Few things infuse a member of Congress with more courage than self-imposed term limits or an imminent retirement. The issues they choose to focus on in their final months say a great deal about what are really the most important issues in the country.

Welfare reform happened with reconciliation; half the Democrats voted for it. The Bush tax cuts happened with reconciliation; twelve Democratic Senators voted for it. You didn't have a real partisan issue on those times that it was used

We're gonna put $456 million to go to an island of 50 people? You know... The bridge to nowhere. And this is right after Katrina happened. And so I offer an amendment to take that money from Alaska and repair the stuff in Louisiana.

I believe keeping our promises should be our highest priority and that means saving Social Security and Medicare while preserving the American dream for our children and grandchildren.

Tactics and strategies ought to be based on what the real world is, and we do not have the political power to do this. We're not about to shut the government down over the fact that we cannot, only controlling one house of Congress, tell the president that we're not going to fund any portion of [Obamacare]. Because we can't do that.

I still believe that term limits is the best way to ensure that the next generation, not the next election, is the central concern in our elected bodies.

Few things infuse a member of Congress with more courage than self-imposed term limits or an imminent retirement. The issues they choose to focus on in their final months say a great deal about what are really the most important issues in the country.