if you add the Balanced Budget Amendment and the No-Tax Pledge, it creates a ratchet effect that you will never solve any of these problems.

we are doing a woeful job of underfunding our infrastructure at this time.

the best way to get out of this mess is through economic growth, and there are several strategies for economic growth that involve spending money.

we have to look at the structural health care costs.

The biggest economic stimulus program of the Federal Government in the history of the United States was the G.I. Bill after World War II.

the debt and the deficit is a serious problem, and to me, lowering the deficit is progress, but it is not an answer because the hole is still getting deeper.

I do not believe the HQT requirement effectively ensures that students do in fact have a highly effective teacher.

I worry about changing substitutes in that room, but I also worry about the 54 percent of our students that are on free and reduced lunch status.

This bill is not intended to repeal or replace the ACA nor would it eliminate the employer mandate.

It didn't make common sense when considering the impact on learning.

This is a very important deal, one based on verification and sound science.

The task force identified several unintended consequences of the law's requirement for annual tests.

Our task force concluded that States needed greater flexibility, and they recommended allowing States to measure student progress over grade spans.

In 2005, former Senator Olympia Snowe and I, in response to a lot of concerns about the law, put together an NCLB task force to evaluate the impact of the law in Maine.

Well, particularly when we finally have a leader in the country that we can work with and has some hope of real political leadership in the country.

I do not consider the FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] a social program or the Department of Homeland Security or NIH [National Institutes of Health] or the infrastructure of our country, law enforcement across the country.

Talking about history. Would you all agree--and I don't need lengthy answers--that leaving Afghanistan prematurely would be a major strategic mistake for this country?

General, I just hope what you said today and that analogy is a headline tomorrow, because we have to deal with this issue.