Jan. 24 Republican debate transcript

Speakers: Former Gov. Mitt Romney, R-Mass.; Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, R-New York City; Rep. RON Paul, R-Texas Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark.

Moderator:  Brian Williams with Tim Russert and Paul Tash.

Brian Williams: Before we begin, a quick review of the rules we will be following tonight, or trying to, beginning with a word about time.

Our televised debates normally run two hours. However, at the request of the candidates and their campaigns, tonight's debate will be limited to 90 minutes duration.

The candidates will have 90 seconds to respond to our questions. A series of lights will warn them time is running out. Thirty seconds of rebuttal time may also be granted to a candidate at the discretion of the moderator.

During one of our segments tonight, the candidates have been instructed to prepare one question to be asked of one of their opponents of their choosing.

Joining me in the questioning tonight, my partner, our Washington bureau chief, the moderator of "Meet the Press" on NBC, Tim Russert. And representing the Florida Press Association, Paul Tash. Paul is the editor and chairman of the St. Petersburg Times.

So to our candidates, gentlemen, welcome to you all. Thank you for being here. And let's begin.

And, Governor Romney, I thought we'd begin with you. The president just today signed off on this economic stimulus plan that would send out 116 million checks to American homes.

The plan is somewhat contrary to yours, providing lots of short- term stimulus to individuals. Your plan, as you know, focuses as much on the long term as the short term.

Are you disappointed that your recipe for the economy was not embraced by the president? And, as the follow-up, will you now embrace this plan?

Mitt Romney: Well, there's a great deal that is effective in his plan. I just wish it went further.

What's effective is, first, he's getting money back to consumers. And given the fact that two-thirds of our economy is a consumer economy, getting money back into the hands of our citizens, a lot of them paying a lot for gasoline, a lot for heating oil, a lot of people concerned about how to make ends meet, that makes sense to me.

Mine was a little different. It had a permanent tax cut for people at the lowest income tax bracket. I also have a savings plan for individuals that allows folks who are making under $200,000 a year to save their money tax-free, no interest, dividends, or capital gains.

I guess we can get to that later. But his first start to help the consumers is a good start. I just think we need to go further.

Second, we go to corporate support and helping corporations have the incentive to buy more capital equipment. That he also does. I do it more aggressive than he does, by writing off a larger amount of capital expenditures, getting companies to, frankly, buy more stuff so that as they do so that other companies will hire people.

Because if you want to turn an economy around, the key thing is to grow jobs. It's not just to get checks in the hands of consumers; it's consumers buying things that creates jobs. It's companies buying things that create jobs.

And then, finally, his last leg is with regards to helping the FHA take on a broader array of homes that are in trouble, homeowners that are in trouble. And that's really very important. And I'm appreciative of the fact that the president took that step.

We really have across the country a housing crisis, a mortgage crisis that seems to have spilled out into the entire economy. And the effect of this, of course, is to put a lot of pain against a lot of people.

And so helping reverse the housing crisis is critical. And that's why expanding the FHA loan requirements -- or, excuse me, if you will, loosening those requirements and expanding the ability of FHA to help out homeowners will make a big difference.

So net-net, it's something I support. And I look forward to taking it further.

Williams: And time is up, Governor.

Senator McCain, would you support the part of this that does not make the Bush tax cuts permanent? And, as the only member of the Senate on the stage, will you vote for this compromise?

John McCain: Yes, I will. And I'm disappointed because I think it's very important that we make the Bush tax cuts permanent. I voted to make them permanent twice already.

If people and businesses and families in America are now planning their 2010 budget, there is a great deal of uncertainty. And, if we don't make the tax cuts permanent, then they will experience what amounts to a tax increase.

I applaud the efforts and the rapidity with which apparently we are moving, but I also would make sure that not only the tax cuts are made permanent, but we cut corporate income taxes. That would keep businesses here and it would keep jobs here and create jobs here.

We pay the highest corporate income tax of any nation in the world except for Japan. I think that it would be very important that no pork-barrel projects be added as this bill winds its way through the various committees of Congress.

I worry about that. I worry that we're going to add pork-barrel projects.

I'm glad to see that we're going to allow people to expense new investments and equipment so they can write them off in a very short period of time, but I really think that we have to understand that the rate cuts by Bernanke are a good beginning.

Apparently, the markets have stabilized a little bit. But we also need to continue to cut tax rates in America. And we also have to encourage savings. Because, if we don't restrain spending, if we don't restrain spending, then we're going to end up in the same position that we were in earlier, and that's with an economy that has very serious fiscal difficulties.