For the state of our union to be strong, we need to place value in Americans.

Caring for our veterans is the duty of a grateful nation.

I have stood on the line in Everett, Wash., where we have thousands of workers who go to work every day to build these planes. I would challenge anybody to tell me that they've stood on a line in Alabama and seen anybody building anything.

We havent been out in many of these countries helping them build infrastructure. How would they look at us today if we had been there helping them with some of that, rather than just being the people who are going to bomb in Iraq and go to Afghanistan?

For the state of our union to be strong, we need to place value in Americans.

By working together to focus on our national priorities today we can ensure that the state of our union is strong for the future.

I think what's been lacking from our discussion for a long time is really that other part of what a Budget chair does, which is set the priorities for this country in terms of making sure we invest in the right places, in education, in job training, and to make sure we do a balanced approach moving forward.