Mike Enzi

You know, it's kind of interesting to learn something about a subject before we do a bill on it.

The absence of such a system for regulations is an increasingly odd deficiency.

The burden of government continues to grow for each and every American.

Last month, for the first time since 2001, Congress agreed to a joint 10-year Federal budget that put our Nation on a path to a balanced budget.

So we did not worry about what the percentage was of GDP. We worried about whether we were paying all our bills or not.

Ted and I agree on about 80 percent of the stuff. We disagree on 20 percent of the stuff.

They are getting all of our data all of the time, and that is one of the possibilities for a security breach.

I question whether it is appropriate to use taxpayer dollars to advertise the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as the IRS did by including this mailing with the tax refunds.

$293.5 billion a year that we are spending on things that we have not taken a look at to see if they are worth doing anymore.

One of the problems that we have around here is our accountability for what we find or fail to find.

You know, if I go to Washington, I am going to put something in that will cause that to happen.

We should choose them all, because we are better off with all of them than with just one of them.

Let us look at those laboratories of democracy and see if there are other things... and find out what is working and do more of that.

The purpose of this hearing, of course, was to see if there was a need for budget reform, and I have not heard anybody disagree with that.

I have long spoken on the merits of considering bills, amending bills, and passing bills under regular order.

The EPA's crusade to keep coal in the ground is already costing hundreds of jobs in my State and will cost my State and this country billions of dollars.

I think we have a chance to make a real difference, and I want to do that.

The American public knows that Congress is not doing its job, and the institution's approval rating has plummeted as a result.

It must encourage regular order, predictability, require legislative review, and provide transparency and accurate information for lawmakers and the public.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are estimated, by the time we take care of our last veteran 50, 60 years from now, to cost between $4 and $6 trillion, all put on the credit card.

The Republican solution to that over the years has been to give even more tax breaks to the wealthiest people in this country.

Congress and the President have ignored this most basic of governing and have decimated the faith and trust of hardworking Americans.

But I think it is fair to say--and I have a hard time understanding how some of my conservative friends do not accept this.

If you spend money to feed a hungry child, that is an expense. If you spend money on a war in Iraq, that is an expense.

Affordability is always a concern.