Heidi Heitkamp in 2012 North Dakota Senate Debates

On Budget & Economy: Quit playing blame game & pass Balanced Budget Amendment

Berg said a new, comprehensive federal budget was the best strategy for reining in the growth of the nation's budget deficits, and that the Democratic-controlled Senate has not approved one in more than three years. "If we're going to solve a family problem, or a small-business problem, the first step is, you need a budget," Berg said. "We need a budget that comes to closure, so people can see we're going to balance it."

Heitkamp praised a budget plan she said was put forward by Sen. Tom Coburn, a conservative Republican from Oklahoma. She also backs a balanced budget amendment to the US Constitution, she said. "I think the path forward is, quit playing the blame game. I think it's atrocious we don't have a budget, but I think that the reason why we don't have a budget is because both political parties refuse to solve the problem."

On Corporations: Fought attempt to weaken ND bank privacy laws

On Tax Reform: Never eliminate home mortgage deduction

On Environment: Farm bill is needed and is blocked by partisanship

"When we talk about gridlock, the gridlock we got was within the Republican Party," Heitkamp said. "You cannot look at any kind of activity that you had on the farm bill and claim any amount of success."

Berg said he has pushed repeatedly for a pre-election vote, including supporting a "discharge petition" that would compel a floor vote on the legislation. House Republican leaders have promised to have a vote on the farm bill by year's end, Berg added.

The farm bill includes money for a host of agricultural programs ranging from crop insurance to soil conservation, but the largest chunk of money, roughly 80%, is for food stamps

On Health Care: No Medicare vouchers; they'd make system insolvent

Heitkamp said Republicans' so-called "premium support" proposal, which would provide a voucher for beneficiaries under age 55 to shop around for health coverage, would create "real problems in making sure that that system is solvent" if only the elderly who are the sickest remain on traditional Medicare. She said her solutions for keeping Medicare solvent include negotiating prescription drug prices, reducing fraud and waste and promoting wellness.

Berg championed the proposal as giving Americans an option to choose a better policy, but he focused most of his comments on the effects of the Affordable Care Act.

On Health Care: $716B cut from Medicare is biggest fib of 2012 campaign

"It cuts money from hospitals and physicians in North Dakota. It cuts hospice. These are real cuts," Berg said.

Heitkamp called Berg's $716 billion-cut claim "the biggest fib in this whole campaign," noting Berg voted for such a cut under vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan's budget plan.

Asked how they would address Obamacare, Berg said he would repeal the law, calling it "the one clear distinction in this race." He said his wife, a physician, said it would put the government between her and her patients, and he referred to recent reports that Olive Garden and Red Lobster are putting more workers on part-time status to see if it will limit costs from Obamacare. "This bill creates a cloud of uncertainty, and it's hurting our whole economy," Berg said.

On Health Care: Retain the ObamaCare "frontier states" amendment

Berg agreed that "we need to deal with that" frontier amendment, explaining afterward that he would reintroduce the provision in the Senate if elected. Heitkamp countered afterward that Conrad and former Sen. Byron Dorgan tried for 20 years to pass the amendment.

On Health Care: N.D. needs a state health care exchange, ObamaCAre or not

During last November's special session the House voted 64-30 against the exchange. Heitkamp went on to say that North Dakota should have a health care exchange, federal law or not.

Berg said the law needs to be repealed and replaced piecemeal. He said the law's mandate to purchase insurance will hurt businesses and families. "They hit middle America hard," Berg said. He pointed to the announcement earlier in the week that Olive Garden & Red Lobster will be moving away from hiring full-time employees to keep costs down under the law. The law states that businesses with 50 or more employees can be subject to fines if full-time workers aren't covered.

On Energy & Oil: Right thing for country is to permit Keystone pipeline

Her opponent Rick Berg claims the problem lies in the senate and says he would work with both chambers of congress if elected to bring checks and balances to the EPA.

On Health Care: Changes are needed to ObamaCare, but not repeal

Heitkamp said changes are needed with the law when it comes to the mandate and the tax on health insurance. But that it should not be repealed. She says doing so would get rid of the frontier states amendment, which she says would be impossible to get back.

On Energy & Oil: Permit Keystone pipeline; "drill, baby, drill"

On Environment: Protect North Dakota farm subsidies from Washington insiders

In most ads, Heitkamp is hammered as a stooge for President Barack Obama and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who are portrayed as enemies of oil exploration and coal mining, which are significant industries in North Dakota.

