The American people deserve a budget that invests in the future, protects the most vulnerable among us and helps to create jobs and economic security

The terrorist attacks of September 11th and the courageous actions of our armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq remind us that friends of tyranny and enemies of freedom still exist

We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them.

I am 100 percent supportive of the stand-alone bill to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' that Sens. Lieberman and Collins have now proposed, and indeed I will co-sponsor that legislation. It is time for this discriminatory policy to end, and I am willing to pursue any effective legislative path that could lead to that result

We have a hope of succeeding if we learn from our past mistakes and pull together to make the hard choices.

Sadly, the President's budget proposal for the upcoming year once again puts cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans over addressing our country's severe fiscal problems.

If you like what Wall Street did for the housing market, you'll love what Wall Street is doing for commodities. Goldman's ability to influence any portion of the price for a key component of the industrial economy is simply unacceptable.