Chairing any Appropriations subcommittee is both a great honor and weighty responsibility.

American businesses and consumers deserve a debit card system with competition, transparency, and reasonable fees.

There is no question that President Barack Obama should be commended for the successful removal of Assad's ghastly chemical weapons stockpile. But it hasn't been enough.

Before I was elected to Congress, I worked in a courtroom. For years, I defended doctors and hospitals, and for years, I sued them on behalf of people who were victims of medical malpractice.

There is no question that the federal government sometimes overdoes it in issuing rules and regulations.

I stood respectfully as Ronald Reagan was sworn in to his second term though I disagreed with him on many issues. I stood as well for the inauguration of George W. Bush's second term though I thought his war in Iraq was a tragic mistake.

Since 2000, I have proposed changing the Constitution so that our popular vote decides the presidency.

We've had enough with the gun shows where you can buy from private sellers with no FBI background check.

Our laws must be fixed to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. We have to keep speaking out for common-sense reforms. If we do, we can beat the gun lobby and save lives.

We've had enough with the gun traffickers and straw purchasers who buy guns out of state and sell them out of the trunks of their cars in Chicago.

In the fast-changing, information-filled world of the Internet, you never know what you might find. Maybe you'll discover a great price on an airline ticket, or maybe you'll come across that quote you've been racking your brain for.

No one should be allowed to purchase more than two firearms a month.

Magazine clips with more than 10 rounds should be prohibited from civilian use.

We must institute reasonable, common-sense limits, such as barring those with a history of mental instability, those with a history of violent crime or adjudged dangerous and subject to restraining orders, and those whose names have been placed on a terrorist watch list from owning weapons.

Having billions of dollars immediately available to plug budget holes without raising taxes is very appealing. And to the delight of Wall Street investors, state and local governments often fail to ask the important questions or consider the long-term impact.

Whether you agree or disagree with privatization, two things are obvious. First, taxpayers need to be asking more and better questions before handing over control of critical public assets like a highway, an airport, or a parking meter concession. And second, Uncle Sam is being played for a sucker.

Taxpayers across the U.S. have invested hundreds of billions of dollars building our nation's infrastructure, and that investment should be protected.

When we engage in the critical decisions about our nation's future budgets, I want progressive voices at the table to argue that we must protect the most vulnerable in our society and demand fairness in budget cuts.

Every day seems to bring news about another for-profit college scam. Hundreds of thousands of students have been deceived, misled, and harassed into enrolling at these schools where they end up with a mountain of debt and a worthless degree.

I urge the Department of Education not to settle for half-measures when it comes to students.

I think we learned a lesson and paid a bitter price when we put troops on the ground on a long-term basis in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let us support a homegrown, indigenous, and locally inspired effort to bring stability to the region.

We don't give up on our values, but we better be sensitive, too, that there are people with more moderate views and people who may disagree with some parts of the Democratic platform as they are presented.

I've been out to Walter Reed on unannounced visits. I've seen these soldiers. I've met their families.

We all make mistakes. But I'm lucky. Being from Illinois and from the Midwest, we believe in pretty basic fairness. Once you've made a mistake, get up, dust yourself off, and go to work.

I prefer Raisin Bran. But I like the Mini-Wheats.

Progressives should be willing to talk about ways to ensure the long-term viability of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, but those conversations should not be part of a plan to avert the fiscal cliff.

When you're talking about long-term deficit reduction, $4 trillion worth, entitlement reform needs to be part of it.

Any reports of animal cruelty should be thoroughly investigated and those operators held accountable.

I've known Al Franken for over 20 years. He is my friend. He was on the floor of the Senate announcing his resignation. I sat just a few feet away from him. He said it was the worst day in his political life. It was a somber feeling. It was a reality.

We don't want to see the government shut down.

We want to move forward in a bipartisan fashion to solve our problems.

Our party feels that we need to have fair compensation, living wage, good benefits, and decent treatment of workers, and that we can do that and still be competitive on a global basis.

We borrow 40 cents out of every dollar that we spend. We borrow most of it from countries like China. They have become major creditors of the United States and have more power over our economy than we want them to. So dealing with this is not only the right thing economically, it's certainly right from a moral viewpoint.

More people working and paying taxes reduces government expenditures and helps us move a little closer to balance.

My wish is to bring the troops home as quickly as possible.

We ought to deal with Social Security in a separate conversation that is not part of deficit reduction.

When Senator McCain reaches across the aisle to find Democrats to support efforts to make America stronger, he finds plenty of us standing, willing to help him and many other Republican leaders.

I don't disagree with Senator McCain when he talks about the earmark process.

We have to talk about the way we finance campaigns.

I enjoy my job, and I will help my state all I can.

I want to continue to serve as whip of the caucus.

I'm confident ITT will get what it deserves.

I think for all of us who call East St. Louis part of our heritage, we want to make a better day for the city.

This city of East St. Louis needs a tomorrow.

I've been there; I've been in the minority before. It humbles the exalted. But that's all right.

You'll never get progress in Washington until you have a majority, bipartisan majority, that really wants to solve problems.

Like so many large companies in the U.S., Monsanto has prospered in large part due to U.S. taxpayer-funded programs and services.

Where would Monsanto be without the U.S. farm program and world-class research labs?

With every new corporate inversion, the tax burden increases on the rest of us to pay what these corporations don't.

I'm disappointed in Burger King's decision to renounce their American citizenship. I call on companies currently mulling this tax dodge to reconsider and on Congress to protect U.S. taxpayers from more of these schemes.