My concern is that you are significantly cutting workforce training and research, both in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) but also particularly in the Department of Energy.

if the demographics--Congress can repeal a lot of things, but one of them we cannot repeal is the law of demographics.

Silicon Valley will not deal with the Pentagon. The small and innovative companies just do not want to be bothered.

There is rarely a silver bullet. There is often silver buckshot.

Providing IRS with additional money will eventually produce more revenue.

We have really got to have some kind of systematic review of how we do procurement.

My experience is that unless someone has the responsibility for making these things happen----

I think they do matter, and I hope we can establish that kind of consensus.

So you are essentially saying there are no cuts.

I think I remember there was a report several years ago that the overall analysis... was positive, that it would reduce the deficit over a 10-year period something like $1 trillion.

I am interested to note that your estimate on improper payments, 75 percent are in three areas: Medicare, Medicaid, and the EITC.

I think it points to an underlying issue that we really need to be talking about.

Because I think that is important, because that is a principle that drives a lot of the debate around here, and I think we ought to try to get to the data that underlies it.

We have got veterans in Maine that want and need care, and we have got a program ready to go.

to say we can close our borders and stop having people come to this country and maintain continued economic growth just does not square with economic principles.

if you eliminate the ACA, it would actually have a negative impact and make the deficit worse on the whole.

I think that is fair.

the No. 1 problem they are telling me is finding qualified workers.

$406 billion a year of undercollections, about $145 billion of improper payments, add those together, it is almost--well, it is slightly above this year's projected deficit.

I think it was a brilliant step to begin this discussion.

We have to be really careful about this, that we not simply give ourselves a tax cut and then lay it on our kids.

I see them as distinct.

I think the best chance you have to reduce the deficit or balance the budget is to accomplish economic growth.

I have tried seriously to find economic studies that substantiate that. I have not been able to find them.

I just hope that you will hold onto the commitment that you made today, because it's not going to be easy.