To be fair, Republicans are not blameless. The deficit began to spiral out of control on President Bush’s watch.

Folks, if you give people things for free, don’t blame them for taking them.

To be fair, Republicans are not blameless. The deficit began to spiral out of control on President Bush's watch.

There are bills being discussed to raise the amount that Members of Congress pay in to their benefits and I support these pieces of legislation.

Folks, if you give people things for free, don't blame them for taking them.

The House-passed FY2012 Budget Resolution does two very important things: it ensures that seniors 55 and older will continue to receive the same Medicare benefits they received in 2010, and it ensures Medicare for individuals under age 55 by saving Medicare from insolvency and providing, for the first time, a real choice for the future.

Absolutely, federal health care options in Congress should mirror those offered in the private sector. If these options are not available in the private sector, then folks working for the federal government should not have them either.

Do you think states' rights would have disappeared if state legislatures still elected our United States senators? Do you think our United States senators would be difficult to contact if they were named by our state legislatures?

To be sure, the Fair Tax is a big idea. However, I believe America was built on big ideas, and I was elected to Congress to fight for those big ideas, not nibble around the edges of a broken and destructive system. The FairTax would be a real stimulus for economic growth, and it wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime.

The accountability of state legislators is so much more than federal legislators.