Well, you are certainly well stating my position and I believe the position of our colleagues and I believe of the President. Social Security is not part of the current deficit problem. It is an issue. We'll have to deal with it at any…

And colleagues and the general public, there has been a lot of discussion in the last several days about what to do with the fiscal cliff. Is it a cliff? Is it not a cliff? Is it a slope? Is it the end of America as we know it, or…

How about next week? We'll come back to the floor next week, and we'll pick up the issues of infrastructure, of jobs and the like. This week we need to focus on what has been put on the table by the Republicans and the Democrats on how to…

Well, there are certainly a series of things that we know we can do to reduce the cost of Medicare. Some of those are already in place. They've been brought forward by the Affordable Care Act. Others are yet to be done. The prescription…

Mr. Welch, we will do it. Mr. Courtney from Connecticut has some ideas about other things that we can do.

If I might interrupt you for a moment. Under the current law, the U.S. Government Medicare program, it is prevented by law.

Mr. Courtney of the great State of Connecticut, thank you very much for bringing this information to us. Your chart is a dramatic one, when you consider the period of time and the extraordinary reduction in the inflation rate in Medicare…

Mr. Curson, thank you so very much for your thoughtful discussion of the age issue--it's a profoundly important one--and also bringing up the issue of what is the cost of Medicare administration compared to the private health insurance…

Well, you're absolutely correct about that. The proposal to cut Medicare benefits is a nonstarter. There are things that can be done in Medicare to reduce the cost, and much has already been done. I would like to ask my colleague from the…

Earlier today I was asked by a reporter from San Francisco about the effect of sequestration and the austerity budget proposals on research in that area. The San Francisco Bay area is one of the great research centers in the world, with…

Mr. Tonko, thank you very much. Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Higgins, thank you very much. As I was listening to the three of you and thinking my own thoughts, I'm excited. I'm excited for the prospect of America. I can see the opportunities that are…

You said earlier that the American Society of Engineers--I think that was the name--said that we have a D rating for infrastructure, and that we need over $2 trillion. I don't know anybody in my district, where we may have a serious flood…