it is rare that I disagree with the Senator from Texas--maybe once or twice in the last half a dozen years. Seriously, we disagree from time to time, but we do it in a way that we are not disagreeable with one another. I support the…

This has been a terrific hearing. This is terrific and so timely, so timely, as we face the sequestration issues.

We spend more money for defense as a Nation than I think the next five or six, maybe seven nations combined.

If we cannot find ways to provide for our defense and maybe at the same time save some money, shame on us.

I have been urging our chairman and ranking member to do what they have done so many times in the past, and that is to provide real leadership for us on this committee, and for this committee to provide real leadership for the Senate and…

We are eating ourselves to death and at the same time just choking our Medicare program and our budget.

We also spend, as you know, way more money for health care than any other advanced nation in the world.

while the Senator from Texas is still on the floor, he knows I have a lot of respect and affection for him, and I am delighted to serve with him here and also to serve with him on the Finance Committee. I appreciate Senator Shaheen for…

Again, I thank Senator Shaheen and Senator Hoeven for allowing us to have this colloquy. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Hampshire.

I am the last Senator sitting, not standing, but do not take this as a sign that my colleagues are not interested.

I think most of us support the exchanges; God knows I do.

I quoted Mike Enzi, a venerable former mayor of Gillette, WY, who sits right over here next to Mr. Roberts.

as Senator Carper noted, in the months to come.

And in the end, the love we take is equal to the love we make.

we have, frankly, led the Nation, under his leadership beginning in 1997

The 80/20 rule is Mike Enzi's--I do not know if he wrote it, but it is a great rule.

I think they are just a great way to try to get better health care results for less money.

It is a dangerous thing, turning the gavel over to me.

How are you planning to test the computer systems for the exchanges to make sure that they work properly?

We have to do it right. We have to get it right, and there is a lot that lies on the administration as we implement the Affordable Care Act.

Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your testimony and responding to our questions.

I signed into law in my last term as Governor.

If we are still here on August 5, debating this issue and postal reform legislation, we have failed.

I urge my colleagues to fight, and fight very hard, to demonstrate compassion and respect for these middle-class American workers and their families.

The world has changed. The way we communicate has changed.