It is true, we are badly divided by partisanship because the American people are badly divided by partisanship, and what is Congress but a reflection of the people?

A bipartisan fiscal commission will not be easy for any single person on this side of the aisle or this side of the aisle to vote for.

This Congress, the House Committee on Natural Resources has prioritized the work of renewing the COFAs.

Ladies and gentlemen, it was an entirely different situation. Forget the fact that Republicans and Democrats were working better together, we were not in the fiscal hole we are in now.

What we wanted was to improve the process.

we just have to have some ability to be able to constrain Congress from moving past the moment to some future milestone and give it the force of law today

I think this is something both sides of the aisle should celebrate as we pass this resolution.

I am so proud of you.

We have not fixed the problem. We knew that baby boomers were going to start retiring at a very rapid rate in 2008.

Our fiscal situation is dire because of bad decisions made here over many years and it can only be corrected here.

The intent behind this is to ensure greater engagement from these agencies and the U.S. Government in carrying out the COFA agreements.

The strength of a commission is to bridge partisan divides.

if you can't do something like that, then what, pray tell, can you do to fix the bigger problem?

A commission may be the best shot we have to help us get back on track.

I really believe that this is a good resolution. This is actually a good policy for the United States in making a safe presence of the United States in the Pacific area.

I can only characterize this new commission proposal as the proverbial definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

The ultimate bipartisan commission in this Nation is called the Congress, and this Congress, as imperfect as it is, is where these decisions must be made.

This fiscal commission is going to force us. It is going to bypass leadership, it is going to get to the floor and actually be able to be voted on.