We have to face the music too. We have to preserve those entitlements for which people have paid.

So is it fair to say that, economically, there are no real assets backing up the certificates in the trust fund and the existence of the trust fund does not have any impact whatsoever on the overall ability of the Federal Government to…

Some have suggested that we ought to reduce the amount that Americans can save in tax-deferred accounts. I think that is a bad idea.

We are punishing middle class savers for years now, people who spent an entire working lifetime choosing to forego consumption.

What happens when this morphine drip starts to end?

the adverse consequences that we are already experiencing directly as a result of the extraordinary monetary policy is really problematic, I think.

We have exacerbated the problems of under-funded pension plans and we have got distortions in financial markets.

I think the danger of the implementation of the Volcker rule is actually--it could be too restrictive and increase the cost of especially corporate bond issuers.

The effect of a flat fee compensation system, I want to make certain that there will be analysis about the increasing costs or the increasing interest rates that may be charged consumers if you move to a flat fee financing system.

My understanding is that on a couple of occasions the Federal Reserve Inspector General has raised some questions about data security and controls on this data.

Yes, I mean, it seems to me that it is not entirely restating existing law.

The program as it is designed, the bill as it is designed, does not honor these promises.

As concerned as I am about the huge problems with the website, I am more concerned with some of the underlying, fundamental design problems with this legislation that are starting to manifest themselves.

Nobody said this would be smooth.

If the President refuses to agree to include even a modest reform that begins to take us in the direction of a more sustainable path in the context of a debt ceiling increase, there appears to be a real chance that this Congress will not…

The importance of the U.S. Treasury securities simply cannot be overstated as an investment vehicle.

There is absolutely no circumstances under which we should ever tolerate choosing willfully to make sure that a missed payment would include a missed payment on a Treasury security.

If we do not raise the debt ceiling sometime soon, then at some point we are going to have disruptive consequences.

I am extremely disappointed.

But the greatest disruption, by far, would occur if you were to choose to not pay interest on our debt.

Congress has to do its job and act.

I would argue now it is much more urgent that we deal with the underlying fiscal problem.

I am not a supporter of the eminent domain proposals that exist.

I find that baffling.

He is universally acknowledged as very, very well qualified, and I am very confident that he will be an outstanding judge.