I think there was one part of it that was very, very wrong, and I regret deeply my own going along with it.

I believe it is a combination of a very loose monetary policy, a very loose fiscal policy, a very loose trade policy, all coupled with deregulation, that created the seed bed for bubbles to form.

All of us who participated in supporting that bear responsibility.

I think derivatives, while probably the vast majority of it is completely legitimate, the part that was not was the assessment of risk.

Can we improve the process? Can we make it better?

Budget resolutions have become messaging instruments, not budgeting instruments.

I am not going to be at all interested in something that truncates or reduces the rights of the minority.

reconciliation goes directly against that. Directly against that.

This may be a very critical moment for this body and this Committee and this Budget Act.

It was nice to hear Senator Byrd say that this would be a good time to have some civilized discussion about procedures around here.

I think we had better think very carefully about that as we go into this new Presidency.