news editorialized about is not personal to the congressman integrity. it goes to the dysfunction of special interests in american politics. the allegations were that staff members traded on public goods to raise funds for private gain. it is exactly what's wrong with the political process. the congressman has said that the chief of staff apologized. but here's what i would hope. and i hope here tonight, i hope the congressman would apologize for these ethical violations and assume accountability because

ultimately it is he who is responsible to the citizens and the office is not in the tradition of tom campbell and the integrity we expect in silicon valley. >> our next question, ryan grim of the huffington post. ryan? >> mr. khanna, a decade ago congress allowed companies that were stashing trillions in profits overseas to bring money back to the u.s., effectively tax free. it failed to create promised jobs. today, these companies are again advocating for repatriation. promising this time they'll use the money to create new jobs. apple, google and microsoft would benefit from this. if they decide the smart business decision to hire a new worker, why do they need access to tax free money to do so? don't these extremely wealthy companies have access to tons of capital already? >> it is a great question. and i wrote in -- about the 2004 repatriation on my book in

manufacturing and i criticized it and said countries got a free pass. they brought all this money back and it went to shareholders and dividends. we need to link bringing that money back with expanding the payroll or investing in manufacturing. here is the reality, they have got $1.9 trillion overseas that you talked to vcs or entrepreneurs and they're telling entrepreneurs to incorporate in singapore or ireland because they want to be acquired with that yore shove cash. we have to figure out how we bring that cash back and invest it to create jobs. but not with no strings attached. here is the problem in this campaign. i have tried to articulate a coherent position, maybe not the right position, but a thoughtful position, because i'm sick of the demagoguery on this issue. and congressman honda and his allies have taken -- on the one hand, he's for repatriation. on another hand, he's got a whole website criticizing me for adopting the position on repatriation. you can't have it both ways.

and you know what, people are sick and tired of, they know i don't have all the answers just because i'm an economics teacher but they want someone who is going to say these are tough problems with tough solutions and not just engage in thought populism. i promise you if i get to congress, i'll try be to be straight about what this country and this region needs to grow economically. >> congressman honda, your response. >> i support repatriation of the corporate taxes overseas. but we have to look at a larger picture, and that larger picture is not only making sure that the wealthy and the shareholders benefit from it. we have to look at problems like the national infrastructure, we have to look at ways that we can increase the minimum wage and have a more viable economy through increase and in salaries and things like that. we need to make sure the middle class is more vibrant because of this return. and a couple of years ago i joined texas -- republican texas

congressman brady on his bill to repatriate the corporate taxes. people said you're a liberal democrat. why are you doing this? i said, in order to be able to shape these things, you got to be in the team. if you're not on the team, you're just criticizing. you can't make much impact. came across the aisle in working with them is the way i win. >> you brought up minimum wage. the last few days president obama has been talking about minimum wage at length. looloo amante from san jose state has our next question. >> hello congressman honda. the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. full time employee earns over $15,000 a year. obviously 15 grand won't go far for a college grad in california. what should congress do to make sure the federal minimum wage is a living wage nationwide? >> thank you. the minimum wage, i fought for

here in san jose and we want to make $7.25 is not a salary you can raise your family with. president obama said they're taking the federal minimum wage and he's increasing it through executive order to $10.10. i've seen posters on billboards now and it is fact. it is going $10.10. that doesn't answer the terrible burden of financing your education and higher education. we have to find ways to allow students to be able to give larger pell grants, to be able to give financial aid at lower price -- lower interest rate than like i suggested, senator warren has the bill out and we'll do one on the house side to make sure the interest rates that can be charged to students will be the same as the federal reserve bank coming from -- the

other thing is we should be able to forgive the loans to students who go into public service. my wife had a large loan, she went into teaching and she taught in schools that needed teachers like her. after five years of teaching, they cut her loan in half. and after that, they cut it again in half. these are the kind of incentives we have to provide students. that kind of incentive for -- allows them to provide public service as they get their higher education. >> your response, mr. khanna, you have 60 seconds regarding minimum wage. >> i strongly supported the minimum wage. some labor unions endorsing congressman honda, i pushed for the increase in the minimum wage in san jose and i believe the minimum wage should be indexed to inflation. the challenge though is this. when you talk to workers, they say can congress have the same standards as us? they have to show up to work every day.

