Republican incumbent Christopher Shays, Democrat Diane Farrell and Libertarian Phil Maymin shared their views in the debate, which took place at Norwalk Community College and was sponsored by the Leagues of Women Voters of Norwalk, Darien, Fairfield, Greater Bridgeport and Greenwich, in conjunction with the American Association of University Women. The Green Party candidate, Richard Duffee, was not invited to participate.

Kay Maxwell, the immediate past president of the LWV of the United States, was the moderator for the evening. In her introduction, Maxwell explained that the LWV's mission is "to encourage active and informed participation of citizens in their government." The most basic form of participation, she said, is voting. "We hope that the next hour will help voters to make an informed choice on November 7."

Maxwell also explained the debate's format, which did not limit the amount of time the candidates could spend on each question but rather allowed them to speak for roughly the same amount of time in total. Each question posed by Maxwell was answered by all three candidates, who were then given the chance to respond to their opponents. The order in which the candidates answered was rotated for each question.

The first question concerned health care. "More than 47 million Americans are uninsured, and health insurance premiums are skyrocketing. What short-term and long-term steps do you support to address this crisis?" asked Maxwell.

Maymin responded first, noting that the health care crisis is a new phenomenon, one that did not exist in the early part of the last century because the federal government was not involved at that time. Then, people belonged to collectives groups of people working in the same industry or living in the same neighborhood, or friends and family and each collective hired a doctor fresh out of medical school for a fairly low cost, he said. Today, he said, health care "is probably the most regulated industry, and that's why its costs are so high. It's been estimated that 80 to 85 percent of costs of pharmaceutical drugs is due to various federal government regulations." His solution: "The more we can do to get the federal government out of health care, the cheaper it will be." Without the bureaucracy, he said, more people also would be able to become doctors, offering consumers more choice and lowering costs.

Maymin is opposed to the role of the Food and Drug Administration in health care. "Why should the government determine what medical treatments you can pursue?" he asked. "Why do we have to wait years and have people dying while the FDA has not allowed you to do what you want with your body?" In addition, he believes that Medicare is "one of the most invasive federal programs ever" because it takes away individuals' privacy where their medical and sexual histories are concerned and that people should be able to opt out of it.

Maymin also noted that his Republican and Democratic opponents both advocate more rather than less government involvement in the health care industry.

Shays said his solution has two basic components: malpractice reform and health savings accounts. He said he also believes in allowing people 55 to 64 years old to "buy into the Medicare program but pay the entire cost" and in allowing individuals and small businesses to "pool resources together so they could buy cheaper health insurance."

Shays also would like to see the number of community-based health care clinics expanded. He noted that while an alarmingly high number of Americans do not have health insurance, many of the uninsured are receiving care through these clinics, which tend to exist in urban areas. He estimated that 10 million Americans receive care through the clinics and said he would like to enable another 10 million to do so. Shays said he also believes that health care should be tax-deductible.

Farrell attacked Shays' track record on health care, stating that on one occasion last January Shays had said, "I don't have a solution on health care." Farrell criticized Shays' proposal for health savings accounts, which she called a "Band-Aid." "They work for those who are young and healthy, but unfortunately put a greater strain on the system for all those who are aging and developing great health problems, or who have greater health problems than average," she said. She acknowledged that she agrees with Shays on the idea of allowing individuals and small businesses to pool their resources.

Farrell said she believes making health care more affordable requires lowering the administrative costs of private health insurers. "Medicare to administer costs between 3 and 5 percent that's overhead costs. Private health insurers, it's between 13 and 33 percent administration costs," she said. "That's not helping patients or doctors; it's strictly a cushion in there that has got to be addressed. That's going to require reform, and it's going to be us sending a very direct message to providers that the current way the system functions is broken."

Farrell also discussed Medicare Part D, and criticized Shays for supporting legislation that "constrains the federal government from negotiating discount drug prices." This same legislation prohibits Americans from importing FDA-approved drugs from Canada, where "prices are significantly lower," she said. "In the very early days of the new session of Congress, I would amend Medicare part D to allow consumers to see those reduced prices."

In response, Shays noted that the federal government is too large an entity to "negotiate" and that any negotiation it attempted with drug companies would actually be unfairly dictating prices. He also noted that he has always voted to allow Americans to import FDA-approved drugs from Canada.

Farrell also criticized the "doughnut hole" in the Medicare plan, saying seniors are provided with drug coverage only up to a certain dollar amount and then again past another dollar amount. To this, Shays responded that seniors have the option to purchase a more expensive Medicare plan that lacks a "doughnut hole." Farrell responded that low-income seniors are not able to afford a more expensive plan, just as they cannot afford to cover their own drug costs within the "doughnut hole."

