The cost of action will be great, but the cost of inaction will be far greater.

I intend to hold these banks fully accountable for the assistance they receive.

We're making the largest investment in education in our nation's history.

This investment will create a newer, smarter electric grid that will allow for broader use of alternative energy.

We're putting Americans to work doing the work that America needs done in critical areas that have been neglected for too long.

We are remaking the American landscape with the largest new investment in our nation's infrastructure since Eisenhower built an Interstate Highway System.

We're taking the most meaningful steps in years towards modernizing our health care system.

It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign – the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act – we are upholding one of this nation’s first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version…

Ultimately, though, equal pay isn’t just an economic issue for millions of Americans and their families, it’s a question of who we are – and whether we’re truly living up to our fundamental ideals.

This bill is an important step – a simple fix to ensure fundamental fairness to American workers – and I want to thank this remarkable and bi-partisan group of legislators who worked so hard to get it passed.

This grandmother from Alabama kept on fighting, because she was thinking about the next generation.

But equal pay is by no means just a women’s issue – it’s a family issue.

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart.

We have to change the laws in Congress, appropriate the money to get it done.

I intend to work very, very hard with my colleague Senator Durbin to make sure that we strengthen this agency and strengthen its ability to protect America's children.