[American Citizenship] captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations

To restore America's competitiveness, we must recruit a new generation of science and technology leaders by investing in diversity.

My identity might begin with the fact of my race, but it didn't, couldn't end there. At least that's what I would choose to believe.

Ultimately, I remain optimistic about not just America's future, but the direction that the world is growing.

And I want to work with this Congress, to make sure Americans already burdened with student loans can reduce their monthly payments, so that student debt doesn't derail anyone's dreams.

Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.

There is a wonderful book called "Gandhi's Truth," by Erik Erikson, the psychologist. It is a great book. And I remember reading that and thinking about this connection between what we think in our personal lives and how that manifests itself in our politics. Those are two books, just off the top, that I think are sort of representative of reading that I did at that time. I never get a chance to read anymore.