and i know public service is hard. and no one would -- everyone understands that sometimes someone is sick or someone is having surgery, people need to take time off. but the reality is, it is just a fact, that the congressman has missed 466 votes in his career, over 14 years. that is the worst attendance, one of the worst attendance records in the united states congress, one of the worst in the california delegation. and the people in this district, the hard working folks need someone who is going to be present, showing up, and engaged. they have to do that every day. >> congressman honda, 30 seconds to respond in terms of your attendance record in capitol hill. >> i appreciate you recognize there was a death in my family and births in my family and other important things. the fact remains i have a 95% voting record and i got results. i'm still there working, and making sure that we look at

appropriations as a position where we can make things happen here. and we made u.s. patent office location happen here in silicon valley. that takes a lot of work and a lot of cooperation. >> thank you. thuy vu talking about educating our children and perhaps not everyone is in agreement on how we do it moving forward. your question now for mr. khanna. >> mr. khanna, the national common core curriculum took full effect in california this year. it puts in place a new focus on critical thinking and analysis and reasoning instead of rote learning. not all parents are happy about this of course. they -- among their concerns is too much emphasis on testing, they feel the math and reading standards are still too low, too weak. what do you think of the core curriculum, the common core curriculum and the implementation so far in california. >> i appreciate the question. i think it is a step forward. it is an improvement over no

child left behind. that's an honest disagreement in this campaign. the congressman had supported, voted for no child left behind. i thought that was increasing testing. and but it is not perfect. one, it needs time to be implemented in california. we need to be increasing the investment for teacher preparation. so teachers can actually use it. and be prepared for are it. second, we need to make sure some kids get to take calculus. sunnyvale and cupertino school districts and they had to pass exceptions so kids could still take calculus because the common core wouldn't have allowed it. so it is clearly not perfect. but it is a step, creativity is much better, that's america's innovation and advantage. it is what sets us apart from india and china, we're not rote learners, we're inventors, creative thinking folks and i think it is a step in the right direction. let me say this, to the congressman that talked a lot about reaching across the aisle, the record is that he has the

second most partisan records in congress. i admired him for that. when after 9/11 when the sikhs were being syndrodiscriminated against, he spoke up. he is not bipartisan. that's not who he is. and what we need now is someone who actually is going to go work across the aisle, with people like tom campbell and others because that's what we need at this time to move this economy forward. >> congressman honda, you have 60 second to respond and please begin with the issue of common core. >> the national common core i think is the positive step in the right direction. the state -- the 50 states have resisted having a national standard. but when you have 46 governors come together, coming up with a common core, i think that comes pretty close to a national expectation. having said that, i think what we need to do is make sure that we reauthorize the esea. no child left behind is still

being pushed forward without reauthorization. so we can't make more policy changes and more tweaks in that, though, that law. so the -- what the president obama has done and what duncan has gone off to do $300 million is competitive grants so they can address some of the issues around critical thinking, some issues around assessments of teachers and individual students, not where it fell down on its face with no child left behind, it is an opportunity for us to learn. >> our next question from melinda jackson, to congressman honda, talking about just the polarizing force of the district, of people in terms of making money, different styles of money in terms of the inequality. >> congressman honda, there has been a lot of talk the last few years about the top 1% versus the 99%. and as was mentioned earlier, silicon valley is one of the places in this country where this income inequality is most

apparent. my question, do you believe that the income tax code contributes to this gap, and if re-elected, what reforms would you propose to federal income tax policy if any? >> i think income tax reform is something that we're going to have to face and struggle with. it is a complicated problem, but we have to do if fairly incomprehensively. we have to make sure everybody pays a fair share. with the bush tax cuts, nobody paid their fair share. president obama had to fight for three seasons to get and guarantee the unemployment insurance to be passed so that people during the vacation will have cash to be able to support and give their kids not only food but presents. the income inequality will have to be addressed in a fair, efficient, comprehensive way where everybody ends up paying their fair share. i think that's an american value

and family value. even warren buffett said that it is unfair that my executive secretary pays more in her income tax than i do because of the way we calculate income tax, we don't include other portions of people's wealth. so it is going to be a difficult but necessary kind of a function that you face because i think the very life of a country depends upon it. as a progressive, i wrote the people's budget, i wrote the budget for all that included all these things that eliminated corporate loopholes and subsidies. so we can do this. we have to do it, there is no question about it. >> mr. khanna, your response in terms of the income inequality and what you can do if you're elected? >> capital is the biggest challenge to our equality. and income inequality and opportunity. i think we absolutely need to

have those who have -- can make a lot of money pay more taxes. i disagree with the congressman, though, because his budget would increase taxes according to san francisco chronicle on the lower and middle class, by as much as 50%. the other thing which i think is lost in this debate, you now who is really part of the top 1%. members of congress. they are getting extraordinary perks and benefits and there is anger there. that's why i have said, i won't take a single special interest trip when i get to congress. congressman honda has taken 52 of them and that's part of the system. it is how things used to happen. that needs to change. i have said that while i respect pensions for teachers and firefighters, we can't have double dipping of pensions. the congressman has had. we need a new system, we need members of congress to live like everyone else. >> congressman honda, 30 seconds if you would like to respond to any of those statements. >> i'm surprised i'm part of the

