I've been around low-income people all of my life. I mean, growing up, low income, the community where I've chosen to live, low-income.

Nothing has more impact on my district than unemployment.

Universal coverage is a critical goal, but even if every man and woman, every parent and every child in America woke up with an insurance card in their hands, they would still need a place to go for health care.

The best protection against recidivism is a job.

My mom and dad, although they may not have had a lot of formal education, they were two of the most brilliant people that I know.

I can always see what I've done wrong. I'm always learning. I'm the perennial student.

Anything you do on the Internet, I want you to be able to do on MySpace. That's the goal and ambition.

I do think one success of Northern Europe, which the United States came from, was its willingness to accept innovation in business practices like Adam Smith and the whole Enlightenment. It essentially made the merchant class free instead of controlled by the king and aristocracy. That was essential.