"What do we value? Where do we want to put scarce taxpayer dollars? What is important to us growing a vibrant and thriving middle class? Is it locking more people up or is it educating them?"
"We need to tackle our deficits and debt in a balanced way, with a mix of spending cuts and new revenue from those who can afford it most."
"Well, obviously, getting that system right is key."
"I know Democrats here in the Senate feel very strongly that protecting our fragile economic recovery is paramount."
"We have not had a race to the top type competition in the higher education space, and that is what we are proposing in this year's budget."
"You want Pell Grants? You want Stafford loans? Show us that you are doing things to control the costs."
"I hope Republicans are now prepared to tell us their ideas for a bipartisan path forward."
"mainly used by a relatively small group of mostly higher income individuals."
"Republican leaders, who are seemingly rejecting any effort at compromise, will need to put our families and our economy above partisan ideology."
"I believe that we ought to do everything we can to avoid those catastrophic consequences of across-the-board cuts."
"In terms just of the sheer organizational effort, I assume it's thousands of hours for your personnel to try to figure out how to contort your budget to comply with the sequester, that would much bett..."