We cannot and we must not balance the budget on the backs of our most vulnerable; we must instead build up the budget and reduce the deficit through the success of the working class.

In the forum I proposed an analogous statement 'I plan to start my diet by eating cake and ice cream' to illustrate the hypocrisy.

Extending all of the Bush-era tax cuts, especially those for the wealthiest Americans, for two years is not the best way to begin addressing the deficit.

The best approach to broadening the risk pool and bringing down costs is to extend Medicare for all individuals and establish a single payer system.

It's clear that we must end the war in Afghanistan and instead make smart security investments to safeguard our nation's interests and improve our long term security.

We must ensure that every American has a roof over their head by funding $2 billion in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

If you support the repeal of health reform--you are contributing to the destabilization of Medicare.

The most imminent crisis we face is the crisis we have the opportunity to address right now in our 2012 budget, and that is America's economic crisis.

The motion imminent crisis we face is one that we can address right now in our 2012 budget.

We have a quarter century to shore up Social Security.

It would be disingenuous for me to promote my legislation using the deceitful claim Social Security is broken or faces an imminent crisis.

No matter how many times you say Social Security is broke, the reality is that Social Security's independent revenue stream and its Trust Fund's investments maintain the program's solvency until 2037.

Raising the retirement age would mean an immediate benefit cut for men and women of America.

I suspect a lot of these teachers are wondering why are they paying for the sins that were done by others?

Social Security, as you can see from this chart, has never contributed one dime to the national debt or any of our deficits.

It is our responsibility to ensure that children who come from disadvantaged families have the same opportunities as their peers.

We have a responsibility to provide Americans with the skills and opportunities they need to be successful in the global marketplace.

Nothing is more crucial to our nation's long-term future than an educated citizenry.