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I think it would help tremendously to have a senator that knows where jobs come from, that knows how to create them, that knows how to bring them back and, importantly, knows what it means to manage billions of dollars' worth of expenses and cut billions of dollars' worth of expenses.

We have a lot of thoughtful people in the U.S. Senate.

If the Senate can't perform its most basic responsibilities, I worry about how we're going to make the tough decisions and do the hard work that will be necessary to get our country on a path to fiscal solvency.

The House has passed several bipartisan bills to ensure all Americans have the opportunity to secure a good job to provide for their families. All of these jobs bills deserve the support of our Senators and a strong show of leadership from the president.

Some of my colleagues seem more interested in using every procedural method possible to keep the Senate from doing anything than they are in creating jobs or helping Americans struggling in a difficult economy.

What we should be doing is responsibly addressing the primary drivers of our debt and deficit issues.

We have mountain of debt that isn't going away and all the problems are here to stay, and anybody who tells you that is a good thing ought to get out of the business of helping the government down the road.

If you want a senator who'll partner with the president to do what's best for the nation, I'm your guy.

But obviously, we're looking for all good ideas to help deal with our long-term debt problem. This is something that is going to affect our economy. It affects our kids. And we need to deal with it.

When it comes to helping make the country strong, we in Congress have an important role to play.