We in the Senate refer to Sen. Gillibrand as the hottest member.

Some said he couldn't take on the insurance companies that were ripping us off. But President Obama made the tough and right call to save lives, save Medicare and ensure no one goes broke just because they get sick.

They say you can never step in the same river twice. New water flows in, replacing the old and continually renewing the river. The Senate is the same.

If you have a problem where you have just poverty, long-term insurance benefits for an emergency aren't going to solve that either. You have got to fix the social safety net.

So the next thing I assume I'll be hearing from Republicans, they want to change rules some way, as they do on the House when you get a problem with ethics, they just change the rules.

We would be somewhat foolish to work out something on stopping us from going over the cliff and then a month or six weeks later Republicans pull the same game they did before and say, 'We're not going to do anything - unless this happens, we're not going to agree to increasing the debt ceiling.' I agree with the president, it has to be a package deal.

Legislation is the art of compromise.