Haley spars with Republican rivals at 3rd primary debate as Trump still looms

After a commercial break, candidates were asked about what they would do to stop the flow of fentanyl into the country.

Many of them took aim at China and what was being brought into the U.S. across the border. Scott called for closing the southern border, and DeSantis repeated his argument for using military force against the drug cartels, which has drawn criticism from some who say it would be untenable as the cartels are in a foreign country that is an ally. Ramaswamy rejected the term "overdose" when it comes to fentanyl, instead calling it "closer to bioterrorism" that warrants an aggressive response.

Christie and Haley also addressed the need for more treatment options for those struggling with addiction.

"For every family there tonight who has lost a loved one to fentanyl or to any other type of opioid overdose, what you know is all you want is a chance for them to win their lives back," Christie said. "When I'm president of the United States, we're going to call this what it is. It is a disease. Like heart disease, diabetes or any other disease like cancer that can be treated, should be treated. We not only have to stop supply, but we have to lower demand and save lives."

Haley said she agreed with the former New Jersey governor and that the focus should also be on mental health and addiction centers.

-ABC News' Alexandra Hutzler

“When we cut taxes in 2017, I wrote The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Everybody said, 'Well guess what? Revenue will go down.' Well in 2018, after we wrote it in 2017, what happened? Revenue went up by 3%, and the next year, it went up by another 3%,” Scott said. “So what we know is that the Laffer Curve still works. That the lower the tax, the higher the revenue."

If you look at the sheer number of dollars collected, irrespective of inflation and without regard to the size of the overall economy or other factors, tax revenues went up very slightly.

Specifically, federal data shows that tax revenues rose between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2018 by 0.4%. (Federal fiscal years run from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30.) The rise is smaller than almost every previous year since World War II, except for a handful of years in which tax revenues declined, largely due to recessions.
But even that increase isn’t really applicable because the fiscal year is different from the tax year.

And the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a group that favors shrinking the federal deficit, found that the small increase in nominal dollars collected disappears once you add in other factors. If you adjust for inflation, the group found, tax revenues actually fell by 1.6%.
-Analysis by Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact

Christie kicked off a discussion on keeping Social Security sustainable. He has proposed raising the retirement age for younger Americans as part of his reforms to the key welfare program, though wouldn't give a number when asked during the debate, saying that would be a negotiation with Congress.

"I'm not going to start negotiating until I get there," he said.

Haley has also said she would be open to raising the retirement age, though she also didn't give a specific number.

"What I can tell you is it's going to be those in their 20s just coming into the system, and it should reflect more of life expectancy. It doesn't do that now," she said.

Scott said as president he would "protect your Social Security" and would not be open to raising the retirement age.

DeSantis said the key to tackling Social Security is reducing inflation.

"I'm going to force Congress to stop spending so much money," he said.

He said he doesn't see how to raise the retirement age "when life expectancy is declining."

Ramaswamy said preserving Social Security would take "severe measures" to address national debt, including reducing the number of federal employees.

-ABC News' Meredith Deliso

Most of the candidates on stage said they want to increase the retirement age for Social Security benefits, with some like Christie and Haley mentioning that their proposals would mainly affect people like their children, who are in their 20s and 30s. Still, the idea of raising the eligibility age is extremely unpopular across the board. In March, 62% of Americans told Quinnipiac University they opposed raising the full retirement age from 67 to 70, with majorities opposing it in every age group. The GOP candidates are also in a tough spot because Trump has recently opposed raising the retirement age or reducing benefits. Additionally, coming off as anti-Social Security could also scare older voters, who tend to be more Republican and will make up a sizable chunk of the primary electorate.

-Analysis by Geoffrey Skelley of 538