We have major fiscal problems on our hand.

This program that the Republican majority has taken us toward as a country is leading us to fiscal bankruptcy.

But if they want to really think about the fiscal future of this country, then think about how we have moved from hundreds of billions of surpluses to hundreds of billions of deficits.

There are no problems that exist in the District that have been solved elsewhere in the country. Whatever problems exist in this city exist other places.

Now we are raising the debt limit 3 times, up to $8 trillion, so that our children and our grandchildren will have to pay for the cost of our expenditures.

I will work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to preserve the Social Security promise that provides secure retirement benefits for all, especially those who are most at risk such as widows, orphans, and people with disabilities when the need arises.