Let me tell you, the first president to recognize the state of Israel was Harry Truman, a Democrat. And every president since, Democrat and Republican, have stood closely with Israel.

There is also the issue of personal privacy when it comes the executive power. Throughout our nation's history, whether it was habeas corpus during the Civil War, Alien and Sedition Acts in World War I, or Japanese internment camps in World War II, presidents have gone too far.

Our timing is right... The election results are still fresh in the minds of my Republican colleagues and they don't want to go through this again.

I hope that Republicans in the House and Mr. Cantor will embrace that as part of immigration reform.

Our party is a diverse one, as is my home state of Illinois.

These are men and women who are willing to risk their lives in defense of their country. And the fact that their orientation - sexual orientation's been held against them is a blot on our nation's reputation.

It simply isn't fair for senators to cut to the front of the line when seniors around the country have been forced to wait for hours to get a flu shot.