(Continued from page 14)

government should shrink and that the country needs more domestic energy sources.
• They all also agreed that President Barack Obama's federal health care law should be repealed or limited.
• Rhoden, of Union Center, said South Dakota's next U.S. senator needs to be someone with the ability to oppose the president and his agenda. He vowed to "make next two years the most miserable of (Obama's) career."
• Bosworth, of Sioux Falls, said that as a doctor who helps lower-income people, she believes the Affordable Care Act has harmed patient care and increased costs.
• "This law has brought into the room way too many people on how to care for the patient," she said. "It has everything to do with removing the conversation between doctors and patients about the cost."
• Part of the debate focused on the EB-5 visa program, which allows people to get residency if they invest at least $500,000 in approved projects.
• One of those projects, the bankrupt Northern Beef Packers plant in Aberdeen, is at the center of state and federal investigations that have focused on Richard Benda, the former commissioner of the Governor's Office of Economic Development under Rounds' administration.
• Benda was found dead Oct. 22 with a fatal shotgun wound. His death was ruled a suicide.
• A state audit found that just before Benda left the economic development office, he added an extra $550,000 to a grant agreement to help the struggling Northern Beef plant. Benda also hand-delivered a $1 million check to the Aberdeen plant, and $550,000 of that was improperly diverted to pay loan monitoring fees for the EB-5 program, according to a report by Attorney General Marty Jackley.
• Rounds did not refer to the investigations but defended the state's use of the EB-5 program, saying it helped him create 28,000 jobs as governor. No taxpayer money was lost, he said.
• "We have more dairies; we have a turkey processing plant and a power plant because of it," he said. "It provides an opportunity to get a green card. They have to apply for citizenship separately."
• Nelson and Ravnsborg, of Yankton, both said they support changing or eliminating the EB-5 visa program.
• Nelson argued that taxpayer money was involved and said he brought a bill to end the state's use of the program.
• "To call it successful, that takes the wind out of me," he said. "I would happily end that crony capitalism program."
• In his closing comments, Ravnsborg said Democrats are waiting to exploit the is

(Continued on page 16)