1%. i think that the kind of work that we have been doing with the people's budget, it doesn't increase by 50%. 25%, 3% to 28%, the 28% went up 3% and so on up to 35% to 49%. so it is a very balanced approach. it takes more than ten years to do it. we eliminate the deficit and draw down the debt. >> one other -- >> you'll ahave your opportunit. this question is for you, mr. khanna. this is what could shape the national rules here. privacy in government surveillance is a hot topic. it is centered here with companies like yahoo! and google. do you condone nsa surveillance of our e-mails and can our online privacy be better protected? what could you do? >> i don't condone it. it is why larry less ig and others have supported my

campaign. if i were are in congress, i would have spoken out against the president and i served in his administration for the mass surveillance of the nsa engaged in. we didn't have the congress person from silicon valley speaking out, criticizing our president for the nsa and mass surveillance. i have introduced an internet bill of rights that would stand up not just for the government, but also to private companies. there is many components, let me just emphasize three. first, a right to net neutrality because we shouldn't have people who pay special money, get special access to the internet. second, every person should be free from mass surveillance when they're on the internet. third, people should know what their data is -- what is happening with their data. google or facebook or yahoo! are using their data, there should be a right to disclosure. this is the type of leadership that this district needs.

it is not enough in this district, which is the heart of innovation, to just be a vote or to just go to congress. what we need is someone who is going to lead the national debate and i am very, very proud of the internet bill of rights that our campaign has put forward. >> your response to the issue of privacy. >> i don't condone what the nsa did. in fact what they did is exactly what they did to the japanese americans in 1942. they looked into the census data to find out where everybody lived, used that data to gather the japanese americans and incarcerate them in unconstitutional internment camps. that's the kind of government impact that i have just -- i'm against and that's why i voted to get the patriot act in 2001 and 2011, i voted against the reauthorization. privacy of the individual is paramount, one of the most

foundational constitutional guarantees that we can have for our individuals. benjamin franklin said if you're willing to give up a little bit of privacy for a little bit of security, you deserve neither. this country is great enough to be -- to figure out how to solve these problems without peeping into our private lives. >> congressman, realistically, is this something that can happen in the next several months or a year or two. >> we have to work at it. i think we have the technology -- and the brain power to be able to do that. yes. >> next question to ryan grim from the huffington post. >> congressman, a corporate inversion refers to a move u.s. companies make to lower their tax bill by pretending to be based in a foreign country. as long as inversions are legal and profitable, companies will engage in them. what should the white house do to crack down on this new phenomenon and are companies that engage in this behavior un-american? >> i support and applaud president obama for directing the treasury department to go

after these corporations that are resettling and reincorporating in different countries to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. tax evasion is not a value that america really condones. and so i think that that's the kind of thing that has to be pursued. having said that, i think that we have to look at, again, a reformation and reform of corporate tax structures, that's going to be fair, comprehensive and simple to understand, that is going to apply to big corporations, big business, as well as small business and we don't have one size fits all where small business end up having to pay more for the staffing and that they could really afford. we need to be able to do that, and look at ways that we can attract people from going overseas and doing this kind of activity by encouraging them to stay here in this country, give them a tax credit for their

innovations, and under america, making america, the two platforms, one is you give tax credits to consumers on technology that is earth shattering and disruptive, the other is you provide first time manufacturers to have tax credits to be able to build here. those to things should reincentivize people to stay here and reshore here and do their business here. >> mr. khanna, your response and this could negatively impact a lot of companies in this district. >> well, i think it is obvious the company is headquartered in the united states, takes advantage of united states laws, takes advantage of the united states protection, they ought to pay tax in the united states. and i will stand up for that and stand up to any tech company or any other company that isn't willing to do that. i did want to return to two quick points. the congressman talked about the budgets, the tax increases, the middle and lower class are an

