On the recordJanuary 24, 2012
it is good to be back at work here in Washington, DC. We have the big State of the Union tonight, which is kind of the beginning of the legislative year. I am looking forward to the challenges and, hopefully, accomplishments we will have together both in this Chamber and in this building in the coming year. As we prepare for the State of the Union, I think it is always a good time for us to reflect on where we are as a nation and where we have been. I think all of us can look back on the 20th century and say it was truly the American century. I was blessed to be born in that century and to be a beneficiary of so much of America's greatness. Those of us who have been beneficiaries of America's past have an obligation--certainly those who serve here--to be defenders of America's greatness in the future. At the core of everything we debate today are these issues about America's future and how we make the 21st century an American century as well. If we examine some of what has really distinguished us from the rest of the world, that has made America and life in America different from life in other countries, there are three things that come to mind. The first is this concept of fairness. We are a people who strongly believe in the concept of fairness.…
