Despair has been your lot for 60 years, ... but today we can say farewell with courage and with the knowledge that the fate of our fellow citizens has finally been discovered.

We practiced hard all week. We finally got it together. We finally came together as a unit today. We swarmed to the ball, all 11 hats to the ball.

Presumption should never make us neglect that which appears easy to us, nor despair make us lose courage at the sight of difficulties.

Whether you're managing the finances for a household of one, a business of a thousand, or a government of several hundred million, there's no more important statement of fiscal intent you can make than putting together a responsible budget - one that acknowledges its available means, and makes a reasonable attempt to live within them.

If we're going to talk about economic fairness, or about fairness, one of the most pressing economic issues facing families, seniors, and job creators in Missouri and across America is the strain of skyrocketing gas prices.

Putting together a sustainable budget requires that we all work together, that we focus our scarce resources on key priorities, and that we strengthen our capacity to deliver the best product we can for the American people. And that takes money.