Jim Cooper and I put a bill in yesterday. We had it in last year.

I am not going to stand by and allow this country to collapse simply because this Congress can't come together.

The Pete Peterson Institute just did a survey. 56 percent of the people, bipartisan, in every part of the country favored this concept.

It's time for Congress to deliver on its responsibilities to the American people and have an honest conversation about the state of our finances.

I have little faith that this Congress will act through regular order and believe it will take a commission with teeth for Congress to act.

Our unemployment rate is 8.1 percent. Factories are closing. We have got the biggest deficit for as far as the eye can see.

To preserve the independence of the people, we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt.

To preserve [the] independence [of the people,] we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.

Opening Statement of: Hon. Mark Warner, a U.S. Senator from the State of Virginia.

I commend you for asking that 'What is the one take-away?' question from each of these gentlemen.

This problem we are in the middle of the crisis now of too big to fail.

I just do not want to be here 5 years later looking at what the next round of new products would be and say, 'Why didn't we see that ahead of time?'

We need to make sure we get rid of this Swiss cheese approach to regulation.

I think we will get to some stance where we will have some level of regulatory oversight.

William Wilberforce started prison reform in Great Britain. I mean, we are working toward it.

If we do not have productive, number one education programs, and number two, the Prison Industries Program, or some form of it, we cannot possibly ensure that inmates learn how to work.

I was opposed to what the Congress did on Prison Industries.

We are down to 17 percent.