For example, lead paint in old houses can be a greater threat to children's health than lead that may be under some industrial site where there are no children

In the end, we may be hurting the very people we should be concerned about - the inner-city poor, those who already have to live with many risks in their daily lives, those who do not have clout here in Washington.

Sometimes you have to, as I say, build bridges where you can - but draw lines where you must.

While we believe there are fruitful opportunities to update and improve old rules, we do not want to set up a review process that could create a litigation morass.

Because John McCain stood up, our country is better off. The respect he is given around the world is not because of a teleprompter speech designed to appeal to American critics abroad but because of decades of clearly demonstrated character and statesmanship.

We also have to ask if we focusing on the most important priorities.

For a long time in American history, people didn't even come up before the Senate. They didn't come before the Judiciary Committee, and up until about 1923, something like that.