You are more committed to things that you give money to - whether it is a church or a politician.

More that members of Senate know about Medicaid, in many ways, the harder it is to make that final decision, because you have got so much information, and you know how many other things are impacted here by one decision here that, five decisions later, has made a big difference in somebody's life.

Remember, there are no cuts to Medicaid. Every year in Medicaid, you spend more money than you spent the year before under this plan, but the growth is not as great as it would be if you continued to pay, for instance, 100 percent for single able-bodied adults. Now, there is something wrong with the way that system is put together.

There's no doubt that cable news hosts can say things that the president of the United States shouldn't say, and people can be harsh at you. That doesn't mean you benefit by being harsh back.

I think the Tea Party has brought important issues to the table.

I think one of the lessons we should have learned from what's happened with the current plan is that there is insurance coverage, but there is not really, many times, access to health care. If you have these high deductibles, there is every - there is a disincentive to get the policy, because you would have to pay another - I think the average of deductible policies on the individual market.

Electric service providers in Missouri have warned that the EPA's so-called Clean Power Plan will raise energy costs for Missourians, reduce jobs, and hurt our state's economic competitiveness. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I've fought hard to ensure provisions that would defund this harmful power grab were included in the final appropriations bill. I also support legislation to block this harmful rule and protect workers and families from the damaging effects of the Obama Administration's executive overreach and costly energy regulations.