Anti-Berg ads accuse him of wanting to cut spending on Medicare and farm subsidies, and claim that Berg has "gone Washington," a gibe the incumbent Republican congressman himself used against Earl Pomeroy in 2010.

On Social Security: Balance budget with limited effect on Social Security

"We cannot any longer rely on ... people who are elected to office, them feeling a personal obligation to (balance the budget)," Heitkamp said. "We have to have a system in place ... that is going to create an obligation."

A Berg spokesman said that Heitkamp backed a new federal health care law that will add billions to the federal debt. Her preferred balanced-budget amendment was "rejected as a sham" by a majority of Democrats, the spokesman said.

On Tax Reform: We need to have a discussion on specific tax breaks

In public appearances, Heitkamp has detailed her objections to a budget-cutting plan offered by U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., which potential GOP Senate rival Rick Berg has supported. Ryan's blueprint would reduce tax rates, including those for high-income Americans, and end guaranteed Medicare benefits for younger people once they reach retirement age, Heitkamp said.

It suggests ending some tax breaks, without being specific, Heitkamp said. "None of these (budget plans) are detailed. The problem is, they're all political documents. They're not real budgets. That needs to end, and we need to have a discussion," Heitkamp said. "I will tell you specifically what I think in the budget can work and what can't work."

On Education: No on Measure 2: Don't centralizes control over education

Berg: "I haven't weighed in on initiated measures because I think it clouds the decision making for those voting on them."

Heitkamp: "I completely understand the frustrations that many North Dakotans have about our property tax system. With that said, I oppose Measure 2 because it centralizes control over education and local government services in Bismarck rather than where our citizens live."

On Environment: Make responsible cuts in farm bill, except crop insurance

Heitkamp: "When I travel around the state talking to farmers and commodity groups, what I hear is that people understand it's time to make some responsible cuts in the farm bill, but that crop insurance is a key part of the safety net we need to protect and preserve. I will work to protect and preserve the crop insurance program that our farm community depends on."

Berg: "Crop insurance is the No. 1 priority for our farm program. Agriculture is a bright spot in our country right now, one that is creating jobs and new revenue. As a policy-making body, we need to encourage agriculture rather than put up barriers for its growth."

On Health Care: Extremely supportive of Critical Access Hospitals

Heitkamp: "The vast majority of North Dakota's hospitals-- 36 of the 52 certified hospitals--are Critical Access Hospitals. The facilities are the lynchpin to North Dakota's health care system. The president has proposed cutting funding for Critical Access Hospitals and that's something I think he's wrong about.

Berg: "I'm extremely supportive of it. Rural health care is key. The challenge in Washington is that they assume every city has a million people in it. Also, I worry about the president's health care bill, which implements an appointed board of officials to make recommendations about reimbursement levels. With that, we would end up going down a trail of power being taken out of the hands of our elected officials."

On Health Care: 2010: enthusiastic support for ObamaCare; less so now

Her campaign offered little response to the charges, except to say that "(health care reform has) come up when she's been around the state," adding that Heitkamp has been focused on discussing energy issues. On health care, Dunlap, Hinck and Dill each said they believe the 2010 federal health care reform law should be upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Pollard, however, said he believes the requirement that individual buy health insurance is unconstitutional. "It's an extremely large assumption of power by the federal government," he said.

On Health Care: Federal mandate is serious problem; ObamaCare is not perfect

But Heitkamp's remarks offer a stark contrast to her rousing support for health care reform two years ago. "Her critique of Pres. Obama's most controversial act reveals the delicate balancing act she'll attempt to perform--embracing the more popular pieces of reform, while carving out distance from its centerpiece," a Politico analyst writes. "The problem for Heitkamp is that the criticism appears to be new. There isn't evidence she raised concerns about the health care law until she was a candidate."

On Civil Rights: AdWatch: Featured in DSCC ad: "Elect more women to Senate"

"It's time to end the culture wars and get to work for the middle class. Time to elect more women to the U.S. Senate," a female narrator says, followed by clips of 11 female Democratic challengers and incumbents up for reelection endorsing the ad. "Send a Democratic woman to the Senate," the commercial's text reads under portraits of the women. "Send them all."