fact and it is why anna eshoo, president obama and zoe lofgren didn't support the budget. he's entitled to his ideology, but it is not an ideology that would help lower taxes of the middle and lower class and on privacy, the congressman did show leadership on the patriot acting. i respected and admired that. but that was almost 13 years ago. the reason they said you're irrelevant on the policy issues of our time is because these issues aren't just about values, it is anying data and complex issues with the internet. >> mr. khanna, you said you would stand up to tech companies. you're supported by many of the leaders of the biggest tech company here from ebay to yahoo! to sales force. would you really stand up to that? there is concern that perhaps you would side in their favor for any sort of legislation. >> well, you know, i wish people knew my story more. i went to public school, paying off my student loans.

and i'm proud of having the support of the top innovators in the world. one of the differences in this campaign is i've gotten the support from the innovators of the world and congressman honda is getting a lot of special interest money from washington, d.c. i don't apologize for the support. the reason i'm getting the support is because of my agenda to educate the next generation to have the opportunity to participate in the new economy. >> speaking of the next generation, talking about k through 12 education, not necessarily college education, and with that, looloo amante from san jose state. >> mr. khanna, many people say public school in the united states are failing our students. do you feel it is a fair statement, and what role should the federal government play in shaping our future education policy? >> i do think the public schools are failing. i went to public school. i think it is crazy those folks say just privatize public schools, rely on charter schools. i'm supportive of charter schools. 92 or 93% of kids go to public schools, and think about it, i

went to devargas elementary school in san jose, a brilliant principal, jennifer, who has got make it in america programs, make it program who wants to teach kids and she doesn't have the budget for basic computers. she doesn't have the budget, two miles away from apple computers, and the schools and in this district, you wouldn't know we were in silicon valley if you went to some of our public schools. that needs to change. i will fight for that to make sure the federal government is fully funding the special needs mandates that they're putting, to make sure that we're funding teacher preparation. if you go to finland, you know what they say when they say what do you do with bad teachers? they say, we don't have any. you know why they don't have any? thee treat teachers with respect. they invest in them. they invest in making sure they have credentials and math or science to teach the subject that they're required. and here congressman honda and i have a slight disagreement. i would shake up the system a little more, bring the teacher

unions in, try to have an independent voice, i'm not going to be beholden to any group, but i'll try to build a coalition and always with one goal in mind. i want every kid in this district to have the shot i did. to get a good public school education, so they have a shot to make it in life. >> congressman honda, as a former teacher, this is near and dear to your heart. your response, is our k through 12 education failing our kids? >> not every school is failing this country. the problem with our system is that we have 50 states, 50 standards, and the constitution is assumed that the federal government has no role in public education. it is all nonsense. we have to reinvent ourselves and start looking at how we look at public education, how we scale up. the problem with scaling up, there is not enough resources. 50 states battle with their budget every year and end up balancing the budget on the backs of children and teachers. this is not about teacher

unions, this is about the community understanding that we have to step back, outside the box, and look at equity for education, for each and every child. if we start looking at each and every child's needs, we know they have to change the system. brown has done that he started looking at funding in terms of equity. obama looked at universal preschool education. that's where we have to start. >> just a yes or no question, are you selling it to our community, do they know, does the community know it needs to be done wholistically? >> yes, through my commission. we have a report called each and every child, excellence in education. >> thuy vu to congressman honda. >> there is a persistent wage gap in this country. women still make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man. the federal government is in the process of requiring federal contractors to report aggregate consultation data. does that go far enough or do

you think individual salaries should be reported as well and what would you do to help close the wage gap? >> one of the things i've done just to start it off is that voters with our leader nancy pelosi that we make certain that people understood the lilly led better issue, shes with not being paid equally for equal work. she had to sue for it. that's why i signed on to work with senator mikulski of maryland where she has a bill that will make sure that federal contracts will close all the loopholes that deny equal pay for equal work and also extend the timeline for suing the company if a woman finds up she's been short changed. both the kinds of things we need to look at first. then work towards pay equity, and the concept of equal pay for equal work has to take hold. this disparity between genders has got to stop.

