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The 12th Congressional seat pits incumbent Republican Tom Marino against Marc Friedenberg.
That district encompasses all or parts of Lycoming, Bradford, Centre, Clinton, Juniata, Mifflin, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, and Wyoming counties.
Q: The national debt now exceeds $21.5 trillion. What measures should be taken to cut that debt?
MARINO: "We are doing that as we speak. The jobs have been created. The more people there are working, the more people there are paying taxes and the more disposable income we have. By lowering corporate taxes we bring manufacturing back to the country. We also have to cut down the size of the government. It's too big. It's inefficient."
FRIEDENBERG: "Twenty-one trillion dollars is an inconceivable number. We are burdening our children and grandchildren with interest payments alone on that. I think there are some programs to control costs. In my view when people talk about the debt crisis, it is a way of saying: What can we do about Social Security? Social Security is something we can't compromise on. Out of that $21.5 trillion, the tax cuts didn't do much for this congressional district. Shame on anyone who voted for it. So much of our defense spending goes to private contractors. For the taxpayers that is a big expense, and that is a big contributor to the debt."