I thank my colleague from Arkansas for yielding. When we talk about sequestration, when we talk about deficit reduction, it is important to put that discussion in a broader context. The broader context needs to be, No. 1, what is the…

the Committee on Veterans' Affairs has adopted rules governing its procedures for the 113th Congress. Pursuant to Rule XXVI, paragraph 2, of the Standing Rules of the Senate, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of the committee rules be…

I do know that Bank of America gets too many privileges relative to what they produce for the rest of us.

Real unemployment today is over 14 percent.

I see opportunities to invest that are not being taken advantage of, and the opportunities that I see are the opportunities to invest in the 310 million Americans who are here.

Some 45,000 Americans die each year because they do not get to a doctor when they should.

I vigorously oppose, along with the AFL-CIO, every veterans' organization, every senior organization, every disability organization, is the so-called chained CPI.

Right now in America we have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on Earth.

That one family owns more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of the American people.

Do you think we should end the welfare program to the wealthiest family in America by raising the minimum wage?

Well, I would point out that we have introduced legislation, Madam Chair, to do just that. It would bring in $590 billion over a 10-year period.

Well, on that issue I think you do not have to tell the people in this room up here. We know that very well.

The United States is the only country in the industrialized world that does not guarantee health care to all people as a right.

The middle class is disappearing.

The top 1 percent owning 38 percent of the wealth, the bottom 60 percent owning 2.3 percent of the wealth.

I do not believe that is the way you treat disabled veterans in this country.

do you balance the budget on the backs of disabled veterans and the most vulnerable people in this country, or do you ask billionaires and very profitable corporations to pay more?

There are 50 million in America who have no health insurance.

The top 1 percent is earning more than 100 percent of all new income.

We have the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world.

The entire world will be in a financial collapse. We do not have to worry about Social Security.

Your VA budget was a decent budget.

Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic in this country, and the veteran population is not being spared that.

I just spent several hours on Saturday in White River Junction and being very impressed by some of the work they are doing in terms of diabetes prevention.

the vast majority of disabled vets would see significant cuts as opposed to the current chained CPI.