HAMPTON BAYS—U.S. Representative Tim Bishop and his challenger, Randy Altschuler, offered sharply divergent views on how to fix the economy in a heated—and hasty—debate hosted by the Hampton Bays Civic Association last Thursday, October 21.

The debate, which lasted only about 30 minutes because both candidates had other events to attend, drew more than 100 people to the Southampton Town Community Center on Ponquogue Avenue, and was a fervid contrast to the more subdued State Senate and State Assembly debates that followed.

Mr. Bishop, a Democrat from Southampton, spent much of his opening statement defending his 2008 vote in support of the controversial Troubled Asset Relief Program, a $700 billion bailout of financial, insurance and auto industries that was intended to prevent the economy from collapsing. He said he knew it was a “source of some consternation” for his constituents.

“I am convinced that had we not voted to pass the Troubled Asset Relief Program, our country would have tumbled into the second Great Depression, and it wouldn’t have just been a depression that was contained in the United States,” said Mr. Bishop, who is running for his fifth two-year term. “It would have been a global depression.”

Mr. Bishop also defended the $787 stimulus bill that Congress passed in early 2009, which was intended to help jump-start the economy, saying it brought money and jobs to the 1st Congressional District, which spans most of Suffolk County including the East End.

Mr. Altschuler, a Republican from St. James and a wealthy business owner, said government spending is not the way to assuage the lingering effects of the economic crisis, like high unemployment. He said the federal government should cut back spending and lower taxes, as well as peel back regulations on businesses.

“The congressman thinks the solution to a lot of our problems are bigger government,” said Mr. Altschuler, a first-time candidate. “When he talks about the money that was brought back from the stimulus bill—our share of that stimulus bill, our burden here in this district, is $3 billion. We got $294 million back from the stimulus bill. That is not a fair trade.”

The debate reached a fever pitch after Mr. Bishop, in his closing remarks, pressed Mr. Altschuler to outline specific spending cuts he has in mind if elected to Washington, D.C.

“I think we all know that the congressman has no real deep interest in hearing what spending cuts I propose,” Mr. Altschuler replied—a comment that prompted jeers and laughter from some audience members. “What Congressman Bishop will do with that is put it in his campaign, as he done with everything, and he’s run a completely negative campaign.”

The candidates also diverged on the issue of the mounting federal deficit after it was brought up by a member of the audience. Both agreed that it was an urgent issue, but Mr. Bishop indicated that tax hikes of some kind would be necessary to help get the deficit under control—an idea that Mr. Altschuler scoffed at.

“We need to cut spending, but we need to do it in a way that is fair and prudent,” Mr. Bishop said. “And we also have to recognize—and this is going to be very unpopular—that anyone who thinks we can balance the federal budget exclusively by cutting expenses is either being delusional or dishonest. That’s the cold hard truth, folks.”

Mr. Altschuler replied that Congress “absolutely positively cannot raise taxes and I would never vote for it.”

“If we’re going to solve the problem going forward, we have to banish the thought of more taxes and more burdens on Americans and instead start tightening our belts and make some cutting,” he said.

The candidates also covered a handful of minor issues, which were brought up in questions prepared by the civic association and members of the audience. Both Mr. Bishop and Mr. Altschuler said they would consider “unwinding” the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in response to the fiscal meltdown of 2008. Mr. Bishop said he would not support a bill declaring English the national language, while Mr. Altschuler said he would.

When asked by an audience member about the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, Mr. Bishop called it an “insulting” practice and said he supported its repeal. Mr. Altschuler said he would support its repeal if military leaders advised it.