We have chosen to be very prudent in my view, in taking only one [parliamentary option], that is to refuse to allow committees to meet beyond the first two hours, and will continue with that position so long as the Landrieu matter is still outstanding.

coercion is not his first option, but it's an option.

We have, in my view, come some distance, ... We got a long way to go before that can be achieved.

They're rolling a dice and in my view they're going to come up the big losers, ... They think there is some political resonance in this but that's not what I hear.

Bipartisanship isn't an option anymore; it is a requirement. The American people have divided responsibility for leadership right down the middle.

Their plan leaves nothing for Medicare -- not one penny. It explodes in costs just as the Baby Boomers start to retire and Medicare and Social Security come under pressure. It fails to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pay down our debt, to prepare for this coming demographic tidal wave,