and i think that the way we're going to be able to do this is to keep pounding away and making sure that people understand pay equity is a necessary thing. i think more and more people are saying, middle class people are saying, i work harder, longer, work more efficiently, but i don't seem be to be getting ahead. it is because we're not looking at the wealth, the efficiency and technology has given us and we haven't shared that wealth that efficiency and technology that has created with the people that create the wealth. we have to revisit that whole aspect and do something about it. >> mr. khanna, your response what would you bring to the table if elected. >> i support the equal pay act, but one thing i'm proudest in this campaign is women in the workplace agenda. it is not enough to just have equal pay. we need to have paid parentally. men need to take responsibility as women for child rearing and other countries have that. second, we need child care tax

credits. so that women don't have to choose between leading in companies or their families. i didn't come up with these ideas. i got these ideas listening to constituents, doing town halls. i like the congressman, i admire him, his campaign has all the videos out saying i like him. one of the things that i'm so disappointed in, if there is one thing in this campaign, your handlers aren't letting you do town halls. i've done more town halls in the last two months than the congressman has done in the entire term. and this is the basic -- so many smart brilliant people in this district and we have to listen to them, these aren't just academic. when congressman honda started out, that's how he was liked. >> a follow-up question from thuy vu. >> the first part of my question to be answered, congressman honda, a number of women's groups feel aggregate reporting of conversation data is not good enough you can't know the true differences until individual salaries are reported and is

that something you think the federal government should require contractors to do? >> we should be able to do that and it is partly -- it is public record and i think that we can work on that and make sure that if you don't know what it is, that you can identify the culprits. so if we do that, it could be done and we can move forward and then put added pressure on those who say, you know, they're in concert with having equal pay for equal work. the answer is yes, we can do that. >> so many of us have apple products and apple is in this district and in cupertino, district 17. this next issue is among the companies that would be impacted, would be apple, melinda jackson has that question for congressman honda. excuse me, mr. khanna. >> mr. khanna, what can congress realist ache almost i do to encourage companiey ies to comek to the u.s. >> that's a great question.

and it is my passion. i wrote a book about how do we bring manufacturing jobs back to the united states. didn't sell a lot of copies but it is something i believe deeply in. and when i was at the commerce department, fremont, when it was affected and the nummi plant was about to close, i recognized that this area needs to be the advance manufacturing hub. so i helped work with labor leaders, sergio santos and business leaders, to bring a grant back to fremont so that fremont wouldn't have residential housing and would bet on advanced manufacturing. so how do we do something and how can we get bipartisan support? there is some very simple things we should do. first, we have a skill gap. the worker of today on the factory floors, they need to be really adept. they need to understand 3-d printing and robotics and cus m customizati customization. we have an eight times productivity advantage over china and 1 1/2 over germany and

japan. we need to partner with san jose state so we're educating people with the skills that they're going to need in the 21st century. we need to simplify and reform the tax code so we don't have companies like ge paying zero percent tax and we have others making things in the united states. and that would require not taking special interest money, i haven't taken a dime of it and the reason is because i want a tax code that works for the american people, not for the washington lobbyists. >> congressman honda, 60 seconds to respond. >> 80% of activities here in this valley is manufacturing. and i think we can grow that even more. we're the number one manufacturing center in the country on that. i voted for and i vote for my democratic colleagues, voted for a permanent r and d tax credit. we also have been able to pass a bill on the floor that will also

allow our manufacturing centers across this country to replicate the kinds of things that we have here on the natural. it is called the regional and centers for excellence, we take private industry, public industry, universities, entrepreneurs, and put them all together so that they can sit down and come up with the next technology that is going to take us right into the future. that will incentivize people to stay here. and we have to also make sure that we have appropriate tax credits for consumers who will be purchasing these kinds of technologies. >> on this topic, ryan grim has a follow-up question. >> you mentioned the skills gap and a lot of ceos in this district often do refer to the skills gap. but is it really the case that workers don't have the necessary skills or is it that companies don't want to pay the necessary wages. in other words, there might be a shortage of engineers at 30 or $40,000, but if they paid what

people at work, there might be more engineers. >> paul makes this argument all the time. i think it is complicated. if you talk to catherine in cupertino, she'll tell you the valley is filled with middle aged folks of high skill, and they're not being able to get a job. not because they don't have the skills, but because there is ageism, because folks are going to hire people who are younger. so i don't think it is just the skill shortage. we need policies that are going to have tax credits for companies to have apprenticeship programs, to hire those who are middle aged workers who have great skills, to bring veterans back to work. >> i would love to have a longer conversation but my time is up. >> congressman honda, next question for you. you served the people in this area for decades in various capacities. some people do fear that you might be burnt out. how do you address the concerns and to those people? >> i'm not burnt out. and i've got a lot of gas in this tank. and so i'mot