In response to Shays' belief that health care should be made tax-deductible, Maymin said that doing so would cause people to spend more money on health care and increase consumer demand for services that "may not be as medically necessary as you think they are." According to Maymin, this increased demand would serve to raise health care prices, thus having the opposite effect of the one desired.

The second question posed to the candidates was, "Do you agree with the president's policies on Iraq, and is there anything you'd like to see done differently?"

Shays answered first, saying he did not regret voting to go into Iraq but would have voted differently if he'd had the information then that he has today. That aside, he said, "we're there, and we cannot afford to lose."

The United States has made many mistakes in Iraq, Shays said, including abolishing its police force and border control. The most important thing the United States has done was to begin to transfer power to the Iraqis in June 2004, he said. He also gave the Iraqis credit for establishing a transitional government and writing a constitution in only 11 months, but acknowledged that they have been struggling since then to maintain progress. Shays advocated a timetable for the war. "Not a timetable to leave now or prematurely, but a timetable that's based on when [the Iraqis] can replace us," he said. "They will know that timetable, and they will know we're not there indefinitely."

Farrell, on the other hand, advocated establishing "benchmarks" rather than a timetable for Iraq, saying that "timetable" is "a good word to throw around" but a rather nebulous concept. By benchmarks, she said, she means "the basic things that we all need to conduct our daily lives." The Iraqis can't begin rebuilding their country until the violence stops, citizens have access to basics like water and electricity, and the "personal security of every citizen in Iraq" is secured, she said.

Farrell also said Congress needs to "hold the president to account, to put checks and balances back in the government, and to stop giving Bush an open checkbook, which is what he's enjoyed as we are now in year four of the conflict."

Maymin criticized both of his opponents for advocating "political solutions," which he feels would never be effective in the current atmosphere in Iraq. "You won't find a political solution for Iraqis halfway around the world with America's tax money," he said. He also expressed outrage at Farrell's stated concern for the safety of all Iraqi citizens. "You don't say you can't afford to lose because then Iraq might be in trouble. Our responsibility is not to the Iraqis, our responsibility is to the Americans, and we need to get home," he said. Maymin proposed that the United States set a date, July 4, 2007, and simply leave. "We cannot suffer the irony of supporting our troops halfway around the world to fight a battle that we shouldn't have gotten into in the first place while celebrating independence," he said.

Last, the candidates were asked to address the question, "What types of incentives do you support to promote alternative energy development and use?" Farrell, who spoke first, named her top two priorities as reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil and investing more in renewable sources of energy. She said she supports the New Apollo Energy Act, which was introduced by Democratic Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington state. According to Farrell, the act includes incentives for consumers to buy energy-efficient products, such as hybrid cars, and promotes investment in new sources of energy, such as fuel cells. Working with fuel cells, Farrell said, could create many new jobs in Connecticut. The act also would "pay for itself," Farrell said, by "rolling back some of the tax cuts that have been enjoyed by big oil companies for many years, where we have seen record profits set by oil companies."

Speaking next, Maymin once again advocated less government involvement. Without state and federal taxes, government regulation and the war in Iraq, he said, gas would be much less expensive for consumers. To Farrell's suggestion that the government promote investment in new sources of energy, Maymin said, "If something, any new product, is going to create an amazing economic boom, why must it be paid for with higher taxes?" He suggested that the free market will guide people to do what is best for the economy. Therefore, he said, Farrell's negative comment about oil companies earning record profits was absurd, since "profits are what make people get up in the morning and provide you with the services you want." On the consumer side, Maymin suggested that prices set by the market, not the government, will determine consumer behavior. "I'm the proud owner of an SUV because I'm willing to pay for the gas," he said. "If [gas prices] become high enough that I don't want to, I'll consider a hybrid."

Shays noted that as a Republican he strongly believes in the power of the market, but he also thinks that the government has to regulate in some instances because of the "spillover effects" of consumer and producer behavior. That is, he said, if Maymin chooses to drive an SUV, it affects not only him but also, because of the SUV's pollution, those around him. To this, Maymin responded that private companies that pollute are held accountable when those they harm sue them. The federal government which, he noted, pollutes on a much larger scale than private firms is not held accountable for pollution, he said.

Shays said he supports and has taken a lead role in the Energy for Our Future Act, which would take money from energy companies and put it toward renewable energy. Shays noted that this bill, unlike the one Farrell supports, is bipartisan.

At the conclusion of the debate, the candidates were asked on which committees they wish to serve if elected. Maymin chose the Budget, Appropriations, and Ways and Means committees and said "many of the others should not exist." Shays chose Government Reform, Homeland Security, and Financial Services, and Farrell chose Transportation, Budget, Appropriations, and Ways and Means.