Kent Conrad: “If you take on too much debt, it affects the rate of economic growth in a country adversely.”

All the talk in the world doesn't matter if you don't actually get something done in the real world.

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.

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.