Kent Conrad: “I have high regard for Colonel Christensen. His professionalism and the absolute dedication he brought to this, I think…”

We admire that, and I can say on both sides of the aisle, people recognize the job he did as Budget Committee Chairman.

I wish I could look you in the eye and say, you know, if we just had the will, we could reverse this, and we could go back to a time when defined benefit plans were on the increase. I do not think that is in the cards.

I do, and I made that argument to the commission, and others on the commission made some of the points that you are making now.

It takes guts to do that, and Chairman Arrington, you have certainly led the charge on having a commission.