2014 KS Senate debate: on Budget & Economy

Pat Roberts: Ok to spend in time of war; otherwise don't be over-generous

"I have voted for omnibus [spending] bills in the past; in the past, I have voted for [raising] debt ceilings," Roberts said. "But that was a time of war; we were doing emergency spending." Now, "all of a sudden, you are at $16 trillion debt," he said. "It's astounding. Now, $17 trillion, $18 trillion."

Similarly, Roberts said he voted against the farm bill because its subsidies for certain commodities were too generous and it did too little to overhaul the food stamp program. Still, when Roberts travels through the state, he touts his role crafting the law's provisions reforming the crop insurance program.

Milton Wolf: Free enterprise is the key to national prosperity

Wolf: Strongly Agree

Greg Orman: Report federal spending by strict accounting standards

We've seen our credit rating as a country downgraded because of the whole debt ceiling debate because politicians refuse to face the tough choices we need to make and play by a different set of rules. We need to require the federal government to report expenses and revenue by the same strict accounting standards now required of all major companies.

Chad Taylor: Budget cuts threaten basic prosecutorial services

Taylor was first elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012, and drew some national attention after he said budget cuts threatened to keep him from prosecuting domestic abuse cases.

He faces slim prospects for success in the deep-red state, however--Kansas hasn't elected a Democrat to the Senate in more than half a century, and the state went for Mitt Romney with 60 percent of the vote in 2012.