If we do not deepen the Charleston port, that is the economic engine for the State of South Carolina and for the Southeast.

``To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water; to raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years.''

``But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the Journal of each House respectively.''

We think the current mandate is workable.

I do very much urge this committee to look for strong and credible actions to control the Federal debt.

We do have a plan, and like--I have tremendous respect for Chairman Volcker.

I do think that an important priority for us as a country and for the Congress from a fiscal point of view is to think about what we can do to achieve better cost efficiency in the health care area at the same time that we do what we can…

monetary policy independence is very important for the stability of our economy and our financial markets.

It would be the better part of valor to take action now to make sure that we do not get too close to that point.

We do not want banks making bad loans. That is how we got in trouble in the first place.

Absent any action, the debt-to-GDP ratio is going to be not only rising but rising at an increasing pace.

we, the American people, the Congress needs to demonstrate a credible commitment to solving the long-term fiscal problems.

I believe the deficit and debt reduction plan assembled by the President's Fiscal Commission provides one way forward, and I want to emphasize I supported the Commission report.

It is really a question of do we have the political will to do that, and demonstration of the political will, that is what the markets are watching.

we have a strong commitment to community banks, and we have, in fact, recently increased our schedule of direct meetings with the Board with representatives of community banks.

Nobody doubts the United States has the economic capacity to pay its bills. It is really a question of do we have the political will to do that.

We cannot afford to wait until the markets lose confidence in the conduct of our financial affairs.

The Commission plan was also important because it showed how to reduce the deficit and debt in a balanced way.