Teachers are our greatest public servants; they spend their lives educating our young people and shaping our Nation for tomorrow.

I worked with the March of Dimes to enact legislation for a national birth defects prevention program to provide surveillance, research and preventive services aimed at reducing the rate of birth defects.

From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when called, gone where ordered, and defended our nation with honor.

Supporting the troops has got to mean more than bumper stickers on pickup trucks, my friends. We need to give them what they need.

To honor our national promise to our veterans, we must continue to improve services for our men and women in uniform today and provide long overdue benefits for the veterans and military retirees who have already served.

Education should be one of our top funding priorities; talking about it does not help the teachers and students who desperately need promises fulfilled.

While I believe our Constitution allows for State and local governments to execute the power of eminent domain for those purposes that specifically serve the public good, condemning property solely to implement economic development plans is not serving the public good.