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Well, first of all, let's go right to it. We're going to balance the budget. We should live within our own means, and we should read the bills and work with the American people.

If you ask the question of Americans, should we pay our bills? One hundred percent would say yes. There's a significant misunderstanding on the debt ceiling. People think it's authorizing new spending. The debt ceiling doesn't authorize new spending; it allows us to pay obligations already incurred.

I'm getting money over here. I'm good, I'm young, I'm finally in a position to feed my family; please don't take that away from me.

If we had loads of money as a family, things would be different and they'd come to visit more and I'd get to spend more time here. But I'm laying down roots in America so when I'm there, just being at home, it's harder to break away from that.

For the vast majority of Americans who work hard and play by the rules, paying the bills may be hard some months, but it's something we always do.

We are giving assurance to the American families that help is on its way.

What we are effectively doing, I say this to the young people of America whom my colleagues represent, is leaving our children and grandchildren the tab for fighting a war, letting them pay for the lion's share of it by simply adding it to the national debt.

And as you point out, for American families who struggle every day to figure out how do they pay, we talk about gasoline prices. That throws budgets into a real problem when you have budgeted really tight.

Please, people, don't drink and vote. We'll all pay for that.