I oppose this legislation. In Congress, we continue to talk past ourselves on how to get to fundamental financial sustainability. If flexibility is necessary for some agencies, then why not provide all of them with the necessary…

As we wait for the Congress and administration to deal with how to do business differently for defense, for health care, for the Tax Code, we can take a break today as we welcome over 750 men and women from every State in the Union who are…

What's so maddening about the sequester drama, just like the earlier fiscal cliff drama and the looming government shutdown drama, is that it is hopelessly beside the point. The path to fiscal sustainability is not merely cutting budgets…

While Congress is dealing with this manufactured sequester crisis, we have a real climate crisis occurring right outside the window. There is clarity on what should be a bipartisan issue with the public. Seven out of 10 Americans believe…

The satisfaction I have that we've finally renewed the Violence Against Women Act is tempered by how hard it was to get the acceptance of two critically important provisions. Why should there be any question about respect for Native…

The sequester drama that we are watching play out this week is exactly why I voted against the New Year's Day budget package. Two months ago, all of the forces were aligned to force a bigger agreement, but we set our sights too low. It…

As we lurch into another series of artificial crises surrounding budget sequestration, there is a bright spot this week. We will witness an amazing series of visits on Capitol Hill by members of the Garden Club of America. Celebrating…

It is extraordinarily frustrating for me that we have spent all week avoiding opportunities to make progress on areas on which we agree to avoid or minimize the effects of the sequester meat axe and instead singled out, again, our federal…

Part of the air of unreality in Washington is the myth of our inability to contend with budget reductions and the threat of sequestration in stabilizing America's financing. No doubt the draconian hand of across-the-board cuts in every…

One of the few areas where Washington agrees with the general public is that our current path is not sustainable. It is not merely a case of spending too much or taxing too little, although we need to control spending and we must and will…

Since I was a high school student, I've watched the escalation of the war on drugs, especially marijuana. I slowly became aware of its widespread use. As a freshman legislator in Oregon 40 years ago, my opinion was set by a hog farmer from…

We continue to talk past one another. The issue isn't passing a budget or not passing a budget. The issue is whether or not we're going to take fundamental steps to reform the way that we spend money around here. The Republican budget of…