Absolutely, Congressman, and it would be, in that context, disastrous if you were either not to extend the debt ceiling...

I am totally in favor of dealing with the budget, that is the point of the book we wrote called 'White House Burning,' a dramatic enough title I hope, but the point is you need a balanced approach.

Well, I ask the question, how much time do we really have?

Healthcare costs, Congressman, it is the failure to control healthcare costs, as just discussed.

The President was right when he spoke of the reckless fiscal policies at the moment.

We should pay our bills. That is the number one priority. If we don't pay our bills as a government, we will disrupt the economic recovery and push unemployment higher.

It is not a good idea, and it is not the way fiscal policy was run not just since World War I.

the debt limit helps hold Washington accountable to hardworking taxpayers, who ultimately foot the bill for Washington's spending habits.

You need an economic recovery, Congressman, for everything else that you want to do. And that requires jobs to come back to where they were.

I supported larger, stronger strengthening of revenue--not immediately, though. Phasing it in over time is the right way to do it.

Job creation is going to be impacted negatively by the uncertainty around fiscal policy, particularly any discussion of the debt ceiling.