Lawmakers need to be held accountable and should feel the impact of a government shutdown just like many other Americans will.

We need to make college affordable in price, and also have lower-cost student loans and more available grants for students.

As a Michigan senator, I feel a special responsibility to protect the Great Lakes. They are not only a source of clean drinking water for more than 30 million people but are also an integral part of Michigan's heritage and its economy.

Global warming causes volatility. I feel it when I'm flying.

Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.

This is critical to the region. Every other major city has public transportation going downtown. We have a world-class airport now, and this could be an important additional piece to the airport development. This is a significant investment and one that should be seen as a significant long-term commitment to making this a reality.

Doesn't matter if you're a Democrat or a Republican in Michigan. We want jobs in Michigan.

Five thousand people every day lose their home because of a medical bankruptcy. Most of them had insurance.

We must continue to be diligent in protecting Americans' civil liberties while preserving critical law enforcement tools we need to keep America safe.

The biggest challenge is to convince a woman that it's not her fault. My daughter is 25 my stepdaughter is 22. As a mother, I want them to know that if a boyfriend is abusive, you cannot ignore it ?- 'Oh, he's been drinking,' or 'He had a bad day.' There is no excuse for a man hitting a woman. Ever.

We want to develop innovative ways to promote savings so more Americans can save for their future, but first we need to reject privatization schemes and work together to strengthen Social Security.

Democracy is about voting and it's about a majority vote. And it's time that we started exercising the Democratic process.

Forget about whether global warming exists. My focus is on jobs.

At a time when we are losing manufacturing jobs in this country, we should be doing everything we can to help our manufacturers stay competitive. They are the backbone of our economy.

We need to build on the success of Social Security by developing bold and innovative ways for Americans to build wealth and save for retirement. I believe we can work together in a bipartisan manner to accomplish these goals.

The administration's reckless plan doesn't do one thing to ensure the long term security of social security, rather it undermines our economy. We need a budget and a fiscal policy that reflects the values and interests of America and restores fiscal discipline.